Emerging Tech Solutions Are Key to Unlocking the Hospitality Hiring Boom
The hospitality industry has experienced a rollercoaster over the past two years. Many struggled to simply remain afloat as COVID-19 lockdowns limited leisure travel. Now, as restrictions ease and pent-up travel demand leads to a surge in need for hotel accommodations, the hospitality sector is in a position to rapidly staff up to meet the moment, all during a challenging labor shortage.
By leveraging new automated tech tools, the hospitality industry can scale their hiring efforts to not only find candidates but also find the right candidates to avoid turnover and set themselves up for long-term success.
Scaling Efforts to Match Demand
As the US economy reopens, restaurants, hospitality and travel have seen unprecedented growth. After more than a year of restricted activity, the public is traveling again. But during the pandemic, as hotels struggled to stay afloat, staff had to be cut to counter this lack of demand. Many workers relied on unemployment benefits, but now as these benefits run out and workers are reentering the job market, hospitality is scaling efforts to tap into this emerging labor pool.
In July alone, the US economy added 943,000 jobs, and leading the charge were restaurants and hotels, which added a combined 380,000 jobs. While these numbers are encouraging, dramatic shifts are a burden for hiring teams. Scaling up so quickly can be considered a “good problem,” because it means business is strong, but it can also force hiring teams into situations where they’re needing to evaluate dozens or hundreds of candidates in a short window to meet demand. One example of this is a hotel in Bellingham, Washington. It was flooded with nearly 150 applications for three positions in a 48-hour period.
Hiring Quality Versus Quantity
High demand for quantity hires can cause hiring managers to sacrifice the quality hires. While this impulse is common in a competitive market, it could have negative effects in the long run. Some estimates put the cost of onboarding a new employee at more than $4,000, which says nothing of the time it takes to get new employees trained and in rhythm with operations.
By focusing on the right candidate early in the hiring process, businesses set themselves up for long-term success. Understanding the specific skill set of the candidate, setting expectations for the position and informing candidates about the company during hiring can promote employee retention. It also helps hiring managers identify candidates that are best suited for leadership opportunities further in their employment.
During a labor shortage, there is opportunity for upward mobility for employees. By identifying potential managerial talent early, hotels can help solve staffing issues higher up in their organization further down the road.
Using Tech Tools to Scale Hiring Efforts
Providing a frictionless experience for candidates should be a priority for hiring managers in a competitive job market. The hiring process also needs to identify the right candidate while simultaneously informing them about the position and getting them excited about the company.
Next generation hiring tools that leverage automation take a large burden of the hiring process off of hiring teams. In the past, hiring managers had to weed through hundreds of applications to identify the best candidates. By automating the process, the best candidates are moved onto the next phase of evaluation, even if they start on the bottom of the pile.
Through automation, candidates are also kept informed about the status of their application. Even if a candidate doesn’t move on to the next phase of evaluation, they’re not left hanging. When you factor in that 72% of candidates will tell others about a bad hiring experience, transparency and communication can do a lot to preserve the employer brand.
Next generation hiring tools also allow candidates to drive their own hiring experience. Once they’re moved through the initial application process, they’re given online assessments that align with traits employers are seeking. These assessments can be done on the candidate’s schedule and, when completed, are used to provide candidates with automated, personalized feedback of how they performed. Results of these assessments can also help hiring managers identify candidates who may be suitable for management roles later.
An automated hiring process gives candidates asynchronous video interviews which enable them to tell their own story, in their own words, without having to take time off of a current job to fit the schedule of a hiring manager. In total, this next evolution of the hiring process takes much of the burden off of hiring teams, enabling them to focus on higher-level tasks and late-round interviews.
By focusing on the candidate experience and leveraging new hiring tools in automation, the hospitality industry can scale their hiring efforts quickly to meet the moment, without sacrificing quality for quantity.