Hotel & Motel Management: Creative recruiting helps hotels attract the best employees

In today's competitive hotel and resort industry, the delivery of consistent quality service is imperative to success. As we all know, service starts with employees. They represent the human side of the brand; they are the face and personality of a hotel. It is often these employees who create the most compelling points of differentiation between one hotel and another.

Efforts to recruit employees have evolved to meet the growing demands of the industry and expectations of guests. Many hotel companies have begun treating employee recruitment with the same level of importance they would a consumer branding campaign, portraying emotion-based messages to potential employees the way an image marketing campaign might be used to generate interest among potential guests.

Instead of the traditional recruitment effort (the standard black and white, all-text ad in Sunday's classified section), hotels and resorts are using colorful full-page ads in lifestyle magazines, witty dialogue in radio advertising and dramatic visuals on outdoor billboards to attract the "best of the best."

This is no doubt a large investment. But when a company is looking to find the highest quality people to bring their brand to life and deliver its promise on a daily basis, the investment is nothing short of critical.

Historically, hotel properties haven't put a significant amount of emphasis on this type of recruitment campaign assuming that potential employees would be motivated by classified ads and other straightforward tactics. But, if your hotel/resort needs to fill thousands of jobs and is looking for "the best" in those positions in a competitive market, you'll need to reach out to a large number of applicants and convince potential employees that the brand is commensurate with their aspirations.

Plenty of challenges present themselves when trying to motivate a highly skilled and desirable prospect to leave a stable job for your company. How do you attract qualified employees to leave their existing positions at an established property, who have tenure and retirement plans vested, to come to you? How do you attract college students to start as part-time employees and begin their careers at your establishment? What type of messages will convince these potential applicants to join a new venture with no established credibility in the community?

The answer to these questions is to treat prospective employee as you would a potential guest. In essence, the potential employee becomes your customer. The initial messages you deliver should come from an emotional place, not just a tactical one. Your communications program should creatively advocate what your hotel/resort brand stands for and provide a sense for how your company represents a better opportunity, a better work environment or an overall enhancement of life for the prospective employee.

An example of a megaresort that faced many of these issues is the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City. In a sense, Borgata redefined the market, as the first new hotel/resort to open in Atlantic City in 13 years ... a destination where many of the existing properties were struggling.

About 5,000 employees were needed before the opening of this 2,002-room casino resort in July 2003. In order to bring the Borgata brand to life, they sought the "best of class" across all job types. An aggressive local and regional advertising campaign was launched through magazines, newspapers, radio and billboards, encouraging applicants to apply online. Supplementing the advertising campaign was a program called "Laptops and Lemonade." A mobile unit took teams of staffers to the streets of Atlantic City with laptops, bringing applications directly to the public.

As Borgata was introducing a new level of quality, amenities and service in the Atlantic City market, the advertising tone and message for the employee recruitment campaign needed to communicate the same--that this wasn't going to be your typical hotel casino. The campaign was the result of solid research combined with strategy developed by Borgata's human resources and marketing departments as well as outside agencies.

The result was nearly 30,000 qualified job candidates applying online and a selection of employees that has been described as delivering the highest level of service in the marketplace and industry.

Success in the hospitality industry starts with attracting the best employees and team members. By being innovative and creative in attracting those hard-to-find individuals, you can fulfill your hotel's brand promises on a much more consistent basis. The days of relying solely on Sunday classifieds or industry trade journals are long gone. Prospective employees expect (and deserve) more.

hmm@advanstar.com

John Schadler is managing partner of Schadler Kramer Group, a marketing agency in Las Vegas that specializes in leisure and lifestyle brands. The company's Web site is www.skglasvegas.com.