• Gaining a new customer costs anywhere from an estimated five to eight times more than retaining an existing one.
• An estimated 68 percent of customers will fail to return if they feel unappreciated.

Obviously, it makes sense for hoteliers to place as much (if not more) emphasis on keeping existing customers as they do on gaining new ones.

Thankfully, there are lots of ways to keep hotel customers satisfied and coming back to stay with you.  Here are four of Cooper’s top tips for retaining loyal guests:

1. Create a great last impression.  Develop ways to ensure your guests leave with a favorable impression that lets them know you appreciate their business.  Saying “Thank you” as guests leave is a simple, free and personal touch that goes a long way.  Additionally, consider giving little mementos for them to take home (think truffles, local specialty items, exclusive toiletries or quality items with your logo).  Some hotels stand out from the crowd by sending handwritten and personalized notes to thank guests for staying with them.
2. Reward loyalty with exclusive deals.  Offering travel packages or deals exclusive to returning customers has a tri-fold benefit:  it may prompt additional bookings; it demonstrates your appreciation of their loyalty; it counterbalances offers that are made only to new customers.
3. Ask for feedback.  How many customer problems go unresolved because you never even learned about them?  How many clients have you lost as a result?  You’ll never know unless you ask.  Make it easy for customers to tell you what they enjoy – and don’t enjoy – about staying with you.  Leave simple, short survey forms in guest rooms; follow-up after guests leave by e-mailing satisfaction surveys; give specific instructions on your web site for how to submit feedback.  When you receive a complaint, resolve issues quickly and exceed dissatisfied customers’ expectations.  When you get positive feedback, use it to your advantage!
4. Train your staff.  Unless your employees know the level of service your valued clients require, you can’t expect them to consistently deliver it.  Provide the appropriate training, tools and systems to allow your staff to deliver a great customer experience.  Equip and empower employees to resolve customer complaints – quick resolution can earn you big brownie points in the client’s mind.

Penguin Staff can rapidly supply the experienced, trained hospitality professionals you need to create a great customer experience – keeping them satisfied and coming back to you.  Contact us to learn more about our hospitality staffing services for Atlanta, D.C. and Central Virginia.

For most hospitality organizations, staffing is a huge line item on a P & L.  As a result, the way you use your staff can have a major impact on your company’s overall profitability.

If you only think of hospitality staff as a stop-gap measure when someone calls in sick, you may be missing out.  Consider these ways staffing can actually help you drive revenues:

Capitalize on new opportunities.  Ever feel as though you “made it through” your busy season, but could’ve done more to capture business?  Ever have a great idea for an event or new service offering, but fail to implement it because you lacked the resources?

Hospitality staffing firms like Penguin can help improve your responsiveness to (and follow-through on) new opportunities.  Because we maintain a vast applicant pool of trained front of house, back of house and culinary professionals, we can provide immediate access to the talent you need – and capture business opportunities you may otherwise miss out on.

Increase productivity.  Penguin can supply direct, on-call or supplemental staff to:

• reduce the bottlenecks that slow your processes down;
• relieve direct employee burnout, keeping them working at peak efficiency;
• minimize productivity-killing turnover;
• help you deliver the best customer experience.

Effectively manage growth.  The recovery is slowly taking hold – is your organization ready to hire?  A hospitality staffing service can alleviate the hiring headaches growth can cause, while ensuring you have the specialized, trained staff in place to drive revenues.  Beyond traditional hospitality staffing, Penguin can also be a strategic partner, providing the hospitality workforce solutions you need to ensure profitable growth.

Drive Revenue with Penguin Staff

When your Richmond, Atlanta or D.C. hospitality organization needs hospitality staff, there’s only one choice – Penguin.  Contact us today to schedule a free workforce consultation.  We can show you how to use hospitality staff to create a great customer experience – and ultimately make you more profitable.

The simple fact is, it’s tough out there.  A large portion of the hospitality workforce is currently unemployed, and has been for quite a while.  To make things worse, unemployed hospitality workers now face yet another, seemingly unfair barrier to finding work – their employment status.

