Human Resource Management in Tourism and Hospitality - Case Study Example

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY By Location Human Resource Management in the Tourismand Hospitality Introduction The tourism and hospitality industry is one of the most dynamic industries in the globe. This is because the industry has changing conditions and companies operating in the industry must be able to adapt to the changing conditions. Notably, service quality is of critical importance in this industry. Moreover, employees play a significant role in the industry because they serve as the link between the organization and the customers. This means that companies in this industry must develop proper human resource principles and policies. They need to ensure that their employees are conversant with the needs of the customers and that they can deliver quality services. Unless this happens, gaining customer loyalty and satisfaction remains to be impossible. Therefore, companies in this industry have recognized the value of developing human resource principles and policies that can ensure that the staff members exhibit high levels of motivation, satisfaction with their job, and that they can deliver quality services without making mistakes. Evidently, developing proper human resource management and principles translates to positive impacts in customer service management. This is of critical importance in the tourism and hospitality industry. This paper will consider the case of the Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels and its human resource management principles. In addition, the paper will give attention to team leadership in tourism and hospitality. Brief Company Profile The Carlson Rezidor Group is a chain of hotels operating on a global platform and comprising of about 14,000 hotels. The company has hotels in close to 100 countries now. It owns some of the prestigious hotels classified as five star hotels in the tourism industry, namely Radisson Blu, Radisson Only, Park Plaza, Hotel Misoni, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inns & Suits by Carlson. The company has been targeting to have over 1500 hotels by 2015. Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels has proven itself a leader in the tourism and hospitality industry. It has a renowned history associated with its expertise and success in the industry. The company employs over 170,000 employees (Sîrbu & Alexandrescu 2014, p. 21). Section One: Principles Underpinning HR Management as Applied by Carlson Rezidor Group of Hotels Leadership Leadership styles in the hospitality and tourism industry are of critical importance as they determine the performance of the organization. There is evidence highlighting that the leadership used by the top executives of any company determines the level of productivity exhibited by the employees. Therefore, companies that adopt effective leadership styles have a higher chance of succeeding in the tourism and hospitality industry. Modern leadership styles such as transformational leadership, participative leadership, and democratic leadership have proven to be more effective in the tourism and hospitality industry. Leadership styles such as authoritarian leadership and transactional leadership theories prove to be highly ineffective in the tourism and hospitality industry. Leaders of the Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels have recognized the value of adopting effective leadership styles (Yun et al 2014, p. 748). This is because leaders recognize that the type of leadership adopted has a direct impact on the productivity of the employees. For example, participative leadership is one of the common leadership style adopted by leaders of the hotel group. Participative leadership conforms to McGregor’s Y theory, which recognizes that employees exhibit a high level of creativity and seek new responsibilities. With the level of empowerment carried by the leaders, employees of the hotel group have the capacity to handle new responsibilities. Authoritarian leadership has proved ineffective in the tourism industry because it conforms to McGregor’s X theory, which encourages leaders to use punishment so that employees can perform better. The success in this industry depends on service quality delivered to customers. Employees deliver a diverse range of services to the customers. The level of customer satisfaction directly depends on the attitudes and potentials of the employees. The leaders of the Carlson Rezidor Group seek to adopt leadership styles that can translate into a positive impact on the employees. The chief executive officer of the hotel recognizes that leadership in the tourism and hospitality industry depends on situations. The fact that the company has hotels operating in different parts of the globe only serves to place emphasis on the need for flexibility in leadership. Each situation and geographical location requires a specific type of leadership style. In accordance with the views of the chief executive officer of the hotel Chain, leaders must ensure that they adopt different leadership styles that conform to the different situations (Emea Hospitality Newsletter 2014, p. 3). Managers and supervisors in the different hotels also adopt leadership and management styles that suit the situation as well as the geographical location. Mrs. Deborah Haines, who works for the Radisson Blu Hotel in Moscow, exhibited the same view. She highlights that she prefers to adopt an open and flexible leadership and management style as long as the style ensures that teams working under her receive the relevant encouragement and support. This serves to highlight that managers of the Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels adopt leadership styles that fit into their locations as well as situations. The company recognized Hanes’ outstanding leadership style in 2012, which named her the general manager of the year. Notably, the success of Mrs. Hanes resulted from a combination of factors that qualified her as a successful leader. As a leader, she understands the value of customer satisfaction, and its relevance to staff management. Therefore, she has designed numerous tools and methodologies that ensure successful staff management. The above is of critical importance because staff management translates