Hotel Common Sense™: Meeting the Need for Talent: A Baker's Dozen of Questions (Part 1 of 2 ) / Dr. John Hogan / May 2011

by Dr. John Hogan, CHE CHA CMHS
May 6, 2011

My recent column on Stronger Hiring Outlook Means Hospitality Employers Must Step Up Recruitment Efforts apparently hit the mark, as I had emails and comments from hoteliers in three continents representing many different types of facilities asking for ideas on action steps to take. The reality is that while there remains substantial unemployment in many markets and many applicants for most positions, forward thinking professionals are recognizing that the trends are changing. Occupancy and revenue is beginning to rebound in many markets and the demand for quality staff will soon be on the rise as well.

Geoff Smart and Randy Street in their Who: The A Method for Hiring¹ that "hiring is the most important aspect of business- and yet remains woefully misunderstood.." The book jacket refers to what The Economist calls "the single biggest problem in business today": unsuccessful hiring. The average hiring mistake costs a company $1.5 million or more a year and countless wasted hours. This statistic becomes even more startling when you consider that the typical hiring success rate of managers is only 50 percent. The book offers the position that "who is hired" problems are preventable and they base their opinions on more than 1,300 hours of interviews with more than 20 billionaires and 300 CEOs.

In the hospitality industry with turnover rates often higher than the 50% referenced in the book regular economic times, the challenges can be even greater. This two part series will look at the issue of identifying, hiring and growing talent.

Part One

It should seem obvious, but in my career as a hotelier, hospitality educator and consultant, I have seen a huge number of management positions that have outdated job descriptions, specifications and no sense of what the person really needs to “do” in order to be successful.

With that in mind, below is a listing of consideration:

Who will the person specifically report to and how often will they interact?
What is the specific accountability in attaining results?
Are those results in line with the organization's “big” picture?
Are there strategic goals identified or in the process of being refined for the organization?
How much enterprise is preferred or expected? Is initiative a positive or negative trait in the organization?
What is the sense of competitive spirit? Is it everyone for themselves?
Markets and economies change – how do you expect the new hire to stay focused?
How are decision made? Are authority lines refined and reasonable?
What are your organization's performance expectations in Key Result Areas? How many KRAs are there and are they consistent?
How are results measured in associate engagement, in guest service, in market penetration, in facility quality and of course, profitability?
Does the organization have clearly identified values that support the mission and vision?
How does communication really happen?
How does change happen? Can it be fast paced or must it go through a committee? Does one person overshadow all decisions or is there reasonable flexibility that provides unbiased professional opportunity for growth, recognition and reward for agreed upon achievement of success?

This Baker's Dozen may seem to be a bit comprehensive for some facilities, yet it was created to provide feedback to the requests for specific ideas on this topic. Those inquiries came from hoteliers working in all sizes of hotels, with mixed market bases, with a range of brands as well as some independent properties and in multiple countries.

^[1] http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadershop/9780345504197.html

Part 2
Growing Talent
Does Not Happen Without Focused Effort

Hospitality Tip of the Week^TM:

“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There is plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to forward, backwards or sideways.”
H. Jackson Brown, Jr. , Author, Life's Little Instruction Book

KEYS TO SUCCESS is the umbrella title for my 2011 programs, hospitality services and columns. This year’s writings focus on a variety of topics for hotel owners, managers and professionals including both my "HOW TO" articles, HOSPITALITY CONVERSATIONS™, Lessons from the Field™, Hotel Common Sense™ and Principles for Success.

Don't forget the special values being offered to industry professionals available on annual membership at www.HospitalityEducators.com.

Feel free to share an idea for a column at [email protected] anytime or contact me regarding consulting, customized workshops, speaking engagements … And remember – we all need a regular dose of common sense.

John Hogan is a successful hospitality executive, educator, author and consultant and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many hospitality industry events. He is Co-Founder of a consortium (www.HospitalityEducators.com) of successful corporate and academic professionals delivering focused and affordable counsel in solving specific challenges facing hospitality today.

www.HospitalityEducators.com is a membership site offering a wide range of information, forms, best practices and ideas designed to help individual hoteliers and hospitality businesses improve their market penetration, deliver service excellence and increase their profitability. Individuals wishing to contribute materials may send them [email protected]. Special pricing is in effect for a limited time that also includes a complimentary copy of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD- A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES.

