Employee Turnover in the Hotel Business - Case Study Example

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS {Insert university’s name} {Insert instructor’s name} {Insert student’s name} March 8, 2013. CASE STUDY ANALYSIS Introduction Studies have indicated that employee turnover has been a major cause of collapse of organizations. This paper evaluates the case study on The ‘Harbour Inn’, a hotel located in Sydney critically and has sought to show what has led to increasing employee turnover rates in the last few years. The paper describes the existing problems and issues of contention between the management and the workers that have led to the large turnover rates in the firm. The paper has recommendations of the that the management need to consider in resolving the existing issues. The application of this case is relevant to many firms that face such conflict issues and whose resolution rate is low. According to Behn (1998, p. 17) employee turnover affects the management of organizations and determines the output of a firm. This can be attributed to a number of factors ranging from poor relations at work, discrimination, poor pay and bad working situation among others. Additionally, industrial relations are essential as they govern the existence of employees in an organization. This is because they play a key role in the relationship of both the management and the stakeholders and promote the welfare of the parties (Allen & Bryant, 2012, p. 23). Hence, proper relationships between the top level and lower levels of management have been known to increase the gross product of a firm and provide networking even with the external environment. Good leadership therefore translates to proper work attitudes by the workers and great output. There are various situations that have led to conflicts in the work area ranging from poor working conditions, lack of remuneration, overworking to discrimination. These conflicts lead to poor performance and low output per employee and an eventual collapse of a firm (Behn, 1998, p. 19). Consequently, the lack of satisfaction among employees results into high employee turnover in firms. This translates to poor management or leadership and thus shows that the welfare of the workers has not been put into consideration (Behn, 1998, p. 15). Hence, the organization should consider the impacts of leadership on workers and take the right steps to resolve any grievances on time. However, should that fail to happen, a large number of employees may leave the firm. The organization thus loses all the best employees. Additionally, the competitive advantage of the firm is reduced and the chances of success of such a firm are few due to lack of motivation to work (Northose, 2012, p. 71). Analysis and discussion Upon the evaluation of the case on Harbour Inn which is located in Sydney, high rate of employee turnover which was way above the industry average was noted. The finding on the above issues were listed and evaluated to be more internally concerned than from outside influence. First, it was observed that employees worked for many hours with low pay. Others had been promised that their hours would be increased with better pay but this never materialized. The management did not honor most of the promises that it made to the employees. As a result most of the workers are underpaid and cannot be able to make ends meet with her current pay rate (Behn, 1998, p. 22). On the security issues, it was found that employee security was compromised. The parking lots were far and the workers had to walk to long distances from the office to the parking lot. This posed a security threat to employees especially the females who had to walk to their cars late at night without an escort. The management promise of parking spots within the inn was not honored to the workers. Consequently, lack of proper in the job training- training complements a person at the work place so as to adapt to any changes in the consumer market or technology. However, Harbour Inn provided little on the job training and the program was very slow. Promises to the employees by the management to include training for their respective positions were thwarted. As a result, many employees do not have a complete knowledge of what they are doing leading to low output (Werhane & Painter, 2011). Additionally, lack of communication was evident- the fact that employees were not able to access their management was also noted. Supervisors of various departments and the managers did not communicate with the staff and the common team meetings were rare. The issues that needed to be aired by the workers were not noted and no feedback was given. Communication channel was in complete breakdown and the staff felt alienated. The mode of communication was also noted to be poor since the management shouted at the employees whenever they wanted something to be done. There was no appreciation and the employees were not allowed to give their opinion. The staffs believe that the chain of command should allow them to air their concerns so that they could concentrate on delivery (Philips & Connel, 2011, p. 17). Moreover, the study showed that there was low understanding between the leaders and the workers. This was caused by the age gap in the inn between the manager and the workers. The managers composed of most Australians over the age of 45 while the staffs were young people between 18 and 25 years. This meant that, the communication channel was broken due to