One popular definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Using this definition, many have said that hotels have �insane� hiring and retention practices. Those outside the hospitality industry have labeled our spending huge sums of money to recruit, hire and train virtually an entire staff every six to twelve months as �insane� but many operators have come to accept one hundred plus percent annual turnover as �normal�. Accepting high turnover as �part of the business� is not only hugely expensive but it robs our guests of the service experience that will make them loyal, repeat customers. 

So what can be done to find the right people, train them to acceptable service standards and create an environment in which they stay and provide great service and create loyal guests? To paraphrase Apple Computer and take a lesson from the world of technology, the first thing we need to do is �think differently� and honestly reassess and revamp our most basic beliefs and practices when it comes to recruiting, hiring, training and retaining employees.

One of the first �belief  boxes� we must climb out of when recruiting and hiring is that people who are �experienced� are by definition good at what they do. We put far too much emphasis on experience by confusing it with expertise. Practice makes permanent, not perfect. Whether they have been on the job for thirty days or thirty years, poorly-trained service persons with bad habits and little motivation still provide poor service. We should not ignore work experience but rather not assume that applicants are skilled because they have experience. What we need to focus on when hiring is what one expert calls the applicant�s DATA (Desire, Abilities, Temperament and Assets) rather than what we currently use-the three E�s (Education, Experience and Endorsements). Assessing and evaluating a potential employee�s DATA is a much truer test of whether the applicant will be a productive and successful service-oriented employee. 

Given the high industry turnover rate and tight labor market, it is logical to think that progressive hotels would woo potential employees even more diligently than they do guests since each employee has a much greater long-term impact on the hotel�s revenue than has any single guest. (A recent article by the president of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association titled �Marketing to the Workforce� cites companies that spend more on marketing to potential employees than they do marketing to potential customers!) This is an example of �thinking differently�.

To test whether hotels have in fact become more progressive in their recruitment and hiring practices, I put on a suit and tie, made copies of my hotel management resume, and went to find out how local hotels currently treat potential employees. 

My first stop was a new, upscale property at which I know managerial people had been staying late into the night making up rooms because they couldn�t find enough room attendants. I thought that certainly this property above all the others would welcome any applicants with open arms. On the contrary, in order to even find the human resources department I had to weave my way down an alley littered with trash, dumpsters and delivery trucks. Once there, a sign facing the alley told me that this was the delivery and human resources area but there were no signs to direct job applicants. The delivery trucks, pallets of supplies and stacks of boxes made it clear that this was in fact the delivery area. But the materials and supplies seemingly got better treatment than potential employees. The first impression was not �Welcome! We value you because you might become one of our team� but rather �If you want to work here you�ll have to find us.� What is valued gets attention and it�s clear that at this particular property supplies and deliveries were more valued than people. Fortunately, a helpful employee on a break directed me to the HR office. There a pleasant young human resources assistant said that their only current openings were for on-call banquet servers and room attendants and without looking at my resume, said they would keep it on file. (I had the distinct feeling that anyone, regardless of their qualifications, would have gotten the same treatment.) 

Given the overall turnover rate and low unemployment figures, one would think that all hotels would develop a database of applicants they can call on when someone quits or gets fired. Not the case at this hotel. At two other hotels, they would not even accept resumes from qualified applicants unless accompanied by their boilerplate application which is not appropriate for managerial candidates. Again, these antiquated forms are evaluated based on the premise that you can only do what you have done in the past and that if you�ve done it in the past you must be good at it. 

It is no wonder that hotel employees (our internal customers) move on to other properties so quickly. It is abundantly clear from their first impression and initial treatment when applying for a job that they will not be thought of as a valued team member making an important contribution but only as a cost of doing business. Why do so many move on so quickly? Because we don�t give them good reasons to stay.