Human Resource Planning In Hospitality Industry

Discuss about the Human Resource Planning In Hospitality Industry.

Strategic thinking and human resource planning

Human resource planning identifies current and future resources required for a business to thrive and achieve its long-term goals. Human resource planning includes creation of the employers brand, retention strategy, and talent management and selection strategy. Attraction, training and retaining of workers has always been a top challenge for managers. Investing in these concepts is critical to the success of a business and the industry as a whole. The study involves several annotated bibliographies of human resource planning in the hospitality industry including competitive and non-competitive strategies, and also issues facing the industry which pose challenges to organizations.

In this work the authors consider strategic thinking to be the process in which an organization plans and declares its goals. Mahafzah & Esenyel recognizes strategic human resource planning as an imperative component of the entire HR management, which links directly to the company strategic plan (2016). Strategic planning is found to provide formidable details which indicate the action to be taken in case an event occurs in futures such as detailed marketing forecasting. Bibiano Marco-Simo & Pastor (2014) note that human resource planning is an ongoing process which determines identification of current and future needs of the human resources. The research says that human resource integrates strategic plan and performance improvement, and decisions made have an impact on the overall performance of the business. TRNC hotels adopted a theoretical framework for hiring and training qualified workforce within the HR department, while giving preference to employee hospitality training. It also adopted measures on how the department can benefit gradually from employees by motivating them, which helped in aligning organizational objectives. The case study aided in identifying advantages of the HR system including providing vision of a company and shortages in employee performance hence giving a selection of employees who need to be trained. It also analyzes the personnel of a company by matching supply to the demands.

Hotel HRM is a factor that determines the success of a business, hence this case study is important in development of assessment 3 as it shows how top-level management benefits human resources and guides the hotel into positioning itself. The research finds that managers in northern Cyprus adopted an input oriented approach to enhance productivity in marketing and advertising rather than effective HR department, since the daily life cycle of a hotel needs effective planning (Oral & Whitefield, 2010). The strategic plans of hotels will come into play in assessment 3 in explaining how the functioning of human resource department ensures adequacy of a hotel’s performance in the long-term. Before a business invests in human resource, it first has to understand the problem of employee performance and related practical problems (Ross & Pryce, 2010). Development of employee careers is also an issue in the industry which HR strategic planning addresses especially because the performance of the personnel directly impacts productivity. Just as Baer (2013) mentions on organization objective, the assessment will evaluate how firms implement their objectives and capitalize on employees. An organization can achieve this through motivation incentives, promotions and training to improve their performance and retaining power as well as boosting the competitive advantage.

Importance and benefits of HR planning in the hospitality industry

The study recognizes that labor shortage as the main driving force for change whose impact greatly affects the hospitality industry. While based on results from a case study of five luxury resorts in North Carolina, the article investigates HR manager’s forces that drive change in the environment, competitive techniques adopted to solve labor shortage, resource allocation and alignment of these model elements to firm performance. The purpose of the study was determining whether luxury resorts invested in competitive methods to grab opportunities existing in forces driving change in the environment, and determining whether allocation of resources to the competitive methods created great value. The case study method of multiple cases described by Yin (1993) was adopted, which is demonstrated as the most appropriate for examining co-alignment model since researchers have to enter into the firm’s management to study and understand the complexity of the situation (Madera et al., 2017). As such, face-to-face interviews were adopted to test co-alignment model. Structured questionnaires which consisted of twenty seven questions served as the basis of interviews. The study comes to the conclusion that success in resort industry needs alignment of four components of a co-alignment model including the environment, strategic choices, firm structure and firm performance. The interviews depicted that forces driving change in this industry are majorly economic issues linked to labor and guests. The research showed that co-alignment provided a competitive advantage in the luxury resorts.

High cost of living, low rate of employment and seasonal need for employees are the primary factors leading to increased turnover and high overall costs in hotels. Since solving labor shortage problem is the role of the HR department, this case study will be helpful in assessment 3 when looking into administrative functions of the department’s contribution to the organization. By examining the changes in human resources and co-alignment model, it becomes easier to identify solutions and strategies used by human resource managers to attract and retain employees (Gannon, Roper & Doherty, 2015). Besides, it will help to identify the challenges workers are facing in the hospitality industry. According to the Employment Policy Foundation, deficit labor required versus available labor of 10 million is expected to grow to 35 million by 2030 (Jiang et al, 2015). assessment three will therefore use this information to assess why there is a large number of potential employees available but the turnover rate remains low, hence strive to find solutions that address the problem including outsourcing, recruiting workers in target markets, improving productivity, and developing likeable employment policies. Since luxury hotels are also known for providing exceptional services, the study also gives a guide on how to increase skills of employees thus achieving quality delivery and improving employee satisfaction.

