with the ability to guide and escort the luxury tours they created .
We all know that operations grow and evolve for a variety of reasons – the hotel re-positions itself in the market , different services are introduced or discontinued , different leadership has a new focus and new goals are established .
This often means that the person who would have been a perfect candidate last year , might not be the right fit this year . The next time you are analyzing a potential hire , ask yourself , “ Is this the right person for the team we have today and the goals we are working towards right now ?”
3 . Identify Patterns of Achievement . In a luxury setting , where the commitment to excellence is high , we all want to hire A-Players . The question is , in absence of personal knowledge , how do we identify a top performer ?
We need to look for and learn to recognize patterns of achievement . This process goes much deeper than a standard resume review . I learned about it during a Master Class for Recruiters taught by Lou Adler , who wrote the excellent book , “ Hire with Your Head : Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams .”
The basic idea is that our performance always leaves clues . Achievers are the ones that get assigned major projects , get promotions faster and often obtain a variety of forms of recognition for their work . Adler says that it ’ s the type of recognition , when it was received and what it was for that is the best evidence of a pattern of achievement .
4 . Become a Passionate Advocate of the Realistic Job Preview . I believe the best recruiters will always insist on sharing what ’ s really happening in a department or work area with potential finalists for a role . Was the last leader too tough and the current team is fragile as a result ? Is there a huge cost reduction planned soon that everyone is worried about and preparing for ? True success in recruitment is defined by retention . One of the keys to retention is ensuring that everyone involved has the right information at the right time to make the best hiring decisions or in the case of the candidate , to determine if they can really take on the role and succeed .
5 . Learn to Quantify Passion . I have not met a single department head who didn ’ t want passionate , committed professionals on their team . Over the years I have asked myself , and my colleagues , “ How do we quantify passion ? How do you determine a person is really , truly devoted to their profession ?” I am sure there are many ways that I haven ’ t uncovered yet , however one of the best ways I have found to come close to getting a measure of passion is to ask applicants regardless of department how they stay up to date in their industry .
We want the candidates who turn over plates to see who made them , who can name their favorite magazines , places , hotels , chefs , furniture designers , etc .
They know more than is required of the job because they love the industry , they can ’ t wait to see what the hotel under construction is going to look like or what the newest culinary trend will be .
If you are reading this magazine , you can recognize that passion because you have it . Asking someone questions such as , “ How do you stay up to date with the latest trends ?” and “ Who is your favorite leader in your field ?” will reveal what they are truly passionate about and if their passions align with the style and culture they are trying to become a part of .
To recap , hiring for luxury includes all the same principles of hiring in any other circumstance with an added layer of nuance and sophistication that befits the properties we serve . If you keep these 5 elements in mind , you will undoubtedly experience even greater success not only in your recruitment efforts but in the retention of your team .
About the author Maggie Reyes is a Recruitment Consultant and Life + Career Coach who believes in the intersection between love and work . She thinks that the more we love what we do , the more successful and fun it will be . In addition to her focus on recruiting for luxury hotel and cruise companies , she has been featured in several publications including : Brides , American Airlines Cents magazine , and the nationally syndicated radio show , Day Break USA . Maggie believes we can change the world of work one passionate person at a time . She is the Sr . HR & Recruitment Consultant at Hospitalio , the most connected hospitality search firm in the world reaching over 200,000 hospitality professionals in more than 90 countries . When she isn ’ t recruiting superstars , you can find her on Twitter at maggie . reyes001 or on Linked In at https :// www . linkedin . com / in / maggiereyes001 .
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