Advertise the position
There are a number of ways that the Marriott advertise jobs, here are ways that they advertise their jobs they are:
- They advertise internally on the staff notice boards in their hotels
When they advertise externally they use:
- The INTERNET on their own website
- In JOB CENTERS
- The JET CENTRE
If the Marriott are looking for a regional manager they will advertise in regional newspapers, such as the LIVERPOOL ECHO. It is important that they advertise there jobs in the right place to ensure that people see the advertisement. The reason that they advertise in the places they do is because it relatively cheap to advertise in the job centres and the jet centre, it is free to advertise on their own website and on their job notice boards, and on the occasions that they use regional newspapers the use regional ones because they are a lot cheaper than national newspapers, they don’t really use newspapers much to advertise only when they are looking for a regional manager.
Sending out and receiving application forms
A job description and a person specification are sent out with an application form. The reason these are sent out with the application form is so the applicant has the best chance of getting the job and so they know what qualities they will need to get the job, and on the application form it also says when the deadline is for the job.
Short listing applicants
Shortlisting applicants is like a minefield, if the Marriott doesn’t short list an applicant that feels they should have been, they could take the company to court over discrimination, and this could cost the Marriott money. It is the HR department that take out the shortlisting, and the Marriott make sure that all of their staff are adequately trained in this process because they don’t want to get involved in any discrimination court case. It can be very difficult when shortlisting application forms so the HR staff judge each application form on the applicants own merits, they won’t compare two applicants with each other. The applicants are classified into three categories; these categories are DEFINITE, MARGINAL, and UNSUITABLE. The staff decides which category the applicant goes into, the definite pile are people who are definitely going to be interviewed, the marginal are boarder line and if there aren’t enough people in the definite category a few marginal applicants will get an interview, and the unsuitable applicants just get a letter saying thanks for their time but they have been unsuccessful this time. When the HR department are making the interviews they attach a form on the front of the application form saying why applicants got an interview and why some applicants never got an interview. When making the shortlist the HR apartment must be politically correct in the reason the applicant did or didn’t get an interview with the Marriott. Those people who were in the marginal and unsuccessful pile will be on file with the Marriott for six months so the applicant can query why they didn’t get the interview, or in case they want to make a claim against the Marriott, so the Marriott have proof as to why they didn’t get the interview, and they also keep them on file for reference for if someone leaves there job, people in the definite pile get kept on file for twelve months and those who were successful with their application form and got the job get kept on file for life.
Interviews
The interviews are conducted by the HR staff and on the interview panel they have three or five interviewers depending on how big the position is. Normally the panel consists of the team leader of the department the job is for, the HR manager there is a set very specific process that is followed for each candidate and every applicant has to go through the process so everyone gets a fair chance. All of the people on the panel need to be very aware of who is asking what question, they also need to be aware of the process so they look professional, there will also be a chairperson on the panel for the interview who keeps control of everything, he makes sure everyone is prepared and dressed properly, the chairperson will have devised a timetable and every one will have the same amount of time in the interview. The chairperson also makes sure that everyone on the panel has a copy of the job description, the person specification and each applicant’s application form. The interview panel prepare by reading through each applicants application form just before they review it. The chairperson introduces each applicant to the panel and explains what is going to happen during an interview and explains that the applicant can ask questions at the end.
The Marriott are very aware that applicants perform best in interviews when they are relaxed, and comfortable in the environment that they are in so the Marriott try to put all of their applicants under ease rather than under pressure. The Marriott aim to do this by holding the interviews at on of the Marriott hotels, they ensure that all the applicants have access to hot and cold drinks and they are put in a comfortable and relaxed room. They are led into the interview room and are introduced to the panel, and the panel must ensure that they give verbal and non-verbal encouragement by smiling, shaking peoples hands and by having eye contact, these techniques should make the applicant feel at ease or relaxed. The chairperson will also explain that the panel will be taking notes throughout the interview.
