Hilton Adelaide - Analysis of the Issues at the Workplace - Case Study Example

Name : xxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxx Title : Analysis of the issues at the workplace Institution : xxxxxxx @2012 Introduction The workplace is ever changing and as dynamic as the world today. There is need for the evaluation of the social professional managerial and financial issues that are existent in the workplace. The rules that stipulate the environment at most places of work were set out a few decades back when the issues that people had to deal with then were much more different and the generation of the majority of the work population was of a different mindset than that present today. Research has shown that the current generation is more comfortable working in teams and places a high value on communication and sharing of information. As such, some of the restrictions that might be in place at the place of work may be deemed too harsh and thus scare way potential employees. There is need for the work place welfare and the mind set of this generation to strike a balance so as to create a perfect environment at the workplace. The hospitality industry is now less attractive to graduates who prefer a work/life balance that lacks in the industry (Whitelaw et al, 2009).An examination of the issues of the workplace at social, financial, managerial and professional level is necessary so as to help create a habitable work environment. The hospitality industry as with all sectors of the service industry is quite sensitive to the how services are delivered. Perfect delivery of is vital for the creation of customer loyalty and is good for word of mouth advertising. As such there is a need for the hospitality industry to strive to provide the perfect working environment for their employees as they are the deliverers of the services upon which the business thrives. Online review platforms highlight that the customers are well satisfied by the level of service that is provided at Hilton Adelaide. The few negative reviews that are existent highlight a failure in the infrastructure at the hotel but overall most customers are satisfied with the service provision by the staff. This is a mark that the environment at Hilton Adelaide is conducive for the staff and employees. Social issues of the workplace The social welfare of the workplace is important contributing factor to the overall performance of employees in the workplace. Creation of the perfect environment can be achieved through the provision of social amenities such as social clubs and team building exercises such as sporting events. Hilton Adelaide is well aware of this fact and they have set out to cater for the social needs of their employees. The Hilton social club is an initiative by the Hilton hotel to provide a conducive work environment for the employees. The Hilton Adelaide social club draws membership from the employees as well as local community members. It organizes various activities for the club members meant for social interaction and participation in these activities. Classic activities that are commonly organized include book clubs, sporting competitions for teams and individual participation, ballet and art club. The club provides a clean and quiet environment for the employees to relax and take a break off their tasks or take a meal. This initiative goes a long way to improve relations between employees as well as making them feel appreciated at their line of work. Diversity in the work place especially in the hospitality industry is vital for better service delivery. The demographics that the various customers who visit the hotel especially one of the calibers of Hilton Adelaide is quite diverse and as such the diversity of employees would better help understand the customers. Management can ensure that the workforce that is employee is diverse through such policy measures as non discrimination when screening for potential employees and enhancing cohesion among employees and thus enable the staff to handle the various mindsets that the customers may have. According to Mallinson & Weiler (2000), the industry involves ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of the employees and staff as well as the guests and thus requires high levels of communication and interpersonal skills. The fast pace of the growth of the industry has been triggered by globalization of the world economy which tags along cultures from all across the globe (Zhao & Jing, 2009). For brands like Hilton Adelaide, there is a huge responsibility of bringing together the world. As an example, some cultures lay no emphasis to eye contact but almost all western cultures associate eye contact with openness and kindness. The staff has to be adequately trained so as to pay attention to such minor details among many others. The working experience at the Hilton Adelaide is good in that of any other major venture of its caliber. Provision of such facilities as safe lockers for the employees, clean and adequate changing and washing rooms, as well as provision of smoking zones away from non- smokers. Meal breaks are well spaced and organized so as to ensure work does not come to a halt and also that there is enough time for the employees to relax before they get back to their tasks. Provision of health care cover ensures that the employees are well taken care of when ill. Long breaks are allowed for pregnant women as well as enough time to recuperate. Health benefits are also provided for these women. Workplace deviance can be as a result of undervaluing of employees. The workplace should instigate into the employee a sense of ownership and responsibility for the success of the business. Employee motivation is generally known to have an effect on the productivity, profit margin, service delivery of a workforce in an organization. There are different ways to motivate the staff and employees at Hilton Adelaide so as to enhance their performance and morale. Promotion to hard working employees, money related motivation, making the work schedules more flexible as well as tailored motivation programs specific to the employees at different places of work as a way of helping identify specific factors that might be more effective at motivation as compared to common means. Professional issues at the work place Professional management of employees at the Hilton Adelaide is vital for ensuring continuity at the helm of provision of the best hospitality services. Employee review and assessment at the Hilton Adelaide is a dynamic process that ensures the employees are always updated on the best and newest means to go about their work. The different departments have timely training that aims at refreshing the skills and knowledge of the staff (Seymour & Constanti, 2002). The human resources department also organizes monthly meetings with the staff to further recognize exemplary effort of employees at work through such announcements as best staff of the month as well as update the staff on the information of the hotel such as recognition from the industry or financial performance. They also regularly update the employees on the goals set out for specific timeframes. Professionalism of the Hilton dictates that hiring of employees be based on a rigid mechanism that analyses the professional qualifications so as to hire the most competent employees available in the job market. Combined with additional training to stream line these employees with the high standards expected of employees at the Hilton, the staff is guaranteed to be world class just as the hotel. The need to institute a professional code of conduct is vital to ensure the provision of uniform service delivery of the highest level possible, void of any compromise whatsoever. This ensures that all employees are regarded as equal and there is no compromise on the service delivered irrespective of which employee delivers it. The