Hire character, train skill:

Spending time hiring the right employee is crucial for any business, but when your business is customer service focused and your employees are at the forefront of your business, you really need to ensure that you hire for character above skill and experience. Yes, experience is important and so is education and skill, but if your employees don’t have the right attitude and character for your company culture, you could be making a huge mistake that can ultimately damage your brand and profits.  
 
Skill can be taught to a certain degree and yes there are those people who just “get it” when it comes to hospitality, but you really want to focus your strategic recruitment on hiring for character and people who are the right fit for your business. I would rather train someone who is friendly, enthusiastic and a go getter with little experience than hire someone with a ton of experience who doesn’t have the right character fit for the venue.

​When your business is customer service, you want your staff to be personable, friendly and efficient, as this will speak volumes of your brand and will assist in ensuring your customers become repeat customers. Good service is good business.
 
I think everyone could pull to mind an experience (or multiple) where they have received less than satisfactory service from someone who is unfriendly, doesn’t want to be there (in fact they seem like they would rather be anywhere else), and who doesn’t understand the meaning of being hospitable. I think we often forget in hospitality that our first and most important job is to be hospitable to our customers.
 
Spending time hiring the right employees who are a good cultural fit for your venue goes a long way to minimizing issues with service before they happen. If you spend the time recruiting well, asking targeted interview questions, listening to what the applicant really has to say, and screening/ reference checking your potential new employees, your business will enjoy a higher calibre of employee with less issues. Recruit hard so you can manage soft is always a good strategy. And of course customer service training is a must for all new hires.
 
Tell us your thoughts?
 
KB
 
BK Agency offers recruitment services to find the right employees for your business. Whether you are looking for one specific role to fill or you need to fill multiple roles for a new venue we offer services to assist with this. We are the experts so leave hiring your most valuable asset, your people, to us. 
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