SHS Blog

If Perception Is Reality, Are You At Risk?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Joe

Your attire, handshake and eye contact still matter significantly. But if your head is in the sand about your media presence, you need to get serious about ensuring your public media persona – your true first impression – is up to snuff.

In a study of 300 corporate hiring professionals conducted by social media monitoring service Reppler, the following was discovered:

  • 91% used social networking sites to screen candidates
  • 76% used Facebook, 53% used twitter and 48% used LinkedIn
  • 47% looked at candidates’ social network as a decision factor before contacting the candidate for the first interview
  • 69% have rejected a candidate based on what they saw
  • 68% have hired candidates based on what they saw

With almost 70% of hiring professionals rejecting or hiring based on your social media image, this demands your attention, especially since nearly half will seek your online profiles when they are deciding whether or not to invite you in for the first interview.

Are You Two-faced?

I may be dating myself here, and I’m still young enough to have only seen reruns, but nobody wants to hire an “Eddie Haskell” – someone who acts the part during the hiring process, and then turns out to be a fraud.

Employers are looking for immature behavior, poor communication skills, bad habits, and inappropriate photos. Obvious red flags are bad-mouthing employers, information about criminal behavior, use of an employer’s confidential information, and other morally offensive behavior.

Be selective of your online connections and monitor your pages and picture tags very often. Of your friends and family you may be the most virtuous, but employers may associate their bad behavior with you. If the class clown from high school is posting crass humor on your page, consider putting an end to his or her posts.

Do You Have a Positive Attitude?

Your social media image can also work for you if it is your content, language and pictures are clean and family-appropriate. Be positive and optimistic. Post about relevant subject matter in your profession, and create online networks of other enlightened professionals.

Sharing articles that your professional contacts will find enlightening is a great way to network. Post insights from trade association meetings and conventions you attend. Ask for support for charitable causes you support.

Do You Have The Basics Covered?

Your phone and email are also part of your media-self. Do not leave the default voicemail message on your phone. Personalize your voicemail greeting with a simple statement saying that you are away from the phone and will return the call right away. Avoid extraneous background that may make an impression on the caller such as music, wind, or recording your message in a loud public place. If you use a shared land line, be certain the other users will provide a good impression when they answer, and will take a detailed message for you.

Your personal email address and signature should also reflect your professionalism. Avoid incorporating your hobbies and interests into your email address, and stick to using your name only. As well, ensure that any images or information in your email signature is positive and relevant.

Mark Twain said, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” This was never more appropriate than in your social media presence.

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The End is Near! Are You Prepared for the Staffing Crisis?

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Joe

Insights for the hospitality field from a leading human resource development agency

By Curt Archambault, Vice President
People and Performance Strategies

 

Not talking about the Aztec calendar here, but the end of abundant candidates to fill the entry-level positions in restaurants, hotels and resorts. The employment market is changing and the years of hundreds of qualified applicants to fill each position are going to become rarer with each passing month.

Not too many years ago, the hospitality industry was struggling to find employees just to fill all the open positions (let alone find quality employees).  According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in April of 2005 the industry hit a peak of 683,000 job openings in the industry. That was followed by the next three years of over 600,000. This dropped dramatically starting in May of 2008 when the number of openings began to slide. 
Many Companies chose to decrease benefits and salary without focusing on employee engagement.  Applicants were beating down the doors for jobs…they went from being the hunted to the hunter.

So why the alarmist headline?

The data we are seeing now is going to spark celebrations when comparing revenue performance over prior year. The challenge is to not get too complacent because as this economy heats up…staffing is going to get tough.

If you look back you will find many Internet postings like these two talking about the challenging labor market the industry faced just a few short years ago:

These articles reflect the serious staffing crisis and CEO’s viewed staffing as either a # 1 or #2 priority. The challenge was we had great demand for products and services, but nobody to help deliver those products and services. That leads to declining top line results. 