interests of all employees should be to make the customer happy. Management issues at the workplace The industry is at high risk of occupational and public health safety issues such as fires, bomb attacks from terrorism among many other issues that require the staff to be equipped with certain skills to handle such situations (Tranter, 2002). Some academics have suggested that there is need for graduates in the hospitality industry to be equipped with administration and creative skills in addition to skills such as leadership and communication skills that are imparted upon them in school (Kay & Russette, 2000). This can be achieved through the use of a curriculum that balances between theory and practice so as to equip them with skills specific to hotel operation. Hence, employees fresh out of college and other hospitality training institutions are well equipped to handle various situations on the ground. Integration of technology into the hospitality, just as in most other industries, is an up and coming trend that requires the staff and management to be well trained so as to keep up with the expectations that the customers have of the amenities provided. Hilton, being a market leader is tasked with the responsibility of introducing innovative ventures that integrate the latest technology in the provision of services. This is also made necessary by the need to stay ahead of competition. Online reservations, guest room innovations, data mining (Zhao & Jing, 2009) and collaboration are some of the latest technologies that the hospitality industry has to conform with. There is need for management to keep track of online platforms that allow customers to review hotels as this is an up and coming advertising and marketing avenue. Hilton Adelaide is taking conferencing to the next level with innovations specifically meant for the business world such as video conferencing, audio and visual equipment rental as well a business centre. Amenities for groups, large families as well as hosting of events and activities is also available as there is need to cater for the diverse and sophisticated modern day guest. There is a growing worldwide problem of labor recruitment in this industry (Powell, & Wood, 1999). The international society of consultants highlights this as a major hindrance to the growth and expansion of this industry. Factors that are being attributed to the growing scarcity of labor include the levels of wage on offer, inability to address satisfaction of workers and a combination of long working hours and low pay. Currently, human resource managers are coming up with innovative strategies aimed at attracting graduates fresh out of college to the profession as well as retaining the services of the high quality workers. Customers in this industry are now more complex than ever and as such there is a demand for more sophisticated services from them. Careful considerations have to be made so as to provide the type of services and products that is appealing to them. This has led to an increase in the operational cost in most hotels. Hilton Adelaide is in the fore front in the provision of modern amenities such as fitness and recreation centers, accommodation for pets, as well as integration of modern technologies in the provision of services. Financial issues at the workplace The cost of labor accounts for the largest percentage of the total operating costs incurred by the industry. Hotel managers are under more pressure to minimize the labor costs without compromising the quality of service delivery. Customer experience and loyalty is directly affected by their interaction with employees. There is need for Hotel managers to find a balance between managing hotel labor costs and the satisfaction of the customer from service delivery. Hilton Adelaide has fallen prey to the control of labor costs with the cleaning staff being allocated more working space area than they can handle. Employees have reported being allocated two extra rooms to clean above the normal twelve that every employee is supposed to clean. The laundry department at Hilton Adelaide is understaffed too and this has a domino effect on room cleaning services, usually slowing down the whole cleaning process. The fact that Management at this hotel will not allow employees to work overtime is further proof that management is more insistent on controlling the costs of labor. All signs show that the level of service is still uncompromised but there is a need for this issue to be addressed. Management might point out to certain factors that may hinder them from recruiting enough employees. A consolidated focus group held in 2007 by senior industry managers from Australia highlighted that there was a difficulty in recruitment and highlighted reasons as to why. Migrants to Australia were more suited for lower skilled jobs and thus did not suit the hospitality industry. Current generation of young graduates prefer a to work in industry that have a better work/life balance and family friendly hours, something that hospitality industry lacks. There was also a perception that jobs in the hospitality industry are intermediary jobs before one finds a real job. This highlights a lack of career prospect in this industry. Such factors have made recruitment a tough process for managers. There is need to control operational costs in the hospitality industry so as to maximize the revenue. The volatile nature of this industry in that it is heavily dependent on the economic climate means that fixed costs have to be kept in check as the revenue is highly flexible. The industry has high fixed capital costs and highly volatile variable operating costs and management has to be diligent in handling such issues (Mitchell, 2005). Hilton Adelaide finance department is prudent in dealing with operational costs such as electricity bills and other fixed costs due to the need to keep them in check. The hospitality industry is growing at an alarming rate primarily due to the effects of globalization that has lead to increased tourism, travel and interaction of people from all corners of the world. Hilton stands to benefit from this increase in activity due to its status as a global provider of hospitality services. With such initiatives such as the Hilton Adelaide Brasserie restaurant, the Hilton Adelaide is stamping out its authority in the Hospitality industry through this seriously South Australian initiative which uses local produce for all its menus, in the South of Australia and Australia in general. Bibliographies Kay, C & Russette, J 2000, ‘Hospitality management competencies’, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant administration quarterly, vol.41, pp.52-63. Mallinson, H, & Weiler, B 2001, ‘Cross-cultural awareness of hospitality staff: An evaluation of pilot training program’, Australian Journal of Hospitality Management, vol.7, no. 1 pp.35-44. Mitchell, S 2002, ‘An analysis of hotel valuation techniques in Australia’, Victoria University, Melbourne. Powell, S & Wood, D 1999, ’Is recruitment the millennium time bomb for the industry worldwide?’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol.13, pp 6-12. Seymour, D & Constanti, P 2002, ‘University hospitality education for international management: A case of wasted opportunities’, Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education. Tranter, M 2002, ‘Occupational health and safety risks and management issues in the hotel and fast-food sectors’. Human Resource Management: International perspectives in hospitality and tourism, Continuum, London. pp. 174-185. Whitelaw, P, Barron, P, Buultjens, J & Cairncross, G 2009, Training needs for the hospitality industry, CRC for sustainable tourism Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia. Zhao, W & Jing W, 2009, ‘Issues, challenges, and trends that facing hospitality industry’, Management Science and Engineering. Vol. 3 pp. 53-58 Read More