Hilton Hotel Hr Issues In Pakistan Business Essay

Due to globalization and the technological changes human resources is shaped by many factors. The human resource management is the need of the hour because of its special attention to communication, motivation and leadership values. This helps in building trust and faith between the employee and the organization. Today, Human resource management is going through significant changes due to development in technology, change in demographics, globalization and changing work dynamics especially in hospitality industry. The aim of the human resource management is to retain the talented workforce, especially the ones who are committed towards the organization’s goal and development. So, to be successful we need to alter the human resource strategy in such a way that it benefits both the organization as well as the employees. As a result of the changing market scenario, companies are laying special focus on the human resource planning so as to remain competitive. In case of Hilton Hotel, a change in their existing internal and external structure can help in achieving the management goals. The personnel planning, plays a very important role as they are the ones on whom the success of the organization depends. To generate results, the employees undergo training and development which further motivates them to perform better. Improvement in performance will definitely bolster the image of your organization. Problem solving is the best means to maintain long lasting relations with the other team members. If the problems of the employees are dealt with properly then it can improve the employee’s efficiency towards work and generate better productivity and revenues.

Background

The hotel is situated in the midst of the city of Pakistan, is a five star business hotel. The hotel serves for business purpose during the week days and weekends. The hotel has great ambience, green lush gardens, and huge swimming pool and pool side restaurants. It is not far off from the International hotel so majority of people book their stay here. This place is in a business district so that people who come for business purpose should plan their stay here. The hotel is made up using the latest technology and the designs.

The infrastructure

The hotel has 150 suites

Two line telephones in all rooms

Internet access

TV cable facility in all TVs

Business conference hall

Laundry

Club

Swimming Pool

24 hour room dining

Restaurants

2.0 Principle of HR Planning

Due to the increasing competition in the business environment a lot of changes are taking place and has called for a change in both the internal and external face of the organization. To become more competitive, the organizations are changing the way they allocate duties and responsibilities, thereby brining a change in the internal structure of the organization. Some of these problems of flexibility, team work, service agreements, performance etc were faced by the managers of well known brand of Hilton Hotel. Human resource planning should be done in a proper and organized way based on principles and actions so as to give the desired results. According to me, the Hilton hotel should be divided from the hierarchical level of organization to a semi autonomous one, in which individual units will be responsible for performance in their area of work. I am sure this will definitely produce good results to meet the customer satisfaction and better employee management relations. The first and foremost role of human resource planning is personnel planning. This is an integral part of any human resource planning; this involves deciding on the positions that are vacant and to be filled up in future. They predict all the positions from a clerk to management level. This happens when the organization plans to diversify its business or start with a new stream of business.

Hilton hotel which operates as both for vacation and trade purpose has a good name and fame.

To fill the vacancies the HR department has to keep three things in mind:

1. Forecast Personnel needs

2. Internal supply of candidates and

3. External candidates

2.1 Forecast the need

To begin with the personnel planning of this new branch we would do the need analysis of the various offices in the hotel. They are:

Human Resource Office – At the top we will have the human resource manager who will be responsible for taking the key decision of the organization. He will be assisted by the assistant manager who will take care of the major dealing and will have a secretary under him. We will also have an officer responsible for recruitment at initial phase. The HRM will also have a personal officer lead by personal supervisor.

Finance Department (8 staff) – the finance department looks after the credit, audit related activities of the organization. At the top we would have a chief accountant who is the head of the department. Under him will come three heads, Credit officer, account’s officer and system coordinator. The credit office and the account’s officer will have credit supervisor and internal auditor respectively. These two will have assistants under them for help and to assist them in their work

Marketing Manager – marketing officers, communication specialist and marketing executives.

Food & beverages department – Banquet manager, restaurant manager, assistant managers, hostess, stewards.

Kitchen – Chief Chef under him will be the junior chef. The chef will comprise of specialty ad sous chef along with the assistants.

Laundry – Manager, laundry supervisors and assistants to serve the customers.

House keeping staff – Executive house keepers, floor supervisors and room attendants.

