hrm in hospitality sector

8/11/2019 Hrm in Hospitality Sector

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HRM In Hospitality Sector

Auro University Page 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

"Employees are the most valuable resources of comparison in the service (software, banking,management consultancy, etc.) sector. Like all other resources of the company, the employees

possess value because of providing future services." One of the most important indicators of a

companys performance is the level of dedication of its employees. Despite of v arious resources

and supplies a company might require, human resource (HR) is the most important resource

because without labor force no business can be done. People within a company design and

produce goods and services, control quality, allocate financial resources, market the products, set

overall strategies and objectives for the company, etc. So ultimately human resource

management (HRM) is an important part of nearly every organization.

The rapidly changing environment has made, is on, human resource management (HRM) in the

Hospitality Industry. The rapidly changing hospitality industry and the sophistication of travelers

requires more nimble, opportunistic and tightly executed strategies. Hospitality Firms who are

effective at strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation are able to create value in a

highly competitive marketplace. One of the most important departments of any hotel staff is

human resources management. they intend to maintain the status quo, without implementing

much in the way of innovative HRM strategies or practices. They believe that finding the right

people is the most important issue, and that peoples personality and characteristics such as

enthusiasm, energy, positive attitudes, positive values, and language proficiency, are the most

important factors in hiring future employees, particularly at the entry level.

A number of researchers (Cetron et al. 2006; Henry et al. 2004; Holjevac 2003; Lu 2005; Tanke

2001; Watson et al. 2002; Woods 1999) have attempted to forecast the future HRM challenges

confronting the hospitality industry. Although high technology and information system havereplaced many traditional and administrative functions, such as payroll and records maintenance,

it is not possible to replace service employees in an intensive hands on customer service

culture. Therefore, Holjevac (2003) predicts that employees will continue to be the most

important assets of hotels, and that training and development remains an imperative, permanent


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and continuing activity. Both management and employees need to have the idea of lifelong

learning and training, and it will become a significant part of work life at all levels (Cetron et al.

2006).

Statement of the Problem

The hospitality industry revolves around people: guests and the employees serving them.

Combined with the fact that hospitality is highly competitive and fast-paced, it's no wonder

human resources departments encounter myriad problems on a daily basis. The problems

encountered are:

Turnover and Retention:

A poorly managed restaurant or hotel is an invitation for employee turnover. Losing employees

for nearly any reason is a costly undertaking because of the time and finances involved for HR to

locate, interview, hire and train new staff members. Hospitality is an exciting field with the

potential for lots of action. The phrase "never a dull moment" certainly applies. However, for

some employees, serving people can be especially taxing work causing high levels of stress,

which many employees find they simply cannot tolerate.

Non-existent Policies and Procedures:

In the hospitality field, HR may find itself mired in legal proceedings such as unemployment

hearings and employment-related lawsuits. Many hospitality businesses, particularly smaller

ones, are fail to maintain accurate and current employee documentation. Without this type of

supporting documentation, HR department, and thus business, may find itself at the mercy of the

courts. HR personnel know that employment law favors employees to ensure they are not being

unfairly treated or taken advantage of. Accurate and timely documentation is often business'sonly defense.

Inexperienced Managers: Frequently in hospitality, managers are asked to oversee departments

with many employees. Just as often, managers are not properly trained to be effective but are

rather thrown into a position of authority without the benefit of experience or adequate


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management skills. Untrained or inexperienced managers can result in an entire department of

inefficient, disgruntled employees. Managers who don't know what their jobs encompass can

become frustrated and counterproductive, creating a negative trickle-down effect on their

employees.

Harassment Claims:

The adverse impact of harassment occurring in your hospitality business can affect your entire

staff. In a hotel or restaurant environment, there may be ample opportunity for harassment in all

its detrimental forms. Harassment is a situation HR is charged with preventing and, if it occurs,

resolving. Employees who are suffering through episodes of harassment become fearful and are

unable to properly perform their jobs or concentrate on providing the best service for your

guests. HR is charged with investigating and possibly firing or relocating involved employees.

Theft:

Restaurants and hotels usually have a large supply of expensive wine, unlimited food, and high-

end equipment. Some employees can't resist the temptation to steal these items from you. Theft

of this type is unfortunately commonplace in the hospitality industry and is extremely costly to

your business. Though HR may try to instill a sense of loyalty in employees, it often is not

enough to alleviate this cost.

Safety Problems:

Employees in the hospitality industry frequently find themselves in unsafe situations as part of

their jobs. HR professionals realize the importance of following occupational safety rules to

avoid injuries and lawsuits. However, many HR personnel find that their hotel or restaurant has

no safety rules in place, or that rules that are in place are not being followed. With so many

opportunities for injury -- on ladders, in the kitchen, with breaking glass, cleaning chemicals, andmore -- it becomes a considerable HR worry to ensure safety rules are followed.


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Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this research is to investigate the human resources management

issues identified as important to HRM managers operating in the hospitality Industry.

The themes to be explored include the human resource management issues which human

resource managers identify as being of concern to the industry and their own

organisation;

the specific strategies and practices they employ to engage with them; and the further

developments they are planning for the future.

Significance of the Study

The main importance of this research is to investigate the human resources management issues

identified as important to HRM managers operating in the hospitality industry. The themes to be

explored include the human resource management issues which human resource managers

identify as being of concern to the industry and their own organisation; the specific strategies and

practices they employ to engage with them; and the further developments they are planning for

the future. The study explores the way managers are thinking about contemporary HRM issues,concerns, and practices, and their plans for development for the future, in the context of the

hospitality Industry in. It provides insight which should be helpful for hoteliers, enabling them to

compare their perspectives and opinions with the `aggregated data and literature presented in this

study. Hopefully, it will encourage them to consider more strategically and systematically the

things they can do to more effectively position their HRM efforts.

Scope and Limitations of the StudyScope of the Study

This study was intended to generate data and insights that are relevant to the hotel

industry .The major scope of this study are that it adds contemporary data to a research which is

scarce. These studies have been single focus studies, and at least two of them can be accessed,


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for varying reasons. By focusing on HRM thinking at a bigger picture or more strategic level, as

well as asking questions about the way specific practices are understood and deployed, this study

has filled a substantial gap in knowledge about the state of the industry. Its

case study is unique, in trying to place the HRM issues of hotel industry in the context of HRM

practice in the region, and in the hotel industry globally.

Limitations of the Study

This study was intended to generate data and insights that are relevant to the hotel industry .

However, there are some limitations regarding the generalisation of the results presented here.

The study was limited to the most senior managers responsible for human resource management.

Many researchers in the HRM field rely heavily on a management perspective in response tocurrent practices and business performance rather than direct observation.The integration of the

views of all levels of staff and customers would provide a better range of responses and give a

more balanced analysis. Inaddition, the fact that the respondents were not executives meant that

theperspectives of that group have not been represented here, an important gap given

the assumptions that some respondents made about the priorities and views of top management

and owners.The target of this research was international chain hotels and domestic chain

hotels. This research sample covered 2 hotels. This is not good sample and the data and findings

cannot reasonably be expected to provide a sound guide to thinking and practice across the chain

hotels. However, chain hotels represent a larger scale of operation and so these results should not

be generalised to smaller hotels. These are normally family-owned business and previous

research suggests that HRM is not as well developed or even recognised in that context .So

the results of this study cannot be viewed as representative of the hotel industry as a whole.

