Viewpoint - Bob Gershberg - November 2021

Your Recruiting Process Reflects Your Company’s Image

 by Bob Gershberg, CEO/Managing Partner Wray Executive Search

We in the hospitality industry are driven to delight our guests.  We roll out the red carpet for the chap buying his morning cup of coffee.  We do somersaults to serve up a San Pellegrino, no ice with lemon to the classy lady at the bar.  And heaven knows we will bring service to unparalleled levels when the jovial four top orders that second bottle of Caymus.  How is it then, we so often treat the six-figure executive who has shown great interest in joining our team so poorly?

Facilitating the recruiting process from phone screen to job offer is cumbersome at best.  Accommodating the busy schedules of both candidate and hiring authority can test any admin’s mettle.  Add the burden of travel arrangements, flight delays and day to day snafus along with the gathering of feedback from the various parties involved, it is no wonder the process can become overwhelming.  But wait….we are restaurant and hospitality folks.  We thrive on an industry with lots of moving parts.  We are best when challenged with a bit too much on our plates.  The truth is we need to focus on treating the professionals interviewing with our companies as we do our guests, particularly during these tight talent pool times.

It is said in the restaurant industry that each dissatisfied customer tells her tale of woe to at least six friends; they in turn each tell a few more with some minor embellishments, and they the same until the exponential effect is equal to knocking the respective noses of 88 people out of joint.  I suspect the candidate who goes without feedback for a couple of months might be talking “trash” about the hiring company to a few more than six friends or associates.  And worse they may have all been regular customers at your restaurants.

Best practice companies need to align their recruiting process with the culture and class of the company itself.  It is not easy to accomplish this goal while running and growing our complex operations, but it is imperative.  To court and support those interested in joining our teams will serve us well.  It is clearly worth the effort and as hospitality companies it is precisely what we do!

In the words of the late Robert Half, “Time spent on hiring is time well spent”.

All the best,

Bob Gershberg |CEO|Managing Partner|

bob@wraysearch.com

(727) 244-4113

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