Front desk officers would comprise of:

a. duty managers, b. bell boys, c. Airline representative, d. Guest coordinator, e. telephone operators.

Development office

facility planning and maintenance (11 staff) – in this we will have two heads, they are:

Chief security officer under him will be the duty manager, training manager and the supervisors. They would further be assisted by time keeper, assistant training manager and security personnel respectively.

Chief maintenance officer – this will be assisted by preventive maintenance manager, breakdown maintenance manager and predictive maintenance manager.

Now, to project the number of employees needed to do the task and the amount of revenue that will be generated by them, the organizations use techniques like ratio analysis and trend analysis. In trend analysis, we usually take the last 3-4 years of employment data of an organization to predict the employee status at the end of each year. This will help us in initial search of how many people worked for how long in a department. We do this analysis to determine the trend in an organization which may continue in future. The other method is ratio analysis, in which forecast is made on the basis of sales volume generated and employees required for that. The ratio would automatically change due to change in sales variable. Today, this technique of forecasting the personnel needs is widely used by the human resource planning (Taylor, S. 2004). Most of the organizations would like to fill the positions by using their internal candidates. For this the HR would like to know their qualification and their skills to test if they can fit in the profile well. All this information is tracked in the computer database when the candidate starts working wit the organization. If the Human Resource feels that the internal employees do not satisfy the condition they would like to move towards the external candidate for filling up the position. For this the HR would have to understand the supply of external candidate this information can be drawn from both print and electronic sources. ( Price, A. 2000).

Human resource planning identifies how organization should move from current employee position to the desired one. It forecasts the need for the employees and plan how many people are needed and how the vacant seats to be filled in. So, human resource planning aims at fulfilling short and long term goals of the organization.

3.0 Human Resource Models

3.1 Application of Harvard model of HRM to Hilton Hotel

Harvard school lays emphasis on the role of the general managers who can actually bring upon a change in the working environment, so as to make it competitive and achieve the goals of the organization. They are ones who can alter the HRM policies in a way that benefits both the employees and the organization. As per this model, Hilton Hotel should ask the line managers to take up the responsibility to alter the strategies in a way that suits the personnel needs and also meets the goals of the organization. Second is that the employees should set up policies so as to achieve the goals. So, it is a model that is based on the mutual interest of the personnel and the management. It comprises of six constituents:

Stake holder interests

Shareholders

Management

Employee groups

Government

Community

Union

Situational factors

Business strategy

Management philosophy

Labour market

Workforce characteristics

Technology

Laws and social values

HRM policies and choice

Reward system

Work system

Employee influence

Human Resource flow

Human Resource outcomes

Commitment

Competence

Congruence

Cost effectiveness

Long term consequences

Individual well-being

Organisational effectiveness

Social well-being

Situational factors are either external or internal to an organization and may influence the HR policies. They are management philosophy, personnel characteristics, market regulations and social values. These factors influence the management in determining the HR strategy. The HR of the Hotel should develop strategies in a way that benefits both the organization and the employees by fulfilling their needs.

The HR policies and decisions should be based on the interest of not only the stakeholders but also the personnel, organization and the trade union. Hilton hotel should develop policies to encourage employees from the front desk to the finance managers to give quality services to keep business going.

HRM policy choices are made by the management together with the HR. The decisions made should keep in mind the interaction between the constraints and choices. The policies should be designed in such a way that the employees feel motivated. Hilton Hotel should develop innovative and creative strategies to bring in improvement in the work quality and stay competitive by integrated participation of line managers and HR in designing the policies.

HR outcomes are the employee commitment to achieve the organizations goal and objective. Hilton Hotel will initiate employee’s role in decision making process. So that they feel a part of the family.

Long term consequences can be seen in individuals who give them a kind of satisfaction and relief of hard work and success. In organization, long term consequences are effectiveness of the organization’s working in achieving the goals. From the society’s point of view, the goal of employment and service is achieved.

Feedback loop shows that it is a two way model between the stakeholders and the personnel.

