A test to assess the personality and key skills expected of hotel and restaurant staff.

The hospitality industry has opportunities in the hotel, food and beverage sectors and is now one of the most employment intensive industries in the world. Some of the most popular career choices in this field include tour guides, event planning and execution, chefs and cruise ship personnel .
Many skills are required to succeed in these different trades, but what remains essential are behavioural qualities. Based on the many studies we have carried out on the criteria sought for recruitment, we have drawn up a list of the key skills required in the hotel, restaurant and tourism professions. These key skills include attention to detail, teamwork and commitment.

What should a recruitment test in the hotel, restaurant and tourism sector be able to assess?

A recruitment test to measure effectiveness :

It is the concern, the will to make the most of one's time. The person needs quick and visible results and for this he or she avoids idle time as much as possible. They like to go straight to the point and avoid getting lost in the details as much as possible. In the same way, she strives to be responsive at all times. For this person, the client should not have to wait, he should not have to pay the price for a lack of organisation. If necessary, he knows how to be resourceful, does not hesitate to break away from work habits and procedures, if this can be done in the direction of the service and quality owed to the client.

A recruitment test to measure the ability to get organised:

It is for the staff the ability to plan, to manage their time well. Taste for what is programmed in advance, in a rational way, leaving the minimum space for improvisation. It's the desire to control your time as much as to organise your work space well. The person needs his or her tasks to be correctly distributed, and instructions to be clear, coherent and stable. It's difficult for them to cope with any form of improvisation.

A recruitment test to assess one's sense of responsibility with regard to hygiene:

It is the ability to feel spontaneously concerned by everything that has to do with hygiene, to integrate this parameter as part of daily life. A high score on this criterion is the result of a person for whom this parameter is self-evident. A fortiori, this person will be able to encourage his colleagues to take it into account. Respect for hygiene instructions, written or not, willingness to keep abreast of the rules in use, acceptance of the constraints linked to these rules, use of products and suitable clothing, are the main characteristics of this criterion. Conversely, a low score indicates a lack of concern in this area. This is experienced above all as a constraint. The notion of risks inherent in the absence of hygiene is not integrated.

A recruitment test to assess memory

Ability to memorise information from various sources and of various kinds, to reproduce it faithfully: auditory, visual and situational information. In addition to the ability to memorise raw data, this criterion measures a certain flexibility of mind. Indeed, it is not a question of the subject simply working on his memory, but of having the reflex to select the relevant information, the information that will have to be memorised. Flexibility, inasmuch as disparate, heterogeneous information, presented at different times of the day, must be able to mobilise attention in the same way in order to be re-used later. Memory, therefore, but the ability to pay attention and make selections at all times.

A recruitment test to see how people deal with stress

Ability to channel stress, to be positive in the face of professional difficulties. Rather than being overwhelmed by them, the person will have at heart to maintain the quality of the services he or she intends to offer to his or her clientele and, above all, to maintain good relationships. More than an attitude that goes without saying, it is more a question of the willingness to cope by ensuring continuity of service under the best conditions. It is the ability to accept criticism and to respond to it diplomatically. It is also the ability to adapt to the fluctuating demands of the clientele, to accept the unforeseen, to consider them as inherent parameters of any service activity. It is a question of "dealing with", of accepting daily pressure and then overcoming it.

A recruitment test to assess sociability, friendliness and sense of smile.

First of all, this criterion denotes an easy, warm contact. It expresses a taste for human relations and the desire to maintain harmonious exchanges. This criterion denotes a penchant for conviviality, contacts between friends. It shows the desire to maintain good relations, to spare susceptibilities. In a way, it means knowing how to bring to others the quality of relationships that one would appreciate for oneself.

A recruitment test to measure the ability to make oneself available

This criterion indicates a high degree of availability in terms of time spent with others and flexibility in responding to them. The person is easily interrupted in what he or she is doing to make himself or herself available to others. It is the ability to respond "present" whenever necessary, for the sake of efficiency and quality at work. This criterion also shows the tendency to want to be useful, to be of service. The person knows how to respond naturally to the expectations of others, and ensures that they are satisfied with the service provided, without necessarily expecting anything in return.

A recruitment test to see teamwork skills

In the first place, there is a tendency to prefer teamwork to working alone. Taste for contacts, exchanges, ability to share both good and bad times. But apart from the pleasure of conviviality, this criterion also implies the adaptations, the concessions necessary for living and working together to function properly. The person will know how to adapt to collective constraints, to meet the expectations of all, as well as accept criticism and questioning. This criterion measures the ability to think primarily in terms of objectives and the team's overall project, rather than in terms of tasks and personal timetables.

