Keyword recruiting vs. skills recruiting in the hospitality industry

Series: Recruiting, AI & HR in the hospitality industry · Post #2 of 90 

#Recruiting hospitality industry #KeywordRecruiting #CompetenceRecruiting #ATS systems #Skills shortage in catering #HR hospitality industry #Recruiting automation #Talent management #Hotel industry  

Keyword recruiting vs. skills recruiting in the hospitality industry 

Why the language of algorithms is not the language of hospitality talent – and what really matters 

In the first post in this series, we saw how automated systems weed out qualified candidates before a humean ever gets to see them. A key term here is keyword recruiting. But what does this really mean - and why is the hospitality industry particularly affected by it?

This article provides an overview of the difference between keyword recruiting and competency recruiting, highlights where the problem lies and what can be changed in practice. 

What is keyword recruiting and how does it work?

Keyword recruiting refers to the practice of automatically filtering applications for specific keywords. ATS (applicant tracking systems) search incoming documents for predefined terms: job titles, certificates, software skills, educational qualifications. 

The logic behind sounds plausible at first. A company is looking for a 'hotel manager' - the system filters out all applications that do not contain this exact term. Anyone who has written 'hotel director', 'house manager', 'host', 'location manager', 'team captain' or 'general manager' instead is eliminated. Anyone who comes from a different industry and has transferable management experience is excluded. Anyone who has done excellent work for ten years but has not placed any emphasis on CV optimisation is excluded. 

The system does not evaluate suitability. It evaluates wording.

Why the hospitality industry is particularly affected.

In many industries, keyword recruiting is an efficiency problem. In the hospitality industry, it is a structural problem, because the skills that really matter here can hardly be translated into keywords. 

What makes an excellent service employee? What distinguishes a manager who keeps a team together during the high season from one who drives it apart? How do you describe hosting quality in an application form?

The honest answer: hardly at all.

The core competencies of the hospitality industry are experience-based, situational and deeply human. I mentioned exactly the followiing aspects yesterday in my post #1 Recruiting in the hospitality industry between AI and reality:

• Hosting skills that keep guests coming back
• Conflict resolution under pressure when the evening gets out of hand
• Intercultural communication in daily interactions
• Leadership in exceptional operational situations
• The ability to improvise, which no manual can teach.

None of these points appear as hits in standard ATS. None of them can be measured by comparing them to a job description. And that is precisely why people who possess these qualities systematically fall through the cracks. 

The same applies, incidentally, to people who, after many years, perhaps even decades, in a company, find themselves faced with the challenge of finding a new job 'at an advanced age' due to very different circumstances. They rely on their experience, know their skills and expertise, but also their weaknesses, and they know what added value they can bring to a company. However, they cannot express al these aspects in ATS-compliant terms, not because they are incapable, but because it is simply not possible.

Another group to consider is that of potential applicants who want to enter traditional hotel and catering professions without training or as career changers, or who want to change jobs. These candidates are not always so articulate or technically savvy that they can write an ATS-compliant application. But they often have exactly the hands-on mentality that is needed in this or that position, are 'good with guests', as the saying goes, and can sell. Just not themselves.

It should also be mentioned here that many companies are not fully aware of their problems and do not really know what skills someone needs to solve these unidentified problems, so they rely on the tried and tested and the familiar, but nevertheless believe that many years of experience that does not contain ATS-compatible keywords is not suitable. 

What is sills-based recruiting and why is it the better approach?

Competency-based recruiting shifts the focus away from wording and towards skills. Instead of asking, 'What terms are in the CV?', it asks, 'What can this person do? What have they achieved? What potential do they bring to the table?'

In concrete terms this means:

• Applications are assessed on the basis of clusters of experience, not on the basis of individual keywords.
• Cross-sector qualifications are recognised and taken into account.
• The focus of the assesment remains on the person - not on the algorithm.
• Job profiles are based on the company's actual need, not on the CV of the previous employee.

Competency-based recruitment does not mean abandoning a systematic approach. 

Where things go wrong: three typical patterns.

1. The job profile reflects the past.

Many job advertisements in the hospitality sector are based on the profile of the person who has just left. What did they do? What was in their contract? This information is copied, sometimes word for word. Sometimes, 'inspiration' is also drawn from competitors who have advertised an identical or similar role. And sometimes, AI in the form of ChatGPT, Claue or others is used to (supposedly) optimise an existing job description. 

The problem: The question of what the business really needs in order to develop further is not asked at all. If you only look for what you know, you will only find what you already have - with the same strenghts, the same weaknesses and the same unresolved problems. 

2. The ATS system has not been configured for the hospitality sector.

Most ATS systems come with generic, standard profiles. If you use them for hospitality roles without adapting them accordingly, you are filtering candidates through a sieve designed for a different sector. 

The result: candidates with genuine hospitality DNA fall through the cracks, while CV optimisers who have learned which terms are expected are pushed to the top.

3. The human perspective is missing at the crucial point.

if an algorithm alone decides who a human being considers, then the process is devoid of human input at its most crucial point.

Potential cannot be identified from keywords. You recognise it in conversation, between the lines of a CV, in the way someone talks about their experiences. This cannot - and should not - be automated. Incidentally, 'potential' here refers not only to a candidate's abilities and skills, but also to their willingness, where necessary, to accept terms other than those they would ideally prefer in therms of salary, salary alternatives, other benefits and areas of responsibility. For some people, an appreciative work environment, proximity to home, and certain benefits are more important than the figure on their payslip.

What can change and how. 

Rethinking job profiles: from the current situation to real needs.

