Employment Trends In Hotel Industry For Generation Y: Operational Issues And Probable Solutions

Predominant Operational Issues in the Hotel Industry

Question:

Discuss about the Generation Y Employment Trends In The Hotel Industry.

The generation Y is the people born during the decades of 1980’s and derived the name after the name of the generation X as they precede the generation X (Solnet, Kralj & Kandampully, 2012). The people of this new generation possess different values and lifestyles which are applied to their professional field too. The values, ideologies and the decision making process of this generation differs from their immediate ancestors. Therefore, their perception of the work style and the decision making process regarding the same is unique and based on the sharp and clear logic and cause. In regards to this, the report discusses employment trends in the hotel industry as perceived by the generation Y (Brown, Thomas & Bosselman, 2015). In terms of the employment in the hotel industry, there are several operational issues in the same which are not only apparent, but also predominant. The people of the new generation with their inclusivity and the long term vision of the impact of the employment within the hotel industry are not attracted towards the same. However, there are few initiatives and implications that can be helpful in transforming the attraction of the people of this new generation towards the hotel industry.

Operational issues refer to the issues related to the business operation of certain industry. The operational issues can also be based on the specific organization and not on the whole industry. The issue related to the business operation of the industry indicates poor operational management system. In addition, operational issues in the business are capable of affecting the sustainability and the employment trends for the specific industry.

The report sheds light on the predominant operational issues in the hotel industry. These issues are affecting the employment trends in the same industry for the generation Y (Brown, Thomas & Bosselman, 2015). The general condition of the employment of this generation in the hotel industry is indicating the failure of the management on the specific industry in handling and resolving the issues in order to create employment attraction. On the other hand, the work preferences and the inclusivity of the people of the new generation are pulling back them from growing interest in the specific industry. However, the following section of the report discusses various operational issues prevalent in the hotel industry as the major obligation to the employment of the generation Y into the same.

Probable Solutions to the Operational Issues

The operational issues in the hotel industry to certain extent are challenges to the same (Brotherton, 2012). The apparent issues are:

One of the major and primary operational issues in the hotel industry is the employee turnover. Undoubtedly, the employee turnover is one of the threatening issues to any organization, but in this case, the entire hotel industry is threatened by the employee turnover issues (Baum, 2016). There are several reasons for the employee turnover in the hotel industry and one of them is the time. The employees of the hotel industry are labor of time which in terms of the deeper sense refers to the unusual work shift. It is really difficult for the management of the hotel industry to find long term employees who will willingly work on the weekend or holidays. The new generation people are not willing to work for additional hours additionally. Moreover, according to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Australia, 2009), the employers cannot employ their employees for more than 40hours in a week. Therefore, the additional working of the employees in the hotel industry is illegal and the people of the new generation are not willing to go against the law.

The operating cost is another hidden challenge for the hotel industry. The hotel industry must be up to date with the rapid change of the customer demand according to the society. The change is apparent in the use of the technologies by the customers. The customers are aware of the time management and the thus they want to save time with the help of the technologies. In order to meet the customer demand with the pace of time, the hotel industry needs the technological advancement which is based on the huge expense by the hotels (Hoque, 2013). This technological renovation in the hotels sometimes causes the same to be unable to provide proper and on time wages to the employees. Therefore, the new generation people are avoiding the employment in the hotel industry.

On the other hand, generation Y is not as new as the customers of the hotels and therefore they are not enriched with the technological expertise (Brown, Thomas & Bosselman, 2015). This is another reason for this generation people for not being attracted to the employment in the hotel industry.

One of the major challenges in the hotel industry is the natural disasters and the management of the same creates another operational issue in the same (Brotherton, 2012). The management of the natural disasters is immensely challenging jobs to the employees of the hotel industry.  The employees of the hotel industry are not really equipped with disasters management skills. On the other hand, the hotels in the hill and seaside are majorly disaster prone where the employees always need to be prepared for the disaster management (AlBattat & Mat Som, 2013). In this kind of situation, the employees have to work without wages or extra pay, which de-motivates them to continue their job in the hotel industry. Consequently, the employment service in the hotel industry does not attract the generation Y people.

