Recruiters need to demonstrate added value by providing proactive searches and exploiting their networks, according to hospitality resourcing professionals.

“What I mean by value is I would like to see recruiters not do a search in a normal way but do a targeted search and be much more proactive to build that talent up,” Aileen West, resourcing manager at Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, told an event organised by Caterer.com at London’s Soho Hotel.

“So, for example, they would say, right now we have six or seven skilled chefs on our talent database that you might want to look at. I would certainly be interested in that,” West added.

The latest ‘Recruitment Consultants in the Hospitality Industry’ survey by Caterer.com shows that for 28.7% of hirers in the sector, the most popular recruitment method is the internet and specialist industry job sites followed by their firm’s own website (13.91%). Some 10% use specialist recruiters but only 0.43% used generalists.

Employers acknowledge that recruiters plug a gap, with 49% using recruiters for hard-to-find candidates, but 45.22% used agencies after exhausting other means. Marco Rieck, group recruitment manager at The Restaurant Group, told delegates that the chain used the same methods that most recruitment agencies use and expects the cream of the crop to be more creative.

Sam Hayter, director of HR at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, added that recruiters’ access to networks helps to demonstrate added value. Hayter said that in places like Dubai, it is difficult to find sales people and if a recruiter has a broad network, it enhances the quality of CVs available.

Brian Dunne, managing director at a hospitality recruiter Action Solutions, who attended the event and operates from the Republic of Ireland, told Recruiter that such networks require building infrastructure on the ground where recruiters intend to operate.

“You have got to have an office and have a business there. It is not just a satellite office. You need to have infrastructure every day of the week to recruit in that country and understand the culture, the nuances and differences.”