Today’s smart companies project out the next few years and understand that today’s great staffing environment is going to change quickly.  The most recent job opening statistics show the number of openings in Jan 2012 at over 100K more than the three preceding years. Add to that the recent information about the current job market and you will come to the same conclusion…it is going to get tough, sooner rather than later.

These two articles are excellent examples of what I am talking about.

The workforce pool is becoming depleted, resulting in a more competitive environment for employees. What are you doing to create a competitive advantage with it comes to employee engagement?  Are you prepared for the end of easy hiring and staffing, as we know it? If not now, when?  You have been warned…

 

Curt Archambault is the Vice President for People and Performance Strategies and has over 30 years of experience in the training and development/performance consulting field for the hospitality industry. Mr. Archambault is responsible for business development as well as working with emerging and mid-size organizations seeking the right talent selection, training, development and HR practices to achieve the next level of growth.
 
Mr. Archambault experience includes having been responsible for a team of consultants charged with improving operational performance at client companies. He has initiated and led numerous personal and performance improvement strategies resulting in demonstrated growth at all levels. In addition, he has been a speaker on both the local and national level specializing in topics such as Return on Investment, Leading a Strategic Training function, and Executing First Class Guest Service.
 
Mr. Archambault is a member and past President for the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART). He majored in Business Management and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.
 

About People and Performance Strategies

People and Performance Strategies is a hands-on consultancy offering a full suite of human
resource assessment and development services. Clients include emerging and mid-size organizations seeking the right talent selection, training and HR practices to achieve the next level of growth.
Services offered are practical solutions based on extensive experience in all aspects of the
HR and training functions inside multi-unit organizations. For more information, please
visit the company’s web site at www.ppstrat.com and “Like Us” on the company’s Facebook  page at https://www.facebook.com/PeopleandPerformanceStrategies.
 
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10 Ways to Not Get Hired

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Joe

Reflecting on the ten years our agency has been serving the leading companies in hospitality, I can remember several times when I’ve exclaimed, “Now I’ve seen it all!”  Somehow, especially with the proliferation of technology and social media, job applicants create new ways to wreck their golden opportunities. 

Long ago in a decade far, far away, I had a candidate get off an airplane so inebriated that the corporate VP who picked him up at the airport almost took him to the hospital.  I had a candidate show up for an interview in flip-flops.  I had a candidate walk into a busy kitchen and declare, “Yep…I’ll be in charge here soon.”  Hence you’re having to endure recruiters’ “silly” questions before you interview with their clients…

As the economy recovers and some of you head out to interviews for the first time in several years, here are some sure-fire ways to wreck your chances and wreck your recruiter’s reputation in the process:

1. Lie

Exaggerate on your résumé.  Lie on the application.  Check the wrong box concerning your criminal past or credit history.  Lie about a reference.  And so on.  Employers will look past mistakes (the farther in the rear-view mirror the better), but nobody in their right mind hires a liar.

2. Job Hop

Even though hospitality and F&B are notorious professions for management turnover, job tenure is still the number one value our clients seek.  If you want a serious position of leadership by mid-career, then park it.  The strongest candidates can handle the ups-and-downs. 

3. Change Career Direction Every Few Years

This is Job Hop’s really close first cousin.  “I was a restaurant manager, then I opened a hot dog stand with my brother-in-law, then I sold real estate, then the economy nose-dived and I worked as a sous chef, and now I am absolutely ready for the general manager position.”  Wrong.  Employers value a steadily-progressive career. 

4. Live Only for Yourself

Inspirational leaders know that charismatic executives and managers live lives of service to their families, charitable causes, trade associations, and “mentorees” rather than just working to earn a paycheck.  They look for evidence that you are giving back to others and consider others before yourself.  

5. Make Stupid Mistakes on Your Cover Letter

Address your cover letter “To whom it may concern” for a swift death to your candidacy.  In the alternative, misspell the hiring authority’s name or any other proper noun.  If you can’t perfectly process a three paragraph letter, stop telling us how detail-oriented you are! 