Definition

Hospitality:

The Oxford English dictionary hospitality is defined as:the act or practice of being hospitable;

the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers.


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Accrding to Lashley (2000) the Joint Hospitality industry Congress defines hospitality as The

Provision of food and/or drink and/or accommodation away from home.The Higher Education

Funding Council Englan ds Hospitality Review Panel defined hospitality as being the

Provision of food and /or drink and/or accommodation in a service context, furthermore the

Nottingham group defined Hsopitality Is a contemporaneous exchange designed to enhance

mutuality (well being) for the parties involved through the provision of food and/or drink and/ or

accommodation .

King (1995)

King (1995) identifies a difference between private and commercial hospitality, where private is

Defined asacts by individuals towards individuals in a private setting such as the home and

Commercial hospitality is defined asmeals,beverage,lodging and entertainment provided for

profit. King also provides us with four necessary parts of hospitality :

1. A relation between individuals, a host-guest relationship

2. This relation can be commercial or private (in a commercial relation the guest has the

obligation to pay and to behave reasonably, the guest has the power as opposed to private

hospitality where an equality of power is assumed)

3. A key element is having knowledge of what would invoke great pleasure in the

4. Hospitality is a process that includes arrival, which involves greeting and making the

Guest feel welcome and departure.

These parts of hospitality might clarify what hospitality is but again looks at it from a consumer

(market) side and not from the sector perspective.

Brymer and Huffman

Accrding to Brymer and Huffman the hospitality industry isan umbrella term used to encompass

The many and varied businesses that cater guests . This statement indicates that they also

recognise the difficulty in limiting the scope of the hospitality industry.

They however like Angelo and Vladimir find some major segments in the hospitality industry,


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namely: food service, lodging, travel and tourism, and meeting and convention planning.This

would mean that the tourism industry, as we discussed before is not a real industry, would be an

integral part of the hospitality industry

Human Resource Management (HRM):

There have been many attempts to define what exactly HRM might be and indeed Heery and

Noon (2001) recognize that it is a subject of considerable academic analysis and that, ultimately,

there is no common agreement on what HRM means. Resultantly, they offer 10 definitions,

which they feel capture the complexity and dynamism of HRM as a subject of academic study:

A label HRM is seen as simply being another name for personnel management and there is

nothing distinct or special about HRM. A convenient shorthand term that allows for the grouping together of a whole series of sub-

disciplines that are broadly concerned with people management:such as employee relations,

industrial/labour relations, personnel management and organizational behaviour.

A map to help guide students and practitioners to understand the concept and ideas associated

with the management of people.

Aset of professional practices suggests that there are a range of personnel practices that can be

integrated to ensure a professional approach to managing people. In this view a potentially key

role is likely to be played by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD),

which is the professional association for those entering the HR and personnel profession.

A method of ensuring internal fit again sees the need to co-ordinate approaches to people

management, but here the co-ordination needs to be with other areas of the organization.

A method of ensuring external fit where HRM activities have to be fully integrated with the

demands of the external environment.

A competitive advantage where HRM is the means by which an organization cangain

competitive advantage, a view best captured by the clich of our people are our greatest asset.

A market-driven approach is that decisions will often be market driven and the needs of the

business determine the manner in which employees are treated; some may be treated well, others

less so well.

A manipulative device sees it as inherently exploitative and manipulative.


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A hologram captures much of the above discussion in recognizing the fluid identity

of HRM and the fact that it has multiple meanings.

Best fit

One of the earliest and most influential attempts to develop a model that recognized the need for

a fit between the competitive strategy and HRM was that offered by Schuler and Jackson (1987).

Schuler and Jackson developed a series of typologies of needed role behaviours that enabled

the link between competitive strategy and HRM practices to be made. The type of needed role

behaviours within Schuler and Jacksons model was contingent on the overall strategies that an

organization could adopt to seek competitive advantage and the HRM approached adopted to

sustain this.

Best practiceWhilst arguments for best fit advocate a close fit between competitive strategies and HRM, those

in favour of best practice approaches to HRM suggest that there is a universal one best way to

manage people. By adopting a best practice approach it is argued that organizations will see

enhanced commitment from employees leading to improved organizational performance, higher

levels of service quality and ultimately increases in productivity and profitability, Usually

couched in terms of bundles, the HRM practices that a re offered in support of a high

commitment and performance model are generally fairly consistent. For example, Redman and

Matthews (1998) outline a range of HR practices which are suggested as being important to

organizational strategies aimed at securing high-quality service:

Recruitment and selection : Recruiting and selecting staff with the correct attitudinal and

behavioural characteristics. A range of assessments in the selection process should be utilized to

evaluate the work values, personality, interpersonal skills and problem-solving abilities of

potential employees to assess their service orientation.

Retention : The need to avoid the development of a turnover culture, which may of course be

particularly prevalent in tourism and hospitality. For example, the use of retention bonuses to

influence employees to stay.

Teamwork : The use of semi-autonomous, cross-process and multi-functional teams.


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Training and development : The need to equip operative level staff with team working and

interpersonal skills to develop their service orientation and managers with a new leadership

style which encourages a move to a more facilitative and coaching style of managing.

Appraisal : Moving away from traditional top down approaches to appraisal and supporting

things such as customer evaluation, peer review, team-based performance and the appraisal of

managers by subordinates. Generally, all of these performance appraisal systems should focus on

the quality goals of the organization and the behaviours of employees needed to sustain these.

Rewarding quality : A need for a much more creative system of rewards and in particular the

need to payment systems that reward employees for attaining quality goals.

Job security : Promises of job security are seen as an essential component of any overall quality

approach.

Employee involvement and employee relations : By seeking greater involvement fromemployees the emphasis is on offering autonomy, creativity, co-operation and self-control in

work processes. The use of educative and participative mechanisms, such as team briefings and

quality circles are allied to changes in the organization of work which support an empowered

environment.


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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The service intensive hotels depends heavily on its HR, the main part of Hospitality Industry. In

each subsector, the most highest investments, the most modern equipment and luxurious

buildings will fail if the human/personnel aspect of the organization is not carefully taken careof. Human resources (HR) are the most important resource hotels have since when we talk of

hospitality we talk of a service, where the person who delivers it, is a vital part. Both the client

and supplier affect service and human resources development is the starting point for success in

hospitality organizations. Thus, the tourism industry and specially the hotel sector, considering

its main characteristics, more than any other sector, faces the need to put in practice the human

resources management (HRM) practices. Wood (in Baum, Amoah e Spivack, 1997) refer that

mainly because of the personal service nature of the work involved, in most developed countries,

both indusstry employees and wider society view hotel and catering labour as a relatively low

status. Besides, the hotel sector has some important features that need specific strategies namely,

a high proportion of unskilled labour; a set of competencies that are easily transferable between

hotel units; high turnover rates; low wages (unskilled nature of the work creates an excess of

supply that keep wages down).

