Top 5 Skills to Look for When Hiring in the Hospitality Industry

If your hospitality business experienced a slowdown during COVID-19, you are far from alone. Fortunately, as businesses open up across the country — or if you simply need additional staff — you’re probably more than ready to hire (or re-hire) for key positions.

When hiring for any position in your hospitality business, it’s important that you look for the hospitality skills and attributes essential to providing the best service and experience for your patrons. After all, hospitality is all about people.

Before you create your next job ad or review a hospitality resume, consider these five essential hospitality skills that your ideal candidates should possess.

1. Interpersonal Skills

Most hospitality employees need to communicate, coordinate, and cooperate with a broad range of people, including their fellow in-house staff, guests, and vendors. Regardless of your area of hospitality, your business primarily serves the public, so you need someone who respects your guests and wants to dutifully represent your business to everyone they meet and greet.

2. Commitment and Dedication

Imagine a hotel desk clerk who is unwilling to take a guest’s bags to their room when you are short-staffed. You clearly wouldn’t think of them as a committed and dedicated employee, willing to step out of their assigned role for the good of the guests and your business. Ensure your candidates are willing to go above and beyond to serve your customers and even take on “other duties as assigned.”

3. Flexibility

Flexibility is a characteristic that every hospitality organization needs from its staff. You know that you will frequently need to ask your employees to work long, difficult shifts, which sometimes include major holidays. Since these times are often the most profitable for your business, you need to rely on a dedicated team of workers who are willing to step up and provide coverage when needed.

4. A Strong Work Ethic

Your patrons depend on you to provide them with a fun, convenient, and safe experience. That means you need to count on your employees’ strong work ethic, which is a set of principles and values made up of the following characteristics:

• Hard work. The employee understands their duties and arrives each day ready to fulfill them and serve your customers.
• Punctuality. Employees with a strong work ethic show up on time and meet deadlines.
• Dedication. Another sign of a strong work ethic is when an employee goes above and beyond the basic requirements. They might stay late to cover for a sick employee’s shift or agree to cross-train to pitch in for additional needs.
• Productivity. Work ethic and productivity go hand-in-hand since employees with a strong work ethic use their time efficiently and effectively.

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5. Attention to Detail

Employees in the hospitality industry must pay close attention to guests’ comfort, satisfaction, and overall enjoyment. You need to know whether your candidates have a keen eye for details that will offer your guests a wonderfully memorable experience. And, a positive experience with your business will guarantee their return and good word-of-mouth advertising to friends and loved ones.

Do you need to hire a hospitality employee with these skills and more? Get started on iHireHospitality to find qualified candidates, fast.