Page 99 - The New Gold Standard

Select—Don’t Hire
Martinez, vice president of talent management at Ritz-Carlton,
understands the value of pragmatic hiring. “There’s quite a bit
of self-selection. People committed to quality and service are
drawn to us because they know they will be working with the
best in those areas. They also know that we are going to develop
their talent, and in a world in which no one is guaranteed a job
for life, we will enhance their value in the workforce.”
By investing the time to personally and patiently assess
prospective job applicants, you can increase the probability that
each new hire will both be a success and add value to the cus-
tomer experience. Further, you can grow employee engagement
and retention well above industry standards. This workforce loy-
alty and decreased turnover offers competitive service advantages
that more than offset the initial costs of selection.

STRIKING GOLD

D Beyond technical skills, what processes do you have in place
to study the commitments and strengths of your prospec-
tive employees?
D What is your selection process? Does it involve multiple inter-
views that include frontline workers?

D How often does expediency take priority over patient se-
lection?

C Imprinting Culture D
onto Raw Talent

Once the costly journey of recruitment and selection are com-
pleted, many businesses fail to appreciate the critically impor-
tant opportunity they are provided during the orientation process.
In many companies, orientation is seen as a necessary evil, con-
ducted only to fulfill legal requirements and provide an overview

79