Top tips for recruitment success

Bin Eid Executive Search general manager M D Warrier says that in an age of extreme executive mobility, employing top performers can make the difference between success and failure

In 2011, what trends have you seen when it comes to staffing hotels?
Finding and recruiting staff with quality and proven experience has been a major challenge, particularly from Asia/Far East as the salary levels at very junior levels are not attractive enough in some disciplines.

What are the most challenging departments and positions to recruit for?
The most challenging departments are: kitchen (including speciality chefs); spa; sales and marketing; facility management; and leadership positions.

In fact, to get the right candidate with relevant qualifications, experience, attitude and the cultural fit for an organisation is a great challenge and while meeting the job role and profile, some job seekers hesitate to relocate to some regions.

When it comes to senior levels, we recruit COOs, GMs, F&B directors, sales and marketing professionals, executive housekeepers, financial controllers, chief engineers, HR directors, training managers and executives in all disciplines of hotel operations.

Hiring a manager is not difficult, but hiring a top performer, a visionary and a profit-making business manager, who achieves business goals and shareholder values with optimum customer care, satisfaction and adequately motivated employee morale, is a formidable task.

What countries in the Middle East offer the most recruitment opportunities?
At this point in time, it’s the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

How have source markets for Middle East hotel recruiters changed?
Although the Middle East is a good destination for job seekers, the overwhelming attraction is diminishing due to various reasons, including salary, which is often not competitive enough when it comes to recruiting from source markets for some positions, particularly at junior levels.

Article continues on next page... 

What advice and observations would you offer to HR managers and GMs recruiting staff for new hotels in the pre-opening period?
Some tips are as follows:

1. It is difficult to get 100% experienced staff with the relevant education, experience, skills sets and right attitude coupled with the desire to relocate to some regions. Therefore, trainees from hotel schools could be considered – perhaps 20% trainees and 80% experienced staff, subject to requirements. This helps in controlling payroll expenses as well.
2. Good staff accommodation, competitive salary and the potential for career advancement can help to a certain extent to attract, recruit and retain staff.
3. Intensive training needs to be imparted across the board.
4. Hotels need to plan bulk recruitment trips well in advance so that last-minute recruitment campaigns and disappointment can be avoided.
5. Hotel management should conduct a salary and compensation survey and design a competitive and healthy compensation package without compromising the profitability and share holder values.
6. Since junior categories are away from the family, they tend to face emotional issues. Most staff in the junior categories travel only after completing two years’ work. Annual air passages can help to a great extent, particularly as a lot of budget airlines are operating services in most of the source markets barring some destinations such as Philippines and Indonesia. This can be achieved if payroll cost is planned well. For example, the salary of a waiter can be budgeted as AED 1350 but AED 1200 as the basic. The difference of AED 150 can be considered for air passage. This is just a thought as annual air passage will be great motivator.

How can hotels retain the best talent?
The time has come for employers to think of innovative methods to retain employees in view of the escalating payroll expenses, increasing labour turnover and challenges. An incentive scheme, payable after completing two years’ service or five years’ service apart from the statutory indemnity benefits, could be implemented.

What are job hunters looking for from hotel employers?
A competitive salary, good staff accommodation, staff recreational facilities and career development.