A recruitment test to measure listening and attention skills

This is the natural attitude which consists in giving priority to listening rather than speaking. Giving more space to what the other person is going to tell you, than to put oneself forward. It is therefore the ability to bring oneself up to standard, to reformulate, to check that one has understood what has been said. The person knows how to listen to others in the sense of being attentive to their ideas, to their points of view. They know how to stand back, to empathize, to inspire confidence in their interlocutors. He/she leaves them free to express themselves, without judging or choosing for them.

A recruitment test to measure the ability to communicate clearly and effectively

Concerns the ability to exchange and circulate information with colleagues, hierarchy and partners involved. The objective is to ensure and maintain an adapted and coherent operation of the service. More than verbal or writing skills, it is the concern not to keep to oneself information that could be useful to everyone. The person has the reflex to pass on the information he or she holds, to ensure that it reaches the right people. Likewise, they will know how to reach out to clients to inform them of anything they deem useful to them.

A recruitment test to assess the discretion and reserve of personnel

This criterion measures the tendency to effacement, reserve, restraint. It thus measures this form of politeness, which consists in not encroaching on the territory of the other, in keeping the right distance, in leaving the initiative of proximity to others. It is the ability to control oneself so as not to fall into familiarity. With regard to the clientele, it is the ability to : "Hear all, see all, say nothing". At the very least, it is the ability to listen without imposing one's judgement, one's own ideas, one's convictions in return. At the extreme, it is the willingness never to serve as a sounding board for corridor noises, indiscretions, rumours of any kind.

A recruitment test to assess dexterity and manual dexterity

This criterion reflects manual skill, a taste for all things practical. A good score on this criterion is the result of a person who feels comfortable working with his hands, showing skill, self-confidence, resourcefulness, in activities such as DIY, interior work... A fortiori the person knows how to show interest and motivation when he has to tackle tasks that he does not know or that require more manual agility or concentration than his usual tasks. Conversely, a low score on this criterion indicates a certain distance from practical activities, the feeling of not being up to the task when it comes to working with one's hands.

A recruitment test to check fatigue resistance

Resistance to physical and nervous fatigue. Measures the ability to maintain a good level of physical and psychological investment in activities. It is the ability to work in sometimes difficult conditions: staggered working hours, setbacks, overloads, noise, customer pressure. Ability to offer a high level of quality in any place and at any time. It is therefore an indicator of good health and a satisfactory personal balance. It is also an indicator of the need to exercise physically: the person likes to move, avoids idle time, does not wait to be asked to "be on deck". On the other hand, a low score will be an indicator of a lack of drive, of a lesser capacity for recovery in daily activities.

A recruitment test to identify the capacity of staff to take initiatives.

Ability to take the first step, to meet customers, colleagues, tasks in general. It's the refusal to take a wait-and-see attitude; it's the ability to anticipate, to be one step ahead so as not to be caught off guard. It is the disposition of mind that makes you feel first and foremost an actor and not a spectator, that you try to anticipate rather than react after the fact to circumstances. A good score on this criterion is given to someone who feels responsible, who knows how to move forward rather than systematically waiting for instructions. He or she cares about providing service in a timely manner and does so by spontaneously mobilising his or her energy. On the contrary, a low score indicates a wait-and-see attitude, the ability to rely more on circumstances and instructions from the hierarchy than on personal commitment.

A recruitment test to assess the staff's sense of observation

This criterion expresses the ability to observe, to easily and spontaneously identify attitudes, habits and situations that provide information about individuals and their immediate environment. The person is curious about everything that is happening around them. The alert mind, operating at 360 degrees, knows how to "sweep" its space in order to extract the information that will enable it to adapt as well as possible to the present situation: grasping a customer's expectations, identifying and preventing malfunctions, anticipating demand, improving quality. It is the ability to constantly focus attention on various sources of information, to get away from routine, so as not to miss anything of what is happening around you. It is the ability to pay attention at all times from the widest possible angle.

A recruitment test to measure the ability to adapt to change

Ability to adapt to changes in the professional context: changes of tasks, changes of place, changes of schedule, changes of colleagues.... It is therefore the natural ability to accept the unexpected, to react positively to it in order to guarantee the continuity of work. A good score on this criterion thus reflects a positive attitude towards the necessary adaptations and inevitable changes in any service company. The subject is therefore aware that the result, the customer's satisfaction, takes precedence over personal expectations. Conversely, a low score reflects a preference for routine work and the difficulty of changing habits. The change is then experienced as a constraint and not as an opportunity to show one's know-how.

You can also use a test on intellectual skills and abilities for this type of recruitment.