6. Have an Uninspiring Mistake-ridden Resume

Follow these simple guidelines: don’t worry about consistent formatting, use large paragraphs, pay no mind to mistakes in the dates of your jobs, use the job description to describe your jobs, and be totally haphazard with spelling and grammar.  Nobody wants to be inspired by well-written, concise, quantifiable examples of the impact you have made. 

7. Fail to Prepare

You got it.  Just wing it.  Don’t research the company or think through what you will wear and bring with you.  Ignore potential traffic issues and weather.  Don’t review your accomplishments so you will be able to instantly recall all of your successes and challenges.  Don’t anticipate questions about how you would improve the department.

8. Leave Your Smile and Energy at Home

Because miserable, unmotivated, monotone suits are who you would hire to lead a staff to excellence in customer service!

9. Be Arrogant

Bring your cocky edge, your quick temper, and your lack of tolerance for stupidity and let it all play out in your body language and facial expressions.  You’ve been right every time so far…go or it!

10. Make Stupid Interview Mistakes

Answer your phone.  Check your IM’s.  Badmouth your boss.  Don’t take it from me; check out the most recent compilation from Careerbuilder and Forbes.

But seriously, success in the interview process requires conscientiousness.  If you steer clear of these 10 pitfalls, we want to get to know you better and help you gain access to the best career moves. 

Confidentially register with us here:
http://www.strategichospitalitysearch.com/sign_up.php

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Confrontation…Compromise or Combat?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Joe

If you lead a company, a property, a kitchen, or a team of any size, you do not have the luxury of being “non-confrontational.”  If you are working toward a goal, that means you and your team are being stretched to perform at higher levels.  That will produce stress and expose weaknesses.  As the leader you cannot allow such stresses to keep you from achievement, and therefore you will have to…ahem…confront them.

Confrontation does not have to be a combat.  It shouldn’t be.  You can make it a compromise, even in under the most difficult circumstances.  Here are five simple steps to move from combat to compromise:

1. Define the Goal

The main reasons for a confrontational discussion are violations of policy, procedure or ethics.  Once you know that a situation calls for a confrontation (“a face-to-face meeting” or “clash of ideas” according to Merriam-Webster), be certain to have absolute clarity about what boundary was crossed, why that is a problem, and what is your goal for the outcome.

You need to have a “mini-vision” for why you are calling the meeting.  You need to see the end result and the positive outcome whether that is mentoring your team member, improving performance, or ensuring adherence to policy and ethical practice.

2. Consider the Facts

It is critical to remove emotions and personal convictions.  Success is in the facts, not the feelings.  If you are in your emotions and convictions, you risk causing a dysfunctional argument instead of an objective mutual-growth situation.

Beware of prejudice.  Do not pre-judge based on innuendo or rumor, even when from a trusted source.  Give your colleague the benefit of the doubt.  There is always the possibility that you are wrong.

3. Be Clear About The Issue and Stay On Point

Though you may need to ask some preliminary questions to understand the situation, once you hit the heart of the matter, let there be no ambiguity.  Reinforce by asking the other party if they understand the reason for the discussion.  If they try to sidestep or introduce other issues, bring them back to the reason for the meeting. 

Here are some examples of how to respectfully to stay on point:
• “I realize it might be uncomfortable for you to have this discussion.  It’s not easy for me either.  But if we don’t work through this we’ll just have bigger and bigger problems down the road, and neither of us wants that, right?” 
•  “I respect your opinion about that, and we can discuss that later today or tomorrow, but right now we need to address ‘x,’ okay?”
• “Your input on that matters to me, and I welcome it.  Let’s block some time to go over that.  What we really need to focus on now is “x.”  Can we get back to that?”

4. Listen More Than You Speak

Listen intently, because they have the right to be heard and if you want respect you have to give respect.  This situation calls for your very best interpersonal and communication skills because your body language and facial expressions will tell the other party how you really feel. 

