When talking with hoteliers all over the country, I find that one of the top challenges everyone faces is finding good, customer-focused associates and keeping them. Hopefully, you haven't gotten to the point where you say, "I just want them to be breathing!" Well, let's assume they are breathing and you have interviewed them for skills and behaviors you feel represent your company.

Congratulations! What's the next step?

Get them in there and put them to work, right? Whoa! How hard did you have to work to find and select them? And if you followed the adage of “hire for personality, train for skills” let's make sure you start off on the right foot to keep them around.

It's basic customer service. We work very hard to treat our "external customers" well, to make them feel comfortable and welcome during their time with us. From pleasant curb appeal, to making sure our staff greets them instantly with a smile, it can't be any different with our "internal customers.” We want both groups to be happy and return. Taking care of our internal customers is the first step to taking care of our external ones.

So where do we start? Think back to your first day at work. How did you feel? Nervous? Excited? A little lost? As employers, these feelings need to be important to us. Turnover surveys indicate a major portion of employee departures happen in their first 90 days. Why is that? What are we doing (or not doing) that causes someone who wanted to join our team to change their mind?

We have a window of opportunity to take an employee's excitement about being on a new job and use it to build upon. Here are some things you can do to make these critically important people happier, more comfortable and open to our training. They may even stick around with the right attitude.

Day One

• Ask the employee to arrive at a time when someone has time to greet them.
• Make the team aware they are coming so everyone can welcome them. This makes both your new associate and the existing department members comfortable.
• Use bulletin boards or even marquees to say "Welcome Robert!”
• Give them a basic tour and introduce them to as many people as possible.

Within Week One

• Make sure they participate in an organized orientation. In a perfect world, this happens before they ever start their job and includes top management.
• Provide them with a partner/mentor during those first tenuous days.
• Have a skills training program for them to participate in.
• Tailor training to the level of expertise they bring. Even experienced people need fine-tuning to your property’s way of doing things.

Through the First 30 Days

• Get their feedback on the training they receive.
• Provide positive reinforcement on the things they do right.

At 90 Days

• Send them a card welcoming them as a “permanent member” of your team.
• Conduct a two-way performance review. Did you deliver a good foundation for their success?
• Review company benefits. Don’t assume they remember what you said on day one.
• Make sure benefit paperwork is processed on a timely basis.