Conclusion

From the external as well as the internal point of view of the people in the hotel industry, the treatment of the employees is another major reason for the distraction of generation Y in the employment in the hotel industry. It is found that the employees are treated roughly by the managers of the hotel industry (Zoghbi-Manrique-de-Lara, 2013).  On the other hand, there are various customers in the hotel with different and various demands that the employees are to fulfilled. The employees sometimes feel frustrated with their jobs. In addition, the employment in the hotel industry in most of the cases does not meet legal and ethical requirement proposed by the government. There are several laws and regulation proposed by the government for the health and safety of the employees, which in most of the hotels are violated. The people of the generation Y lose interest in such an industry that does not abide by the laws and regulation regarding the employment and the welfare of the employees (Chacko, Williams & Schaffer, 2012). Along with this, this situation of the industry in terms of the treatment of the employees indicates the poor human resource management (HRM) within the same.

It is evident from the above discussion that the operational issues in the hotel industry are creating hazards in the employment service. The operational issues are apparent and are distracting to the specific group of people in terms of employment service. In addition, the issues are prevalent in the hotel industry in terms of the challenge which must be resolved at the highest priority. This section of the report therefore presents the probable solution as well as the recommendations for the issues as well as for make the employment attractive to the generation Y people.

The employers of the organizations of the hotel industry must ensure that there is an employment contract at the time of the employment. The people of generation Y leads systematic life and therefore, the providence of the employment contract may attract them into the hotel industry. In addition, the employment contract must include the legal and ethical consideration based on the employment service of the organization as well as cover National Employment Standards (Hardy & Howe, 2010), Australian Workplace Relation (Hutchinson, 2012), Health and Safety Act and Fair Work Act (2009) in order to ensure proper and ethical employment service.

Another probable solution can be the reward and recognition of the employees based on the providence of their service. The reward and recognition of the employees will automatically ensure the reduction of the employee turnover and attract the generation Y people (Chacko, Williams & Schaffer, 2012). It is recommended to the HRPM of the organizations in the hotel industry to start the reward and recognition system for the additional work hours or emergency service such as the natural disaster service in order to retain the employees.

The proper management of the human resource of the hotel industry is also capable of retaining the employees as well as set an example to the people of the generation Y in terms of the employment in the same. The response of the HRM to the issues related to the employment as well as to the job satisfaction with intelligence and the proper management skills is capable of attracting people in terms of the employment (AlBattat & Som, 2013). On the other hand, the response of the HRM to the conflicts with the compromising and collaborating mindset is also capable of overcoming the problems related to the employment. In addition, HRM department must look into the matter of the payment and the work hours of the employees (Hutchinson, 2012). In regards to this, the organizations under the hotel industry must acquire the pluralist concept of the HRM that indicates the flexibility of the employment in terms of the human resource management (Clinton & Guest, 2013). 

Another initiative recommended to the employers of the hotel industry to overcome the operational issues affecting the employment service in the same. The proper organizational structure is the determinate of the rich organizational culture and proper human resource management within the organizations (Tavitiyaman, Qiu Zhang & Qu, 2012). With the help of proper organizational structure the HRM department will be able to implement strategic management of the employees (Hoque, 2013). On the other hand, the organizational structure will ensure the enhancement of the job satisfaction with the help of the enrichment of the organizational culture.

Employee selection is another probable solution for the employment issues in the hotel industry. The employers of the organizations in the hotel industry must provide attractive employment packages for the employees in order to avoid the employee turnover (Baum, 2016). In addition, while selecting the employees the employers must focus on the eligibility as well as the purpose of the employment and must not employ the staffs to job he is incapable to do. The HRM department of the organizations is suggested to execute proper selection of the employees not only ensuring the employee retention but also ensuring the job satisfaction which will attract the people of the generation Y into the hotel industry.

Conclusion:

Therefore, it can be concluded from the above report that the generation Y is being different in their way of thinking and the lifestyle urges for some change in the hotel industry that can attract them in the prospect of the employment in the same. However, the report reflects several operational issues in the hotel industry that are not only apparent but also predominant in the same. Moreover, the operational issues are causing the employee turnover in the industry along with the distraction of the people of the new generation Y. On the other hand, the operational issues seem to be the challenges for the hotel industry which must be avoided. Therefore, the report presents several recommendations along with the probable solutions for the prevalent challenges and issues. The recommendations emphasize on the human resource management of the organizations operating the hotel industry in order to retain the existing employees and attracting the new people of the generation Y. In addition, the solutions and the recommendations section of the report stresses upon the importance of the maintenance of the laws and regulation by the management of the hotel industry in terms of the employment.

References:  

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