Open Air Business November/December 2016
The UK's outdoor hospitality business magazine for function venues, glampsites and event organisers
The UK's outdoor hospitality business magazine for function venues, glampsites and event organisers
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FUNCTION VENUES<br />
for the role / industry counts<br />
for a lot more than relevant<br />
experience, so try to focus more<br />
on the personal statement areas<br />
of the CV than the past jobs.<br />
Keeping an eye on spelling and<br />
grammar is another great way to<br />
vet candidates.<br />
iv. Interview at least three people.<br />
These people are looking to<br />
work for you, which means<br />
they will be representing your<br />
business in the wider world.<br />
Rapport with your staff is<br />
absolutely essential and all the<br />
experience in the world won’t<br />
make up for a bad attitude<br />
or bad fit with the company<br />
culture. You can always train<br />
someone in the skills they need,<br />
but if they just don’t ‘get’ the<br />
business, they won’t perform or<br />
“RAPPORT<br />
WITH YOUR<br />
STAFF IS<br />
ABSOLUTELY<br />
ESSENTIAL<br />
AND ALL THE<br />
EXPERIENCE<br />
IN THE<br />
WORLD<br />
WON’T MAKE<br />
UP FOR A BAD<br />
ATTITUDE<br />
OR BAD FIT<br />
WITH THE<br />
COMPANY”<br />
stay. Again, that passion for the<br />
industry is what you are looking<br />
for. Try to remember that they<br />
are interviewing you as much<br />
as you are them, since we’re<br />
looking for a mutually beneficial<br />
arrangement here.<br />
v. Get the paperwork right. It took<br />
me three full days to write my<br />
company handbook, but in<br />
conjunction with formal offer<br />
of work letters and standard<br />
workplace terms and conditions,<br />
it has been utterly invaluable in<br />
ensuring that my recruits know<br />
what is expected of them and<br />
what I am offering them.<br />
vi. Conduct a formal induction. That<br />
first week for any new employee<br />
is tough. Make things easier on<br />
you both by sourcing a generic<br />
induction checklist on the<br />
internet and working through<br />
it. It will make your inductee<br />
welcome, let them know you<br />
are professional about your<br />
business and make sure that<br />
the whole team are on the same<br />
page about the business’s<br />
goals. That first week should<br />
also include training on the<br />
customer service standards you<br />
expect.<br />
vii. Undertake regular reviews.<br />
Three months into their new<br />
role, check in with them. Make<br />
sure that you and they are both<br />
happy with their role, their work,<br />
their training, their environment<br />
and where their career is going.<br />
Repeat this review annually just<br />
like the big corporations do. It<br />
will help retain staff and help<br />
you become a better employer.<br />
Yes, there are a lot of steps here,<br />
but taking your time to work<br />
through them means you will have<br />
done everything you possibly can<br />
to identify your staff needs, and will<br />
have them met by the best possible<br />
candidate, saving you time, money<br />
and headaches later.<br />
Once you have taken the time to<br />
find the right team in the first place,<br />
staff retention is pretty simple. As<br />
mother used to say, “Treat people<br />
as you want to be treated”.<br />
For me, that means:<br />
› Pay your staff fairly. Research<br />
the going rate for their role and<br />
improve upon it where you can.<br />
Where you simply can’t afford to<br />
be generous in terms of salary, be<br />
generous with benefits (e.g. extra<br />
annual leave, flexible working<br />
hours, additional training,<br />
performance related bonuses,<br />
etc)<br />
› Pay your staff on time! They have<br />
the same monthly outgoings that<br />
you do and getting paid late can<br />
have dire consequences for their<br />
finances<br />
› Respect their work / life balance.<br />
Events roles often mean long<br />
hours and physically demanding<br />
work so make sure that when<br />
your team clocks off, they really<br />
have clocked off. If they work<br />
a late night, pay for their taxi<br />
home so you know they got there<br />
safely. If they work extra hours<br />
one week, make sure they get<br />
them back in lieu the following<br />
week<br />
› Invest in them. Any full time<br />
member of staff will have some<br />
sort of plan for the future. Take<br />
the time to find out what it is<br />
and how you can help them<br />
achieve it. Even the most casual<br />
of summer staff needs to show<br />
growth and professionalism on<br />
their CV and will be grateful to<br />
you for going that extra mile on<br />
their behalf. You never know,<br />
they might turn out to be your<br />
future right hand!<br />
› Show your appreciation. Most<br />
people seek satisfaction from<br />
their work over and above their<br />
salary. This isn’t about everyone<br />
getting a ticker-tape parade in<br />
their honour every month, it is<br />
just about letting them know<br />
as often as possible that they<br />
are doing a good job and that<br />
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