Right or wrong, some employers unfairly discriminate against candidates who have been unemployed for more than a few months.  Despite numerous EEO laws and safeguards, these employers ignore the résumés sent to them by hospitality job seekers who aren’t working.  They believe that requiring that a candidate be gainfully employed is just “smart business” – helping them control the flood of applications and filter out “damaged goods” before spending valuable time and resources on screening and interviewing.

So what’s a smart job seeker to do?  First of all, don’t admit defeat.  If you’re out of work and need a job, now is a time to stay strong.  Use these tips to overcome the stigma of unemployment – and find a great hospitality job:

• Forgive yourself – and move on.  Losing a job is nothing unusual, especially these days.  Mergers, cost-cutting measures and total shutdowns have forced countless people out of their jobs over the past few years.  Whatever your reason for being unemployed, you need a positive mindset to tackle what may be a tough job search.  The best thing you can do is forgive yourself for being out of work, and then move on.
• If you’ve only been out of work for a short time (a few weeks or months), invest a lot of time and energy into networking and informational interviews.  This will help you get past the initial human resources screening that would eliminate you from consideration.  Use networking as a tool to demonstrate your willingness to work hard, and your drive to find a job may overcome the bias against you as a person out of work.
• Ignore the verbiage in job posts that suggests an employer intends to discriminate based on recent employment status.  Just because the discriminatory language is present in a job listing doesn’t mean you have to adhere to the request!  If your job skills and experience are a good fit for the posting, by all means apply for that position – regardless of your employment situation.
• Consider adjusting your résumé.  If you’ve been out of work for awhile, you may want to switch from a chronological to functional résumé format.  This will allow you to lead with your skills and qualifications, outside the context of your employment history.  Additionally, you may want to omit dates from your employment history section.  Once your skills have an employer’s attention, he can inquire about the dates.
• Solidify references from previous employer(s).  When you’re unemployed, a strong endorsement from an employer – even one who let you go – may outweigh the length of your unemployment.

Temporary Hospitality Work – Your Best Bet for Beating Jobless Discrimination

Looking for a sure-fire way to overcome your jobless stigma?  Go to work for a hospitality staffing service like Penguin – as soon as possible!  It’s easiest to find a job while you’re working, so stack the deck in your favor.  Beyond merely changing your employment status, on-call or temporary hospitality assignments can help you:

• Earn valuable income – at a time when you really need it.
• Keep your spirits up – by being productive and engaged.
• Build your résumé and keep your skills sharp – the variety inherent in temporary assignments presents you with new challenges, allowing you to grow and gain experience.
• Find direct employment – if you prove yourself on the job, your temporary or contract position may convert to a direct opportunity.  Additionally, while you’re on assignment, Penguin Staff can actively search for direct positions that match your skills, experience and interests.

Contact your local Penguin Staffing office today to learn more about hospitality jobs in Atlanta, Washington D.C, Baltimore and Central Virginia.

Instead, they occur when an organization like yours develops a strong partnership with a highly specialized hospitality staffing firm like Penguin.  The more successfully we work together, the better your results will be.

If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your relationship with us – and ultimately get better results – here are five tips to get you started:

• Give us as much lead-time as you can.  Sure, we’re prepared to handle your on-call event staffing needs.  But when you plan ahead for upcoming staff requirements, it optimizes your chances of finding the ideal candidate(s) with the skills, experience and traits critical to success.
• Give temporary hospitality staff formal job descriptions.  These descriptions should be well-defined, prioritized, current and submitted in writing.  Furthermore, they should include what you expect in terms of candidate abilities and experience, along with specific performance goals and standards.  This step helps clarify expectations and ensures you get exactly what you want.
• Remember that you get what you pay for.  People (including on-call and temporary staff) are your organization’s most valuable asset.  They should be viewed as an investment in your success, not merely an expense.  So make sure you work with a hospitality staffing firm that takes the time to fill your needs correctly – and not just the lowest-cost provider.
• Train your Penguin Staffing representative.  Tell us about your organization’s mission statement, goals, culture, history and current challenges.  Explain the types of work styles or personalities that fit best in your business.  By familiarizing your Penguin representative with your needs and preferences, we can become a more knowledgeable extension of your human resources department.
• Take full advantage of all we have to offer.  Did you know that, in addition to traditional hospitality staffing, we offer outsourcing services?  Strategic workforce solutions?  Hospitality training?  Invest a little time to learn about our full range of capabilities and value-added services.  At your request, we will gladly arrange for a capabilities demonstration.

