In the first part of the Wanted and Found series on online recruitment in the hospitality industry, we focused on the basic elements of building and maintaining an attractive employer brand and the following questions:
- Step 1 - What makes my hotel an employer brand?
- Step 2 - Who are my testimonials?
- Step 3 - What qualities does the right employee bring to my hotel?
- Step 4 - What should my hotel's career page include?
- Step 5 - How do I turn satisfied employees into advocates for my hotel?
Similar to hotel marketing to (potential) guests, it is also important to utilize the various possibilities and measures of online marketing in the search for employees. Specifically, the next four steps deal with cross-channel communication measures for online recruiting in the hotel and online job advertisements:
- Step 6 - What elements should I include in my online job postings?
- Step 7 - Where should I place my ads to attract the right people?
- Step 8 - What other options are there for online recruitment?
- Step 9 - What other content can I communicate as a hotel to position myself as an attractive employer?
Step 6 - What elements should I include in my online job postings?
In terms of content, job ads should be structured according to the proven AIDA principle, just like any other advertisement, e.g. in hotel marketing social media:
- Attention: Clear, concise title, possibly with department.
- Interest: The subtitle and first few sentences should describe the job in more detail and include information about full-time/part-time/internship or seasonal positions.
- Desire: In the body, applicants should have a desire to work at this hotel. A good sequence is: a description of the hotel, a description of the tasks and activities, followed by the necessary requirements and qualifications, and finally the benefits or special features of the corporate culture.
- Action (take action): Here the applicant will find the contact details of the responsible contact person, any required documents or a direct link to the application form.
The text length and content varies depending on the channel: for example, the description on the hotel's career page is extensive and includes all the details, while on social networks it is short and to the point. On TikTok, in particular, the focus is on a video tailored to the target group, while on Instagram good photo material or additional high-quality animated ads can be used. The creation of individual recruitment campaigns for social media channels and search engines is developed by a hotel marketing agency in close cooperation with the client.
PRACTICE TIP #6
Always have enough photo and video material of and about employees. Is there a photo shoot coming up at the hotel? Use the opportunity to plan scenes with your staff!
Step 7 – Where should I place my ads to attract the right people?
Any recruitment effort or campaign should always be multi-channel:
- Paid ads on social media channels or hotel marketing social media (social media recruitment campaign).
- Search engine ads (Google Ads recruitment campaign)
- Organic social media posts. In the area of hotel social media, it is a good idea to test indirect advertising, such as a training quiz about which area of the hotel is particularly suitable for the user.
- Business platforms such as LinkedIn or Xing are suitable for organic posts or paid ads, but are more recommended for vacancies in management or hotel marketing, or for recruiting graduates of professional schools in the hospitality industry.
PRACTICE TIP #7.
Advertise across channels and tailor the specifics of the job to the channel. Young service interns or a beauty school graduate can be found through TikTok or Instagram ads, while a human resources manager or experienced marketing professional is more likely to be found on LinkedIn.
Step 8 - What other options are there for online recruitment?
Online recruitment can also work through the following channels:
- General job portals or job boards: pay special attention to transparent performance measurement!
- Specialized job boards for the hospitality industry
- Trade magazines publish job advertisements on their websites
- Recruitment software is only recommended for larger companies or hotel chains.
- Maintain contact with potential candidates (active sourcing via a talent pool, on career platforms, in newsletters, maintaining the career site)
PRACTICE TIP #8
Limit yourself to one platform or one job portal, otherwise the costs will increase, but the success, i.e. potential applicants, will not really improve or increase.
Step 9 - What additional content can I communicate as a hotel to position myself as an attractive employer?
According to the winged word for public relations "Do good and talk about it", benefits and advantages for your own employees, joint events to strengthen team spirit, appreciation for employees (not only on certain occasions or anniversaries) can be included in the ongoing communication. This can be done on the hotel's website blog as well as through newsletters or in various formats (photo/video) on various social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest).
PRACTICE TIP #9.
Appoint someone to take photos and videos at company events/anniversaries and other events. Then nothing stands in the way of posts like the following: Our receptionist XY, who knows the area like the back of her hand and has these shopping tips. / The masseuse XX, who has just completed her additional training. / The housekeeper, who has been keeping the place clean for 5 years. / Impressions from the hiking/skiing/sailing day...
You already have a strong employer brand, a well-designed career site and a lot of vacancies? As a hotel marketing agency, ADDITIVE supports renowned hotels in their online employee search with data-based recruiting campaigns across channels in search engines and social media platforms.
