On a scale of one to ten, how confident are you in your ability to recruit the right people?
If you paused before answering, you’re in good company. Most hospitality leaders I meet are excellent at running operations, reading a P&L, and taking care of guests. But when it comes to interviewing, many of us are relying on instincts we developed years ago, in a hiring market that no longer exists.
The numbers show what’s at stake. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, accommodation and food services loses roughly two-thirds of its workforce every year. That’s the highest turnover of any major industry, and nearly double the rate of the overall economy. Every one of those departures costs money. Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research puts the average cost of turnover at roughly $5,900 per employee, and SHRM’s latest benchmarking pegs the average cost per hire at nearly $5,500. Multiply that across a single property, and a few hiring misses become a six-figure problem.
So how do we hire better? Let me offer a lens you may not have considered: energy.
When I interview, I’m evaluating skills and experience, of course. But I’m also paying attention to the candidate’s energy: how they respond to challenge, how they talk about past teams, and whether their values align with the culture we’re building. Skills tell you whether someone can do the job. Energy tells you whether they’ll thrive in it, and whether the people around them will thrive too.
If that sounds like a new idea, it’s actually an old one. Jack Welch, the longtime CEO of General Electric, wrote in Winning that the first thing he looked for in any hire was positive energy, followed by the ability to energize others. Energy sat at the top of his famous “4 E’s,” ahead of edge and execution. Welch understood decades ago that a resume can look perfect while the person behind it drains a team. What’s changed since then is that we no longer have to guess. There’s now a research-backed instrument, the Energy Leadership Index™ (ELI) assessment, that measures how people show up, especially under stress. It’s the foundation of my work, and it shapes every interview technique I teach.
And we need those tools, because interviewing has gotten harder. Candidates are arriving AI-prepared, with polished answers to every standard question. Communication styles vary widely across the four generations in today’s workforce. The old playbook of “tell me about a time when…” no longer surfaces authenticity the way it used to.
This Thursday, September 24th, I’m bringing this work to HFTP’s Annual Convention. In The Fit Factor: Modern Interview Skills Through the Lens of Energy Leadership™, we’ll tackle the three big shifts in hiring today: generational communication, AI’s influence on interviews, and values-driven questioning. Leaders will practice techniques for evaluating adaptability, emotional intelligence, and long-term fit. Then Part 2, The Mock Interview Skills Lab, puts it all to work. In small groups, we’ll run live interview scenarios drawn from real hospitality hiring challenges, with coaching and feedback along the way. Everyone gets a pair of colored glasses when they arrive. Each color represents a different energy, so the person sitting next to you literally sees the same interview through a different lens. After the convention, I’ll share the key takeaways and action steps here.
Hiring well is one of the highest-return skills a hospitality leader can build. Get it right and you reduce turnover, protect your budget, and build teams that give guests the experience your brand promises.
So, back to my original question: how confident are you? Wherever you landed, I’d love to help you move that number up. If your leadership team or your next conference could use a hands-on hiring session like this one, let’s talk. Bring your toughest hiring challenge, and we’ll practice.