Human Resource Development: Ritz-Carlton Hotel - Case Study Example

Human Resource Development: Ritz-Carlton Hotel Institution: Name: Date: Executive Summary This is a report that addresses three issues that the senior management of Ritz – Carlton Hotel is concerned of toward the realization of the organization’s goals while working with well motivated employees. The report will show how Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company can identify development needs of their staff, the strategies to use for initiative development as well how the company will evaluate the training undertaken. Human Resource Development is the integration of training, career development and organization efforts towards improving an individual, group as well as organizational effectiveness. This develops the key competencies which enable individuals in organizations to perform current and future jobs through planned learning activities. The report proposes to the management the techniques for need assessment in Ritz – Carlton such as all staffs to be involved in an interview process to help their colleagues in identifying the areas which need improvement. Another technique which could be adopted is the appraisal system where all employees are appraised every six months. To solve the identified problems are strategies such as diversify the learning portfolio, to expand who is trained, train suppliers as well as make information accessible as discussed in this report. Further to this the report also suggests to the management the Kirkpatrick’s four training evaluation model namely; Reaction of the employees to the training, if they learnt anything new, change of behavior, which should be used as a guide into evaluate the effectiveness of the training and development adopted. Finally, the report will also provide recommendations which are to be followed for performance improvement. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Assessment of development needs of the Ritz-Carlton staff 4 Training and Learning Strategies for initiative development 6 Evaluation of the training and development initiatives 8 Recommendations 9 Conclusion 9 References 11 Introduction Effective training and development play a critical role in ensuring that the strategic objectives of the organization are achieved. Training and development play an important role in the effectiveness of organizations and to the experiences of people in work. Training has implications for productivity, health and safety at work and personal development (Briscoe, 2004). Ritz-Carlton need to train and develop their staff as it cognizant of this requirement and investing in training and development will go a long way in improving the organization performance. Training and development investment may the form of employing specialist in training and development to assist the staff (Hay 2002, p.54). Investment in training and development entails obtaining and maintaining space and equipment as well as operational personnel who work in the organization (Foxon, & Lybrand, 2005). This has the effect of the employees giving less attention to activities which are more productive as they are involved in the training and development process. However, this process is critical as it will see to it that the organization maintains appropriate expertise now and in the future. Assessment of development needs of the Ritz-Carlton staff In human resource development, needs assessment is a process of connecting organizations performance, problems and opportunities to improve performance. It is also defined as a process of identifying the problems which would be addresses by training (Alvarez, Salas & Garofano 2004, p.390). It is therefore a systematic process of performance gap identification and unearthing the cause of the identified gaps. Specific to Ritz-Carlton, is the training and learning needs assessment. Ritz-Carlton realizes that the need of the needs assessment is to identify training and learning needs of the newly employed staff as well as the areas that the existing staffs need further training on (Eseryl, 2002). In the context of Ritz-Carlton organization performance, the needs assessment process will provide a focus and direction in solving any arising problem through appropriate documentation and selection of the identified problems. Needs assessment is crucial for the planning strategy of the organization as this will ensure that Ritz – Carlton has sufficient people with the required skills and motivation to accomplish its goals (Billett 2003). Training needs assessment will help Ritz – Carlton determine optimal levels of performance, actual individual performance level as well as the attitudes which may affect an individual’s performance (Montesino 2002 p.92). Therefore it is through such a process that solutions are identified for performance improvement. A survey is to be undertaken where the employees switch tasks between subordinates and their supervisors and they are supposed to help each other in identifying their training needs in their current job. The employee playing the managerial role is to interview the other person so as to identify their training needs (Noe et al., 2006). This survey should come up with a list of management skills to guide in asking questions to each employee. Each staff should note down the abilities, skills and the knowledge which they may have identified by their interviewee as challenging and come up with solutions. A training needs assessment worksheet is to be used to record the collected information. The worksheet is divided in two columns namely: skills, abilities and knowledge in the first column and the training need identified in the other. Further to this, an appraisal should be done for all employees of Ritz – Carlton after every six months and employees are required to list down any training needs that they may require (Wexley & Latham 2002). Training and Learning Strategies for initiative development In undertaking the various strategies for learning and training, the management of Ritz-Carlton should understand that the initiatives are dependent on the environment, available resources as well as the organization’s goal (Obisi 2001). The adopted strategy will give the organization a guide to the specific training and development activities to be implemented. Ritz – Carlton should diversify the learning portfolio as a strategy to provide more learning opportunities. According to Montesino (2002 p.101), other than the traditional training program that the new employees are introduced to, this should be expanded to informal learning that occurs on the job through interactions with peers; new job experiences; personalized learning opportunities using mentors, coaches and feedback customized to the employee’s needs; and the use of technology (including web-based training). Another strategy is to expand who is trained. This refers to the recognition that because employees are often the customer’s primary point of contact, they need as much if not more training than managers do (Obisi 2001). Ritz should also train suppliers to ensure that the food supplies are safe so as to meet their customers’ quality standards. To be successful, Ritz - Carlton needs to be able to deal with changes in technology, customer needs and global markets (Briscoe, 2004). Also, for the employees of Ritz to access information quickly, it should be availed in their computers an electronic performance support system to be advised and guided on areas which they may need. This should be broken down to them in easy steps where any employee is able to access through the computers. For example a new employee may