Great Hospitality Staffing Starts with Penguin

When you need hospitality employees in Central Virginia, Atlanta or the D.C./Baltimore metro area – think Penguin Staff.  Contact us today to learn more.

Penguin Staff can help you make some lemonade.

Let’s face it – whether business is up or down, you still have work to do.  And during tough economic times like these, temporary hospitality staffing solutions are a great tool to help you:

• contain labor costs;
• convert fixed expenses to variable;
• capitalize on short-notice business opportunities;
• accurately match labor levels to workloads, to avoid over-staffing.

Bottom line, temporary staffing makes sense in this economy.  So if you need extra help – from banquet servers to grill cooks to stewards – to keep work flowing during these tough times, Penguin is ready to sweeten the deal!  From February 6 through February 24, 2012, enjoy these special Sweetheart Rates (use the reference code SWEETHEART when placing your order):

Banquet Server

Sweetheart Rate:  $16.95 (Regular Rate:  $24.00)

Penguin Staff banquet servers serve food and beverage, provide table maintenance, room set up/tear down; orders may be taken depending on the menu selection for your event.

Bartender

Sweetheart Rate:  $18.95 (Regular Rate:  $25.00)

Penguin Staff bartenders mix and pour alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for guests in bars, lounges, nightclubs, restaurants, on cruise ships and at your special events.

Busser

Sweetheart Rate:  $13.95 (Regular Rate:  $17.90)

Penguin Staff bussers clean and clothe tables; set decorations, condiments, candles, napkins, service plates, utensils, etc.

Grill Cook

Sweetheart Rate:  $15.95 (Regular Rate:  $19.90)

Penguin Staff grill cooks prepare and cook a wide variety of food and may be responsible for basic food preparation or more complex tasks in restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, etc.

Prep Cook

Sweetheart Rate:  $12.95 (Regular Rate:  $17.90)

Penguin Staff prep cooks assist in preparing meals by chopping vegetables, making salads, putting together entrees, etc.

Houseman

Sweetheart Rate:  $13.95 (Regular Rate:  $18.89)

Penguin Staff housemen set up and break down for meetings/events, maintain inventory of banquet supplies, maintain clean work areas, and ensure prompt and courteous service to guests (following all safety procedures).

Steward

Sweetheart Rate:  $12.95 (Regular Rate:  $16.90)

Penguin Staff stewards fill ice machines, polish silverware, transfer food items, wash dishes, clean, remove recyclable materials and trash, etc.

Rest assured, Penguin’s skilled hospitality staff are highly trained and ready to perform for you.  So if you have work to be done, give Penguin a call – and save big on your labor costs!

• more than 4.1 million people in the United States suffer a workplace injury or occupational illness;
• 18 people die each day from a work-related injury;
• workplace deaths, illnesses and injuries cost society $155.5 billion annually.

Unfortunately, the fast-paced environment that characterizes the hospitality industry often places it near the top of annual lists for employee injuries and accidents per capita.

While substantial progress has been made toward establishing safe work practices in hospitality, there is still room for improvement.  If you’re just learning about workplace safety, or would like to refresh your knowledge, take a few minutes to read this brief but valuable post outlining tips to create a safer hospitality work environment.

