In some hospitality subsectors, annual turnover rates reach nearly 70 percent. Few industries experience that level of churn, and the consequences are felt everywhere, on the floor, behind the scenes, and in leadership offices. High turnover weakens team cohesion, inflates training costs, and slowly erodes service consistency. Yet despite all the conversations around engagement and retention, one truth often gets overlooked.
Hiring is where culture begins.
In hospitality, we like to say, “People are our culture.” That statement is absolutely true, but it is only half the story. The other half is more uncomfortable. The wrong people, even when well intentioned, can quietly unravel the culture leaders work so hard to build. This is not about hiring bad people. More often, it is about hiring the wrong fit for the environment you are trying to create.
Culture does not start on day one of orientation. It starts the moment a hiring decision is made. Every hire either reinforces your values or subtly works against them. Whether leaders realize it or not, hiring is the first moment someone either steps into the culture, or begins stepping away from it.
When leaders talk about building stronger cultures, the conversation often turns to training, communication, or accountability. Those things matter, but culture becomes significantly lighter when hiring is intentional. It becomes much heavier when it is not. Teams feel the difference immediately.
One of the most misunderstood ideas in hiring is the phrase “hire for behavior, skills second.” Some leaders hear this and assume skills do not matter. In hospitality, that simply is not true. Skills matter deeply, but not all skills are technical. The ability to carry on a conversation, work effectively in a team, remain calm under pressure, and show empathy to both guests and coworkers are skills too. They are behavioral skills, and they are far harder to train than systems or procedures.
You can teach someone how to manage a spreadsheet or follow a checklist. Teaching someone how to care, communicate, and collaborate takes far more time, and often it does not stick. That is why hiring for behavior is not about lowering standards. It is about recognizing which skills truly drive performance in a service driven industry.
This is also why interviews must go beyond resumes and job histories. Experience tells you what someone has done, but it does not tell you how they instinctively respond when things go wrong. Culture lives in those moments. It shows up in how someone reacts when a teammate is struggling, how they handle a difficult guest, or whether they naturally advocate for others without being asked. When interviews are designed to reveal behavioral habits, leaders gain insight into whether a candidate’s instincts align with the culture they are trying to build.
One of the greatest pressures hospitality leaders face is staffing urgency. When schedules are tight and coverage is thin, it is tempting to hire quickly just to fill a shift. Most leaders have been there. But adding someone who is a poor cultural or job fit rarely solves the problem. In fact, it almost always creates new ones. Conflict increases. Morale drops. Strong performers grow frustrated. Leaders spend more time managing issues than leading their teams.
Running short is difficult. Managing the wrong hire is far more costly.
The impact of a single hire is often underestimated. One strong culture carrier can elevate the standards, energy, and mindset of an entire team. One consistently negative or disengaged employee can drain far more people than leaders expect. Culture spreads through people. It is reinforced, or weakened, by who is allowed to stay.
That is why protecting culture requires courage. When destructive behavior is tolerated because someone is fast, experienced, or perceived as too hard to replace, a message is sent to the entire team. It quietly tells people what truly matters and what does not. Over time, trust erodes, standards slip, and high performers begin to disengage or leave.
Strong cultures are not built by accident. They are protected through consistent decisions, especially when those decisions are uncomfortable.
For leaders who want to improve both job fit and cultural alignment, relying on intuition alone is not enough. A well designed assessment can play a powerful role in hiring by measuring the characteristics that matter most for success in a specific role and environment. When used correctly, assessments help identify behavioral tendencies, reduce costly mis hires, and significantly increase the odds of avoiding the one person who drains twenty.
When hiring is done well, culture does not need constant defense. Teams collaborate more naturally. Leaders spend less time putting out fires. Service improves because the right behaviors are already present.
The right people do not just perform their jobs well. They make everyone around them better.
If your culture is not where you want it to be, it may be worth taking a closer look at your hiring patterns. They are already telling you a story. The question is whether you are listening.
Let us help you solve your people challenges with a solution customized for your organization.
