Harri's Summer Series: Recruitment and Branding

August 2nd marked the third and penultimate session of Harri's Summer Series. Due to a high volume of attendees, we hosted two sessions:  an interactive breakfast discussion and a round-table dinner. Put shortly – it was an extremely productive day for all involved!

At the breakfast event, attendees from brands such as Cote, Mitchells & Butlers, wagamama, and ETM Group gathered together in the beautiful Marx room at Quo Vadis Soho on a sunny summer day in London. The group was comprised of more than 20 recruiters from leading restaurants/pubs and hotel groups, guest speakers from Indeed, The Prince's Trust, and several members of the Harri team. 

The Harri Summer Series is all about the Employee Value Proposition (EVP): how we, employers within the hospitality sector, can make our people feel valued during the hiring process as well as in their roles.  Our sessions break EVP down into 4 pillars: Compensation & Benefits, Recruitment & Branding, Performance & Development, and Engagement. 

This session, which focused on Recruitment & Branding, was hosted by Cleo Clarke (Global VP of HR Strategy & Development at Harri). It began with introductions and splitting the group into teams of four. After the surprisingly difficult task of ‘name your team’ was complete, the session was in full swing! (We'd like to crown ’Hospitality Hotties’ as the winners of the name game.)  

The teams were asked to spend 10 minutes discussing 4 topics - Candidate Experience, Recruitment Process, Employer Branding, and Recruitment KPIs - focusing on best practices and innovation.  

The mix of industry vertical (restaurant/pub/hotel) and company size (small scale/multi-site/global) within the groups turned discussion into debate on the differing visions and strategies a brand could have with regards to the four topics mentioned above. We decided to take the best ideas from each group (or, as we like to call them, the best 'nuggets') and summarize them for you below. Here are our golden nuggets! 

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How should you ensure your candidates have the best possible experience when applying for your brand? 

• It’s about the candidate - not you. Interview candidates at the site they will be working at, or go to them. Don’t make them come to you for convenience! 
• Think ahead. It’s not just about the day of the interview – understand the candidate's career progression beforehand in order to help them see and believe there is a future for them with your brand.
• Scrap the traditional interview. By making candidates fill out endless forms, are you just going through the motions? Get creative with your interviews to make the process engaging and in alignment with your brand.
• People understand and trust their peers. Have prospective managers meet other managers during the interview process. 
• Create a relaxing environment for prospective team members. They may be nervous and you'll want to alleviate this as best you can. 
• Give your general managers a voice in the hiring process to help prioritize positions and find the right people. They probably have a better understanding than you of who is needed.
• Make sure you have the right "recruitment toolbox" in place. Having the best resources on hand will make the process seamless. 
• Survey your candidates after the recruitment process to learn from your mistakes and build on your successes. 

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What does your current process look like? Is it in line with U.K. regulations?

• Right to Work: do it at the first opportunity you have (i.e. at interview stage).
• Ensure your managers are trained on and understand GDPR.
• Ensure there is consistency throughout the interview process.
• Think ahead to whether factors like seasonality, time of year, site location will cause any challenges in the recruitment process. Solve these problems before they occur.
• Implement a two-stage interview for team members and a three-stage interview for managers.
• Promoting the position internally should always be part of the initial process!

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How important is employer branding? The perpetual struggle between consumer and employer marketing needs to end. How can we end it, and why do we need to? 

• Your employees are your consumers (and vice versa); therefore, employer branding matters.
• Align your employer branding with the vision your company is trying to create. Are you a large brand that wants consistency, or are you trying to be independent and sustain individual identity per site? Hire people who encompass and help define your vision.
• Don’t shout about yourself – let others shout about you through reviews, social media, referrals, and word of mouth. Let them promote you!
• Employer brand vs. talent brand is a concept that Indeed practices. The employer brand is what the leadership team looks to create for their employees from the top-down. The talent brand is the reality - how your workforce feels, who they've become, and how they've grown by joining your brand. Focus on your talent brand and then try to connect it to your employer brand. 
• Employ the three C's of messaging: Concise, consistent and catchy. The Prince's Trust slogan, ‘Youth can do it,' is a great example. Their message is displayed everywhere - down to the kitchen mugs - which really motivated the team and brought the message home.

“Employer Brand is certainly important, but equally, it’s crucial to know what employees are experiencing every day. I call this the Talent Brand.”

— Matt Price, Indeed

“Employee branding Is your employees – it needs to come from within.”

