How First Hospitality reduces time-to-hire and builds trust among candidates with Checkr
First Hospitality relies on Checkr to scale quickly and maintain transparent communication with candidates to gain a competitive advantage in the hospitality sector.
First Hospitality is a nationally recognized hospitality development and management company. The company operates a large, multi-branded portfolio of properties throughout the United States.
Hospitality
400 employees
Key Results
75% reduction in average turnaround time
Fully staffed new property with 37 new hires in 48hrs
Products Used
The First Hospitality-Checkr Story
Centered in the Midwest, First Hospitality focuses on three tiers: hotel management, hotel development, and restaurants. Their services include hotel management and development, investment opportunities, conceptualizing and managing restaurants, and hospitality consulting.
With the abrupt post-pandemic rebound of the hospitality industry in 2021, First Hospitality saw unprecedented growth and consequently, new roles to fill at speed. To meet this need, Matthew Siebert, Director of Human Resources at First Hospitality, needed to completely rethink existing processes and look at candidate churn rates. One of the elements that was causing a backlog and delay were their background checks.
Prior to switching to Checkr, they saw a 10 to 14 day turnaround time for background checks. With an increase in demand for talent to fill open positions, First Hospitality needed to reduce leaks in their hiring funnel. They were looking for a background check provider that would significantly reduce their turnaround time while also improving their overall candidate experience. Upon researching several providers, they determined Checkr was a good fit.
Checkr works seamlessly with Hospitality Online to develop an outstanding candidate experience with a full integration, and gives First Hospitality the flexibility for asynchronous onboarding, which has been a game changer for Matthew and his team. They are able to pass more responsibility on to their hiring managers and reduce candidate churn due to increased process automation from the integration.
With both Checkr and Hospitality Online in place, First Hospitality was able to decrease their recruitment time and fully staff a new hotel with 37 employees in 48 hours due to rapid turnaround communication and seamless integrations. “When the background check is delayed, it damages trust with the candidate and opens the door for other companies to step in and capture that talent, so building a hiring process with streamlined integrations is very critical,” said Matthew.
In addition to optimizing the hiring funnel, part of Matthew’s strategy was to expand his talent pool to individuals re-entering the workforce after having been gone for a period of time, recent high school graduates lacking experience, individuals looking for part-time work, and those who may have criminal backgrounds. Checkr makes it easier for First Hospitality to reach these individuals through the Candidate Stories feature.
“Checkr's platform allows my team to request that candidate’s story. It humanizes the partnership, builds trust between the candidate and the employer, and allows them to recognize we’re open to understanding what’s going on, and really sets the springboard for what our employment relationship is like,” said Matthew. While the hiring process may be unfamiliar to these candidates, they have become some of First Hospitality’s greatest pools of talent for their open positions.