Also See:	Hotel Common Sense™: Questions I Wish You Would Ask Me™: Karl Ruether CHA, CFBE, International Hotelier / Dr. John Hogan / April 2011
	Hotel Common Sense™: Stronger Hiring Outlook Means Hospitality Employers Must Step Up Recruitment Efforts; The job markets are changing and candidates will soon have choices again. / Dr. John Hogan / April 2011
	Hotel Common Sense™: Five Common Sense Steps to Stronger Public Relations / Dr. John Hogan / April 2011
	A Smile from HospitalityEducators.com - April 14 - International Moment of Laughter Day / Dr. John Hogan / April 2011
	Lessons From the Field™: Communications 101 – How to effectively use the telephone / Dr. John Hogan / March 2011
	Principles of Success: Fine Tuning Your Hospitality Business Strategies for A Measurable Competitive Advantage - Part 2 / Dr. John Hogan / March 2011
	Principles of Success: Fine tuning Your Hospitality Business Strategies for A Measurable Competitive Advantage - Part 1 / Dr. John Hogan / March 2011
	Hotels Were More Interesting than Selling Insurance: An Unexpected Career; A Professional and Personal Tribute to Neil Salerno, CHME CHA / Dr. John Hogan and Howard Feiertag / March 2011
	Principles of Success: Evaluate Your Hospitality Business Strategies to Create a Real and Measurable Competitive Advantage / Dr. John Hogan / March 2011
	Sales Blitzes: A Look At the Benefits of Team Efforts / Dr. John Hogan / March 2011
	Principles for Success: No Nonsense Benchmarking for Hotels and Hospitality Businesses / Dr. John Hogan / March 2011
	Principles for Success: What we have here is a FAILURE to COMMUNICATE! / Dr. John Hogan / February 2011
	Making This New Year's Hospitality Resolutions Last - Part 3; Real and Practical Action Steps #13-28 / Dr. John Hogan / February 2011
	Making This New Year's Hospitality Resolutions: Real and Practical - Sales Action Steps #1-12 / Dr. John Hogan / January 2011
	Making New Year's Hospitality Resolutions Real and Practical; A “Fresh Air- New Ideas” Perspective / Dr. John Hogan / January 2011
	Keys to Success: Be Aware of and Work with the Law; Do Not be Afraid of it / Dr. John Hogan / December 2010
	Keys to Success: Make Your Hotel More Profitable and Successful – 2011 is the critical time to invest in Your Talent and Your Team / Dr. John Hogan / December 2010
	Keys to Success: A Common Sense Approach to Success in the Hospitality Industry; 13 Best Practices for Hospitality Training Managers & Directors / Dr. John Hogan / December 2010
	Hospitality Conversations – Looking Ahead! / Dr. John Hogan / November 2010
	Learning from The Greatest Business Leaders of the Twentieth Century / Dr. John Hogan / November 2010
	Five Considerations in Hiring a Hospitality Consultant; Understanding the Qualifications for Effective Hospitality Consultants / Dr. John Hogan / November 2010
	5 Reasons Using A Qualified Consultant Could Make a Huge Difference in Your Hospitality Business / Dr John Hogan / October 2010
	Half Luck and Half Brains - Kemmons Wilson's 20 Steps for Success / Dr John Hogan / October 2010
	Ten Quotes Addressing the Topic of SERVICE / Dr John Hogan / October 2010
	Hospitality Conversations - Understanding the Developing Perspectives in Quality Assurance (Part 2 of 2) / Dr John Hogan / October 2010
	Hospitality Conversations – Understanding the Developing Perspectives in Quality Assurance Part 1 of 2 / Dr John Hogan
	Hospitality Conversations: Examining the Learning Options Available in the Hospitality Field / Dr John Hogan / July 2010