the short-term fix of careless hiring.
I was speaking with a business owner last month who’d hired three key people for their leadership team in under a month. They were delighted. Applications were up, they’d had several referrals, the shortlist was AI filtered against set criteria, and offers were soon made.
I bumped into them again this week and asked how things were going. They rolled their eyes.
Turned out those hires hadn’t worked out, not because they lacked experience or skills, but because they weren’t right for the culture and team dynamic. The hiring process had lacked thought and human input. It was fast, but careless. And the result was poor
but what does ‘right hire’ look like?
Right now, applications aren’t the challenge they once were for hospitality. Even senior positions are offering more choice. The real challenge is finding the people who are right for you.
For me, the right hire will be with you six months from now. Your team will have grown through working with them, and you’ll see a future for them in the business.
That’s a relevant hire, and it’s far more valuable than a fast one.
‘culture fit’ has had its day.
For years, the advice was to hire people who would “fit in.” I understand the sentiment; it feels safe and familiar. If you hire people who look and sound like your existing high performers, you’ll get more success – right?
Not really, no. Because taken literally, culture fit becomes a route for hiring people who already think and act like everyone else in your team. Do that long enough and you end up with a team that:
struggles to innovate
can’t see its own blind spots
lacks diversity and inclusion
breaks under pressure because everyone responds the same way
Hospitality does best with teams that have varied backgrounds, thinking and experience. It’s what helps teams solve problems faster, adapt to change, and deliver better guest experiences.
That’s why it’s important to focus on ‘culture add’, not ‘culture fit’. A relevant hire adds something the team doesn’t already have: a different way of solving a problem, a skill nobody else possesses, a fresh perspective that lifts the whole operation.
how to hire for relevance.
Look at your team before you look at the job spec. Most employers write the ad first and think about the team second (if at all). Do things the other way around.
Ask yourself:
What is the team missing?
Who do they work well with?
What behaviours or characteristics would strengthen delivery rather than simply replicate it?
Where are the gaps in thinking, not just skills?
Then filter applications around that insight. Use humans in your process (alongside tools like AI if they help) but don’t outsource judgement.
And at interview, ask targeted, relevant questions. Not “tell me about your experience,” which just gets you a CV recital. Try questions that reveal how someone thinks, adapts, and collaborates:
Tell me about a time you had to adapt to something changing
How do you handle it when a colleague and you disagree?
What does good guest experience mean to you?
These questions show you how someone will behave inside your business, not just how they’ve performed somewhere else.
why it’s worth the extra effort.
Hiring for relevance brings multiple benefits:
Lower attrition: because people are aligned with your culture
Lower hiring costs: because you’re not repeating the process ten weeks later
Easier onboarding: because the person wants to be there and integrates faster
Stronger teams: because they gain new perspectives
Better guest experience: because diverse thinking produces more thoughtful service.
A stronger employer reputation: because people talk
And the full benefit of hiring relevant people comes longer term. They grow, they contribute, they benefit others, and they’ll help you build the workplace you want to be known for.
Hiring quickly solves a short‑term problem. Hiring relevantly solves a long‑term one. And what determines the outcome is the thinking behind your process.