Page 98 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 2: EMPOWER THROUGH TRUST
Susan Strayer, director of talent management at Ritz-Carlton
and author of The Right Job Right Now: The Complete Toolkit for
Finding Your Perfect Career, observes, “Our Ladies and Gentle-
men are our greatest recruiting force. I was asking a Lady at our
Naples property how she got in the organization. She said it was
through one of her friends. And she felt special because her
friend had referred her.”
While many business leaders understand the value of a pa-
tient, methodical selection process, they often take shortcuts and
compromise their sound business platforms. In essence, they
succumb to the “we need bodies now” pressure. Human resource
professionals are tasked to prioritize getting open positions filled,
even at the expense of prudent selection.
Unfortunately, the same people who clamor for “hiring
someone quickly” also tend to be the people who are first to com-
plain when that “someone” turns out to be the wrong “someone”
days, weeks, or months later. Ed Mady puts it this way: “You
can’t microwave Ritz-Carlton. Processes can be slow here, but
when we complete a decision, it is likely to be on target. We re-
ally do take time to aim before we hire.” As observed by Susan
Strayer, who is actively involved in recruitment for Ritz-Carlton,
“There is a lot of rushing around on hiring in the labor market
right now, and at times that can work against us at Ritz-Carlton.
For example, I might meet a college graduate at a career fair and
find out another hotel company offered that person a job right
there on the spot. We can’t do that because we have this rigor-
ous selection process. We may end up losing some candidates,
but it’s never worth sacrificing the thoroughness of our selection
process to do that. By choosing the right people in the first place,
our turnover is in the 20 percent range in an industry that aver-
ages about 60 percent. That payoff alone, not to mention staff
morale benefits, is enough to justify our patience.”
Patient exploration for talent, coupled with a willingness to
pass over people who are not passionate about service, actually
helps attract people who are right for your company. Francisca

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