Powered By Blogger

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

More than a Stoplight, It was a game as a kid


There is a job search site that takes a while to get through, after the basics the applicant has to take a test. After you take the test the applicant is placed in a category.  I worked recently for a medium size hotel company.  When I began as a TaskForce Manager when we looked for staff HR would review applicants, send them through inter-office mail and through a painful process eventually set up interviews with prospective employees. The game changer was when one property used a online job board as a filter process, since it worked well for them, it was decided that it would work well for the rest of the company, kind of like one size fits all.

The process was a bit painful at the beginning, we were all issued passwords and had to review applicants and the site placed them preemptively in assigned categories by a test they took during the process. The site had three colors they placed applicants in, similar to a inverted stoplight. Green for go, yellow as caution, and red for stop, being said you had to take time out of your already time crunched day, and review resumes ad test scores. I can tell you that at 3am after a full night and paperwork trying to put someone in  a category will make you even more bleary eyed, I found in my searches was that in my determination that either the tests were wrong, or people didn’t pay attention, just to get through the process, and I understand that as well.

The funny thing I came to realize in talking with them and subsequently hiring them was that a couple of the greens failed miserably, and a couple of the reds and yellows turned out to be a couple of the best hires.  In retrospect the tests did not tell me the whole picture, I had to get them in front of me to make the correct determination. Yes, previously we did have HR screen them, which makes you wonder how many did we let go or get by based on someone else’s gut feeling. Hiring the right staff is more than a game when it affects your operation. Perhaps some people are right about Outsourcing HR.


Ask us about F&B in a Box...a new concept for 2013....(www.sutterpine.com)


Put us on a retainer. Use us as TaskForce Management. Cost Controls, Inventories, Service analysis. Have us to create a system for you to get to the next level. Need an Objective viewpoint of your Hotel & Restaurant Operation development.  Save $$ on OSE and FFE for Construction and Renovations

Wednesday, February 13, 2013




A Funny thing happened on the Way to Alaska…


Last year I accepted a post consulting in Alaska at a premier resort.  I came back into a Hospitality field that has changed dramatically. In the coming Blog posts I will look into the changes and some of the things I have encountered.

I am deep into writing a book “Man at the Door” it chronicles my stints in renowned restaurants and resorts, More about that later…

I spent time in Wisconsin @ The Grand Geneva managing the Geneva ChopHouse…One of the Top 10 Restaurants in Wisconsin……and ended up in the Caribbean at Cap Juluca..the #2 Resort in the Caribben…Re-Opening the Resort and reviving their F& B Operations….



Ask us about F&B in a Box...a new concept for 2013....(www.sutterpine.com)


Put us on a retainer. Use us as TaskForce Management. Cost Controls, Inventories, Service analysis. Have us to create a system for you to get to the next level. Need an Objective viewpoint of your Hotel & Restaurant Operation development.  Save $$ on OSE and FFE for Construction and Renovations

Powered By Blogger