hard relation. Hence, tt was not easy for the young to mingle with the aged. The workers were not also properly integrated as most percentage was made up of the Australian. According to Painter & Werhane (2011, p. 36) motivation of employees is relevant for organizational performance. It is evident that where the effort of employees is recognized and applauded, the motivation to work increases. However, it was found that in Harbour Inn, this was not the case. There were no incentives to work in the form of better pay, paid leaves, benefits, bonuses or payment to extra time. The working conditions were poor and workers worked till late without an extra package. And long working hours with no additional pay. Recommendations In line to the aforementioned concerns a number of recommendations were highlighted. First, leaders should improve efficiency by promoting peaceful coexistence in the inn. This would involve scheduled meetings with the workers where opinions would be shared and both parties would act (Leigh, 2012, p. 41). Additionally, the managers should provide proper feedback on issues within the inn to the employees and be transparent. Secondly, information should be share with the staff and proper training that corresponds to current technological advancements should be provided to ensure that the worker do their work in order (Dunlop& Arnold, 1997, p. 22). The mode of communication should be in a polite. The use of internal memos, telephones, internet and texts should be employed to ensure that the information received is timely, clear and effective. Krueger (1998, p. 15) points out that employees are governed by professionalism and therefore should be allowed to air their grievances and obtain proper treatment. Therefore, it is important for management to treat the employees with respect and listen to their grievances as these promote peaceful interaction. Additionally, employees should freely use their knowledge and skills when handling issues. This was in resolution of the dispute and to ensure that work was done properly based on professional knowledge. Consequently, management should instill proper rewarding systems to the employees. Good payment packages be revised and employees receive an extra payment for overtime. The management needs to pave way for employee benefits, paid leaves, bonuses, insurance packages as well as remuneration to motivate their efforts. This would motivate them to work and increase their performance for positive growth in the firm (Dunlop& Arnold, 1997, p. 34). Gary& Rima (2007, p. 17) in their study emphasizes the importance of the management should instilling proper working areas and enough staff to avoid overworking the employees. In a bid to ensure that workers would leave the work premise on time and early. Additionally, the management should be mixed to include young people who would address the issues of the young employees and the departments should also employ mixed races and staff to promote integration. Lastly, it is important for the management to respect the views of the subordinates even if they are young, of a minority group or of a different race. This also meant that they needed to employ people of diverse races in the inn to ensure diversification (Kirton & Hearly, 2013, p. 28). Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to ensure that organizational interactions are conducted in a peaceful manner. Both the employees and the management have a role to play in ensuring that the goals of the firm are met. Where communications channel develops a problem, then so does the whole system. The employees should provide and air their opinions freely. These may be helpful to the management in finding solution to firm issues. Unfortunately, most of the firms lack cooperation and the employees are threatened leading to silence suffering. This case is not too different from the real situations in many firms and the management have a big role to play in making the work place a great experience for most of the crew. References Allen, D & Bryant, P. (2012). Managing Employee Turnover: Dispelling Myths and Fostering Evidence-Based Retention Strategies. London: Business Expert Press. Behn, R. (1998). Leadership Counts: Lessons for Public Managers from the Massachusetts Welfare, Training, and Employment Program. New York: Routledge. Dunlop. T. J. & Arnold, J.T. (1997). Mediation and Arbitration of Employment Disputes. Oxford: Oxford publishers. Gary, L. & Rima, S.D. (2007). Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to Become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures. Newyork: Routledge Griffeth, R & Hom, P. (1994). Employee Turnover. New York: Routledge. Kirton, G & Hearly, G (2013).Gender and Leadership in Trade Unions. London: Routledge. Krueger, A. (1998). The effect of workplace education on earnings, turnover, and job performance. London: Routledge. Leigh, B. (2012).The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It's Too Late. New York: Springer Science. Northose, G.P. (2012). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Oxford: Oxford publishers Painter, M & Werhane, P. (2011).Leadership, Gender, and Organization (Issues in Business Ethics) Springer Science, New York: Springer Science. Philips, J & Connel, A, O (2011).Managing Employee Retention (Improving Human Performance). Oxford: Oxford publishers. Werhane, P. & Painter, M.M. (2011). Leadership, Gender, and Organization (Issues in Business Ethics). London: Routledge. Read More