Riley (1991) also refers to the subjective nature of standards i.e. every workers output is judged

subjectively because concepts like hospitality and service cannot be measured formally. The

negative employment image of the sector is the result of a set of historic and contemporary

factors (Baum, Amoah e Spivack, 1997:222): the origin of hospitality work within domestic

service and its consequent association with servility; links, in some countries between hospitality

employment and colonial legacy; widespread use of expatriate labour in many developing

countries, creating the perception that the sector is one offering only limited opportunity for

promotion and progression; widespread exposure to work in the sector as a first working

experie nce, resulting in generalised assessment based on limited exposure. Still, in what

concerns features in hotel working, to those who work directly with clients, hours of work are

traditionally dictated by the clients needs and by the employment contract. Another dichotomy

can be established between those who are in management positions and those who are not. The

first ones work several hours according to the needs of the hotel and not according to specific

and well defined shifts of work. Since usually extra hours of work are not paid to workers in


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management positions, organizations actually have more hours of work from their employees

without more expenses.

To those who live in hotels, it may happens that being officially off they are at the same time

available to solve some problem that may appears and needs attention. In what concerns thoseworkers that are not in management positions hours of work vary from country to country

(Hornsey e Dann, 1984). However, working in shifts is also common and as well for these

workers there is a large reluctance in paying extra-hours of work. They are too subjected to hours

of work that are not paid and are not expressed in working shifts. The HRM process is put in

practice in organizations through planning, organization, development, co-ordination, and

control of a set of techniques that are able to promote an efficient and effective performance

from all those who work in the organisation (Dessler, 1984). Promoting the management of all

activities in organisation in order to attract, develop, motivate and maintain a high performance

workforce, HRM marked itself away from personnel management which applied only

techniques of a operative nature with no relation to management in general. In opposite terms,

HRM has a proactive and strategic nature where HR are important assets of the organization,

managed accordingly to the established long range objectives. Besides, acts on the culture level

of the organization, in a holistic and integral perspective of managing people, where the

performance of each employee is an important contributor to efficient and competitive

organisations. Moreover, HRM is seen as a management activity, and consequently a

responsibility of all managers (Beaumont, 1993). In what concerns defining the HRM concept

there are several authors that pinpoint the need to distinguish between managing resources and

managing people.

Namely, Torrington, Hall & Taylor (2002) refer that in personnel management people who work

in the organization are the starting point, i.e. personnel managers direct their efforts to mediate

the relationships between employers and employees. Contrasting with this perspective, HRM is

directed to management needs in terms of resources to hire and develop. The emphasis is put on

planning and monitoring and not on simple mediation. Problem solving is made with all

managers involved in the question being discussed instead of debate between employees and/or

their representatives. Literature also refer that HRM is totally associated with the interests of

management since it is a generic management activity relatively distant from workforce as a


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whole. Organizations face intensified competition and their survival can not only be based in

identifying market opportunities but in the adequate match between the needs of that market and

a productive, stable and responsible workforce. Given the established objectives, putting in

practice the correct HRM practices allows organizations to anticipate and deal with change,

either internal or external, in a more advantageous way. HR strategy must not only be integrated

with the overall organisational strategy but also must direct it. Only this way can organizations

manage for the future, anticipate problems, stay close to costumers, ahead of competitors and, at

the same time, promoting a strong organisational culture. Both capital and people intensive,

hospitality organizations face the problem of assuring a high performance from their HR given

the sector working conditions. HRM faces in the near future enormous challenges, specially in

the hotel sector, in the difficult task of leading managers and owners to treat HR with respect

and, at the same time, helping them to find new and original ways to release in those personstalents and capacities trough training and development programs. The present study aims to

approach the importance of HR in hospitality organizations and giving the working conditions in

the hotel sector, to emphasise the vital role of HRM.

This paper draws on a number of sources (Brown et al., 2001; DfEE, 2000; HtF, 2000; 2000a;

2001; 2001a; 2002; IDS, 2001; 2001a; 2002; 2002a) to offer a brief review of the context in

which organisations in the hospitality industry are making their HRM choices. Hospitality is,

without doubt, one of the most important industries in the UK,contributing around 5 per cent of

UK GDP and 25 per cent of foreign invisible earnings. The industry employs 1.9 million people,

which denotes 7.3 per cent of total employment 26 in the UK. Moreover the sector is set for

substantial job growth in coming years, with the National Training Organisation (NTO) for the

sector, the Hospitality Training Foundation (HtF), suggesting that the sector is likely to create

300,000 new jobs between 2002 and 2009 (HtF, 2001). The majority of employees in hospitality,

around 1.1 million, are in the commercial sector of the industry, which consists of pubs, clubs

and bars, restaurants, hotels and contract catering. The remaining number are in the hospitality

services sector, where the main function of the business is not hospitality, for example hospital

catering, school meals and so on. Within the commercial sector the vast majority of businesses


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are SMEs, many owner-operated. This arguably creates particular problems in relation to

attemp ts to sustain best practice HRM, of which more soon.

The DTI (1999) indicated that 99.8 per cent of hotel and restaurant businesses employed less

than 50 persons in 1998. Indeed, across the commercial sector small or micro businesses with between one and ten employees make up 90 per cent of business. This is particularly pronounced

in the restaurant sector where 94 per cent of businesses employ ten or less employees. Those

businesses employing 25 or more employees consist of only 3.6 per cent of all establishments but

employ 45 per cent of the hospitality workforce. The majority of these larger employers are

found in the hotel sector, with an increasing number of these being brand or chain affiliated.

Indeed, this point is equally true of the restaurant and pubs clubs and bars sub-sectors. As the

HtF (2001a) notes experts within the industry project major growth in branded products, such as

budget hotels, pubs, caf bars and coffee and sandwich shops, and a major decline in small and

independent pubs and small bed and breakfast establishments. There is a preponderance of

women and young people within the hospitality workforce. Women make up around 67 per cent

of the workforce, reflecting that hospitality has a higher proportion of part time employees (57

per cent) than most other industries. Young people are also prominent within the sector, for

example employees under 21 make up 7 Interestingly, as part of the re-organisation of the NTO

network into the new Sector Skills Councils (SSC), hospitality as represented by the HtF, is part

of a broader formal expression of interest to become a SSC for the hospitality, leisure, travel and

tourism sector. It will be instructive to see whether the submission wins one of the approximately

25 available licenses from the Sector Skills Development 27 around 40 per cent of the workforce

within the fast food sector. Related to this last point a significant part of the workforce consists

of student, seasonal and migrant workers8. Only 3.4 per cent of employees in hospitality have a

degree or equivalent compared to an all industry figure of 16.9 per cent.

Around 25 per cent of employees have gone no further than O level or GCSE, with 18.5 per cent

of the workforce having no qualification compared to 11.5 per cent of the total workforce.

Despite the introduction of the national minimum wage (NMW) hospitality remains a poorly

remunerated sector with employees receiving lower pay than their counterparts in all other

industries and services. For example, average gross earnings for adult full time employees in the


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hotel and restaurant sector were 289.1 a week in 2001, the lowest of the main 17 industrial

categories. The average gross earnings figure can also be compared to average earnings in the

whole economy, which were 444 per week. Indeed, the New Earnings Survey for 2001 found

that four of the ten lowest paid occupations are to be found in the hospitality industry. In the pub

and restaurant sector the majority of companies have minimum rates at or near NMW rates9.