Before a job is advertised, it is worth asking an honest question: What have we been lacking and waht do we really need in order to improve?

A job specification that is aligned with the business's actual needs opens the door to candidates who can genuinely make a difference. Even if they do not have the same career background as their predecessors. 

Configure ATS systems on the basis of competencies.

Modern ATS systems can be configured to identify clusters of experience and areas of expertise, rather than matching individual keywords. This requires more effort during setup, but it pays off: in better matches and in fewer mised talent opportunities. 

In concrete terms, this means, for example:

• Storing synonyms and equivalent terms (hotel director, GM, hotel management, operations management, site management, team captain, operations management, hotel manager, host, etc.)
• Prioritising areas of expertise rather than job titles
• Not automatically filtering out applications from related sectors, nor applicants who have changed sector.

Implementing the hybrid model consistently: AI as an assistant, not as a decision-maker.

Technology analyses data, humans assess potential, personality and cultural fit. Automated pre-selection can bring efficiency, but every rejection should be reviewed at least once by an experienced recruiter (and with this, I am repeating my statement from yesterday on this matter word for word). 

A point that is often overlooked: even the human eye is not free from bias. Younger recruiters sometimes tend to dismiss older candidates too quickly - and older recruiters may take a dislike to candidates who are too similar to them. Potential, personality, and cultural fit can only be truly assessed in a face-to-face conversation. 

Best practice: Competency-based recruitment in practice.

Here is a real-world example to show how it can work:

A boutique hotel in a major German city is looking for a new F&B manager. The previous holder of the position had 15 years off experience in the high-end hotel industry. The hotel is growing, and the guest profile is changing, more international guests, more events, greater demand for digital guest communication. 

Instead of advertising an identical role profile, the HR team first asks itself the following questions: What were we really missing? What does the person who holds the role in the future need to be able to do that their predecessor could not do? What is the team structure like? What challenges have arisen in the past as a result of the strengths and weaknesses of the previous role holder? What skills are needed to further develop the team and to position it optimally for the changed guest profile? What knowledge did the previous holder of the position lack in relation to aspect that are important for the company, such as sales, revenue management, network, etc.?

The result is a job specification that prioritises leadership skills, team development, guest focus, digital literacy and sales acumen, thereby explicitly taking into account experience outsode of a traditional hotel career path and not considering a conventional hotel career path to be an absolute necessity. 

The ATS system is configuered accordingly. Applications that include terms such as 'team leadership', 'networking event', 'seminar facilitation', 'guest satisfaction', 'average price increase' and 'language skills', among others, are shortlisted, regardless of the precise context. An experienced recruiter personally reviews each of these applications. 

The result: Among the finalists is a candidate (m/f/x) who, although they have a background in the traditional hotel industry, subsequently moved into high-end catering and event catering, and later worked as a trainer for an education provider. Their hobbies include foreign languages. Not a traditional hotel CV, but precisely the right combination of service focus, leadership experience, language skills and digital expertise. This candidate is selected and hired, and within the probationary period, there is a measurable improvement in guest and staff satisfaction. This is attributable, among other things, to regular inhouse training, improved communication with guests and also within the team, as well as the launch of events that have made the boutique hotel a popular destination for 'neighbours' - -i.e., local residents and city dwellers, as well. 

The pitfalls of 'self-praise' and key performance indicators.

In order to structure their application effectively, candidates need to present themselves confidently, reflect on their achievments, articulate them clearly, and be aware of the specific added value they can bring to the company they are applying to. This is time-consuming and sometimes barely feasible to the extent required. It involves researching the company I wish to apply to. It means scrutinising your ownprofile so that you can position yourself clearly. And you need key performance indicators from the company or business where you have worked or currently work. Clear statements about the specific improvements you have made through your work. Even managers in hospitality businesses do not routinely have accesss to relevant key performance indicators (KPI), and some companies themselves classify KPI that can be specifically linked to a target agreement, and therefore to an employee or a team, as trade secrets. Many people dread having to wax lyrical about what they can do and what they have already achieved. They were brought up to be modest and simply want to do a good job and receive appropriate recognition for it. 

During the application process, as a candidate, I should clearly demonstrate how the aded value I bring - what makes me special - will benefit the company or business. To this end, you can, among other things, use reviews from guests and former employees on various platforms to demonstrate that you have addressed the weaknesses of your potential future employer and that you have solutions at hand. Sometimes, candidates refer to their experience and achievements in a specific area; at other times, they refer to a broad concept, which they may even attach to the application, to substantiate their solution-focus approach. 

However, a company's vision, any realignments, portfolio or product expansions, the company philosophy, and anything else that can be found on the website and is relevant to the role you are applying for, or to you as a potential new employee, should also be addressed in your application or cover letter. 

The question that arises at this point is: Are companies, or indeed business owners, willing to use this as an opportunity ho hold up a mirror to themselves to some extent?

Here, a rethink is needed in many areas and in many directions. 

In conclusion: the aim is not to abolish AI, but to use it correctly.

Keyword recruiting is not inherently wrong. It is a tool. And, like any tool, it can be useful or harmful, depending on how it is used. 

The hospitality industry does not need technology that sorts talent. It needs technology that makes talent visible - and people who recognise it. 

The shift from keyword recruiting to competency recruiting is not a huge leap. It starts with a single, honest, self-crititcal question: What do we really need?

💬 My question to you:

Does your organisation rely on keyword recruiting or have you already gained experience with competency-based pre-selection and are you ready for candidates to hold up a mirror to you? I look forward to hearing your views in the comments.