1. Keep the work space as clean as possible.  Poor housekeeping can cause frequent workplace accidents.  As such, cleaning should be an ongoing effort by all employees – especially in environments where food is prepared or served.
2. Properly plan/staff orders, jobs and events.  When expectations, time schedules and requirements are clearly communicated, each team member knows how to complete his job safely and on time.  As part of your planning, identify potential safety hazards and process bottlenecks, so you can avoid them.  All too often, poor planning leads to rushing, which then results in shortcuts, accidents and injuries.
3. Remind employees to:  lift with their legs and knees; never twist while lifting something heavy; use the right tools for the job.  Post these reminders in areas where your employees will frequently see them.
4. Encourage staff to report dangerous conditions.  You can’t be everywhere at once, so train your employees to proactively identify situations which could be potentially dangerous.  Evenly a seemingly innocuous burned-out light bulb or beverage spill could lead to a slip, trip or fall.  Make sure everyone on your staff knows to whom dangers should be reported.
5. Remember that maintenance isn’t just for equipment.  Keeping your equipment in tip-top shape is a major part of keeping your workplace safe, but your staff needs regular “maintenance,” too.  Make sure employees receive ongoing training in the latest safety practices.  And since a culture of safety depends on your employees’ fresh eyes, make sure they get plenty of rest between shifts.
6. Establish and enforce formal workplace safety policies and procedures.  Your company’s management team should create and carry out an accident prevention program that encourages employees to take safety measures seriously and to report any dangerous situations.  Make resources available to your staff with contacts and phone numbers in case of an emergency.

Creating a safe work environment should be a top priority for every hospitality employer.  Not only can a culture of safety reduce injuries and workers’ compensation claims; it can also improve morale and increase productivity.  So make workplace safety everyone’s responsibility.  Work with your staff in implementing these common-sense tips and everybody will benefit.

At Penguin Staffing, we work diligently with our clients to ensure workplace safety.   We thoroughly orient and train our on-call and temporary hospitality and banquet workers, to make sure they stay productive and efficient on the job.

It depends on whom you ask.  According to the National Restaurant Association, a survey of nearly 1,800 American Culinary Federation chefs identified the following top 20 menu trends for 2012:

1. Locally sourced meats and seafood
2. Locally grown produce
3. Healthful kids’ meals
4. Hyper-local items, such as ingredients from restaurants’ own gardens
5. Sustainability as a culinary theme
6. Children’s nutrition as a culinary theme
7. Gluten-free/food allergy-conscious items
8. Locally produced wine and beer
9. Sustainable seafood
10. Whole grain items in kids’ meals
11. Newly fabricated cuts of meat, such as the pork flat iron and the beef petit tender
12. Farm/estate-branded items
13. Food trucks/street food
14. Artisan spirits
15. House-made/artisan ice cream
16. Health/nutrition as a culinary theme
17. Non-traditional fish
18. Fruit/vegetable kids’ side items
19. Children’s mini-meals (i.e. smaller versions of adult menu items
20. Culinary cocktails

A Different Perspective

Bret Thom, senior food editor for Nation’s Restaurant News, also picked his own top menu trends for 2012.  Here are a few he identified:

1. Focus on three types of dining items:  inexpensive foods for guests who want something quick and easy; healthful items for the growing population of consumers who watch what they eat; splurge items (either high-calorie or high-price) for customers who really want to treat themselves.
2. Pistachios.  Consumers want ingredients that are exotic, without being threatening – and pistachios fit the bill.
3. Shake shots.  Four-ounce milk shakes are an easy, low-guilt, semi-indulgent upsell item that will strike a nostalgic chord with consumers looking for retro items.
4. Bananas Foster.  A big syrup company just released bananas Foster syrup, indicating that we will see a lot more of this banana, brown sugar, rum and vanilla ice cream flavor combination.
5. Asian cuisine.  Both Thom and hospitality consultant Andrew Freeman predict that thai-style items like sweet chili sauce, tikka masala sauce and issan sausages will be popping up on more menus.

Penguin Staff can help you capitalize on these hot menu trends.  We provide trained, reliable front of house and back of house support personnel for your banquets, special events or daily facility operations.

Champagne Sparkler, courtesy of Liquor.com

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Don Julio Blanco Tequila
• Splash simple syrup (one part sugar, one part water)
• .5 oz Champagne

Garnish: Strawberry slice

Glass: Champagne flute

Preparation:

Add the Blanco Don Julio Tequila, simple syrup and champagne to a champagne flute.  Garnish with a strawberry slice.  This recipe works best when both the tequila and champagne are chilled.