The model states the following four C’s which important elements of HRM Model for Hilton Hotel are based on:

Congruence of the HR issues into plans. The organization should play an effective role in converting the HR objective into Organization’s goal and make sure that everyone adheres by it. It also gives the responsibility to the managers to take decisions keeping in mind the HRM point of view.

High Commitment of employees towards organization’s goal. The personnel should alter their attitude and behavior in a way to achieve organization’s goals and objectives.

Competence to achieve the desired skills, abilities to beat others. To produce quality products and services.

Cost effectiveness by bringing in flexibility in functioning and bringing on a change in organization with a change in technology and time.

3.2 Application of Guest model of HRM to Hilton Hotel

David Guest lays down the following four goals that contribute to the HRM model:

Strategic Integration of the HRM issues while formulating strategic plans. The organization should make sure that the managers play an effective role in the decision making process. The HR should coordinate and look into the problems of employees in different fields like front desk, maintenance, food and beverage, kitchen etc. To understand the needs and wants of this group of people and develop strategies.

Attitudinal and behavioral commitment to organization’s goal. To mould oneself accordingly to changing business environment. The respective heads of the different departments should try to change the behavior of the workers in a way which will contribute to the hotel’s goal and development.

High quality to be reflected in the goods and services produced. The service by the waiters, bartenders, floor staff and house keeping should be of best quality which will attract customers in future. Also, quality to be seen in the employee management who are well qualifies, with etiquettes which is very important in Hotel and catering industry.

Flexibility to change with the change in the business world. To adjust to the changing needs and wants of the people ( Jackson, S. & Schuller, R. 1999).

4.0 Recruitment and Selection of reception Staff

To recruit and select the effective employee is one of the difficult tasks for all management functions. According to the (McGladrey, 2008) if companies hire the wrong person it may have negative impact on the company’s performance. Company may spend valuable management time for coaching, disciplining and possibly terminating the employee. It may also increase the risk of legal liability, with potential charges brought by the problem employee. Company may cost up to two times the annual salary of the employee, in lost time, inefficient operation of the poor employee, and replacement cost. In this situation companies need to have a proper strategy and policy of recruitment process to maximize the chances of effective hire and minimize other legal problems. All the involved individuals must have the clear understanding of the essential job functions, required qualification to perform tasks and the knowledge and training to conduct interviews that are both productive and legally sound. Recruitment and selection process has involved in 7 steps.

Determine the vacancy

Job analysis

Advertise the vacancy

Review application and CV

Interview and selection

Obtain reference

Offer a job

Determine the vacancy

A vacancy arises. Sometimes this is due to the creation of a new job, on other occasions it may be because an existing member of staff has been promoted or is retiring.

Job Analysis

Jon analysis is the procedure through which you determine the duties of these positions and the characteristics of the people who should be hired for them. The analysis produces information on job requirements, which is then used for developing job descriptions (what the job entails) and job specifications (what kind of people to hire for the job). In Relation with Hamilton Hotel, they are looking for a reception staff, first of all they will analyze the person specification for the job. For example Hamilton Hotel is an international brand with luxury standard among 80 countries in the world. If we look at them they need a person who should have several skills:

Knowledge about office administration

Understanding of international culture

Team building

Analytical and problem solving

Decision making skills

Good communication skills both in English and local

Computer skills

Time management skills

Be honest and trustworthy

Be respectful

Possess cultural awareness and sensitivity

Be flexible

Demonstrate sound work ethics

Job description lists the duties of the job whilst the employee specification gives details of the experience, skills and abilities needed to carry out the job. For Hamilton Hotel Job description for reception staff will be followed:

Job Title

Receptionist

Job Type

Full time

Job Location

Lahore

Gender

Male/Female

Age

20 – 32years

Minimum Education

Bachelor’s Degree in honour

Minimum Experience

None

Salary

25,000 PKR to 30,000 PKR

Advertise the vacancy

The vacant position needs to be advertised so that potential applicant can become aware of that vacant position and then apply. In relation to Hamilton hotel in Pakistan they need reception staff and for that purpose they can use following ways to advertise the vacancy

Company website

Because in Pakistan this is gona be the 1st source to let vacant aware about job vacancy.