Labor shortage and its impact on the industry

The study states that for a firm to thrive it has to acquire and optimize deployment of individuals with talent to facilitate effective functioning, but most of the time business do not devote enough attention to the issue (Prayag & Hosany, 2013). Human resource planning is defined as the rational planning of quality and quantity of human resources to facilitate a smooth running of an organization. This study purposed at documenting human resource planning at Shandrani Hotel in Mauritius since HR planning considers that people are a business’s most critical strategic resource. It also assess future requirements of new staff in terms of numbers and level of competence, formulation and implementation of plans to meet set requirements through training and recruitment. The study assumes human resource planning to consist of four steps including forecasting of future needs, analysis of availability and supply of labor, drawing plans to meet supply and demand, and monitoring of the plan’s implementation. The study adopted exploratory and descriptive strategies by taking in-depth interviews with shandrani professionals in form of open-ended questions. The research shows that in case of a deficit, measures should be taken which include apprentice in-house hence taking advantage of in-house training programs, employment of casual workers during peak periods. Quality and quantity also need to be identified using the process of recruitment and selection, in which recruited fresher’s go through induction programs then join the work environment. By acquiring casual employees at Shandrani during the peak period has helped overcome employee deficit when occupancy rate is at 90%, reduced expenses of hiring while increasing staff retaining rate as they do not work under high pressure.

In the current world organizations are operating in a changing and competitive environment hence managers have to optimize the use of available employees to become competitive. since this article contains information on how HRP helps to reconcile business’ needs for resources and the available labor supply, the information will be useful in assessment 3 in indicating how human resource planning guides in matching the right people to the right job. The information will help in explaining how HRP has to regularly adjust to match the goals and objectives of the organization. According to Mathis & Jackson (2012), human resource planning ensures predetermined number of employees with necessary skills, knowledge and competence are available at a particular time in future, and hence it systematically identifies needed resources to guarantee their availability. As such, assessment 3 will use the information to analyze internal human resources by cutting enterprise and occupational boundaries to yield skill and potential inventories among available employees and identify possible problem areas. It will also be useful in analysis of external supply of employees by identifying factors that impact supply of manpower in the market such as population density, attractiveness of a company, and the effect of the evolving education patterns. Through this the assessment will look into human resource activities such as staffing, training and development, and career development which not only affect a company’s success in the hospitality industry but also determine employee satisfaction and attraction and retaining rate in a company.

Co-alignment model for success in the luxury resort industry

HR planning is important for success of hospitality and tourism companies but it is not widely applied due to suspension of its outcomes. Upon reviewing it, this study found the presence of a gap in research concerning reason for unreliable results in human resource planning, a topic that is not fully explored. The study conducted by Saad therefore purposed at identifying and explaining factors hindering effective adoption of HRP in tourism and hospitality companies. The research was an attempt to examine the challenges by basing investigation on a theory that defines multifaceted problems, Strategic Problem Formulation (SPF) theory (Saad, 2013). According to Armstrong (2014) HR planning defines the specific number of personnel needed by an organization so that it can reach strategic goals. Typically, matching skills and employees in a business enables managers to determine the number and type of employees required. The research argues that HR planning encourages supervisors to build links between business and HR plans and support effective integration, and it permits reliable control of staffing. Using the SPH theory, the research provides the foundation for the researchers to integrate variables which influence HR planning in a model. This brings the realization of the availability of connectivity relations between challenges and the presence of core components which influence the challenges.

