"Hire the Best People"

"Few industries depend on their employees to the same degree as the foodservice industry. Without great employees, no operation can enjoy an outstanding reputation."
National Restaurant Association 2000 

Where does it all begin?
In order to hire right you must begin with recognizing and then documenting exactly what the job you want to fill looks like.

• A job review and formal, detailed job (duties) description is the first step
• Next is an in-depth job evaluation including the required skills, experience, capabilities, personal presentation, attitude and etc. is needed
• A review of how this function will fit into the over all organization must be considered and documented.
• Next, evaluate exactly what sort of advancement potential is desirable and available
• Determine if this position is an appropriate (and logical) stepping stone to advancement
• Establish an appropriate wage rate and draft a career path statement for the position.
• It is critical to design an objective evaluation process for this function.  This must be in addition to but made part of, a standard “employee evaluation”
• Have employees in similar positions review the over all outline
• Incorporate their input as appropriate
• Now you are ready to recruit                               

Recruiting

Recruiting and hiring is arguably one of the most critical responsibilities a professional hospitality industry operator can be held accountable for. 

 

If given the appropriate priority, recruiting and hiring will help an organization achieve and sustain a highly motivated, skilled, outstanding team of hospitality professionals. 

 

Without the proper focus, companies will find themselves hiring “warm bodies”. 

 

When a company puts off recruiting until they need to fill an open position, they are always subject to undue and unnecessary pressure.  This leads to short cuts in hiring practices.  In order to avoid this, a truly professional manager will always have a current file of prescreened preferred applications on hand.

 

 

If your organization is motivated and committed to achieving the highest level of service obtainable it will want its customers to recognize their team as the best in the industry. 

 

In order to accomplish that, a company must recognize the following:

 

At the unit level

• Each hiring manager must set aside not less than six hours a month, first the manager needs to establish and document their in-store recruiting program.
• Once the program is established the manager must continue to set the six hours aside each month for maintaining the program.
• All managers must be held accountable for maintaining a file of at least ten (current) pre-screened, “preferred” applicants that want to join the team.  These applicants must have been interviewed, their references checked, and if possible, observed at their current job site.
• As they are in the field visiting other operations all managers must be alert to recruiting opportunities.  They will discretely inform outstanding service people they observe that their company needs people like them.  Let these outstanding individuals know, if they have interest, how to contact you.
• The parent company should document the profile needed for every job within the over all organization and outline the advancement process.
• A career ladder should be documented in order for existing (and potential) employee to see the benefits of being part of the team.
• The company must document a general training program aimed at encouraging the motivated team member (and potential employee) to want to advance their carer within specific unit as well as parent organization.
• Company training programs (and promotions) should give preference to the career oriented team member.
• Every effort must be made to inform recruits of the company’s interest in them and it's commitment to their careers. 
• The company must provide unit Team managers thirty two hours of training in the techniques of proper job documentation, recruiting, interviewing, hiring and indoctrination of new team members.  Additional resources should be made available to unit managers if appropriate.
• The number of “recruits” solicited, hired and promoted within the company, by a unit manager, should be evaluated twice each year.  Success in this activity must be a contributing factor in promotions, bonuses and other management wage considerations.
• Additional corporate support and coordination should be made available if needed and appropriate.
• Once this policy is fully implemented a unit manager should not find it necessary to recruit directly for an open position.
• This program will provide a substantial pool of cross-trained team members with management potential. This resource will allow your organization to add new facilities without having to go outside the company to recruit “the best management." 

 

* Note: When this policy is fully operational you can, with confidence, allow the company’s growth to escalate. Even more importantly, because of the increased level of motivated cross-trained team members, your organization will be more proactive in satisfying its customer’s needs. It will also be better prepared to adjust quickly to the operational and profitability challenges it will inevitably experience as it grows.

 

If you are seeking professional assistance, please see our web page at Marshall & Associates - e-mail us at marsconsul@aol.com or by using the no obligation contact form 

 

The above material is proprietary and copyrighted.  It has been made available here to assist you and for your personal use only.  Reproduction for resale and/or use in any manner other than for your personal use, without the expressed written permission of Marshall & Associates, is strictly prohibited.

 

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