Nordic Choice Hotels’ Clarion brand is succeeding in the recruitment arena by using unconventional staff auditions with talent shows.
When hiring for the Clarion Hotel Post in Gothenburg, Sweden, set to open in January 2012, management skipped the traditional process and had some 1,300 applicants offer a two-minute “talent show” in front of hotel management as well as selected business guests.
While most applicants presented themselves more traditionally during the day-and-a-half process that used 10 jury rooms with three to four people in each room, others sang, played the guitar and danced. “One person came in a suit and tie, presented himself as somebody else and then undressed,” said Ulrika Rosén, passion manager, Clarion Hotels. “He changed into jeans and a t-shirt, picked up his guitar and showed us who he really was.”
Applicants who made it through the initial auditions were called back for a two-hour workshop and tested on how they handle daily situations, cooperate with others and solve different problems. The final step in the hiring process was individual interviews.
Nordic Choice Hotels started to recruit with auditions in 2007 at its hotel in Stockholm. “About 500 candidates signed up, which gave us a large amount of attention in the media. That’s when we realized the success,” Rosén said. “Yes, it is a more costly process. But you are much more likely to find the right candidates, which decreases your staff turnover. At the same time, the method gives you good PR and attracts even more candidates.”
Clarion Hotel Post General Manager Daniel Stenbäck said the recruiting method has turned out to be such a great success that Clarion Hotels will use the process again when hiring for the Clarion Hotel & Congress Trondheim, Norway, which opens in April 2012.