The study will provide a guide in assessment 3 in finding uncertainties in the HR planning process.  Basically, HRP practices in hospitality organizations indicate the gap between HR planning both as a theory and as a tool for business. Since there is no theoretical research that discusses the reason behind application of some practices while ignoring others, the information will help in determining why some organizations neglect the HR planning process, why the feasibility of the planning process is doubted by practitioners, and how to address challenges faced in preparation for the HR planning process (Guchait, Kim & Namasivayam, 2012). Job analysis is the cornerstone of HR practices including performance appraisals, selection criteria and training courses, but conducting it faces various challenges. Such challenges in the external environment of a company as increased competition and technological innovations lead to changes in the kind of job analysis criteria required. Through the information in the empirical study the assessment will identify hr. practices that hospitality companies adopt to enhance qualities needed in employees. It is also helpful in assessment of employee behavior. Tanwar & Prasad say that emotions that result from employee-supervisor social relations affect the accuracy of assessment results (2016). Another use of this information is on organizational politics, an informal practice done by employees to achieve certain goals and company interests. Through this assessment three will look into employment interview decisions, performance evaluation assessment and career success.

Challenges and solutions for attracting and retaining employees

Concerns about ethical practices continue to challenge the hospitality industry, which by nature places employees in critical situations. There are numerous opportunities for stealing because the industry is prone to dishonesty and also due to many cash transactions. The author’s purpose of this study is to examine responses of human resource managers to some ethical dilemmas using a Likert-type scale. According to Knani, unethical behavior is crucial to get ahead (2014). The study questions ho the industry can effectively manage ethical issues and make employees acknowledge organizational values. Mason (2017) notes that only 50% of American hotel organizations have ethical codes. Others adopt educative approaches and training to help employees adopt ethical concepts. In the hospitality survey, Knani found that directors who used the company for individual financial advantage were regarded as unethical. Using a series of interviews with HR managers from 13 cities in the US for 12 months the survey used a five-point Likert-type scale to determine how ethical or unethical the directors were. Keeping cash is found to be the most unethical act, although others like racial preferences, false accusations and propriety information are also unethical.

This case study can help in assessment 3 to identify causes of employee dissatisfaction hence determine ways of bridging the gap, satisfying them and improving their productivity. Applying the utilitarianism concept by John Stuart Mill in the ethical scenarios, the concept assumes that actions are judged as good or bad depending on consequences (Mill, 2016). Racial preference for instance would perpetuate racism which in the long run would lead to employee unhappiness and loss of motivation. By understanding this the assessment will therefore suggest ways through which managers should be on the forefront of ensuring an organization withholds a strict ethical codes of conduct to attract potential qualified employees and improve retention rate. Training workers with multiple skill-sets helps in solving problems that arise from employee motivation and staff retention. While pointing on ethical procedures that companies can adopt to yield more satisfying results, the assessment will use information from the study to evaluate how to enhance worker commitment to corporate values, to improve employee retention, make good use of human resources, enhance productivity and control costs of human resources. Ethical related issues also make new workers leave their jobs by the end of their first years. However, organizations that integrate onboarding programs for the employee experience a 58% retain ability for more than three years (Armstrong, 2014). Apart from giving them work-related information, the assessment will show mangers can welcome new employees into the team, educated them on organizational culture and values hence improving their integration.

References

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Gannon, J. M., Roper, A., & Doherty, L. (2015). Strategic human resource management: Insights from the international hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 47, 65-75. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.03.003

Guchait, P., Kim, M., & Namasivayam, K . (2012). Error management at different organizational levels—Frontline, manager, and company. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(1), 12–22.

Jiang, K., Hu, J., Liu, S., & Lepak, D. P. (2015). Understanding Employees’ Perceptions of Human Resource Practices: Effects of Demographic Dissimilarity to Managers and Coworkers. Human Resource Management, 56(1), 69-91. doi:10.1002/hrm.21771

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Mahafzah AG., & I, E. (2016). The Role Played by Strategic Planning in the Performance of Hotel HR Departments: The Case of Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC). Journal of Tourism & Hospitality, 5(5). doi:10.4172/2167-0269.1000243

Mason, R. O. (2017). Four ethical issues of the information age. In Computer Ethics (pp. 41-48). Routledge.

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Ross, D., & Pryce, J. (2010). Human resources and tourism: Skills, culture and industry. Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications

Saad, S. K. (2013). Contemporary Challenges of Human Resource Planning in Tourism and Hospitality Organizations: A Conceptual Model. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 12(4), 333-354. doi:10.1080/15332845.2013.790246

Tanwar, K., & Prasad, A. (2016). Exploring the relationship between employer branding and employee retention. Global Business Review, 17(3_suppl), 186S-206S.