Compared to most other sectors, hospitality has higher than average levels of labour shortages

and labour turnover. For example, the annual survey of labour turnover undertaken by the

Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD) in 2001 notes that hospitality, with a labour

turnover rate of 55.3 per cent, was second only to retail and the wholesale industry at 58 per cent.

It is also noteworthy that unsatisfactory pay is the main specified reason (25.6 per cent) for those

who had left hospitality jobs. To date, this section has largely talked of the hospitality sector as a

relatively homogenous sector.

However, recognising the earlier discussion of differing product market strategies, it is worth

reiterating the point that the industry, and particularly the commercial sector, is anything but

homogenous. Most obviously the heterogeneity is Agency, thus qualifying the sector as being

one considered to be economically and strategically important (IRS, 2002: 5) 8 An interesting

recent example of this was reported in the Caterer and Hotelkeeper (Serbian students ease

Claridge s staff problems, 5 July 2001, p. 4) which noted how Claridges hotel, part of the

Savoy groups five star properties, was using students from Serbia to address labour shortages. 9

That is not to say that the NMW has had no impact on the hospitality workforce. Indeed, a large

proportion of the 2 million or so workers who had their wage raised by the NMW were in the

hospitality industry. For example, HtF (2001a) recognises that around 30 per cent of hotel and

restaurant employees were earning below the rate at which the NMW was set in 1997. 28

exemplified by the predominance of SMEs. Equally though within the key sub-sectors of hotels,

restaurants and pubs and bars there is considerable diversity in terms of market offerings and the

increasing emergence of the importance of niche segments. For example, a particularlynoteworthy development within the hotel sector is the rise of budget hotels. In 1998 this sector

accounted for 554 hotels and by 2003 it is expected that this figure will have risen to 1,169.

Equally of interest is the rise in speciality coffee bars the number of which has increased by 60

per cent since 1997. This translates into an estimated 1,900 branded chain outlets, a figure that is

expected to rise to 2,700 by December 2004 (Gibbons, 2002).


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This recognition of diversity within the various sub-sectors is important and has implications for

both competitive strategies and related approaches to HRM. As the DfEE (2000) notes two star

hotels tend to compete with other two star hotels within their immediate area and not three star

hotels. Likewise fast food restaurants and Michelin starred restaurants will compete in

completely different and separately defined consumer and labour markets. The DfEE (2000: 18)

goes on to recognise that, The divers ity of products, operational scales and technologies makes

it difficult to compare the overall degree of product complexity among sub-sectors, because,

essentially, the products are actually services and these have diverse components.

Importantly, the report also notes the implication of this point for skills. The degree ofcomplexity of products, both in terms of scale and sophistication, had implications for the range

and levels of skills required. Clearly, then, this sectoral profile offers a numb er of structural

features that may be inimical to sustaining good practice HRM. Aspects like the predominance

of small businesses and a youthful, part-time, female and lowly qualified workforce may mean,

as Keep and Mayhew (1999a) argue, the relatively low level of skills in the hospitality sector is a

third order problem. Therefore although the low skills base in hospitality is potentially

problematic.

Keep and Mayhew (1999a: 7) suggest that it is not the main [problem] and is often contingent

upon oth er structural factors. Thus the first order problem is the ownership structure of the

industry and the predominance of very small, 29 owner-managed micro businesses. Secondly,

within the hospitality sector generally competitive strategy is based on cost based competition.

These product market choices then give rise to and serve to exacerbate the second order problem

of the structure of the labour market and poor personnel management. Some of the issues

emerging from this second order problem will be further addressed later in the paper with areview of examples of bad and good HRM practice in hospitality. At this point though we

aim to further explore some of the issues emerging from the predominance of small businesses.

As we have just noted SMEs play a crucial role in the hospitality industry and consequently there

is a need to consider in greater detail the specific exigencies facing these organisations. In


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particular, this section on SMEs will consider potential ways to increase owner-manager learning

and upskilling, which in turn is likely to impact on SMEs human resources practices.

HRM Issues In The Hotel Industry Globally Employee turnover has been one of the biggestconcerns in the hotel industry for a long time (Hinkin &Tracey, 2000). The hotel industry

globally suffers from high staff turnover levels, which is a pervasive and serious problem

resulting in high direct expenditure as well as intangible costs (Cheng &Brown, 1998; Hinkin

&Tracey, 2000). Hinkin and Tracey (2000) suggested the indirect costs related to turnover

account for more than half of the total costs involved in turnover. Simons and Hinkin (2001)

contended that employee turnover is more costly for luxury hotels than for lower budget

hotels,due to the more sophisticated operating and training systems of the former. There are

many different factors that impact on turnover rates. Riegel (2002) argues that turnover is the

consequence of a complicated series of dynamics, which include the obvious ones of job

dissatisfaction and limited organizational commitment that influence employee attitudes and

ultimately affect employee behavior. Mobley (1982) suggested that the reasons for turnover in

general include dissatisfaction with work; availability of attractive alternatives; external factors

like housing, transportation, or physical environment; and personal factors like illness or injury.

Hinkin and Tracey (2000) added poor supervision, a poor working environment, and inadequate

compensation to that list. They further suggested that some managers do not understand the

relationship between employee retention and company profitability, and accept turnover as a

necessary evil. The issue of turnover has attracted

many researchers' attention in different countries. Powell and Wood (1999) suggested one of the

most significant problems in the hotel industry worldwide is 'brain drain', because the skills and

qualifications gained in hotel sectors are easily transferable to others. Cheng and Brown (1998)

explored the views of HR managers on the strategic management of employee turnover in

medium-to -large hotels in Australia and Singapore. They suggested that the most effectivemechanisms for minimizing turnover are initial recruitment and selection. They recommended a

greater focus on internal recruitment and development, which create career path options, as a

means to reduce staff turnover levels. They also noted induction and socialization that effectively

acculturate newcomers into the organization; and training and development that demonstrates the

willingness of an organization to invest in people which in turn lead to an increase in employees'


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commitment and job satisfaction. At a more fundamental level, Iverson and Deery (1997)

investigated 'turnover culture' in six five-star hotels in Melbourne, Australia and suggested that

the hotel industry has actually created a turnover culture, where there is a normative belief in the

legitimacy of relatively high labor turnover. This point has been subsequently endorsed by

Hinkin and Tracey (2000). Iverson and Deery suggested a strategic switch to promoting a

permanent employment culture and developing an internal labor market to reduce the growth of a

turnover culture. They advocate that managers need to improve communication channels and

highlight the organization's aim for long-term employment during induction programmes, and

also need to develop career path programmes in order to increase employee commitment and the

retention of trained and qualified employees. In the Asian context, Zhang and Wu (2004) noted

that among human resource challenges facing China's hotel industry, high staff turnover rates

constitute one of the key issues.Best fit vs. best practice?

Boxall and Purcell (2000) suggest that attempts to understand the way in which organizations

approach the management of their HR can be seen with regard to whether they aim for best fit

or best practice. On the one hand, the best fit school argues for an approach t o HRM, which is

fully integrated with the specific organizationa land environmental context in which they

operate. On the other hand,best practice advocates argue for a universalistic approach to HRM

where all firms who adopt a range of agreed HR policies and practices are more likely to create a

high-performance/commitment workplace, as organizations aim to compete on the basis of high

quality and productivity.


