Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Customer service in the hospitality industry is the bread and butter to successful customer relations. It reflects how the rest of your business runs, and how customers perceive your company can fall short from a simple interaction – whether that be from front of line, email, telephone or social media. all interactions with customers should reflect a positive guest experience.
Hiring for attitude is the number one way to bring excellent customer service to your business.
To get ahead with positive customer service, your company needs to hire the right people for the job – the types of individuals with bursting personalities and upbeat attitudes that reflect the company’s core values. There are company protocols in place for a reason, and the best customer service teams use employees’ personalities to play to each individual customer and situation.
Basics of hiring for attitude, teach the skills:
The basic premise of this method of hiring is business and people focused – meaning that who is representing your establishment is the most important factor, and identifies new employees as an investment and a contributor to success. This is critical in today’s economy to stand out from the crowd.
By following these simple tips on what to look for in potential new employees, you will be sure to find people that represent your business as true brand ambassadors, have a good head on their shoulders and the rest will come with ease:
Aligning Culture
Every business has a culture that is based on values, procedures and expectations. New employees should have aligning cultural strengths and be adaptable to this setting, as they will be spending a lot of time here. By knowing what your business culture is you will be able to find suitable candidates that fit in naturally.
Take Google Headquarters Googleplex for example, they not only hire for ability over experience – they have unique office culture that ranges from office slides, free gourmet meals, skateboarding in hallways, and no dress code. Yes, these perks do sound amazing, but they come with the extra cost of working longer days with the expectations that employees do not have to leave the office as often. This is why aligning culture is so important in any business setting – not everyone will agree even to Google’s expectations.
Compatibility
Hiring employees based on compatibility ensures that they are fit for the hospitality industry and will get along with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders. Compatibility aligns with culture and the feeling that they are the ‘right fit’ for the position and the company. With aligning values, comes the right mindset – don’t think that you can change an employee down the road, look for passion and compatibility to get those ‘shinning stars’ that will showcase your business.
Hiring In a nutshell
The simple method of hire for the hospitality industry and rules for smart hiring:
- Mindset
- Attitude
- Personal attributes
Remember, it is not about finding people with the right experience but the right mindset and above all attitude. These are the traits that will impact your business and your guests’ experiences, and will be the reason they return. When in doubt, to get a true sense of how customer service experience is ranking is to invest in a guest experience audit by inviting a secret shopper into your establishment, you can learn exactly which aspects of your service need to be addressed.
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