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The Hospitality Industry is a risky business, the question of keeping clientele and attracting new customers seems simple but its a real hard one. Your passion and the staff you employ is a major piece of the puzzle when it comes to the success of your business, and this is not only true to hospitality.
But how do you attract and retain the right staff. Many restaurateurs, infact most, recruit their own staff by advertising through their local paper or on the internet. Some choose to use Hospitality Recruitment Agencies but this obviously comes with the additional fee. This fee changes depending on the type of staff you are looking for but it is usually 10% to 15% of the salary of the vacant position. So if you are looking for a Head Chef and are offering a salary of $60,000 then you could be facing a fee of between $6,000 to $9,000.

O.M.G I hear you say but what do you get for your money and what are you risking. By choosing to go through a Hospitality Recruitment Agency what you should be looking for is an Agency with experience and a Recruitment Consultant who knows the Hospitality Industry. You need an agency who listens to your requirements and who takes the time to come and visit your establishment. You should expect a shortlist of about 4 - 5 quality Candidates and you should ask if the agency interviews their candidates face to face. If you are using a Recruitment Agency for the first time then you should look at more than one, it shouldn't cost you anything to recieve CV's from them, and don't feel like you have to interview every Candidate they put forward. Make sure the agency outlines their replacement policy before you accept any candidates from them, a 3 month replacement policy is usually normal.

Sometimes there is definitely a shortage in quality, skilled candidates, it may be the very reason you are turning to a recruitment agency. So if an agency turns around and says that they don't have a candidate that suits your establishment, this is better than receiving a bunch of CV's that are just not appropriate.

If you continue to use recruitment agencies I would advise you build a good relationship with the consultants and stick to no more than 2 or 3 agencies you really trust, because when it comes to them having a hot candidate you might be the first call they make.

The hospitality Industry is often a transient industry with staff moving from place to place, especially if you are situated in a holiday resort town. This makes using an recruitment agnecy risky. The obvious worry is that you take a staff member from an agency and then that staff member doesn't work out or leaves after only a couple of months. If this happens make sure you still receive a shortlist of replacements and you get to trial them before you take them on.

Lets face it, looking for quality staff for your establishment is a full time job in its self and its the reason some restaurant groups and hotels dedicate whole departments to it. I think this is the biggest benefit to using a Recruitment Agency and it allows you to get on with what you need to do, run your business.

If you still feel you can't afford to fork out for a $5,000 to $10,000 fee try placing your own adverts on a Hospitality Job Board or find a website that has a free CV Search facility on it.

Good Luck