— Louise Gallant, Gallant Recruitment

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In the recruitment process, everyone has the standard KPI, including time-to-hire and candidate source. What else can we target? 

• Focus on the quality of candidates, not the volume.
• Have a family tree for your business so candidates and employees can see where they fit in and understand how they can grow. 
• Good candidate experience should be a KPI - survey candidates to measure this. Good candidate experience is the strongest indicator of a great brand to work for!

“The staff that stay with the company the longest are those who have been referred from within.”

— Stephanie Latham, ETM Group

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The session ended on a high note, as select attendees presented their group's takeaways to the larger audience. Everyone left with at least one action item for their business.

The top takeaway was that we all face the same day-to-day challenges within our recruitment and branding processes. Coming together to brainstorm how to overcome them and stay innovative in the competitive, fast–paced hospitality landscape was icing on the cake!

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We would like to extend a special thank you to our guests Matt Price from Indeed and Bob Clewley from The Prince's Trust! Here is a recap of what they had to say: 

Matt Price, Indeed: 
Matt asked everyone in the room who had heard of Indeed or had been on the site to raise their hands – unsurprisingly, everyone did. Interestingly, the number of hands raised halved when Matt asked who could actually explain the Indeed model (how it works and how clients are charged). To learn more, connect with Matt at mprice@indeed.com.

Bob Clewley, The Prince's Trust: 
Bob started off by stating that while everyone knows the Prince's Trust as an organization that does ‘good stuff,' not many people realize that it works very closely with the hospitality sector. Get Hired is a team within the trust that helps and supports young people by coaching them through mock interviews and providing them with training and guidance. Get Hired aims to match hospitality companies with these young, talented individuals who are determined to get into a career within the sector. The team is free and events where employers can meet potential candidates are hosted once a month. If you would like further information, or if you cannot attend an event but have vacancies that need filling, please connect with Bob at Bob.Clewley@princes-trust.org.uk

The Quarterback of Your Restaurant: The Hostess

When I am consulting to the restaurants I work with I see it again and again: the host is utilized merely as a friendly sentinel at the front of the restaurant and is tasked with answering the phone, greeting and seating guests and being nice to customers. While this is incredibly important, this is not the only purpose of this position. I wonder how many hosts are told: “your job is to make money for the restaurant”? Or “your ability to convince people to wait for a table when they walk in is the key to the restaurant’s success?” The host or hostess will always create the first impression of your business, in person and on the phone. But the host’s primary function is to make money for the restaurant by seating as many guests as possible between the opening and closing hours of the restaurant.

When you empower your host by telling him that his responsibility is to the bottom line it changes things; it creates a more level playing field on the team. Usually the host is on the low rung of the restaurant heirarchy. When the host is charged with impacting the bottom line, the servers and bartenders are no longer the only sales people on the floor. The hosts are now part of the sales team as they are ultimately responsible for making the sale by capturing the sale.  Once we make the hosts responsible for the bottom line we must include the bussers as well. Their ability to clear and reset tables makes it easier for the host to seat another guest and make more money for the operation. The runners contribute to this by keeping up the pace of the kitchen and ensuring that the food is paced out, the guests are served and no one is waiting for their meal to arrive.

It takes a team of people to serve just one guest and it takes a collaborative team to serve hundreds of guests a night.  When you can turn your host into someone with her fingers on the purse strings of the business it is ultimately profitable for your operation. And I have attest to the fact that being a host who knows she drives the business is way more fascinating, empowering and satisfying to her than just being stationed at the front and being nice. As an owner or manager, can really teach your hosts how the hospitality, kindness and etiquette they show to your guests can drive your bottom line in a meaningful and lasting way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate Edwards is a speaker, author, customer service expert, and leadership coach based in NYC. She owns and operates Kate Edwards & Company, a boutique consulting firm that specializes in customer experience and leadership.

Diversity Training in the Hospitality Workplace

Years ago in the 1960s, the word 'diversity' started to gain traction. Starting in the 1980s, many major corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations began holding diversity training and rolling out diversity initiatives.

Today, diversity training is more important than ever, due to demographic changes; added dimensions and depths of diversity to include gender, race, ethnicity and
sexual orientation; and the '#MeToo' movement.

If you haven't already done so, it’s time for your organization to start laying the groundwork for a formalized policy that embraces and celebrates diversity and promotes inclusion.