to motivated employees who can deliver quality services to the customers (Eisen 2013, p. 6). The company leaders recognize that leadership is a shared responsibility with each individual in a certain group having to take up certain roles. Therefore, the leaders of each hotel adopt this view and ensure that general managers, supervisors, and other leaders in the lower ranks play an active role in the leadership chain. The employees also realize their value in the shared responsibility. Over the years, leaders of different hotels belonging to the Carlson Rezidor Group have recognized the value of learning more leadership skills. The company ensures that leaders receive empowerment from different leadership programs and seminars. This ensures that leaders can develop more competencies that are relevant and adopt modern leadership styles in their specific hotels. The company encourages leaders to develop effective strategies and feedback systems depending on the motivating factors of each employee. This conforms to McClelland’s theory, which has been applied in identifying drivers that motivate people and developing effective strategies of staff management. The example of Mrs. Derorah Hanes serves as proof that leaders of the Carlson Rezidor Group have adopted Adair’s action centred leadership. The reason for this is because leaders focus on task achievement, developing functional teams, and empowering individuals. Employee Motivation The Carlson Rezidor Group recognizes the value of employee motivation as one of the critical factors that can translate to quality customer services. The company has in place several motivational strategies that ensure that employees feel appreciated for their contribution to the company. This is in accordance with different motivational theories. One of the strategies used by the company is ensuring that there are rewards and recognition programs in each of the hotels as well as others run by the entire company. In each hotel, there is a constant recognition of the “employee of the month” as well as the “employee of the year”. In addition, the company has different reward schemes that appreciate the contribution of top performers in the hotel. This comes in terms of incentives for outstanding performance within the organization. The compensation rates of the hotel are favourable a factor that ensures that the employees have a form of financial security. There are numerous benefits for all the employees (Hotel management survey 2013 hotel brands 2013, p. 24). The company also gives hotel discounts to all the employees of the different regions across the globe. The company ensures that each employee has an entitlement to a full time health care insurance, which is fully covered. This is only one of the outstanding benefits that the employees enjoy. The company relies on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in an effort to motivate employees. Notably, employees also enjoy free food occasionally from the kitchen department. Other leaders develop personalized relationships with employees by ensuring that they celebrate their birthdays, New Year parties, and develop an employee forum. In the Carlson Rezidor Group in Moscow, the hotel offers employees an opportunity to share lunch served by the management team and to have an employee committee that represents all the employees. In other cases, leaders in that hotel develop a positive relationship with human resource managers who are directly involved with the employee affairs (Mumford & Rosen 2013, p. 6). Without doubt, the Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels does recognize the value of empowering employees through different forums. This serves as a critical aspect in increasing the level of motivation exhibited d by the employees. Human Resource Development The value of human resource development cannot receive any form of underestimation. As highlighted above, the hospitality and tourism industry needs to have highly efficient workers. This is because expertise professionalism is required in service delivery. This is the only key strategy that can contribute to customer loyalty. Therefore, the company not only needs to hire the best candidates for the positions available, but also needs to train and empower each employee. The recruitment processes used by the company ensure that the company gets to hire dedicated individuals who understand the trends in the industry as well as the expectations of their job positions. For example, frontline employees such as receptionists, housekeepers, front office managers and other categories of managers have a direct contact with the customers. Since the Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels has its established culture of treating customers, new employees in each hotel often undertake training sessions that prepare them for their responsibilities (Medlin & Green Jr. 2014, p. 28). Notably, the hotels give attention to first line employees to ensure that they are highly qualified because their direct conduct with the customers is of critical importance to the business. The role played by frontline employees in having a direct contact with the customers determine the customer’s perception of the “moment of truth”. The above is because the “moment of truth” defines the conduct between the customers and the service providers and determines whether the customer is likely to be satisfied. Other employees also need proper training because the cumulative performance of all the departments determines the success of each hotel in the group. All the department of the hotels under the Carlson Rezidor Group have on-job-skills training. This type of training ensures that all the employees develop critical skills that promote operational effectiveness and efficiency. More specifically, employees learn all the skills required to handle their job responsibilities as well as the purpose of teamwork in reach department. Moreover, the on-job-skills training ensure a successful transfer of knowledge from the managers to the employees. The performance of such employees is likely to be exemplary because they understand every aspect of their job. The Carlson Rezidor Group recognizes the value of on-job-skills training explaining why each hotel in the group has such programs in every department (Gruman & Saks 2011, p. 