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THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

In hospitality industry the job of HR manager can be compare with the job of conductor, whose

job is to instruct and direct all of the various musicians so that they can perform well together.

But before a conductor can direct a beautiful performance, all of the individual musicians must

be able to play their instruments well. What kind of performance could one can expect if the

violinists did not know how to play their instruments or the flutists could not read music?

So it is in the hospitality industry, b efore a manager can direct and shape employees

individual contributions into an efficient whole, he or she must first turn employees into

competent workers who know how to do their jobs. Employees are the musicians of the orchestra

that the members of the audience-the-guests-have come to watch performance. If employees are

not skilled at their jobs, then the performance they give will get bad reviews. Just as an orchestra

can have a fine musical score from a great composer and still perform poorly because of

incompetent musicians, so a hotel can have a finest standard recipes, service procedures and

quality standards and still have dissatisfied guests because of poor employee performance.

That is why properly managing human resources is so important. No other industry

provides so much contact between employees and customers and so many opportunities to either

reinforce a positive experience or create a negative one.

As in the five-star hotel and five-star deluxe hotel there are around lots of employee are

involved in different jobs in different fields there is dire need to look and control on them. No

doubt different departments heads are present to look their department employee, but HRD is a

place, which supervise and effectively communicate with these departments head and

communicate with the top management. Thus there function is very large and diverse as

compared with respect to different departments heads.


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3.1.1 Personnel Department of A Typical Five Star Hotel

General Manager

Personnel Director

Personnel Manager

Personnel Officer

Personnel Research &

Development Officer

Training

Department

Personnel

Department

Operative Training

Supervisory Training

Management Training

Training Instruction

WelfareTrainingRecruitmentMaintaining

Payroll

FIGURE 1: Johar Journal,2012


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3.1.2 Personnel Policies of HR

The personnel function in a hotel includes many activities such as:

Consideration of leadership style Relationship Responsibilities Philosophy Social orientation Organizational structure

In most of the hotels the personnel policies are put in writing. These policies are distributed to

key and responsible executive to provide guidance and ensure consistent application.

Periodically the HRD review these policies.

3.2 COMMUNICATION IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Communication is the most important and most used of all skills in the hospitality

industry.

Talking Back for Success

The president of Hyatt Hotels makes it a practice to hold gripe sessions with small groups

of employees.

Managers at Earls restaurants make the rounds of all tables to inquire about the food and

the service. The American Automobiles Associations uses an 800-number to makes its products and

services more accessible to customers and to gather information regarding what

customers are thinking and doing. At United Airlines, managers are encouraged to get out of their offices and engage in

informal exchanges with employees.

What do Hyatt Hotels, Earls restaurants, the American Automobiles Association, and

United Airlines have in common? For one thing, they will all tell you that effective


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communication makes good business sense. More importantly, they all practice what hey

preach.

These and other service leaders in the hospitality industry communicate on a frequent and

regular basis with their customers, suppliers and employees. They are well aware that honestfeedback from stakeholders is the ultimate driving force behind organizational success, for it

is this feedback that fuels any efforts at self-improvement, both internally and in the

marketplace.

3.3 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

Human Resource Planning (HRP) is the first aspect of human resource process. It is verycommonly understood as the process of forecasting an organizations future demand for, and of,

the right type of people in the right number. It is only after this that HRM department can initiate

a recruitment and selection process. HRP is the sub-system in the total organizational planning.

HRP is important for:

The future personnel needs To cope up with change To create highly talented personnel For the protection of weaker sections For the international expansion strategy of the company It is the foundation for personnel functions

The list is infact never ending. HRP actually has become an inevitable part of HRM process.


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3.3.1 The HRP Process

Organizational

Objectives & Policies

HR Demand Forecast HR Supply Forecast

HR Programming

HRP Implementation

Control and

Evaluation of Program

Environment

Surplus Shortage



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Organizational Objectives & PoliciesHR plans need to be based on organizational objectives. In practice, this implies that the

objectives of the HR plan must be derived from organizational objectives. Specificrequirements in terms of number and characteristics of employees should be derived from the

organizational objectives.

HR Demand ForecastDemand forecasting must consider several factors both external as well as internal. Among

the external factors are competition, economic climate, laws and regulatory bodies, changes

in technology and social factors. Internal factors include budget constraints, production

levels, new products and services, organizational structure and employee separations.

HR Supply ForecastThe next logical step for the management is to determine whether it will be able to procure

the required number of personnel and the sources for such procurement. This information is

provided by supply forecasting. Supply forecasting measures the number of people likely to

be available from within and outside an organization, after making allowance for

absenteeism, internal movements and promotions, wastage and changes in hours and other

conditions of work.

HR ProgrammingOnce an organizations personnel demand and supply are forecast, the two must be

reconciled or balanced in order that vacancies can be filled by the right employees at the right

time. HR programming is the third step in the planning process, therefore, assumes greater

importance.

HR Plan ImplementationImplementation requires converting an HR plan into action. A series of action programmes

are initiated as a part of HR plan implementation. Some such programmes are recruitment,

selection and placement; training and development; retraining and redeployment; the

retention plan; the redundancy plan; and the succession plan.


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Control and EvaluationControl and evaluation represents the fifth and the final phase in the HRP process. The HR

plan should include budgets, targets and standards. It should also clarify responsibilities for

implementation and control, and establish reporting procedures which will enable

achievements to be monitored against the plan. These may simply report on the numbers

employed against establishment and on the numbers recruited against the recruitment targets.

But they should also report employment costs against the budget, and trends in wastage and

employment ratios.

3.4 JOB ANALYSIS

In order to achieve effective HRP, the duties involved and the skills required for performing all

the jobs in an organization have to be taken care of. This knowledge is gained through jobanalysis. In simple words, job analysis may be understood as a process of collecting information

about the job. Specifically, job analysis involves the following steps:

Collecting and recording job information. Checking the job information for accuracy. Writing job description based on the information. Using the information to determine the skills, abilities and knowledge that are required on

the job. Updating the information from time to time.


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3.4.1 Job Analysis Process

RECRUITMENT

Job Analysis

A Process of Obtaining all Pertinent Job Facts

Job Description

A statement containing items

such as

Job title Location Job Summary

Duties Machines, tools & equipment Materials & form used Supervision given or received Working conditions Hazards

Job Specification

A statement of human qualifications

necessary to do the job. Usually contains

such items as

Education Experience

Training Judgement Initiative Physical efforts & Physical skills Responsibilities Communication skills Emotional characteristics Unusual sensory demands such as

sight, smell, hearing.



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3.5 Recruitment

Recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for jobs, from

among whom the right people can be selected. Recruitment is the process of finding qualified

people and encouraging them to apply for work with the firm.

3.5.1 Managerial Roles

Responsibility for the overall recruitment process is assigned to human resources

managers. They are responsible for designing and implementing a recruitment program that will

meet the hospitality industrys personnel needs while complying with all legal requirements.

This responsibility includes finding sources of applicants; writing and placing advertisements;

contacting schools; agencies and labour unions; establishing procedures to guarantee equal

employment opportunity; and administering the funds the firm has budgeted for recruitment..