If you shut them down with words or body language, you will exasperate the problem and cause further division rather than coaching and teambuilding.  Here is a quick comparison:

Good: Bad:
eye contact eye rolls
arms at side arms folded
head still or nodding head shaking
body leaning forward body slumped

5. Propose a Solution and Close the Loop

Once the issue has been talked-through, propose a solution or reiterate the policy, procedure, or ethical boundary.  Ask for their agreement and commitment to rectify the situation.  Restate and record the mutually-agreed plan.  Shake hands and agree to monitor the progress.

Now I know every confrontation is not going to be smooth and civil, because no two personalities are the same.  But if you remain calm, give respect, listen intently, and stay on point, you can be consistent and turn confrontations from combative experiences into exercises in mentoring and teambuilding.

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Successful Leaders Cultivate Soft Skills

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Joe

Did you ever meet someone who was absolutely brilliant; knows everything about their particular craft or field and yet doesn’t seem to have gone as far with their career as they should have by now?  Have you ever worked for a multiunit leader or executive who consistently achieved their goals and made it look easy?

In both cases emotional intelligence or “EI” made the difference.

According to Emotional Intelligence 2.0, EI measures four areas:
• Self-awareness – your ability to accurately perceive your own emotions in the moment and understand your tendencies across situations
• Self-management – your ability to use your awareness of your emotions to stay flexible and direct your behavior positively
• Social Awareness – your ability to accurately pick up on emotions in other people and understand what is really going on with them
• Relationship Management – your ability to use your awareness of your own emotions and those of others to manage interactions successfully

Why work on your EI?

Leadership requires a higher level of EI.  If you aspire to grow into a multiunit or executive position, you have to polish your “soft skills” as well as your expertise in operations, financial performance, human resources, marketing and compliance.  Soft skills are tied to your emotional behavior and include attitude, communication skills, finesse, candidate selection skills, flexibility, ability to accept criticism, self-confidence, ability to work on or lead teams, humility, time management, and many more.

True leaders are always improving.  Even though our habits, personality, and the way we processes thoughts become generally set by the time we exit puberty, we can change aspects of our behavior through a willful modification of habits. 

In the last decade, I have seen a steady and dramatic increase in the use of pre-employment assessments in the hiring process in the hospitality sector.  These used to be reserved for middle management and executive-level applicants; maybe a high volume general manager or executive chef with a progressive company.  Now these assessments are part of the online application process for every level from the boardroom to hourly crew for hotels and QSR restaurants.

When asked your “opportunities” or “areas of improvement” during an interview, having a plan to overcome your behavioral weaknesses as well as your business acumen will demonstrate your commitment to self-improvement, a great leadership trait.  Astute interviewers see great value in a person who is self-aware and committed to self-improvement.

Two Easy Steps

I suggest two assessments and a 15 minute per week time investment.  Changes will not, and should not, happen overnight.

First, take the Emotional Intelligence 2.0 assessment.  This small investment of $20 and 10 minutes will give you an instant read of your EI, and provide a couple simple ways to make changes.  You can also retake the assessment several months later to check your progress.

Second, take the DiSC assessment which measures your behavior and personality based on four areas: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness.  The DiSC is really valuable because it provides detailed insight into your behavioral preferences and inclinations.  In addition, you learn how to identify the behavior of others, and methods to make communication and interaction more successful.  The investment is greater than the EI, and so is the return.

Joleen Goronkin, veteran restaurant human resources executive and past president of the Council of Hotel & Restaurant Trainers (ChaRT), is the ideal resource for you to take and understand the DiSC profile.  She is an expert not only on workplace behavior, but also within the restaurant and hospitality sectors.  Contact Joleen at People and Performance Strategies to schedule your assessment and debrief.

Understanding your behavior and the behavior of others is a very valuable asset, and a big piece of your set of soft skills.  To commit to improvement and periodic reassessment is to commit to becoming a great leader!

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