{"id":18816,"date":"2025-04-04T05:58:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T05:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mondaygroup.com.au\/?p=18816"},"modified":"2025-06-03T00:33:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T00:33:04","slug":"lets-talk-about-hospitality-recruitment-why-it-needs-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mondaygroup.com.au\/news\/lets-talk-about-hospitality-recruitment-why-it-needs-to-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s talk about hospitality recruitment \u2013 why it needs to change"},"content":{"rendered":"

For decades, hospitality businesses relied on a steady stream of experienced talent. But today\u2019s market is candidate-driven, and top professionals know their worth. They\u2019re not just looking for any job \u2013 they want career growth, purpose and the right cultural fit.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With <\/span>only 30% of potential candidates<\/span><\/a> actively seeking new roles, traditional, non-exclusive recruitment methods overlook the hidden talent pool that exclusive or retained search services can access.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this, many businesses still engage multiple recruiters, assuming competition will lead to faster and cheaper hires. In reality, this creates a spray-and-pray mentality, where recruiters prioritise speed over quality, cutting corners to be the first to submit candidates \u2013 rather than focusing on finding the best.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In my nearly 20 years in agency recruitment, I\u2019ve seen firsthand how this model forces recruiters to juggle 15-20+ roles at a time just to make it commercially viable, lucky to fill one in four roles. In doing so, they do a disservice to themselves, their clients, their candidates and the recruitment profession.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let me explain.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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When you give a vacancy to three recruiters\u2026<\/h2>\n

…you\u2019re effectively giving each recruiter a third of your commitment \u2013 or even less if you\u2019re also recruiting for the role yourself. So why would any of them give you their full commitment and best efforts in return?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Any astute recruiter will quickly realise they\u2019re in competition \u2013 because the market talks. Active candidates, registered with multiple agencies, will inevitably be approached for the same role by different recruiters or apply to different job ads for what turns out to be the same position.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s confusing, messy, and discouraging \u2013 and no one looks good.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recruiters working in competition prioritise speed over quality, focusing only on the low-hanging fruit \u2013 the active 30% of the talent pool. They don\u2019t have the time, resources or incentive to dig deeper, nurture passive talent or provide tailored, strategic hiring solutions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why you should go exclusive or retained<\/h2>\n

At THE MONDAY GROUP, we\u2019ve been pioneers of exclusive and retained search in the hospitality sector since 2017. By 2024, around 50% of our hospitality recruitment work has transitioned to the retained model \u2013 with a 90% success rate.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike multi-agency recruitment, which is driven by quick wins and minimal investment, exclusive and retained partnerships allow us to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n