Human Resource Management In The Hospitality Industry Is Crucial For Employee Success.

At the end of this module students should be able to:
Investigate, analyse and evaluate the principles and conventions associated with human resource management.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of effective and ethical recruitment and selection procedures.
Analyse the varying strategies of training and development within Hospitality / Tourism / Culinary Arts / Events / Aviation.
Identify and explain current employment legislation associated with HRM in the Hospitality / Tourism / Culinary Arts / Events / Aviation industry.

Learning, Training and Development

The organization that has been considered in this context is the airline industry. With reference to the chosen industry, some key topics will be discussed here.

Within the main topic, Learning, Training and Development, things that have been discussed are objectives of Learning and Development entity, procedure to design an effective one, approaches and learning style to consider along with methods for measuring the learning process. Discussion on Performance management Processes and Practices includes concept of Performance management Processes, its contribution to organisational strategy, impact of motivational theory on performance management, lesson for HR, identification of key tools and techniques in the performance management process.

Analysis of the Employment Law, common legislation and process for change of employment terms includes identification of common sources of law, the purpose and benefits of employment law, specific employment legislation for HR and legislations required for changing terms in working agreement.

The main function of the Learning and Development is to provide the basis for the employees to improve their performance both at the individual as well as at the group level. The aim here is to provide the platform where employees can increase and hone their skills. Hence the objective of the Learning and Development entity is to integrate individual and group goals and the performance with the vision and goals of the organisation (Sung and Choi 2014). Hence Learning and Development entity plays an important role in the organisational context.

According to a research project that was completed under the guidance of Middlesex University for Work Based Learning, out of 4,300 workers sample, 74% thinks that they have not able to achieve their full potential as they were not provided the training and development opportunity properly at the work place (Ford 2014).

Major organisation like Emirates Airlines has developed a world class aviation college where employees are offered training and development opportunity. The training is also offered to the partnered organisations as well.

In order to design an effective learning and Development Strategy, it is important to consider some essential aspects to maximize the learning process for offering employees an enhanced opportunity for development in professional carrier (Noe et al. 2014). Things that are important in this context are:

1. time constraints of the employees
2. Group size and type
3. specialization for maximizing training value
4. engagement of the employees with the training
5. assessment of the training outcomes

Different learning approaches of the employees:

As per the learning approaches, employees are classified into five categories:

Aural Learners: This group of people learns best when the content of the training is delivered through audio.

Visual Learners: This group of people learns best when the content of the training is distributed through visual medium such as video and visual presentation.

Kinesthetic Learners: This group of people learns through experience and retain most of the information with their senses.

Reading Learners: This group of people learns best when they get to read to information being presented to them.

Different training approaches and practices in an organisation:

As different employees learn in different way, companies often prefer blended learning approach that combines different learning style (Dhar 2015). According to a study of a Tennessee University, a blended learning program reduced both the time and the cost of training by almost 50%. Blended learning program considers several learning approaches and practises such as:

Performance management Processes and Practices

According to a McKinsey global survey, 90 percent of respondents agrees it is one of the top priorities of the organisation to create effective training and development program to improve employee skills and capabilities.

The Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model is an effective model for measuring learning practices. It has four levels for measuring the learning process. Those levels are:

Level 1 – Reaction: it is a measurement of the learner’s reaction to the training. It particularly looks for course relevancy, complexity along with strength and weakness of the course with detailed analysis of the fact that whether the training was designed in accordance with the learners’ learning speed and style.

Level 2 – Learning:  it measures how much a student a student has actually learned out of the training. It is measured through comparison between the Test scores obtained during as well as after the training, improvement of performance related KPI, certification provided after course completion and supervisor feedback along with detailed feedback on the performance.

Level 3 - Behaviour: it measures how employees has improved their attitude and behaviour after the completion of the training.

