It’s no secret that the hospitality industry is struggling to hire workers. Catering companies are turning away business, hotels have reduced the amenities they offer, and many restaurants remain on limited hours or at partial capacity because they don’t have enough people to operate at full steam. Recently my wife, April, saw a sign in front of a restaurant that said; “Now hiring people who will show up.” While I definitely got a laugh out of it, I started thinking about the uphill battle that many people are facing right now. And when things get difficult, it’s tempting to lower your standards.

Specifically when we think about hiring, it’s easy to make the excuse that “we just need to get someone in here.” This is a short sided approach, though, and underestimates the negative implications of a bad hire. I realize that hiring is more challenging than ever but if we approach it the same way we always have, we aren’t going to get the results we want. New challenges require innovative solutions and this is the time to get creative. There are still people looking for work in our industry, there are great candidates looking for a place that matches their values, and there are hard working people that are not necessarily looking for a job, but if the right opportunity presented itself, they might be open to a move. Finding those people takes work and this is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Are you willing to maintain high standards, do the work and not settle for average candidates? Or are you too busy to take those extra steps and willing to lower the bar on what you expect just to get someone hired?

Maintaining high standards requires us to define what those standards are. We have to then hire according to those standards. We have to take time to train new hires so they can execute at a high level, and then we have to measure performance and correct course along the way when we don’t meet those predetermined standards. I know it’s easier said than done, but it is a clear cut recipe for success.

Tony Robbins said “If you want to change your life, you have to raise your standards.” Our team has done a tremendous job of keeping high standards through the years, but specifically this month as we face the task of executing a tremendous amount of business. Our constant push to “MIBE” what we do challenges us to continually raise the bar on a new normal. I challenged our team this week to continue to operate at that high level and be wary of the temptation to sacrifice some of those standards. We have so many excuses to do so, but that’s not the path that we signed up for and not in our company’s DNA. So I ask you - What would happen if you were able to raise your standards when everyone around you was lowering theirs?