subject: Tips For Hiring Hospitality Staff [print this page] A good gourmet catering business can keep going for a long time based solely on good referrals from satisfied customers, but hiring hospitality staff that are seasoned professionals is the real key to sustaining a catering business over the long term. When hiring hospitality staff, there are certain things you should always try to find in each person you take on as an employee. Hiring is always a difficult process but good hiring is the key to success in any business. Hiring a bad employee can lead to disaster very quickly and in the hospitality business, it can spell doom for your business.
If you have ever received complaints from patrons about service or had customers say they will never return to your establishment, you need to take it very seriously. Most businesses are built on their referrals, not flashy reviews they receive in the newspaper or on the Internet. In today's business market of cut-throat competition, it is important to pay close attention to negative comments from customers and address any issues they raise immediately with your staff.
When hiring hospitality staff and going through the dreaded interview process remember that every potential employee you interview will be on his or her very best behavior. As you look through the resumes you will receive, it is important to keep in mind that a person is not their resume. They will have tailored their resume to put their best foot forward and present themselves in the very best light possible. Be sure you check all their references very carefully. This is the one thing that most employers tend to overlook, often to their regret.
Interviews are very much like a first date. The potential employee should come to the interview dressed in their best clothes and with a neat appearance. If they are late or display rude behavior, remember that this is the best they will probably ever be and keep that in mind when making your final decision. You can not afford to make many mistakes when hiring hospitality staff as these people will be interacting directly with your customers and representing your company.
When hiring hospitality staff and conducting interviews, it is important to listen to what the interviewed does not say during the interview as much as what they do say. Be sure to ask them questions about how they performed in certain past stressful situations and listen to their responses carefully. This will give you an ideal chance to assess how they handle pressure.
If a potential employee tells you something about him or herself that sounds just too good to be true, consider that it probably is. Listen to your sixth sense. If someone is telling you something that you really just can not believe then accept that they are probably telling you a tall tale and move on to the next candidate.
One of the things you need more than anything when hiring hospitality staff is peace of mind in knowing that you have hired the correct people. You need to be able to leave the function your company has been hired to cater knowing that everything is in good hands. If hiring hospitality staff is something you find too daunting to do with the diligence it needs then consider outsourcing that job to a human resources professional. You will probably discover that it was worth every penny you paid for their services.