As a minority, I have always looked to work for organizations that embrace diversity and have a proven method of ensuring that the culture of the company is committed to diversity; that their philosophy fulfills its obligation under the law as well as company policies and procedures.

Risks of Not Having a Diversity Strategy

If you don’t implement a formal diversity strategy, you run the risk of being viewed as a company that just isn’t in tune with the times. Equality in the workplace is top of mind for businesses, governments, regulators, society, and – most important of all – the vital talent that will drive our future success.

The hospitality world tends to be slower to move on these types of initiatives, especially in smaller organizations. Additionally, many programs designed to change cultures sometimes take longer than initially planned to implement - or they fail completely.

There may also be costs associated with legal compliance: Potential costs include record-keeping systems, staff training, and communicating new policies. However, the extent of these costs for a specific business will be minimal in comparison to the potential future cost (or loss) to your entire organization due to issues that could arise from not having such a policy in place. 

Benefits of Having a Diversity Strategy

There are many benefits to implementing a diversity plan. Today, people are constantly inundated with anti-bias attitude and behaviors. By generating awareness of diversity issues, it will bring about more cohesiveness in teams.

A formal diversity strategy also helps your company increase retention and reduce turnover. Businesses that fail to promote an inclusive work environment tend to have higher turnover rates. The failure to retain qualified employees results in avoidable turnover-related costs at the expense of a company’s profits. Having a diverse and discrimination-free work environment helps businesses avoid these costs.

The hospitality industry is also suffering from a recruiting epidemic. It is so difficult to find good, qualified talent. Diversity fosters a more diverse candidate pool. The ability to source candidates from the largest and most diverse set of candidates is increasingly necessary to succeed in the Hospitality market today.

Here are steps you can take to roll out your very own diversity initiative:

1. Assess your present company diversity awareness. Make sure you have a strong understanding of where you are, where you want to go and where you want to be as it relates to a full diversity strategy and your company.
2. Clearly outline expectations you have of yourself and others in the workplace in terms of creating a respectful, inclusive, and non-discriminatory environment.
3. Gain knowledge and identify personal and work goals to help build a diverse and inclusive workforce.
4. Ensure you have the buy-in of top management and the entire work population.
5. Appoint a 'Diversity Champion.' This person will lead the charge on the diversity initiative and will assist you in meeting deliverables.
6. Form a committee with lead members from every department.
7. Establish a formal project plan. Ensure the project plan addresses questions such as:
   1. Where are we now?
   2. Where do we want to be?
   3. How will we get there?
   4. How will we know when we have got there?
   5. How will we know if we have been successful?
   6. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound)
8. Know your audience. Not all work environments are the same. Different people require different types of training and materials. Avoid trying to adapt training materials created for other companies and not specific to your goals.
9. Ensure you have established and rolled out initiatives that are engaging.
10. Be sure to have weekly updates and wrap-up assessments after the training sessions.
11. Ongoing examination of employment practices and policies that promote diversity.
12. Continuous employment equity and diversity training and awareness programs.
13. Ensure your workplace diversity policy is a living document.
14. Lastly, be sure to utilize technology, as it will assist you in rolling out the training initiatives.

Remember: This is a process and will not happen overnight! You must be patient and trust the process. The companies that successfully implement diversity training and education of their staff are the ones constantly working to identify and address systemic barriers embedded within policies, practices, programs, and services that inadvertently exclude individuals or whole communities (bonus: they're also usually the companies that add to their bottom line). 

The guidance I've outlined above includes just a few of the tools and support you'll need to help you identify and address systemic diversity barriers to build a diverse and inclusive workforce broadly representative of the employees you employ and communities you serve.

So, go ahead and make your company a better place to work!

About the Author: Cleo Clarke is the Vice President of Human Resources Strategy & Development at Harri. Cleo is a senior HR professional and has held an executive role in the hospitality industry for more than 15 years. 

Product & Feature Updates: July 2018

We're excited to share our latest product and feature releases!

One-Touch 

Mobile Job Posting

Save time by posting jobs directly from predefined custom templates, and repurpose your frequently used job descriptions for future openings.

This is part of our Harri Hire mobile app features and improvements for both iOS and Android.

Intelligent Interviews

Interviewing on instinct isn’t enough. Create an optimized set of interview questions for each position across your business for more consistent and compliant interview practices. We've added the ability to create phone and/or interview questions on position, category, location and enterprise levels. Hiring Managers rate candidate responses, improving interview outcomes and providing you valuable data re questions that find the best fit.

