With the current unemployment rate of around 5% in leisure and hospitality—and the industry being one of the fastest growing there is—hospitality businesses need to step up their recruitment game to hire the best staff. There are some hospitality companies that are doing this very well already by building exceptional employer brands that attract great candidates to their open roles. Check out 9 of the best employer branding examples for hospitality businesses!
What’s included:
- SODEXO
- Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
- Earls
- Hyatt Hotels Corporation
- CH&CO
- Fairmont Hotels
- Motel One
- Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
- Shake Shack
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Why is employer branding important in the hospitality industry?
A great employer brand is an outward expression of the internal culture of an organization.
With the industry growing rapidly and competition for employees getting fiercer, hospitality companies need to find ways to stand out in the crowd and differentiate themselves from their competitors.
That’s why companies in the hospitality industry and beyond need to build and present their employer brand to become an employer of choice and be able to recruit the best people in the business.
Best examples of employer branding in hospitality
These hospitality brands are killing it right now in their employer branding efforts. Get inspired by these employer branding examples for hospitality companies:
1. SODEXO
Sodexo is a French food services and facilities management company with headquarters in Paris. This hospitality company is one of the world’s largest multinational corporations, with more than 400,000 employees located in 80 countries.
One of the notable initiatives of Sodexo is their SheWorks job shadowing program that allows women of all ages to learn more about the company and the facilities management roles they hire for. The program, which launched on International Women’s Day, matched Sodexo volunteers with women in local communities to provide them with opportunities to develop new skills and explore careers in a male-dominated industry.
Sodexo’s SVP of Corporate Responsibility and Global Chief Diversity Officer commented:
“At Sodexo, we have seen the benefit of gender balance and the connection to our business performance. This is an opportunity for us to brand ourselves as a quality of life employer with an inclusive culture where women can belong. Given the competition for talent, this is a great way to expose the community to careers at Sodexo.” – Rohini Anand, Sodexo
Sodexo’s approach works so well because they present themselves as a “worldwide, extended family” with a strong focus on promoting from within. In addition to the SheWorks initiative, they also offer mentoring programs, employee recognition opportunities, and other perks that help to build their employer brand. Sodexo is also really active on LinkedIn, regularly sharing content that showcases the employee experience, as well as the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
SODEXO emphasizes the element of belonging in their company culture, which is also reflected in how they present their brand to the potential new hires.
2. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is an international luxury hospitality company that is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario in Canada. With more than 100 hotels worldwide, Four Seasons employs 45,000 people in various hospitality roles.
The company focuses on campus recruitment and diversity in their hiring efforts and building out their Manager in Training program. They also highlight their employer brand on employee social media platforms. For example, on the Four Seasons Jobs account on Facebook, they share compelling photo and video content highlighting “The Faces of Four Seasons.” They even recognize specific employees from their locations around the world and share quotes, articles, and other relevant content.
Four Seasons does an amazing job at sharing a variety of content types and topics on their employee social media pages. From bartending and interview tips from employees to mannequin challenges and joining in on other fun internet trends, Four Seasons is engaging and appealing as an employer on social media—which is exactly what they should be doing to hire and recruit great hospitality talent.
3. Earls
Earls is a family-owned casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With 68 restaurant locations, Earls is an employer to more than 5,000 people across Canada and the United States.
Earls launched an awesome employer branding campaign, complete with a website, Instagram account, and hashtag. The company shares employee-generated content with #EarlsWantsYou, highlighting the “Earls Experience” through engaging photos and videos. They place a lot of emphasis on their commitment to maintaining a fun work environment and their company values. Earls also promotes career growth with the #PeopleGrowHere campaign and leadership development courses.
Here’s a quote from the Earls website on their growth opportunities:
“People are the heart of our business. They bring the soul, magic and logic into what they do every day. They are driven by continuous learning and personal mastery to become their best selves. Through the Vision + Goals program, our people dream BIG and make bold declarations for what they want in life. We’re also big on leadership development so it’s how our people move their career forward at Earls.”
Earls really stands out because they’ve dedicated a lot of time and energy to building out a strong culture and a fun, intriguing employer brand—and it shows. From the lighthearted language they use to the range of employee perks and opportunities, they present a clear picture of what it means to be part of the Earls Experience.
4. Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation is a multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises luxury hotels, resorts, and vacation properties. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hyatt Hotels employs upwards of 100,000 people in 56 countries.
Hyatt places a strong emphasis on a culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion. In fact, not only do they frequently receive “Great Places to Work” awards, but also recognition for being a top employer for diversity. The #InAHyattWorld campaign and Hyatt Careers YouTube page showcase what it’s like to work at one of their hotel brands and why employees love what they do.
The Hyatt Hotels careers page describes their culture as “one that empowers every individual to be his or her best, and such authentic connection inspires the way we care for each other and for our guests.” Hyatt’s employer branding initiatives make it clear that they’re a great hospitality company to work for. They attract top-quality job candidates by promoting their culture, training opportunities, and commitment to diversity and inclusion in their hiring efforts.
Hyatt is dedicated to building an inclusive culture, engaging their employees in sharing it.
5. CH&CO
CH&CO is an independent hospitality catering company headquartered in Reading, Berkshire, UK. The foodservice provider currently employs around 6,200 chefs and nutritionists at more than 750 locations across the UK and Ireland.