3.5.2 Recruitment Process

HR practices its function in each and every stages of recruitment. The process comprises five

interrelated stages, viz. (i) Planning, (ii) Strategy development, (iii) Searching, (iv) Screening,

and (v) Evaluation and control.

The function of HR is to make the selection procedure an ideal one. The ideal recruitment programmed is the one that attracts a relatively larger number of qualified applicants who will

survive the screening process and accept positions with the organization, when offered.


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Recruitment Process

Personnel

Planning

JobVacancies

Job

Analysis

RecruitmentPlanning

-Numbers

Employee

Requisition

SearchingActivation

Selling

-Message

Screening Potential

Hires

ApplicantPool

To

Selection

Evaluation

& Control

Strategy

Development

-Where

-How

Applicant

Population



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3.6 SELECTION

Selection is a process of picking individuals (out of the pool of job applicants) with requisite

qualifications and competence to fill jobs in the organization. Different hotels apply different

methods and procedure for recruitment as well as selection. It basically depends on themanagement policies and the size of operation.

3.6.1 Selection Process

Selection is a long process, commencing from the preliminary interview of the applicants and

ending with the contract of employment. Selection procedure for senior managers will be long-

drawn and rigorous, but it is simple and short while hiring shop-floor workers.


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3.6.2 Selection Process for Managerial Department in Marriot

Pre-placementPresentation

Group Discussion

Extemporization

Written Aptitude

Test

Preliminary

Interview

PsychometricTest for short

listed candidates

Final Interview

with senior

management

Letter of Offer



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3.7 ORIENTATION AND PLACEMENT

3.7.1 Orientation

Orientation is called as induction. It is the planned process of introducing new employees to their

jobs, their co-workers and the organization. The main purpose of induction is to relieve the new

employee from possible anxiety and make him or her feel at home on the job.

These orientation programmes are carried out formally as well as individually/collectively in the

hotels. These programmes are carried from 1 weak 2 weak.

The topics, which are covered in the induction programmes are given in the following table:

Organizational Issues

History of employer Product line or services provided

Organization of employer Overview of production process

Names & titles of key executives Company policies & rules

Employees title & department Disciplinary regulations

Layout of physical facilities Employee handbook

Probationary period Safety procedure & enforcement

Employee Benefits

Pay scales and pay days Insurance benefits

Vacations and holidays Retirement programme

Rest breaks Employer-provided services to

employees Training & education benefits

Counseling Rehabilitation programmes

Introduction

To supervisor To co-workers

To trainers To employee counselor

Job Duties

Job location Overview of job


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Job tasks Job objectives

Job safety requirements Relationship to other jobs

3.8 Placement

After orientation comes placement. Placement refers to the assignment of a new employee to his

or her job. The jobs of HR are simple where the job is independent, but where the jobs are

sequential or pooled, HR specialists use assessment classification model for placing newly hired

employees. For example the job of placing a waiter to its position is quite simpler as compared

with that of the placing the employee at managerial level. The job of placing a waiter to its

position is called an independent job but the job of placing employee at managerial level can be

considered as sequential or pooled job.

3.9 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training and development activities are designed in order to impart specific skills,

abilities and knowledge to employees.

Effective training is basic ingredient of success in the hospitality industry. The concept of

training is endorsed my most managers in the hospitalityindustry, yet managers often give little

thought to the training function in the context of their own business or departmental

responsibilities until something goes wrong! One of the main problems in hotel industry is that

investment in training and development of employees is a reactive process for many companies.

Frequently, training and development arises as the result of significant change in the operational

environment or as a consequent of crisis such as staff turnover or major departmental problems.

Training is then used to cope with the immediate difficulty. This process may be proved costly to

hotel. Whereas development refers to learning opportunities designed to help employees grow

and evolve a vision about the future.



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Here the job of HR is to identify the training need and then accordingly to design the

suitable programme for that. Training within a hotel provides the best opportunity to influence

the attitude and performance of employees. The training programmes include is such as

introduction, fire, food hygiene, control of substances hazardous to health, manual handling first-

aid, technical skills, product knowledge, and customer service.

Like in-house off-the-job training, external off-the-job training can also take a variety of forms.

Such training may be tailored to the companys specific need or it may be offered on a more

general basis; it may focus on special disciplines related to hospitality.

Independent off-the-job training refers to training methods that are controlled and managed by

the learner. A number of these training options which are becoming increasingly important to

employees in the hospitality industry are:

Distance/open learning or training (may involve correspondence teaching, use of

television or radio, video-conferencing, etc.) Computer-assisted learning Interactive-video learning A combination of the above method

Marriott Trains

Bill Marriott is a firm believer in the value of training front-line people, and in the impact the

front-line has on the bottom-line. There are over 140000 employees in the various Marriott hotel

and food servic e enterprises, which he describe simply as a people business. As Marriott says:


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We are in the people business, from waiters to maids to truck drivers, our employees must be

able to get along pleasantly with others all day long.

He adds that, by one estimate, company employees make 6 million customer contacts per day, 6

million moments of truth.

In the Marriott Company that important customer interface isnt left to chance. In 1984 Marriott

spend more than $20 million on training. To reinforce the effects of training, every employee

gets the regular performance review and participates in a generous profit- sharing plan.

3.10 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Performance appraisal refers to the assessment of an employees actual performance, behaviour

on jobs, and his or her potential for future performance. It is done generally for the purpose of

assessing training needs to employee, to effect his promotions and to give him pay increase,

retention or termination.

Though there are different methods of performance appraisal only one method that is commonly

used in this industry is Rating Scale Method. In most of the hotels the performance appraisal is

done on yearly basis. The rating scales method is used by the way of Questionnaire (1-10).

3.10.1 Challenges of Performance Appraisal

Create a culture of excellence that inspires every employee to improve or lend himself orherself to be assessed.

Align organizational objectives to individual aspirations. Clear growth paths for talented individuals. Provide new challenges to rejuvenate careers that have reached the plateau stage. Forge a partnership with people for managing their careers. Empower employees to make decisions without the fear of failing.


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Embed teamwork in all operational processes. Debureaucratise the organization structure for ease of flow of information.

3.11 JOB EVALUATION

Job evaluation refers to the process of determining the relative worth of each job for purpose of

establishing satisfactory wage and salary differentials. Jobs are evaluated on the basis of their

content and are placed in the order of their importance. In a job evaluation programme, the jobs

are ranked and not the job holders.

3.11.1 Methods of Job Evaluation

Job Evaluation

Analytical Non-Analytical

Point-

Ranking

Method

Factor

Comparison

Method

Ranking

Method

Job-

Grading

Method



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Though there are different types of methods available but the most common method practiced in

this industry is analytical method and in analytical method point ranking methods is the most

appropriate one.

3.12 EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

As the name suggest it is all about maintaining relationship with the employee. It includes all

terms that are concerned with the employee like employee remuneration, incentives payments,

employee benefits and services, employee welfare, safety and health issue, trade unions etc. Here

its where the HR manager communicates with employee about their problems, suggestion andso on. All these steps are followed in order to retain best employee.