233). With the rise of technology, there are numerous online learning tools, which organizations rely on in an effort to increase the competencies of their employees. The Carlson Rezidor Group has in place the Carlson eLearning, which is accessible to all the employees. This virtual learning tool enables all the employees across the globe to share knowledge and acquire new skills. Since it is a virtual learning tool, employees can have a constant access to the information on the online platform for reference. This tool serves to educate all the employees on the culture and values of the Carlson Rezidor Group. In addition, the group has established culinary centres in different hotels that offer classes on the recipes and concepts of the company’s food and drink brands. These classes serve to familiarize employees with all the items on the menu in each hotel belonging to the Carlson Rezidor Group. Recently, the company has established a Carlson Rezidor Business School, which trains employees from across the globe. Employees from each hotel have the privilege to visit the business school and obtain new skills and knowledge from the programs (Superior training yields superior service 1994, p. 100). This ensures that employees remain highly conversant with the expected standards in the market conditions of the tourism and hospitality industry. Finally, the Carlson Rezidor Group has in place centres of excellence that ensure sharing of knowledge between different hotels. Evidently, the hotels under this group exhibit different core competencies. The leaders in each field of expertise in accordance with their practices have the opportunity to share their experiences with other hotels in the group and support them. Some of the centres of excellence include development dialogues, management development programs, as well as support head of departments by offering relevant training for the departmental trainings in a cost effective manner (Bernardin 2003, p. 79). Many employees working for the Carlson Rezidor Group have highlighted that the company offers numerous learning opportunities that ensure that employees gain new competencies and have the opportunity to advance in their careers. The Yes I Can program is one of the strategies used by the company in offering the relevant training and empowerment so that employees can deliver their services professionally. The training received by the employees helps them address all the barriers that prevent professional customer services. In the program, employees learn the value of trust and transparency in an effort to promote exemplary customer service. Under the “Yes I Can” program, managers receive the relevant training and empowerment that enables them to have a 100% ownership for the business as well as the team. “Yes I Can” has become a critical philosophy of the Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels because it promotes positive attitudes, training and support so that employees develop the relevant competencies translating to quality customer service. Section 2: Team Leadership The Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels has a noble purpose that defines its operations. The company intends to be of service to high numbers of guests and travellers affecting their lives positively. The company has established its evident ambitions of developing leading brands in different segments. The group has highlighted its intention of being the number one choice for guests and travellers. This is only possible if the company can establish compelling positions for all its brands. In addition, the group intends to build a globally recognized team and organization. Other strategies of the company include the operationalization of brand promises. Delivering exemplary customer service is one of the leading strategies that can propel the company to success. Therefore, teamwork in the hotel is of critical importance (Ricca 2012, p. 8). Worth noting is the fact that team leadership deserves a priority in the hospitality and tourism industry because different departments need to work hand in hand for the success of a hotel. Therefore, leaders must have the capacity to develop functional teams. Conflict Resolution Experts have highlighted that the formation of teams involves a conflict phase whereby team members undergo the storming stage. Therefore, team leaders need to develop effective conflict resolution techniques. Worth noting is the fact that conflict resolution determines the peaceful cooperation of all the employees or the parties involved in the conflict. The managers of the Carlson Rezidor Group understand that conflicts are a natural part of organizations. They are willing to listen to complains of the employees and help the parties involved resolve them in a positive manner (Aguinis 2009, p. 76). Negotiation and compromise are of critical importance in successful conflict resolution. The company places emphasis on the need to develop positive employee relationships. These relationships serve to ensure that people have a good level of understanding that eases conflict resolution. Managers give attention to problems and view them as separate from the people. This promotes positive conflict resolution without ruining the working relationships. Leaders involve all the parties in the development of potential solutions of each conflict. Therefore, they explore the different options together. The process of conflict resolution requires leaders to adopt a certain process. The first step includes setting the scene, then gathering information, followed by problem identification, and finally brainstorming potential solutions and ensuring a win-win negotiation of the final solution (Latif, Jan, & Shaheen 2013, p. 163). Evidently, leaders of the Carlson Rezidor Group give attention to this process and promote effective conflict resolution within the organization. Managing Underperformance As highlighted above, the Carlson Rezidor Group focuses on ensuring exemplary performance of all the hotels. Team leaders have to ensure that team embers achieve the determined goals and objectives. The hospitality and tourism industry does not leave room for underperformers to continue being in the industry as this reduces the profitability of the organization. The Carlson Rezidor Group undertakes regular performance