With an employee turnover rate of less than 2%, it’s clear that CH&CO is killing the employer branding game. They take a completely unique approach by focusing on food experiences and a shared passion for culinary arts. They’re also big believers in inclusivity, publicly supporting LGBTQ initiatives like Pride Month and publishing an annual gender pay gap report to bring awareness to gender wage inequality—not to mention highlighting their own lack thereof.
On their careers site, CH&CO describes themselves as “a group of chefs, nutritionists and people pleasers with a shared passion for food that fuels emotional positivity as well as physical wellbeing.” It’s clear from the language they use and their inclusive culture that they’re a very welcoming employer that cares about the food lovers they hire.
CH&CO wants to work towards more gender equality at their company and they constantly monitor the situation.
6. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a luxury hotel chain headquartered in Toronto, Ontario in Canada. With 75 properties in 24 countries, Fairmont is an employer to more than 30,000 hospitality employees.
Fairmont runs extensive career and leadership development programs, such as the Summit Program, which works with people who are aspiring hospitality leaders. They make it a point to promote from within and encourage employees to grow within their careers. The Fairmont Careers site focuses a lot on these opportunities for growth, using words language like “where the extraordinary happens every day” to attract candidates.
This is how Fairmont’s SVP of Talent & Culture, described the employee experience:
“I think what really sets us apart is the sense of community we want to create and sustain within our organization, which manifests itself as much in the small details of how we relate to each other as formal benefits such as healthcare. What we‘re about is summed up in the words of a colleague who said: ‘Working with Fairmont is like being part of a family, it‘s like coming home.’” –Carolyn Clark
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts does an excellent job of highlighting what makes them unique as an employer. Their employer brand really shows the potential for career growth within the organization. It’s clear that Fairmont is willing to invest in great talent and help people live up to their potential, which is always appealing to job seekers!
Visitors of the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts career page can check out experiences of employees of the company from different departments and locations.
7. Motel One
Motel One is a budget hotel chain with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The company has around 75 hotel locations and roughly 2,000 employees.
Motel One has programs like One University, which is designed to provide growth and training opportunities to all employees. They share detailed descriptions of different areas of activity and varying career levels, with an emphasis on the many ways to grow with the organization. The One University campus is more than just a training center—it’s what they call an idea laboratory. (How cool does that sound?!) Motel One also hosts regular career days and promotes them online to attract job seekers in a fun, unique way.
“Even as a manager, the trainings at the One University always help me develop. Motel One takes the idea of lifelong learning seriously.” –U. Vogel, Motel One Hotel Manager
This hotel chain has built an employer brand that truly stands out. From in-person hiring events to a full training academy, they’ve taken a different approach than most hotel brands. They are also clearly invested in the employee experience and do a great job of highlighting the culture through Instagram and Facebook photos.
Participants of One University can further develop their specialized knowledge and meet their colleagues from other locations during the trainings.
8. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is a hotel and restaurant brand owned by Intercontinental Hotels Group. Based in San Francisco, California in the U.S., Kimpton employs more than 8,100 people across 65 locations.
Kimpton has done a really impressive job building their employer brand. Aspirational videos encourage employees to “make it count” and be their best selves, painting the brand as a supportive employer with a positive culture. They celebrate making a difference and showcase the importance of work/life balance, stating that “it’s about more than work.”
This quote from the Kimpton Careers page is a great example of their employer brand: “The real you is a job requirement; your diverse background, talents and quirks are what help our company connect meaningfully with our guests. You’ll lead your own personal career path while you help make each guest’s journey feel more personal. You won’t just punch a clock and count the hours; you’ll make it count.”
Their focus on work/life balance is a big win for Kimpton Hotels. With habits shifting as younger generations in the workforce demand a healthy work/life balance, this type of sentiment will no doubt resonate with people looking for hospitality jobs. Their brand personality shines through with fun little details like “from the first whirl of a hula hoop at your employee orientation…” and they offer a ton of perks for team members.
Kimpton uses social media to share successes of their employees and show that being a part of their organization is about more than just work.
9. Shake Shack
Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City in the U.S., with more than 200 locations and plans to expand by 2020. The burger joint employs around 4,440 people globally.
On their careers site, they showcase The Shacksperience, a visual representation of the career path for employees. Complete with titles and descriptions, The Shack Career Path shows potential candidates exactly how they can move up in the organization. On the team page, they also display their core values and team bios in a way that’s very visually appealing and shows how committed they are to fostering a strong sense of teamwork.
“Teamwork isn’t just practiced at the Shack—it’s perfected. We make each day great— together. We create an exciting work atmosphere with a culture focused on family, fun, community.”
From their career site and social platforms, it’s clear that Shake Shack is a fun employer that offers a number of opportunities for career growth. Their emphasis on teamwork, creating meaningful connections, and bringing out the best in each other is inspiring and undoubtedly attractive to potential job seekers.
Candidates of Shake Shack can discover easily how they can move upwards in the organization and what career development opportunities they have.
To sum it up
Now that you’ve seen some of the top hospitality employer brands out there, you can deem them an inspiration and take out the elements from these examples that you think would work for your company. Don’t forget to measure the effectiveness of your employer brand with employer branding metrics such as brand awareness, quality of candidate or employee engagement. Now off you go to build an employer brand that attracts the best hospitality employees in the biz!
