case study three approaches to hrm in the hotel sector

1、1Case Study Three: Approaches to HRM in the hotel SectorAs outlined in Box 3.1, HRM in the hotel sector is strongly influenced by the variability of demand, particularly in those establishments serving the seasonal touri

2、sm industry. The hotel sector is also heavily dependant on the external labour market as staff turnover is typically high and, therefore, a ready supply of both skilled and unskilled labour is often required to meet cus

3、tomer demand. This high turnover often results in problems of skills shortages in key operational areas, such as waiting or kitchen staff. However, while the hotel industry context often acts to constrain managers’ choic

4、e in HRM strategy, policies and practices, evidence suggests a variety of approaches to the staffing and managing the workforce. The following case studies contrasts the employment practices adopted in two ‘similar’ hote

5、ls operating in the same UK city. The Mercury HotelThe Mercury is a franchise establishment of a large US hotel chain. It is 4-star rated and mainly serves the commercial market catering for business clients and hosting

6、 conferences and seminars. It has almost 300 guestrooms, is located in the centre of a large UK city and directly employs over 200 members of staff. Two-thirds of employees are employed full-time on 39-hour contracts wit

7、h working times varying from week to week. Any hours worked beyond this are paid as overtime. The remaining third of employees are part-time (up to 25 hours per week). This structure appears to provide a balance between

8、 the need for flexibility in predictably busier periods throughout the year and as cover for short-term increases in demand. Management also make extensive use of return staff, mainly students who live in the area during

9、 term time or holiday periods, to provide a further element of labour flexibility. Such employees are seen as a ready supply of trained labour but who have no claim to minimum hours, that can be shed with limited notice

10、and who are most willing to work unsociable hours. Further shortfalls in labour are met either by other casual labour (e.g. recruited via temping agencies) or by increasing permanent staff hours at short notice. Contract

11、ed casual employees are ‘on-call’ so that managers can demand that employees work ‘a(chǎn)s and when required’, principally being used for functions such as wedding receptions. Management seeks to minimise the potentially dama

12、ging effects on service quality by minimising the use of ‘temp’ casuals and ensuring that, whilst providing a degree of flexibility, most employees are a ‘known quantity’ and have received at least some training by the h

13、otel. Moreover, rather than relying solely on numerical forms of flexibility (altering staffing levels in line with demand), The Mercury attempts to meet the challenge of variable demand by training members of staff acr

14、oss a range of different areas; a rudimentary form of skills flexibility. The approach to staffing adopted at The Mercury appears to reflect a compromise between the need for labour flexibility and employee stability wi

15、th management 3The Luna HotelThe Luna is located approximately 1 mile from The Mercury and is part of a large UK hotel chain. It has 201 rooms, is also 4-star rated and employs 128 members of staff. It serves both the c

16、ommercial marketplace – albeit without conference facilities – and the typically short-stay tourism market. The hotel was subject to a takeover six months ago and is in a period of transition, not least in the way in whi

17、ch HRM is conducted. Again, two-thirds of the workforce is full-time, but the current management are seeking to significantly reduce this figure and claimed they are overstaffed with permanent employees. They plan not t

18、o replace leavers in certain departments or replace them by offering workers flexible contracts and express a willingness to rely heavily on casuals and agency staff to plug gaps in the workforce. Even permanent employee

19、s are now employed on significantly less favourable terms than prior to the takeover. Management claimed that this provided ‘working-time flexibility’ for both employer and employee. The number of hours and shift pattern

20、s are adjusted and planned on a weekly basis according to business levels with both parties able to request more or less hours in a given period. No attempt had been made to train employees across a range of tasks to pro

21、vide greater skills flexibility nor is there any intention to do so given the stated desire to kept training costs to a minimum.Employee communication at The Luna is predominantly one-way. General manager briefings are h

22、eld for all staff every quarter to inform them about organisational and establishment strategy and managerial decisions. Managerial meetings and communication between heads of department and employees is limited to one-t

23、o-one meetings as and when required, instigated by either party, usually to deal with grievance or disciplinary issues. There is no dedicated structure or schedule to these intra-departmental meetings although some depar

24、tments imposed some formality by holding five-minute ‘chats’ between departmental heads and staff every month. Other departmental managers preferred employees to approach heads of department to raise issues. These one-to

25、-one meetings appeared to be the only means of upward communication. There is no other provision for employee consultation, suggestion or participation in decision-making. It appeared that even the general manager’s brie

26、fing is merely a communicative device with little provision for employee feedback.The hotel had experienced high levels of labour turnover since the takeover, some of which is likely to be as a result of the upheaval cau

27、sed. Regardless, labour turnover is reported to be both problematic and beneficial at The Luna depending on the staff involved. On the one hand, employee turnover is considered undesirable because of the costs involved