Your Recruiting Process Reflects Your Company's Image
by Bob Gershberg, CEO/Managing Partner, Wray Executive Search
We in the hospitality industry are driven to delight our guests. We roll out the red carpet for the chap buying his morning cup of coffee. We do somersaults to serve up a San Pellegrino, no ice with lemon to the classy lady at the bar. And heaven knows we will bring service to unparalleled levels when the jovial four top orders that second bottle of Alexander Valley cab. How is it then, we so often treat the six-figure executive who has shown great interest in joining our team so poorly? Time to role out the red carpet!
Facilitating the recruiting process from phone screen to job offer is cumbersome at best. Accommodating the busy schedules of both candidate and hiring authority can test any admin’s mettle. Add the burden of travel arrangements, flight delays and day to day snafus along with the gathering of feedback from the various parties involved, it is no wonder the process can become overwhelming. But wait….we are restaurant and hospitality folks. We thrive on an industry with lots of moving parts. We are best when challenged with a bit too much on our plates. The truth is we need to focus on treating the professionals interviewing with our companies as we do our guests.
by Rebecca Patt, Senior Vice President of Development, Wray Executive Search
A good executive recruiter is invaluable for helping companies hire a dream team. But how do you know what traits are important to look for in recruiting the best recruiter? Here are six key traits to look for:
1.
They specialize in your industry niche. Almost all recruiters have an industry niche. A niche focus offers many benefits: it means that a recruiter will have abundant contacts in the industry who can give them a jump start on reaching the right people. The recruiter will have a track record of successful placements and have earned a trusted reputation within the industry that can help open doors. They will have intelligence on the competitive landscape and be in tuned into changes in corporate leadership and direction, mergers and acquisitions, layoffs, etc. For high-level hiring, finding a recruiter with the right industry niche is more important than a geographical focus. A good recruiter will be adept at finding candidates in their specialty even for a far-flung location.
2.
They have a process. When you give an executive recruiter a search assignment, do you know what steps they will take to deliver? A good recruiter will want you to feel totally informed and comfortable with their process, and they will be upfront with you about what to expect. Like any business, executive recruiting is a matter of refining systems and methodologies. A good recruiter anticipates and has a plan for the many details involved in successful recruiting, everything from gathering the position specifications to contacting passive candidates from relevant competitors to counseling the hired candidate on how to smoothly resign from his or her current position.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
~ John Quincy Adams
New Wage and Hour Standards Coming: Effects
by John Gordon, Principal & Founder of Pacific Management Consulting Group
In the last couple of months, we have gotten important new updates in terms of wage and hour regulations that will impact us in 2020. Both came out of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. These changes give the industry some time for pause and reflection.
Overtime threshold raised to $35,308 on January 1, 2020[1]: employees paid less than $35,308 on an annual basis must be paid overtime. This is an increase from the $23,660 standard that was in place from 2007 until 2019. This means that more employees will be covered. This has been submitted to the Federal Register and there will be a 60-day public comment period starting soon.
Detail: For those employees in the $23,400 to $35,000 range, incremental overtime expense will be incurred. There is not annual automatic indexing, that is, no automatic increases of the ranges. Employers can use bonuses and incentive program wage payments to cover up to 10% ($3,531) of the standard salary/wage level. There are no changes to the job duties test, in that certain employees will be exempt if certain executive, administrative and professional characteristics are in place. The employer bears the burden of proving these factors. Non-management production line workers…are not exempt. If a state establishes a stricter standard, the stricter standard applies.
Hungry for more sales? Some tips on marketing to Millennials
by Tom Allen
According to Pew Research Center, anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) is considered a Millennial. Along with Gen Z, these are classic QSR and Fast Casual prospects that need to be nurtured in order to drive your top line.
Why Millennials?
Millennials represent roughly 1/4 of the American population and in many cases have started their own families. With roughly $20 billion to spend, Millennials are the living generation with the most spending power.
Understanding your “Who”
Smart strategy and positioning work always starts with understanding the “who” and their situation. Understanding a few key attributes about Millennials will significantly increase the effectiveness of marketing and selling to this demographic.
Millennials value convenience
According to Technomic’s Generational report, when millennials order from restaurants, they’re dining in just 42% of the time.
Other restaurant visits are made up of takeout (40%) and delivery (18%). That means that your products and packaging must be built to travel to be successful with this market.