3.12.1 Employee Remuneration

In most of the hotels, the human resource department plays a crucial role in determining the

remuneration policy of employees. For this they take into consideration all external as well as the

internal factors. By this they have to deal with external factors like labour market, going rate,cost of living, labour unions, labour laws, society and the economy as well as internal factors like

companys ability to pay, job evaluation and perform ance appraisal and the worker himself or

herself. In this industry both financial as well as non-financial methods of remuneration are

followed.

3.12.2 Employee Benefits and Services

The HRD has a major role in the development and management of benefits programs. These

benefits are designed by HRD in order to suit the requirement of employee. And further, they are

sent to the top management for approval. Thereafter they are implemented. These benefits, which

are given to the employee, are both financial as well as non-financial.


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Some of the benefits and services, which are practiced in the hospitality industry are as follows:

Legally required payments Old age, survivors, disability and health insurance

Workers compensation Unemployment compensation

Contingent and deferred benefits Pension plans Group life insurance Sick leave Maternity leave

Payments for time not worked Vacations Holidays Voting pay allowances

3.12.3 Employee Welfare

Labour welfare refers to taking care of the well being of workers by employers, trade unions, and

government and non-government agencies. Recognizing the unique place of the worker in the

society and doing good for him/her retaining and motivating employees, minimizing social evils,

and building up the local reputation of the hotel are the arguments in favour of employee

welfare. Hence this area has generated one more area for practicing of HR roles.

3.12.4 Safety and Health Issue

Since the hospitality industry, is the service industry, hence the safety and health aspects of

employee is concern for the organization, as employee are assets of service industry. The whole

and soul responsibility of employee health and safety measures lie on the shoulder of HR

department. Hence such types of measures reduce the chances of accidents.


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3.13 FUTURE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Service quality and productivity were the most crucial competitive issues facing these firms.

When asked to different hotels regarding strengthening competitiveness, 50 percent choose

internal management actions, including educating and training employees, with publicly

announcing employee policy. And all these procedure of implementing such task is over HR

shoulder.

To achieve a progressive, innovative culture within organization- and to cope with the critical

challenges that the future might bring- human resources professionals are likely to assume

certain roles with greater frequency. These roles are following:

The Consultant Advisor Role:- In particular, the top human resources executive will

increasingly play a major role in advising the CEO and the top management team about the

human resources implications of broad organizational strategy, both nationally and globally.

Further, the human resources department will be called upon more and more advice

management at all levels about the motivational, morale and legal implications of various

present and proposed practices and policies. The Catalyst Facilitator Role: - The human resources directors have a unique opportunity to

serve in a catalyst-facilitator role in stimulating a top management philosophy, leadership

style and organizational culture and climate. It is important that management develops a clear

view of these interrelated matters and that management is self-conscious about them on an

ongoing basis. In addition, the human resources director can serve as a resource person about

these concepts and their links to organizational outcomes such as effectiveness, efficiency,

development and participant satisfaction. The Diagnostic Role: - By this, they are expected to identify the underlying causes of an

organizational problem as distinct from its symptoms and to come up with solutions or

system for solving the problem- that correspond with the diagnosis. All too often, programs

of various kinds, like job enrichment, incentives systems, quality circles and so on, are

proposed by managers or human resources people. what is usually needed is an accurate

description of the problem to be solved, a careful analysis of the dynamics of that problem,


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and a close look at alternative solutions and their rectifications before a program are

implemented. The Assessment Role: - One of the most difficult roles for human resources professionals is

the assessment role, in which they assess the effectiveness of various human resources

practices and policies. A comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of various human

resources policies and practices is called a human resources management audit or personnel

audit. These comprehensive human resources audit may be used to analyze a wide array of

human resources practices and outcomes.

Hyatts Human Resource Strategy: Focus 2000

Hyatt has an ambitious plan to find, train, and keep quality employees during the next 10 years -

Focus 2000. Recruitment, training, recognition, retention, communications, volunteerism and

community involvement are important components of the plan. One priority of focus 2000 is

keeping tabs of management and line employees. The Hyatt Management Manpower Inventory

is a program to keep track of the locations, performance and wage scales of more than 8000

management-level employees in the company. The information, which is compiled on computer

at each hotel and sent to corporate offices, includes the employees levels of interest in

promotion, geographic preferences and the availability of other employees to fill their slots if

they are promoted. One another program provides more sta tistical indicators of a propertys

success and helps the corporate and regional staffs identify potential personnel problem areas.

The strongest component of the focus 2000 program is employee communications. The chain has


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always had clear, meaningful two-way lines of communication. Morgan, corporate director of

employee relations, discusses Hyatts commitment to employee communications. We try to

share with employees as much information as possible about the company and how its

performing. Our approach is always to be honest and instill in them a sense of ownership in the

company. Then if the company or an individual hotel has a problem, sales are down, for

example, we can openly discuss the impact of the situation and what we can do together to solve

it.


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INTRODUCTION

Hyatt Hotels Corporation , is an American international company and operator of hotels . The

Hyatt Corporation was born upon purchase of the Hyatt House, at Los Angeles International

Airport on January 1, 1957. Thay are a global hospitality company with widely recognized,

industry leading brands and a tradition of innovation developed over our more than fifty-year

history. Their mission is to provide authentic hospitality by making a difference in the lives of

the people we touch every day. They focus on this mission in pursuit of our goal of becoming

the most preferred brand in each segment that we serve for our associates, guests, and owners.

They support our mission and goal by adhering to a set of core values that characterizes ourculture.

They manage, franchise, own and develop Hyatt branded hotels, resorts and residential and

vacation ownership properties around the world. As of June 30, 2012, the company's worldwide

portfolio consisted of 492 properties.

HR POLICIES

Employee Rewards

Hyatt believes in its employees in celebrating success and in highlighting accomplishments!

Employees take pride in being part of such a collaborative environment. As an employee of the

Hyatt team, not only will receive outstanding rewards and recognition, but also be a part of a

family-friendly atmosphere consistently labeled with "great camaraderie". Employee feel a

tremendous sense of pride when recognized for contributions to exceptional guest experiences.

Hyatt is equally committed to ensuring that employees, their family or domestic partner stay

healthy, take advantage of opportunities, plan for the future and take time to enjoy life. As

healthy and happy people, Hyatt employees are committed to working in collaborative

environment. Hyatt's worldwide recognition and rewards programs will vary depending on the

country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel


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Safety to employees

Quality health and welfare care for employees and their family or domestic partner is top

priority. Hyatts medical, dental, v ision and prescription drug coverage is designed to give

employees and their families the opportunity to obtain comprehensive and quality health careservices at reasonable costs utilizing a large network of medical professionals.

Combined with unique discounts for alternative health options and fitness services, Hyatt

employees take advantage of the special programs offered like the Moms-to-Babies and the

Healthy Outlook Programs. Hyatt puts their employees in control of their benefits by providing

easy-to-use tools to help manage them effectively and by offering a range of benefits to best

meet their needs.

When the need arises, Hyatt's leave policies, allow ample time off for personal, medical, new

child, military or to care for a family member. Successfully being able to cope with life's

everyday challenges equates to a healthy and productive work environment. The Life Balance

assistance program Hyatt offers has proven to act as a strong source of reference and is available

anytime.