Level 4 – Results: it measures the tangible results of the training. It measures things like

• improvement in the business results
• improvement in the productivity and work quality
• Employee retention
• Higher morale
• Customer satisfaction index

The method is very popular as it provides detailed analysis of the effectiveness of the training provided, thus also providing assistance for measuring learning practices.

Performance management can be defined as an approach to ensure organisational success through development and improvement in the performance of the employees (Bocken and Short 2016).

The concept of the performance is quite straightforward and simple. In order to ensure that employees in the organisation are performing as per the requirements, it is important to review and analyse the performance of the employees and a performance management system is required to manage the performance of the employees in a systematic way (Laukkanen 2015).

The purpose of the performance management system is to analyse the performance of the employees, find issues and scope for improvement. It is very important from organisational point of view (Dan 2015). One such example is the Performance Management System in British Airline, one of the international leaders in airline industry and the largest international carrier in the UK.

Explanation of performance management processes that contribute to organisational strategy

Performance management is a continuous process that is aimed to provide a conceptual and strategic framework to plan, coach, and employee performance. It is basically a communication process that is preferred by the managers as well as the employers to plan, monitor and review wok objectives, and overall contribution of the employees to organisation for achieving success and organisational excellence (Porterfield 2015).

The aim of the performance management is to ensure the best of the employee performance the organisation with increased productivity and efficiency. Motivational theory plays an important role in the performance management (Bell et al. 2017).According to a survey that was conducted across 10 regional offices by The Hay Group, it was found that the companies that engage employees more efficiently, are 43% more productive that the companies that do not.

The research also specifies that the engagement of the employees also influences the organisational revenue. The offices with more engaged employees were 43% more productive compared to the others.

• A non-engaged consultant generated an average of $166,000.
• A non-engaged consultant generated an average of $238,000

Employment Law, common legislation and process for change of employment terms

Also, as per the Gallup’s 2014 research it was seen that only 13 percent of all employees are “highly engaged,” and 26 percent are “actively disengaged”.

In order to apply this knowledge into workplace, HR should know the following proven and trusted procedures for employee motivation:

• Engaging employees into decision making
• Treating employees with the respect they deserve in the workplace
• Employee recognition in a regular
• Feedback and coaching from managers and leaders
• Demonstration of trust in the employees capabilities and making them aware of it

Some of the key tools used in the performance management process such as ‘appraisals’, ‘Coaching’ and ‘Balanced Scorecards’. Appraisals are meant to motivate the employees based on their achievement and performance. Coaching is provided to the employee to increase their knowledge and improve their performance (Anwar and Shukur 2015). Balance scorecards is considered for the communication of the objectives that the organization is trying to accomplish, so that the day to day activities of the employee complies with the organizational strategies.

The most common sources of law for the employment are:

• statutes — Acts of Parliament
• civil aviation body or civil aviation authority

The purpose of the employment law is to properly regulate the relationship between employee and employers (Steele et al. 2016).

The employment law has benefits for both the stakeholders:

Basic process to address the work place dispute are (Sung and Choi 2014):

• Review the cause of dispute
• Listen to the employees concern and review it in terms of authenticity, legality and needs
• Investigate the matter properly and share the opinion of the higher authority in an appropriate manner. The strategy here is to have a proper communication with the employees (Steele et al. 2016).

In order to address the workplace dispute more efficiently and effectively, it is important to have a dispute resolution system. It should employ board members, managers, HR, and team leader as well to find issues better and proper coordination which is required for effective resolution of workplace disputes.

The Employment Rights Act 1996

According to this act organisation is not permitted to terminate the employees without proper reason and if the employee thinks that the rules are being violated, then they are allowed to make legal complaint against the employers or the organisation (Legislation.gov.uk, 2018).

John Baker and Terry Neale, two senior flight operations inspectors, have accused Civil Aviation Authority that the organisation is not following the employment right act as they are terminating people from jobs without any proper reason. They have also accused that it is compromising passenger safety.    

