Few industries were dealt a harsher blow by the COVID pandemic than the hospitality industry. As travel ground to a halt, hotels emptied, resorts became ghost towns, and theme parks closed their gates. Hospitality employees were furloughed or laid off as companies cut back to cope with the loss of guests and revenue.
Flash forward to today; the hospitality industry is in a much different place. The world is on the move. Americans are taking to the skies again, and hotel bookings are surging. Corporate travel is climbing, and families are planning holiday vacations.
Hospitality industry hiring is back, too. The leisure and hospitality sector accounted for a significant percentage of job gains this summer.
But as hospitality firms welcome back their guests and take on new employees, reliable, thorough, and efficient background screening in the hospitality industry has never been more crucial.
Why Background Screening in the Hospitality Industry Is More Important Than Ever
Hospitality has always been about creating a safe, secure, and comfortable home away from home for guests. But these days, “safe, secure, and comfortable” takes on a whole new dimension.
Rebuilding the hospitality industry means regaining travelers’ confidence. That starts by employing workers who can be trusted to safeguard the health and property of guests, follow guidelines to the letter, and foster a pleasant environment for guests and teammates.
Comprehensive background screening can help hospitality businesses ensure that the staff they hire are up to the challenge.
Here are four reasons to review and improve your hospitality business’s pre-employment background screening procedures as soon as possible:
1. Background Screening Can Look for Much More Than a Criminal Past
If you’re only performing criminal background checks on your new hires, you may be failing to see the bigger picture. Criminal background checks can help you weed out potentially dangerous and untrustworthy employees, but a person’s background encompasses so much more than their arrest and conviction records.
For example, do your employees genuinely possess the experience they claim? Professional verification and reference checks can help you find out. Drug screening can help you maintain substance-free work zones.
A few untrustworthy employees can slow your company’s momentum as it strives to make up for last year’s setbacks.
Comprehensive background checks that go beyond criminal records take some of the risk out of hiring by painting a more thorough picture of each candidate’s experiences, skills, and history. Armed with this information, you can make better-informed staffing decisions.
2. Hospitality Workers Must Often Work Independently
In many hospitality businesses, workers carry out key tasks for guests without the direct oversight of a manager, supervisor, or executive. For example, many lodging establishments keep only a small skeleton crew on hand overnight to respond to guest requests and tend to emergencies.
Because hospitality work demands high independence, it also demands that employees get their work done without constant prodding, think on their feet, and act professionally at all times — especially around guests. Background screening can help your business determine whether candidates have the maturity and experience necessary to serve your guests and represent your brand with integrity.
3. Safety Is a Top Concern in Hospitality
Gaining a reputation as an unsafe hospitality establishment has never been good for business. Review apps and websites make it easier than ever before for guests to share their impressions (fully warranted or not) about their personal safety or their possessions being at risk. One or two negative incidents can spiral into major headaches for hospitality businesses.
And, as we noted above, today’s travelers aren’t just worried about their valuables being stolen or damaged. Guests entrust hospitality staff with keeping them safe from a harmful virus, as well.
Thorough background screening can help your hospitality business make the right choices when placing staff members in positions that impact guest safety and security.
4. Quick Background Screening Turnaround Time Helps Your Business Compete
As if the COVID crisis wasn’t hard enough on the hospitality industry, a nationwide labor shortage has made returning to full capacity difficult. Travel is back, but to make the most of it, hospitality establishments must work quickly to vet the job applicants that they do receive so that new employees can get to work serving guests.
The key to quicker turnaround time for background screening is working with a provider that understands why background checks get delayed and has the expertise and experience to keep the ball rolling on your behalf.
Chane Solutions is recognized in the hospitality industry for the speed, accuracy, and scope of our background screening services. Let us help you offer your guests a safer, healthier, more pleasant stay. Contact Chane Solutions today.
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