Planning for the future

Hyatt employees have the opportunity to build their future through a retirement savings plan andmost importantly to take advantage of the company match. Employees with children have found

the company 529 plan attractive as everyone wants to give their children opportunity for a

college education.

Because Hyatt recognizes the need to keep employees skills current to stay on top, an

educational reimbursement program provides continued learning for associates. Hyatt

employees are encouraged to continue their career growth, if not by completing a college course

or obtaining professional certification, then by taking advantage of the internal Hyatt training

curriculum.

The Hyatt Life Insurance Program is intended to provide employees and their beneficiaries

additional financial support should a death occur while actively employed by Hyatt.


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Balanced Role

Hyatt recognizes the importance of enjoying life and encourages all employees to focus on

balancing work and personal life. This keeps employees fresh and better equipped to handle day

to day service interactions.

Paid time off is earned by all Hyatt employees and encourages time away from work for vacation

and holidays or to be used at a time of illness. Time away promotes better health and creativity.

During time off, Hyatt employees may be eligible to enjoy complimentary or discounted Hyatt

room nights; by far the most popular reward of working for Hyatt.There are many perks to

working for a large company, as Hyatt has formed many corporate partnerships that allow

employee purchasing discounts. Employees enjoy a number of discounts to include computer,

mobile, recreational, home goods, clothing, dry cleaning, and memberships.

Positive Recognition With Hyatt

The hospitality industry is naturally filled with a wide range of occupations. Upwards to 80% of

employees have taken advantage of promotion opportunities with Hyatt and this is one of the

primary reasons Hyatt culture speaks of ethics and integrity. Though partially employee driven,

it is always look within first to identify and develop the next level of leadership.

The culture of integrity promotes pride in work environment. Their number one applicant sourceis Employee Referral Program and good company brands speak for themselves.


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INTRODUCTION

Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International' s flagship brand of full-

service hotels and resorts. The company, based in Washington D.C., is repeatedly included on

the Forbes Best Companies to Work for list, and was voted the 4th best company to work for in

the UK by The Times in 2009.

As of August 2012, there were 502 hotels and resorts operating under the brand. The loyalty

program is called Marriott Rewards.

HR POLICIES

Employee Rewards

Marriott offers competitive compensation and benefits for all associates. Depending on job role

and location, Marriott associates receive:

Competitive benefit packages (which may vary by country according to employment laws and

practices)

Hotel room discounts at our locations around the globe

Discounts on food and beverages, as well as retail discounts in our gift shops, at Marriott

hotels around the globe Competitive pay and advancement opportunities

In the ordinary course of business, compensation and benefits programs evolve as business needs

and laws change. Therefore, the benefits outlined here may be subject to change.

Safety to Employees

Marriott's Award-Winning Program Puts Employees' Safety First

As one of the world's largest hotel brands, Marriott International employs approximately

110,000 associates in its 700 managed U.S. hotels. With a large staff and significant safety

challenges, Marriott has developed a sophisticated and innovative workers' compensation

program, recognized by the 2007 Theodore Roosevelt Workers' Compensation Award

committee as one of the best programs in the country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_Internationalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resorthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_D.C.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Timeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Timeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Timeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_Rewardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_Rewardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Timeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_D.C.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resorthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_International


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The objectives of Marriott's workers' compensation program are simple: promptly respond to

workplace injuries with quality medical care and return associates to work as quickly and

safely as possible all while controlling costs. The program has an impressive track record of

success over the past five years, its claims frequency has dropped by 15 percent, and claims

costs also decreased by 15 percent.

HUMAN CAPITAL CONCEPTS: MARRIOT STRIVES TO PUT EMPLOYEES

SAFETY FIRST

CEO J.W. Marriott said his parents taught him to put associates first: "If the employees are

well taken care of, they'll take care of the customer and the customer will come back."

Marriott strives to maintain safe work conditions, and when someone is injured, to initiate a

prompt and appropriate response.

"There are two key factors to creating a safe work environment. "First, safety designers

analyze and design hotels with safety and security in mind. Second, they offer extensive Job

Safety Analysis training and tools to bring about safe employee behavior. In informal surveys,

an overwhelming majority of associates said they discuss safety during staff meetings thishas made a significant impact."

A key indication of Marriott's success is that after an intensive six-month evaluation by

the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z10), its safety standards and program

earned the prestigious World- Class Safety Award..

Planning for the future

Marriot culture encourages long-term growth and development. For many of associates, working

at Marriott is a life-changing journey that allows increasing levels of responsibility,

accountability and leadership. Here are some great reasons to make a career at Marriott:
http://http/www.ansi.org/http://http/www.ansi.org/


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Marriot is a global business with many brands and locations, and many of associates create

lifelong, constantly evolving careers within the Marriott family.

They promote from within; thousands of managers began their Marriott careers in entry-level

positions.

Marriot associates have access to services that support their physical and emotional well-being

throughout their Marriott careers.

Marriott associates average 78 hours of training and 34 hours of professional development

each year.

All Marriott associates are encouraged to gain experience in a variety of disciplines to fully

understand the hospitality business and continue to expand their career options.

Balanced RoleApart from providing a competitive pay package, Marriott strived to give its employees a good

work life. The company gave equal importance to non-monetary factors such as work-life

balance, good leadership, better growth opportunities, a friendly work environment and training.

Employees stayed longer with Marriott as they were happy with these non-monetary factors and

thought them more important.

Marriott's culture and guiding principles had a significant influence on the company's HR

practices including manpower planning, recruitment and selection; training and development,

employee retention and welfare initiatives and grievance redress.

Positive Recognition With Marriot

Marriott recognize employees for their commitment to delivering exceptional guest

experiences and their passion for our business, including recognition of:

Associates who demonstrate outstanding commitment to guests and the success of theirlocation or hotel

Managers who demonstrate exceptional leadership

Associates who demonstrate commitment to local communities

Associates who provide referrals for new employees

Years of service, at five-year intervals


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Associates with 25 years of service (rewarded with free weekend stays at Marriott hotels

around the world)

Manpower Planning, Recruitment and Selection

Marriott attached a lot of importance to manpower planning. It started right from entry level and

went through to higher positions. Every unit of Marriott (division or department) prepared its

expansion plans over the next couple of years, and, in the process, decided on the number of

entry level and managerial employees required for the expansion.

Details on the number of new units planned in the given time frame (two to five years), a rough

picture of the likely organization structure, the time required to develop employees who couldtake managerial positions, current availability of employees within Marriott and the necessity to

recruit externally - all these were determined during the planning process.

Training and Development

Once the right candidates were recruited, it was important to get them accustomed to the

company's unique work environment. Training and development played a key role here. These

programs varied between frontline employees and managerial personnel. Over time, training programs evolved from classroom- based teaching to interactive multimedia training. Fresh

recruits went through an eight-hour initial training session, during which they were given an

overview of Marriott and their individual roles.

A unique feature was that senior hotel employees served lunch at the first session. During the

three- month training period which followed, a mentor, addressed as 'buddy' was allotted to each

recruit. The mentor guided the trainee. All trainees attended refresher sessions after the first and

second months. On the final day of training, recruits enjoyed a sumptuous feast at a Marriotthotel.


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Research Methodology

MEANING OF RESEARCH

Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define research

asa scientific and systematic search for pertinent inf

hrm in hospitality sector

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