__________________________________________________________________

Very Sexy Martini, courtesy of Liquor.com

Hosting a black-tie affair?  Serve this glamorous cocktail, which calls for muddled raspberries and mint and has a citrus vodka kick.

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 Raspberries
• 5 to 7 Mint leaves
• 1 oz Fresh lime juice
• 1 oz Simple syrup (one part sugar, one part water)
• 1.5 oz Premium citrus vodka
• 1.5 oz Moët & Chandon Rosé Imperial Champagne

Garnish: Mint sprig and raspberry

Glass: Martini

Preparation:

Muddle the raspberries, mint leaves, lime juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker.  Add the citrus vodka and fill with ice.  Shake vigorously and double-strain into a chilled Martini glass.  Top with champagne.  Garnish with a mint sprig and a raspberry.

__________________________________________________________________

Grand Champagne Cocktail, courtesy foodnetwork.com & Bobby Flay

Strawberry puree and honey give a fresh twist to the traditional champagne cocktail.

Ingredients:

• 4 shots orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 4 fresh strawberries, tops trimmed
• 1 bottle champagne, well chilled

Glass: Chilled champagne flute

Preparation:

Add the orange-flavored liqueur, honey and strawberries to a food processor and process until smooth.  Fill the chilled glasses halfway with the strawberry mixture and then fill the rest of the glass with champagne.

__________________________________________________________________

Frozen Peach Champagne Cocktail, courtesy foodnetwork.com & Rachael Ray

This recipe is a Bellini-esque slush for grownups.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar, to rim glasses
• 1 pint peach sorbet
• 2 shots Triple Sec, Gran Marnier or Cointreau
• Chilled champagne or sparkling wine, to fill blender, 1/3 bottle
• Raspberries and four sprigs mint, optional garnish

Garnish:  Raspberry and mint sprig

Glass:  Cocktail glass

Preparation:

Place a shallow bowl of water alongside a shallow bowl with 1/4 cup sugar in it.  Dip four cocktail glasses in water, then sugar to rim glass.

Place four scoops peach sorbet in blender.  Add two shots orange liqueur.  Fill blender with champagne to maximum fill line or up to one inch from top of blending pitcher.  Place cover on blender tightly.  Blend until smooth and pour into cocktail glasses, keeping an eye out not to wreck the pretty sugar rims.  Garnish with a few raspberries and a sprig of mint and serve.

Happy Holidays from Penguin Staffing – your choice for highly qualified and trained hospitality professionals!

While businesses routinely record and report costs such as wages and benefits, workman’s compensation insurance, utilities, materials and space, most don’t track and report the cost of employee turnover.

How to Estimate Turnover Costs

• SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, once estimated that it costs $3,500.00 to replace one $8.00 per hour employee when all costs — recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, reduced productivity, etc., were considered. But SHRM’s estimate was the lowest of 17 nationally respected companies who calculate this cost!

• Do a quick calculation: Think of a job in your organization that has experienced high turnover, maybe managers. Estimate their annual average pay and the number of managers you lose annually. If their average annual pay is $40,000, multiply this by .125% (125% of their annual pay). The result? It costs $50,000 to replace just one manager. If you lose ten managers a year, you’re spending $500,000 in replacement costs.

Do These Numbers Seem Unbelievable?

Actual turnover costs are usually much higher than we think they are.

If you want to find out exactly how much turnover is costing your organization, find an online employee turnover calculator. Just remember that only tangible costs can be calculated on these sites. Intangible costs are just as real and sometimes much greater than quantifiable costs, but they are difficult if not impossible to measure.

Why Don’t More Companies See This as a Costly Problem?

Many companies don’t realize the true cost of turnover, which costs companies in both expertise and dollars, because they have never examined it. Here are four possible reasons:

1. No process is in place to tabulate the costs of turnover.

2. If they are measured, those costs are not reported to top management.

3. Employers think it’s an inescapable cost of doing business — but it’s not!

4. Costs are underestimated, so they don’t cause concern.

How Can You Measure Turnover Costs in Your Organization?

