REPORT FROM THE U.S.—After cutting to the bone during the recession, many hotel companies are looking to add some muscle, focusing on middle-management recruitment to bring operations back up to speed.
“The muscle … were some of these mid management positions that in good times helped direct the implementation of the hotels’ strategic plans,” said Chuck Conine, founder of Hospitality HR Solutions. “… They really represent the core competencies for their trade, and the hotels can’t do without them.”
The need for employees at this level also stems from a growth of management companies, according to Erica Arnold, VP with HVS Executive Search.
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Chuck Conine |
“There’s less of an inclination for these companies to own hotels, and people are delving into the management of the properties,” she said. “There’s a greater need for top talent in the middle-management field.”
Key candidate characteristics
Fortunately for hoteliers, the breadth of layoffs during the past 24 months has resulted in a depth of talent at the middle-management level. Here are six key characteristics you should keep on your radar.
1. A cultural fit
The most important criteria Isabell Dreher looks for in good candidates—whether they be in middle management or on the front lines—is a complementary cultural fit. As director of human resources for Edmonds, Washington-based The Hotel Group, which operates more than 30 properties in 10 states, she said it’s crucial that any potential hire exudes a hospitable air.
“From the moment we meet them, if there’s not a smile from ear to ear … we go, ‘This isn’t the right person for our team,’” Dreher said.
Hiring an employee at the middle-management level is akin to a marriage of sorts, HVS’s Arnold said. If a candidate is used to working in a very structured environment, for example, and your company offers a setting that’s much looser, you want to make sure it’s a good fit.
2. Track of tenure
“Long solid tenures are important,” Arnold said.
Conversely, consider it a red flag if a candidate has jumped around a lot. You’ll obviously want to check under the hood in such cases, Arnold said. If an employee has followed around the same GM for the past decade, that’s perfectly reasonable. But if that same employee is job hopping because of a lack of company loyalty, that’s another issue altogether.
3. Consistency of career ascensions
Has a candidate plateaued at one level of the managerial hierarchy? If so, why? Perhaps more unnerving: Has a candidate been demoted?
4. Success with measurable objectives
Some middle-management disciplines are rife with measureable objectives you can use to discern past performance, Arnold said. Ask candidates for past revenue goals, flow-through and other objectives to track success.
5. Flexibility and a lean operating focus
If the recession has taught us anything, it’s that there’s a need for middle managers to be quick on their feet while maintaining efficiency in day-to-day operations, Conine said.
“They have to be able to respond quickly to changing business conditions,” he said.
6. Strategic thinking
Gone are the days when a middle manager would simply review sales reports or engage in mundane transactional interactions. Today’s hires must focus on long-term strategy—how the decisions of today will affect the success and profitability of tomorrow, Conine said.
“They’ll spend far less time reading reports. … That’s because hotel operating companies, even the management companies … they’re really picking up on their understanding of developing strategies and executing on the strategies versus knee jerk reactions,” he said.
Betting on a bargain
With United States unemployment numbers still hovering near all-time highs, some desperate hotel industry job seekers are willing to accept positions below their level of expertise and experience just to secure a paycheck.
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Erica Arnold |
At The Hotel Group, for instance, Dreher said former middle managers now are applying for hourly positions. Likewise, it’s not uncommon for former high-level managers to apply for positions in the middle-management track.
Hotel companies who “hire up” might get a bargain in the process (in the form of more experienced, knowledgeable employees for a discounted price), but are they also getting a disloyal or disgruntled employee who will jump ship the moment a position more befitting their skill set becomes available?
That needn’t be the case, Conine said. By promoting an open discourse in the hiring process, both the hotel company and the employee will leave mutually satisfied.
For example, you can tell a more experience manager that while you’re bringing her on for a middle-management position now, you plan to promote within 18 months, and then promote her again to a high-level position within 36 months.
Hire the candidate for the future needs of the company, Conine said, not just the needs of the day.
“There’s something for the candidate in terms of the challenge for right now as well as the challenge the hotel is talking about in the next 18 to 36 months,” Conine said. “In return, the hotel gets somebody who’s mature. They’re getting somebody with experience that allows them to look beyond the job they’re in today. And they’re getting somebody most likely with a longer-term focus.”