Case Study: Delta Hotels and Resorts Shared 10 Ways to Recruit and Retain Top Talent

Bill Pallett, former Senior Vice President, People Resources of Delta Hotels and Resorts, spoke at the recent Hotel Association of Canada conference on 10 ways to recruit and retain top talent. Here is what he said.

1. Ensure a positive employer reputation: Check out Glass Door and find out what people are saying about you — you want the push of resumes, not pull.

2. Create and manage your employer brand: Your talent is part of your brand. What is your talent brand? What competitive advantages do you offer? What’s your employee value proposition?

3. Have a clear employee value proposition: What’s different about you? At Delta, we offer talented people, passion and possibility.

4. Create a talent network of followers an Id referrals: if they are following you on LinkedIn, people are 80 per cent more likely to apply for a position. At the opening of the new Delta Toronto, over 11,000 people applied through social media.

5. Hire for culture fit: If you don’t, chances are turnover will increase by 22 per cent. Choose for cultural fit over technical skills.

6. Incorporate your employee value proposition into every part of the employee experience: For example, learning and development and brand standards for talent.

7. Understand who is on your bench: Develop a strategic workforce plan, find out where the gaps are and develop strategies to fill those gaps. Be proactive in saving money and increasing retention rates from 55 per cent annual turnover to just 20 per cent.

8. Develop, develop, develop: Develop employee and succession them. Knowing there is a long-term place for them increases engagement by 25 to 30 per cent.

9. It’s all about engagement: That’s your best defence against turnover. Ensure employees are saying the right things about you; that they want to stay with you and thrive. It is a bottom-line issue — if 24 per cent are actively disengaged and 56 per cent indifferent, that can cost you $50 million in everything from absenteeism to workplace accidents.

10. The secret is in the doing: Make sure the whole leadership team has shared accountability for the talent agenda.

“There are many resources — capital, financing, furniture and fixtures, location and time — all of which you own,” said Pallett. “The only resource you don’t own is your talent — they are free to go at any time.”

This article is reprinted with the permission from Canadian Lodging News.