A comprehensive program measures the following costs:

• Separation costs
• Replacement costs
• Training costs
• Vacancy costs

Separation costs include:

• administrative functions related to termination
• separation/severance pay
• any increase in unemployment compensation.

Replacement costs include the cost of:

• attracting applicants
• interviews
• preemployment administrative expenses
• acquisition and dissemination of information.

Training costs include both formal and informal training costs. Vacancy costs include the net cost incurred due to increased overtime or temporary employees needed to complete the tasks of the vacant position.

How can you reduce turnover?

When turnover costs are unacceptably high, do an assessment. Find out who is leaving and why. Then develop a retention program based on your findings.

If you’d like advice on how to lower your turnover costs, contact Penguin Staffing today!

Which is the better candidate?

The correct answer is that it’s too soon to be sure.  You shouldn’t ever make hiring decisions based on first impressions…right?

Well, the reality is that a potential employer is heavily influenced by first impressions, or what his experience tells him are “pivotal moments” in his interaction with you.  Fair or unfair, he sizes up you and your abilities within the first few minutes of meeting you.  And the more experienced he is, the more likely he is to draw conclusions about you based on limited information.

So whether you call them first impressions, hunches or simple intuition, an interviewer’s snap decisions are critical to the success of your job search.  Make sure you do everything you can to really “wow” your hospitality interviewer from the get-go by using these tips:

Do your homework. Spend a good amount of time before the interview date researching the employer.  Their company website is a great place to start.  Don’t just skim through the information – really read it.  Find out everything you can about the organization’s history, mission, lines of business and key personnel.

Next, Google the company and find out what others have written or said about them.  Check newspapers, business magazines or other reputable sources to further educate yourself.  When you finally head into your interview, you’ll have an additional level of knowledge and confidence that will shine through – and keep from looking like a “deer in the headlights” if the interviewer asks you to tell him what you know about the company.

Remember that actions speak louder than words. The nonverbal cues you send from the moment you walk into an interview are scrutinized.  Pay careful attention to your posture, handshake and eye contact to create a positive first impression.

Come prepared. Put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes.  What would you think of a candidate who had to ask for a pen, or who rifled through a cluttered briefcase to dig out a wrinkled résumé?  Have a crisp copy of your résumé and references, as well as a pen and notepad for notes, ready to go.  Doing so will allow you to hit the ground running and immediately focus on the interviewer.

Avoid common interview mistakes. To succeed in your job search, you need to back up your skills and experience with a first impression that leaves no doubt that you’re the right person for the job.  Arrogance and sloppy attire are mistakes you simply cannot afford to make.  Be confident, but make sure you’re not cocky.  Overconfidence could be misconstrued as indifference – suggesting you could take or leave a job offer.  Similarly, you should dress for interview success.  Failure to do so could convey that you don’t really care about the job opportunity enough to dress appropriately.

Ask only relevant questions. Show the interviewer that you’ve done your homework by preparing a few questions pertinent to the job or the company (use the research you’ve conducted to help you generate ideas).  If they’re answered during the course of the interview, don’t feel pressured to make up new ones on the spot.  Throw-away questions won’t impress an interviewer – they’ll only end the conversation on a down note.

Thank the interviewer. Expressing thanks is one of those “pivotal moments” an interviewer may hang his hat on.  So without fail, thank the interviewer for his time both at the beginning and the end of your conversation.  Tell him that you’re excited about the opportunity.  Positive emotion and good manners go a long way toward creating a lasting favorable impression.

Ask for the job. Good salespeople ask for the sale; good job seekers should ask for the job.  Beyond thanking the interviewer, say, “I would really love to work here.”  This sounds simple, but so many candidates fail to do it!

Land Your Dream Job with Penguin Staffing

At Penguin Staff, we match hospitality job seekers like you with rewarding front of the house, back of the house and culinary professional employment opportunities every day.  Contact us today, and find out how we can help you land your dream job.