During the interview the applicant will be asked a range of questions that will have been selected before the interview was held. The first type of question is an open ended question, the Marriott use open ended questions as a means of gaining the most information about the candidate as possible, these types of questions encourage the candidate to talk about themselves, describe events, express opinions, and provide facts, “can you give me an example of a time when you have dealt with a difficult customer?”, and “can you give me an example of a time when you have lead a team?” Are two examples of these types of questions. The next type of question are probing questions, these are used to provide a more clear focus on questions that are too short, an example of a probing question is “how did you handle that?” a probing question allows the interviewer to get more information and they can also be used when the applicant goes off point to bring the applicant back to the point. The Marriott interview panel try to avoid asking closed questions which have one word answers, they don’t like to ask these questions because they don’t get much information form these questions, they also try to avoid leading questions; they want the candidate to offer information freely. They also try to avoid multiple headed questions, they try too avoid these because they can confuse the applicant and can raise stress levels when they are trying to keep the applicant calm and at ease. Although the Marriott hotel would be very interested in the answers of this question they will probably ask it as three separate questions, were another business might ask them together. An example of a multiple headed question is “what is it that interests you about this position, why o you want to leave your current position, and what are you future career expectations?” the Marriott hotel also refer back to the applicants application form for one of the questions. If a candidate doesn’t give a very good answer the interviewer can’t let that show in their facial expressions.
It is vital that the Marriott has a timetable to ensure that the interview is fair on every applicant, so every applicant has the same amount of time in the interview.
Assessment centres
The use of assessment centres by the Marriott provides a more comprehensive approach to selection. The HR staff of the Marriott write and monitor these programs so they know exactly what they are looking for, the tests will last about a day, but if it is for a regional manager the tests could last up to around three or four days because of the importance of the job, because they want to get the best person possible for the job. A range of assessment techniques are incorporated with these centres and they typically have the following features:
- The focus of the centre is on behaviour.
- Exercises are used to capture and simulate the key dimensions of the job. These include one-to-one role-plays and group exercises. It is assume that performance in these simulations predicts the behaviour on the job.
- In addition to group exercises interviews and tests will be used.
- Performance in these tests is measured in several dimensions in terms of the competencies required to achieve the target level of performance in a particular job or at a particular level in the organisation.
- Several candidates or participants are assessed together to allow interaction and to make the experience more open and participative.
- Several assessors or observers are used in order to increase the objectivity of assessments. Involving senior managers is desirable to ensure that they “own” the process. Assessors must be carefully trained.
Good opportunities for indicating the extent to which candidates match the culture of the organisation are provide at these assessment centres. This will be established by observation of the candidate’s behaviour in different but typical situations, and by the range of the tests and structured interviews that are part of the proceedings. Assessment centres also give candidates a better feel for the organisation and its values so that they can decide for themselves whether or not they are likely to fit.
Selecting the best person for the job
The whole reason that they go though the recruitment procedure is to ensure that they select the best candidate for the job the recruitment process is very expensive for the Marriott and they don’t want to do it over and over for the same job. Once the interview panel have interviewed everyone and assessed everyone at the assessment centre they than come together and have a meeting and discuss the benefits and downfalls of hiring each candidate and they analyse each candidate. Instead of having lots of notes they have an interview report form each on each candidate. They will mark each candidate and will put them in order of say 1 – 15. If certain people have different candidates at number one the panel have a debate to try to find a solution on who should get the position, they need to come up with a unanimous decision on who is best for the job. If this process is going to be worthwhile for the Marriott it has got to be valid, free from interviewer bias and prejudice, and the interviewers need to be open and listen to other interviewers take on candidates and look at the candidate from a different point of view. All of the interviewers need to be satisfied with the overall decision. When the Marriott interview panel have decided who is the best for the job they then select who is the second choice and who is the third choice for the job. The reason the Marriott has three choices for the job is because if the candidate who gets the job has applied for a job somewhere else at another hotel and decides to take that job because they feel it has better pay or prospects for their future career such as more chance of getting a promotion, and they decide to turn down the Marriott’s offer of a job, then the job will be offered to the candidate who is their second choice, and if they turn it down it gets offered to the third choice candidate. If the Marriott didn’t have a successful assessment centre it could cause them a lot of problems because they could hire the wrong employee and this would waste their valuable time trying to find the right employee, so the good thing about having an assessment centre is they can watch each candidate in action and make sure that they hire the right employee saving them a lot of time. It is important that the Marriott have a second choice and third choice for the job because once again it saves them a lot of time and money, because they don’t have to go through the whole process of the assessment centre again because they have the two choices who have already been assessed.
Making the job offer
The Marriott write to the candidate or telephone them depending on the level of the job telling them they have the job, they follow up telephoning the candidate with a letter. Once the candidate has accepted the position they then send for two references, and the candidate’s employment is subject to the references being suitable. As soon as the Marriott have received the references the employee can start their induction training.
Analysing customer service representative
Two candidates were applying for the position candidate (a) – Paula Tait and candidate (b) Karen Lewis. I am now going to explain who I would choose if I was a human resource manager out of the two candidates and why I would choose them.
