HIRE

TRAIN

INVOLVE

RECOGNISE

A Guide to Interviewing and

Selecting the Best People

2011 InterContinental Hotels Group. All rights reserved. Proprietary and Confidential. Use of this resource, or any part thereof, is not required by any licence agreement, brand standards, or otherwise. This resource is an
optional guide that owners and managers of franchised hotels may use at their sole discretion, using or adapting only those elements, if any, that they deem appropriate for their particular IHG branded hotel. No company in
IHG, or any employee or agent thereof, seeks, requires or has any control or direction of any hiring, compensation, termination or other employment-related decisions at franchised hotels.
IC/Interviewing Guide/ALL/ENG/A4/09.2011

Introduction
Selecting the right people who work well with your existing team and who have
the right personality to bring the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand to
life at your hotel is essential to creating great experiences for our guests. If you
want to be a Great Hotel Guests Love, you need to be able to identify people at
interview who have the right skills and experience for the specific job role and,
importantly, the right approach to service. And you need to know whether their
individual style is a fit for the InterContinental brand.
Using the step-by-step guide and the accompanying Guide for Interviewing Colleagues and Guide for
Interviewing Managers/Supervisors will help you create a consistent, high quality interview experience for
candidates and make it easier for you to select the right person, with the right skills and personality for the role
and for your hotel.

Bill,
Concierge

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Preparing for the Interview

Before the interview
Download the InterContinental Guide for Interviewing Colleagues or Guide for Interviewing
Managers/Supervisors and prepare which questions you want to ask in each section.
Note: You dont have to ask all the questions in every section. At the top of each section there is
information on how many questions to ask.
Read through the step-by-step guide at the beginning of the interview guide.
Schedule a meeting room or suitable place to interview the candidate. If you have limited meeting
space, you could interview a candidate in another area of the hotel e.g. you could interview a
candidate for Food & Beverage in the restaurant before or after service.
Inform your front desk team that youre expecting the candidate for interview so they can welcome
them.

After the Interview selecting the best person

After the candidate has left, review their responses against the interview rating form on the last page of
the interview guide and give a rating for each section.
Transfer the number that corresponds to the rating (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) into the score box for that section.
Then add up the scores for each section and put this in the overall score box at the bottom of the
interview rating form.
Then transfer the overall score to the front page of the interview guide.
Review and compare the scores of all candidates who applied for this position and select the best
person for the role.
For successful candidates, inform them of the results and file the interview guide and their CV/resum.
For unsuccessful candidates, check to see if they are suitable for any other vacant roles in the hotel. If
not, ensure you give them feedback within 7 days and file the interview guide and their CV/ resum.

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Checklist
Activity
Prepare for the interview

Review the candidates CV/resum

Review the job description for the role

Remind yourself of the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts service behaviours

Download the InterContinental brand Guide for Interviewing Colleagues or Guide

for Interviewing Managers/Supervisors and prepare which questions you want to
ask in each section

Schedule a meeting room to interview candidate

Inform the Front Desk that theyre coming.

Interview the candidate(s)

Use the interview guide for all interviews - internal or external candidates

Remember to make notes of which questions were asked and note the answers

Remember to ask the same questions to each person applying for the same role
so you can make a fair comparison between candidates

Keep the interview flowing and put the candidate at ease, so they feel comfortable
talking and you can get a good sense of their personality throughout the interview.

Select the best person

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Review the responses against the interview rating form

Rate the candidate in each section

Transfer the number that corresponds to the rating (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) into the score
box for that section

Add up the scores for each section and put this in the overall score box at the
bottom of the interview rating form

Then transfer the overall score to the front page of the guide

Review and compare the scores of all candidates

Select the best person

Inform all candidates of the results within 7 days.

IC/Interviewing Guide/ALL/ENG/A4/09.2011

FAQ
1

What roles should I use the interview guides for?

There are two interview guides: Guide for Interviewing Colleagues and the Guide for Interviewing
Managers/Supervisors.

Do I have to ask all the questions in the interview guide?

You should aim to cover all sections, but you dont have to ask all the questions in every section. At
the top of each section there is information to prompt you on how many questions to ask.

What if I wish to ask more questions than there are in the interview guide?
If you want to ask more questions that are specific to your hotel or the role or to help you get a better
sense of the candidates fit for the brand please do so; but be mindful of your relevant national and
local employment laws.

How do I select the best candidate?

Make sure your decision is based on the skills, experience and interview performance of each
candidate and not on your gut feeling. This will ensure you make a fair and objective decision thats
right for the role, your team and your hotel.

Are the interview guides for external candidates only?

No. The interview guides will help you with both the internal or external hiring process. Using the
interview guides as the basis for interviews for all positions should help you to ensure consistency and
fairness.

Do I still need to review the background information of internal candidates?

It is recommended that you do, so that you have the correct understanding of their skills, qualification,
education and/or employment history and experience information and avoid the risk of making
assumptions.

Do I need to respond to all applications?

Yes. As a courtesy, all applications from both internal and external candidates should be
acknowledged. Remember the application process is an introduction to the InterContinental brand and
could influence their impression of the brand we want their impression to be a positive one.

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FAQ
8

Why must I provide a rating for each of the sections?

Each section focuses on a specific aspect of the candidates skills, experience or approach. Asking
questions and providing a rating for each section helps you get a full picture of the candidates
suitability for the role and their fit for the InterContinental brand. This will support you in making the
right hiring decision.

How do I score a candidate?

Refer to the step-by-step guide for help on how to rate the candidates responses for each section of
the interview and calculate their final, overall score.

10

Do I need to use all the sections of the Interview Guide?

Yes. Using all the sections of interview guide will help you gain a thorough understanding of the
candidates suitability for the role and their fit with your team and for the InterContinental brand.

11

Do I need to ask each candidate the same questions?

Yes. Asking all candidates applying for the role the same questions helps you make a fair comparison
between them.

12

What should I do at the end of the interview?

Always thank the candidate for their time, check if they have any further questions, find out if theyre
interviewing with anyone else and advise them of what will happen next. For example you might
advise the candidate that within 7 days, theyll hear of the interview outcome or next step.

13

What should I do with the interview guide once the interview process is complete?
Make sure the interview guide is complete, your notes are clear and readable and that youve given a
rating for each section and overall. Attach the Guide to the CV/resum and keep it together with their
application. Follow your hotel administration process for the next stage and/or decline letter.

14

If the interview guide has been used at the 1st interview, does it have to be used or the 2nd
or 3rd?
The interview guide will support you and your management team in making the right hiring decision. If
the guide is used consistently by everyone involved who interviews candidates, fair, accurate and
informed comparisons can be made by everyone involved in the interview process. There is a choice
of questions in most sections so that several people could use the guide to interview the same
candidate and still avoid duplicating the questions they ask. If youre the second or third interviewer,
you should review which questions have been asked during the first interview(s) with the hiring
manager.

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FAQ
15

If Im a second/third interviewer, do I have to use all the sections of the Interview Guide?
Each interviewer will bring value and insight to the final hiring decision, so asking one or more
questions from each section will help everyone involved in the hiring process to get a full picture of
each candidates skills and experience.

Now that you have a guide to help you interview and select the best people, check out the additional
guides and templates in the Hire section to help you:

Create job descriptions for key roles

Create and post advertisements to attract the best people

Access employment background screening at preferential rates

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