not be conversant with house keeping procedures which by a click of a button, they are able to follow through and perform satisfactorily. Employees must be prepared to provide the best possible customer service. Employees need to be knowledgeable about the product or service, and in the case of Ritz-Carlton, each employee is expected to have the menu of the hotel at their finger tips and they are able to assist a customer in choosing the food and drinks of their choice. Every table should be availed with a booklet showing the variety of what Ritz – Carlton offers. All employees need to have customer service skills and they need to understand the types of decisions they can help a client make (Hay 2002, p.55). For example, they are able to decide on which type of drink is suitable to accompany the food that the client may have ordered. Providing development opportunities and communicating them to employees is important to ensure that employees believe that they have opportunities to grow and learn new skills. Such opportunities are important for attracting and retaining talented employees. Also, giving employees access to knowledge that other employees have may quicken response times to customers and improve their performance. For example, rather than a new employee dwelling so much on asking for clarification on matters pertaining how to set a dinner table, they are able to query a database that allows them to search for problems and identify solutions that other employees have developed (Alvarez et al. 2004, p.394). The alignment of training and development with the organization’s strategic goal is of essence in ensuring that training contributes positively to the organization improved performance.. Ritz should strive to identify what employee capabilities (knowledge, skills) are needed and whether training programs and services are helping to improve these capabilities (Montesino 2002, 106). Lastly, an environment that is supportive is necessary for the motivation of the employees in participating in training and learning activities, being able to put in to practice what they learn during the training process as well as sharing their knowledge with others. Time and money constitutes tangible support for training and learning, work areas which encourage employees to meet and discuss ideas as well as psychological support from managers and the fellow colleaguesfor training and learning is equally important (Obisi 2001). Evaluation of the training and development initiatives Based on the research done, Foxon & Lybrand (2005) defines evaluation as an analysis of training, learning and development in an organisation. Obisi (2001) define evaluation as a systematic process which involves gathering and data analysis. The quality of of the effectiveness and value of the outcome is dependent on the improvement processes within the context of business or organizational setting. To effectively analyze the effectiveness of the training, Ritz should use the Kirkpatrick’s four training evaluation model (Wexley & Latham 2002). The four levels include; reaction, learning, behavior and results. At level 1 this should measure how the staff reacted to the training. This helps the management understand how well the training was received and areas of improvement for future training needs. At level 2, Ritz will measure what the staff has learnt and the added knowledge as a result of the training. This should be visible from the changes in skills and the knowledge of the employees (Hay 2002, p52). Level 3 of the model requires the evaluation of their behavior upon training. However, if no behavior has changed, it would be wise to check if it is the boss who is hindering the application of the new knowledge. Finally, at level 4, this is where the results will be analyzed and the outcome which is expected to benefit Ritz- Carlton. Regardless of the importance of training and development in orgarnisations, their initiatives are either missing or inconsistent (Eseryl2002, p.1). This is as a result of insufficient budget and time allocation, lack of expertise; blind trust in training solutions; or lack of methods and tools (Eseryel 2002, p.1). According to Eseryl (2002, p.3), another reason could be that the task of evaluation is complex in itself as the training initiatives for organizational impact involves complex factors. Recommendations Ritz should draw up a training policy which guides the training department and the whole organization on how training should be conducted and evaluated.Ritz is required to apply the proposed strategies consistently in the evaluation of training and development initiatives. Also, the strategies should be reflected in the organization’s training policy.The performance management system should be incorporated in to the training strategy A comprehensive and supportive leadership and culture as well as effective performance management system should be established and maintained for the effective evaluation of training and development initiatives aimed at improving individual, team and organizational performance. Conclusion The training and development has to be designed to meet the needs of the organization by satisfying the competence requirements an employee. When a difference is seen as to how employees may have changed in their behavior,it is therefore rational and justifiable that training is of importance inhuman resource development. In this global marketplace it is important to maintain a competitive advantage through the employees. Training needs is of importance to both the individual and the organization. To the organization, the set objectives will only be achieved if the abilities of its work force are harnessed, releasing their potential as well opportunities maximization for development. It is therefore important for the employees of Ritz hotel to know that they should learn to achieve the set organization objectives. As for the benefit accruing to the individual is that the employees have aspirations too as they need to develop and learn the new abilities they may possess and therefore Ritz must provide an attractive and effective learning conditions and resources. References Alvarez, K., Salas, E. and Garofano, C. M., 2004, ‘An integrated model of training evaluation and effectiveness’,Human Resource Development Review,3, 385–416 Briscoe, A., 2004, A systematic approach to effective performance management in organisations. Gaborone: Morula Printers. Billett, S., 2003, Workplace mentors: Demands and benefits. Journal of Workplace Learning, 15 (3), 105-113. Eseryl, D.,2002, Approaches to evaluation of training: Theory and practice. http://ifets.iee.org/periodical/vol2-2002/eseryel.html[Accessed 9 May, 2013]. Foxon, M. & Lybrand, C.,2005, Evaluation of training and development programmes : A review of literature. www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet5/foxon.html. [Accessed 9 May, 2013]. Hay, M.,2002, Strategies for Survival in the War of Talent. Career Development International, Vol. 7, No 1, 52-55. Montesino, M., 2002, ‘Strategic alignment of training, transfer-enhancing behaviors, and training usage: a post-training study’, Human Resource Development Quarterly, 13, 89–108 Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P. M., 2006, Human Resource Management:Gaining a Competitive Advantage, 6th edn (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin). Obisi C., 2001, Employee development, Issues and dimensions, Unical Journal of public Administrator Sept Vol. 1 Wexley, K. N. and Latham, G. P., 2002, Developing and Training Human Resources in Organizations, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Read More