Creating a successful business requires a lot of hard work. It also requires hard-working employees. Even the most business-savvy executives can only do so much without good employees beneath them. It is the same for hoteliers. Nobody you interview is going to be perfect, but there are certain qualities you can look for that will let you know who will be a good employee. Regardless of the level of responsibility or difficulty of the job, you can’t go wrong hiring people with these qualities.
- Punctuality
Coming from someone who has spent their entire life striving to be on time, this is one of the absolute most important things to look for. Someone being on time says a lot about a person, way more than just that they can show up when they are supposed to. Someone who is concerned about showing up on time is concerned about the people they are going to meet. They are concerned with the consequences of wasting others’ time. Someone who is punctual shows a level of organization in their personal life that will likely carry over into any job they work. Anyone can show up on time to an interview, so it can be hard to tell if someone is actually punctual or not. Look for little clues in their past work history. The reason I still include info about my custodial work from 4 AM to 7 AM in my resume is to show that I can wake up when I need to and show up on time, any time.
- Communication Skills
Almost nobody works completely alone all the time. We all work with others and we all have to communicate with our coworkers in order to get our jobs done. Poor communication has doomed many a project throughout the years and makes life way harder than it needs to be. While it’s true that some people are just quieter than others, this does not preclude them from communicating effectively. Effective communication is efficient, and all employees should be capable of getting their point across.
- Willing and Able to Learn
No matter how much experience someone has, or how much schooling, everybody needs to be trained when they get hired. Every business does things differently, and if nothing else it takes time to get up to speed with the company’s operations. New employees should be good listeners who look to learn as much as they can. They must be willing to adapt and change the way they may have done things to the way that your company does things. Even after initial training, new technology and procedures can be implemented that will require new training. No employee should feel complacent. There is always something to learn and improve on.
- Integrity
Hiring employees with strong integrity fosters a culture of honesty in a business. It should be obvious that you don’t want your custodians stealing toilet paper, but integrity is more than that. It involves every interaction they have with guests and other employees. From time to time we all face decisions that test our integrity. Having employees that pass that test means you can trust them in important situations and your guests can trust them too.
As I stated before, these qualities can be hard to spot with only quick interviews with someone. Do your best, and if you hire somebody that ends up being late all the time, don’t feel like you did anything wrong. The hiring process is far from perfect, and everyone will be the best version of themselves when you meet them. But if you look for these things and find them in people, you won’t just be hiring good employees, you’ll be finding potential leaders in your company. These are the type of people who work well in any position. As they learn, your business will grow.