- Candidate (a) – Paula Tait
If I was a human resource manager I wouldn’t give the job to Paula Tait. The job requires 5 GCSE’s grade A*- C and she only has four. Also in the four GCSE’s that she doesn’t have a grade in ICT which could be important for this job. In her interests Paula Tait doesn’t state computing in her interests where candidate (b) does. Paula Tait also could have done her CV better, and put better references, her only reference was her old school head teacher and since she has left school she has had six years experience working in Woolworths, she could have put that down as a reference on her CV.
- Candidate (b) – Karen Lewis
I would give the job to Karen Lewis. She has the 5 GCSE’s grade A*- C and she also has a GNVQ in intermediate business. Her GCSE grades include an A in ICT and a B in business Studies so she has better grades in the main subjects that she needs for the job than candidate (a) has got. Karen Lewis made her CV better than Candidate (a) did stating computing as one of her interests, this will also help her get the job because she would enjoy working on a computer she would enjoy the shop.
So even though Karen Lewis has less experience than Paula Tait I would definitely call her back for an interview for this position due to her better grades in her GCSE’s and her GNVQ in intermediate business, her interests in computers also help her because it would be important that she enjoys them as its an important part of the job.
Interview Questions
If I was a human resource manager and was holding an interview for a job six questions that I would ask the applicant would be:
- Tell me about yourself
- Why do you want this job?
- What are your long-term aims?
- What are your strengths/weaknesses?
- What do you think you can bring to this job/company?
- Why should we give you this job?
Job Description
Job title:
Location: Leicester Marriott
Function: Sales & Marketing
Responsible to: The sales manager
Hours per week: 40 hours per week
Salary: £19,000 - £25,000 per year
Overview of position:
The Marriott Leicester Hotel is due to be opened in May 2006.We currently have an exciting opportunity for a Conference & Events Sales Agent to join our Sales Team.
The hotel facilities will include 227 bedrooms, Restaurant, Cocktail Bar, Lounge, Leisure facilities and 21 meeting rooms with conference facilities for up to 400 delegates.
Overall Responsibilities:
- The overall responsibility for this job requires you to ensure a seamless turnover from sales to service and back to sales, in line with Marriott Brand Standards for planning, pre & post-event.
- This position also coordinates with hotel departments and customer to ensure consistent, high level of service throughout the Event.
- You will be responsible for preparation of all pre & post event documentation.
- Another of the overall responsibilities of this job includes maximizing revenue by up-selling and offering enhancements to create outstanding events.
- You will also be required to carry out hotel walk-in & the show round of customers to maximise booking uptake and sales opportunities for the hotel.
Requirements
The skills and knowledge required for this job include:
- Knowledge of meetings & event management Marriott Brand Standards & processes
- Knowledge of meeting room set up and capacity
- Knowledge of menu planning, food presentation and banquet and event service operations
- Knowledge of event technology products and services
- Knowledge of overall hotel operations as they affect department
- Ability to use Microsoft Office software applications and hotel system applications
Responsibilities:
The responsibilities include taking ownership and accountability for the customer after the handover from EBC, discussing individual requirements and ensuring that the service delivered by the hotel meets or exceed guest expectations, and also create customer loyalty and grow market share.
Person Specification:
Position:
Experience: you are required to have previous experience of working in a hotel, preferably in a similar role.
Educational Qualifications:
-
Essential: 3 A levels and should include either ICT or business studies.
-
Desirable: A Degree in business.
Special Skills:
The special skills required for this job include:
- Strong communication skills (verbal, listening, writing)
- Excellent organization skills
- Ability to use Microsoft Office software applications and hotel system applications
- Excellent communication skills and high level of personal presentation
Personality: You should have a good personality and also be polite, pleasant, and confident in yourself.
Interests: you should have an interest in computers or business studies.
Interview questions for the role of conference & events sales agent
- How would you describe yourself?
- Why did you leave your last job?
- How well do you work with people? Do you prefer working alone or in teams?
- Have you ever had difficulty with a supervisor? How did you resolve the conflict?
- What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
- What are your long-term aims?
- How do you work under pressure?
- What can you tell us about our company?
- What major problem have you encountered and how did you deal with it?
- Why should we give you this job?
Interview assessment form
Name of Candidate: Interview Date: / /___
Interviewer:
Signature of Chairperson: Dated: / /___
To be returned to the human resources department by the chairperson of the panel.