assessments and recognizes top performers who receive both rewards and recognition. On the other hand, underperformers receive ultimatums by registering improvements with the relevant training and empowerment. If this fails, the company has no choice but to eliminate them. The company then focuses on hiring a new set of employees to replace the underperformers. The employees are aware of the performance assessment systems and make efforts to exhibit exemplary performance (Popescu & Avram 2012, p. 170). Team leaders assume the responsibility of motivating team members to be top performers. The Learning Organization The learning organization refers to a strategy adopted by modern organizations in an effort to ensure that they can adapt efficiently to the emerging market conditions and exhibit exemplary performance. These organizations promote teamwork by ensuring that the organization has a clear vision ad motivates employees through training, empowerment, as well as incentives. Organizations recognizing the value of becoming a learning organization understand that employees need to feel a sense of belonging to the team and the organization at large. Learning organizations have systems thinking, mental models, personal mastery, team learning, and shared visions. The Carlson Rezidor Group qualifies to be a learning organization in accordance with its efforts to promote employee-empowerment training. The company has numerous reward and recognition programs that give employees the relevant motivation to work towards the organizational goals. Each hotel operates as a team with the leaders sharing the hotel’s vision with all the employees (Popescu & Avram 2012, p. 184). The efforts of each individual within the organization are of critical importance to its success. Personal assessment systems help each individual assess personal contribution to organizational goals. The group has established ambition 2015 as a shared vision of all the hotels in the group. Section 3: Human Resource Management Policies Recruitment Process at Carlson Rezidor Group The Carlson Rezidor Group focuses on hiring the right people. In order to make this a possibility, the company has developed web portals that highlight all the available positions, giving all the applicants an opportunity to view the job requirements as well as deadlines of application. For example, in Asia, the company has adopted SilkRoad OpenHire a platform that brings together all the vacant positions within the region. Managers from each hotel have an opportunity to post vacancies on the platform. The centralized system serves to reduce the time used in hiring and eases the process for the candidates as well (Carlson Rezidor 2014, p. 98). The system allows for quality control and proper tracking of the data from all the candidates. This is an example of the elaborate hiring processes that different hotels under the Carlson Rezidor Group have adopted in an effort to recruit the right people for different positions. Performance Management Performance management systems have gained popularity in the21st century since organizations need to assess the performance of individual employees as well as teams. Different organizations rely on different performance management approaches that suit the industry they operate in. In the hospitality and tourism industry, performance management deserves a priority from all managers. In the Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels, all the managers carry out a monthly performance assessment as well as appraisals for the employees. The level of performance determines the employee of the month in each hotel. The company relies on the 360-degree appraisal, which considers an all-round approach of assessing the employee’s performance. Annual performance assessment helps in the identification of the employee of the year, while the group carries out general assessments after five years (Asia Pacific Hospitality Newsletter 2014, p. 3). Performance assessment helps the managers measure the performance of the employees depending on customer satisfaction as well as the business performance. Over the years, the performance measurement systems of the group have ensured a constant improvement of the productivity of employees. In accordance with the views of the chief executive office of the Carlson Rezidor Group, the lower performers in the company often lose their jobs. This is a result of the company’s commitment to high performance. The performance measurement system has kept many employees on the right track translating to high productivity (Barlow 2012, p. 32). Recommendations The company should design more effective shift systems so that employees may have more time for family and social life. The above is in accordance with social needs described by Maslow in his hierarchy of needs theory. The company should reduce high turnover because of underperformance and seek better solutions of improving employee performance. The leaders should recognize that, given the right conditions and favourable environment underperformers could register a remarkable productivity. Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels should adopt new hiring procedures that can ensure they get highly competent managers. This is of critical importance because managers at any level determine the productivity of other employees. The company should increase training opportunities for employees in an effort to improve the quality of customer service, which is of critical importance in the tourism and hospitality industry. Conclusion Evidently, the Carlson Rezidor Group of hotels has established human resource principles and policies in an effort to ensure that all the employees have the relevant training and motivation so that they can deliver quality services. Without doubt, the efficiency of these policies and principles is evident in the company’s performance over the years. Notably, each hotel includes different policies and principles that suit the specific situation and geographical location. Some of the hotels have exhibited exemplary performance by ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction in the past. The continued application of these policies has the potential to ensure that the company can achieve the ambition 2015 vision. 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