Speed to Hire: Faster Interview Scheduling

Send interview invites, properly coordinated with location, interviewer availability and calendars right from our mobile app. Our Advanced Interview Scheduler is now supported by the Harri Hire app, meaning you can customize your interview process from anywhere. 

Internal Jobs Portal

Turnover in hospitality is among the highest across all industries. One of the best and most efficient ways to combat this is to hire from within. With our Internal Jobs Portal, you now have the ability to offer new roles to existing employees before the broader market. This is often a great boost to your employer brand. For clients in certain cities, this will also help comply with new predictive scheduling regulations. a

Because internal job posts are being promoted to a pool of talent that already serves as employees, managers can create different job descriptions and/or screening questions from external job posts. Internal job posts are pushed to the business’ internal career portal (similar to external career portal and can be accessed from the hiring dashboard).

Regardless of where candidates come from, both internal and external postings are managed through the same Applicant Management System. Candidates coming from internal job posts are automatically tagged as ‘Internal’ as a source, which is displayed on SpeedyScreen and reflected in sourcing reports.

Advanced Source + Hire Reports

The war for talent has never been so intense: 24 hours from 'apply to action' is now far too long.

Our newest reports - Time in Workflow, Talent Bank, and Unfilled Vacancies - give automated insight into the lifecycle and habits of your candidates and help you stay ahead of the hiring game. 

Time in Workflow allows you to see your candidates' total time in your company’s workflow. With columns such as Shortlist Time, Recruiter Time, and Hiring Manager Time, you can easily see the amount of time each candidate, position, or overall average candidate is spending in each portion of your hiring process. This allows you to see weak areas in your hiring funnel and proactively make improvements to enhance the experience for recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates alike. 

Talent Bank enables you to see the scores of candidates based on their position in the flow (first stage, second stage, or third stage) and their status (which mirrors your applicant tracking dashboard, and includes Offer, Interview, Applicant, Skip, Screening Stage, or Onboarding). 

Unfilled Vacancies gives recruiters and hiring managers better view of unfilled jobs with ability to view jobs with different statuses: Active, Paused, Expire, Active-Public, and Active-Private. 

We are constantly striving to improve our reporting options for our clients. These Enterprise-level reports are emailed to you in CSV form for the date range you enter and provide aggregated data across all locations. Managers have the ability to set date ranges and the generated report will be sent via email to the logged-in user. If you are interested in turning on these reports, simply reach out to your customer success representative for more information. 

Enhanced Resume/CV Visibility

Often, applicants may be suited to a different role than that applied for, or possess skills that may be useful in the future. That's why we created our Talent Pool platform.

You now have the ability to access a candidates' resume or CV from within the Talent Pool and/or My Docs. You no longer need to access it only through Speedy Screen, which makes it even easier to build and manage your team. Simply navigate to either section and find the candidate you’d like to review. By clicking on their profile, you will see a new option for ‘CV/Resume.’ This allows you to complete the screening process or reference an employees' experience even faster than before. Managers will be able to view resumes submitted by applicants on My Docs and Talent Pool. 

Job Posting Permissions

As a busy hospitality industry professional, you need to streamline workflow while maintaining top security and protecting your brand. Our new Expanded Manager Permissions allows Admins and Super-Admins to change their settings and allow Managers to post jobs (or bar them from posting jobs).

With these new options, the names of managers will be shown under User Management in your Settings. You’ll see that you now have the option to check their name for no changes, or uncheck their name to grant them the ability to post jobs. 

Business Media Configuration Options

Creating a strong and relevant employer brand is key to attracting the best talent. This new feature allows you to apply specific images and videos to individual job postings, helping curate the applicant experience. This can be used by companies of all sizes, but is especially useful to multi-concept operators. 

Timesheet Export Improvements

We have added multiple improvements and extra fields to Timesheet export, including the following columns: 

• Scheduled: Hours scheduled for the shift. 
• Scheduled In: Shift scheduled start time. 
• Scheduled Out: Shift scheduled end time.
• Variance: Worked hours - Scheduled hours

We've also made many enhancements, including the following: 

• Changed date format to MM/DD/YYYY
• Removed seconds when displaying hours. Format is now HH:MM
• Renamed "Out" to "Actual Out"
• Renamed "In" to "Actual In"

*These enhancements may affect your account. Please check in with all appropriate members of your team to ensure you're implementing the updates that will best serve your business.