Developing and implementing an effective hotel recruitment strategy is all very well, but how many organisations actually seriously focus upon employee retention, which is arguably the most important component? asks Jeff Ross, managing director of Hospitality Graduate Recruitment.

There are obvious benefits of managing effectively employee retention. Reduced recruitment costs, reduced labour turnover percentages, higher workforce efficiency and competency, reduced training costs, higher customer satisfaction… all common sense really. 

For hospitality graduate recruitment, the issues and benefits of managing employee retention are magnified.  Generally speaking, it is likely that a higher level of training and time investment have gone into both the recruitment and induction of a graduate. 

Perhaps more importantly though, the benefits that can be gained by retaining and developing a graduate within a business, far outweigh the argument of cost. 

Graduate recruitment remains a valuable yet relatively poorly managed recruitment segment within the international hospitality industry. 

Few companies have found the right strategy for understanding and managing effectively this diversity of talent that is eager and motivated to enter the workforce.

The sheer diversity of international schools, universities, qualifications and, of course students, means that it is hard to treat the topic in a generic fashion, and almost impossible to consider graduate expectations uniformly. 

Employers must therefore make more effort to understand the offerings of each educational establishment, correlating this information to the recruitment needs of their organisation. 

The good news about this diversity, is that it means that there are hospitality graduates in the market that look for entry level, supervisory and junior management roles

Some basic must do’s for hotel employers

• Ensure your salary and benefits packages are fair for the role and experience of the graduate
• Ensure the graduate has clearly defined personal objectives that are measurable and regularly appraised.  Most graduates are used to environments where they receive high levels of performance feedback
• Ensure the manager or supervisor of the graduate clearly understands the expectations of both the graduate and of the organisation employing the graduate
• Give the graduate relevant, project based tasks in addition to their daily role
• Ensure the early weeks of employment are very well structured, with plenty of contact with management personnel
• Manage the long term career expectations of the graduate from the beginning via open, honest and realistic discussions and planning of how the graduate can progress in the organisation.  Make clear and define what needs to be learned, experienced, and achieved before any future role can be realistically considered

Understanding hospitality graduate expectations is key >>

Marriott Hotels International signs Hospitality Graduate Recruitment to promote graduate programme >>

Hilton signs up recruitment company to promote its graduate programme >>

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