When talking with hoteliers all over the country, I find that one of the top challenges everyone faces is finding good, customer-oriented employees and keeping them. Hopefully, you haven't gotten to the point where you say, "I just want them to be breathing!" Well. Let's assume they are breathing and you have interviewed them for skills and behaviors you feel represent your company. Congratulations! What's the next step?

Get them in there and put them to work, right? Whoa! How hard did you have to work to find and select them? Let's make sure you start off on the right foot to keep them around.

It's basic Customer Service. We work very hard to treat our "external customers" well. To make them feel comfortable and welcome during their time with us. From pleasant curb appeal, to making sure our staff greets them instantly with a smile. It can't be any different with our "internal customers". We want both groups to be happy and return. Taking care of our internal customers is the first step to taking care of our external ones.

So where do we start? Remember your first day at work. How did you feel? Nervous? Excited? A little lost? As employers, these feelings of need to be important to us. Turnover surveys indicate a major portion of employee departures happen in their first 90 days. Why is that? What are we doing (or not doing) that causes someone who wanted to join our team to change their mind?

We have a window of opportunity to take an employee's excitement about being on a new job and use it to build on. Here are some things we can do to make these critically important people happier, more comfortable, more open to our training and more likely to stick around with the right attitude.

Day One

Ask the employee to arrive at a time when someone has the time to greet them.

Tell the team they are joining that they are coming so everyone can welcome them.

Use bulletin boards or even marquees to say "Welcome"!

Give them a basic tour and introduce them to as many people as possible.

Within Week One

Make sure they participate in an organized Orientation.

Provide them with a partner/mentor during those first tenuous days.

Have a skills training program for them to participate in.

Tailor training to the level of expertise they bring.

At 30 Days

Get their feedback on the training they're receiving.

Provide positive reinforcement on the things they are doing right.

At 90 Days

Send them a card welcoming them as a permanent member of your team.

Conduct a two-way performance review on a timely basis.

Review benefits.

Make sure paperwork on benefits is processed on a timely basis.

With low unemployment figures, we need to invest the care in our service providers. Let these things tell them, "We are glad you are here. We're glad you're part of our team." This will be as valuable to them as an extra $.25 across the street.