National Minimum Wage Act 1998

It makes it mandatory to provide minimum wages to the employees as per the regulation (politics.co.uk, 2018):

• £7.83 per hour for workers aged over 25
• £7.38 per hour for workers aged 21 to 24
• £5.90 per hour for workers aged 18 to 20

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

This act makes it mandatory for the employers to ensure safe and healthy workplace environment for all of its employees (Hse.gov.uk, 2018).

The Equality Act 2010

It ensures that there will be no discrimination in the workplace based on cast, crew, colour and gender and any violation to that is subject to legal action if complaint is raised by the employees (GOV.UK, 2018).

Appropriate legislation to consider:

The legislations that needs to be considered when there is a significant change in the work agreement are:

• The Working Time Regulations 1998
• Working Time Regulations 1999
• Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2002

The practices to implement during change:

• Review of the initial terms and conditions associated with the written agreement provided during employment
• Identify and classify the contracts terms which can be changed without the employees concern
• If the contracts term where violation leads to contract breach needs permission and agreement from both employers and employees
• Consult employees and ask for written approval for legally changing the contract terms

Conclusion:

It is concluded that irrespective of the type of industry, Learning and Development program is implemented by various organisation for organisational excellence through employee excellence.

When a training is completed it is important to measure the effectiveness of the training through measurement of learning practices. Post-training quizzes, one-to-one discussions, employee surveys, participant case studies and official certification exams are some of the most preferred and efficient methods for measuring learning practises.

Along with training and development program followed by performance management system, it is also important for the employers as well as for the employees to know about the employment law as well.

References:

Anwar, G. and Shukur, I., 2015. The Impact of Training and Development on Job Satisfaction: A Case Study of Private Banks in Erbil. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, p.65.

Bell, B.S., Tannenbaum, S.I., Ford, J.K., Noe, R.A. and Kraiger, K., 2017. 100 years of training and development research: What we know and where we should go. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), p.305.

 Bocken, N.M.P. and Short, S.W., 2016. The theory of Performance management: a comprehensive discussion. McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Dan, A., the scope and status of Performance management, 2015. Method and apparatus for leading effective human resource program.

Dhar, R.L., 2015. Service quality and the training of employees: The mediating role of organizational commitment. Tourism Management, 46, pp.419-430.

Ford, J.K. ed., 2014. Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology Press.

GOV.UK. (2018). Equality Act 2010: guidance. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance [Accessed 27 Dec. 2018].

Hse.gov.uk. (2018). Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 – legislation explained. [online] Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm [Accessed 27 Dec. 2018].

Laukkanen, T., 2015. The definition and scope of Performance management in modern organizations.  A modern theory of employee management, 42, pp.35-46.

Legislation.gov.uk. (2018). Employment Rights Act 1996. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents [Accessed 27 Dec. 2018].

Noe, R.A., Wilk, S.L., Mullen, E.J. and Wanek, J.E., 2014. Employee Development: Issues in Construct Definition and Investigation ofAntecedents. Improving Training Effectiveness in WorkOrganizations, ed. JK Ford, SWJ Kozlowski, K. Kraiger, E. Salas, and MS Teachout (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1997), pp.153-189.

politics.co.uk. (2018). National Minimum Wage. [online] Available at: https://www.politics.co.uk/reference/national-minimum-wage [Accessed 27 Dec. 2018].

Porterfield, T.E., 2015. Evaluation of human resource skills for management approach: an empirical investigation of scope and success.

Steele, L.M., Mulhearn, T.J., Medeiros, K.E., Watts, L.L., Connelly, S. and Mumford, M.D., 2016. How do we know what works? A review and critique of current practices in ethics training evaluation. Accountability in research, 23(6), pp.319-350.

Sung, S.Y. and Choi, J.N., 2014. Do organizations spend wisely on employees? Effects of training and development investments on learning and innovation in organizations. Journal of organizational behavior, 35(3), pp.393-412.