Print Media:

National news papers (Jhang Khabrien, The Down, etc)

Local news papers (Apna Lahore, etc)

Magazines

External Agency

Employment agencies (AKS consultants, A2Z consultants etc)

Recruitment consultant

Education Liaison

Careers service

Student societies

Other media

Direct mail

Local radio

Tele text

Billboards

Internet (recruitment websites like roozi.com.pk)

TV and cinema

Professional contacts

Conferences

Industry contacts

Other methods

Past applicant records

Word of mouth

Review CVs & Application Forms & Shortlist

At this stage all the application forms and CVs are screened in order to identify the best match for the job vacancy. The application-screening process has attracted little research attention. In screening process the use of selection methods varies more widely between organizations and between the kinds of recruitment. Organizations have different ways to choose candidates some use interviews, some will use psychometric tests, some will use work simulation or role plays and some will use an assessment centre comprising a range of techniques. (Roberts, G, 1997). In relation to Hamilton Hotel when they receive response from potential applicant in the form if CVs and application form, they need to screen in order to identify applicants who best match the person specification criteria for reception staff. In the end company will have short number of applications whom they interview in next stage.

Interviews & Selection testing’s:

Different companies use different techniques

Interviewing

Tests

Exercise

Assessment Centres

The purpose of the job interview is for the employee and applicant to know each other better by mean of questions and answers

There are three types of interviews

Telephone interview

One to one interview

Panel interview

For Hamilton Hotel it will be better if they do one to one interview to applicants because in person is always better since you can see what you are getting. Hiring ‘blind’ is scary; some people attach lot of weight to a CV like ‘foot in the door’ but its not necessarily indicative of the person as a whole, therefore I must say phone interview will not be great for Hamilton as they have some personality factors in job description. Panel interview cannot be arranged for reception staff as it uses for high profile job vacancy. Being in a remote location Hamilton hotel should see the reception staff before hiring. This is more just for the employee’s sake in finding out where we are; therefore one to one interview will be best suite. The one to one job interview is a test/conversation and both parties will end the conversation with an opinion. The interviewer: if the candidate is right for the job and the interviewee: is the organization is right for him/her.

Selection & Testing

In some cases, the interview might not be enough to choose the most suitable candidate. Therefore, selection testing is done to identify the applicant’s unique qualities such as leadership, initiative, communication team work and reasoning skills. We have some example tests include the following

Numerical tests

Psychological tests

Assessment tests

Roberts, G (1997) describes psychometric tests have gained significantly in popularity in recent years, but are by no means commonplace. According to him tests can be either of ability or personality. Ability tests to measure specific aptitude such as, vocabulary, numeracy, spatial awareness, typing speed and accuracy. This test often used for the clerical positions. Personality tests are used o measure the range of personal characteristics, values and attitudes which shape an individual’s beliefs and behaviors. In relation to Hamilton Hotel in Pakistan, they should arrange personality test for receptionist once they screened the staff. Because being a reception staff, his/her more interact will be with customers where all personality features counts such as the way you treat your customer, handling customers, information you provide.

Obtain References

References are people who can vouch or give evidence in the applicant’s character. There are two types of referencing:

Professional reference

Academic Reference

In relation to Hamilton Hotel, it depends what kind of applicant they have at the end to offer a job. Because they didn’t mention any experience in relevant field so if they have applicant such as fresh graduate then for them company will obtain academic reference, such as institution principle or professor. But in other case if they get chance to have experienced applicant in relevant field then company will obtain professional reference. Because professional references are people who can provide information about someone’s job performance and suitability for employment.

Job offer and induction

If the feedback from reference is positive, then the applicant is sent a job offer letter confirming the position. Company will appoint the successful staff and arrange induction training. On induction day newly recruited staff will be introduced to other colleagues and get his/her job responsibilities, etc.

5.0 Training and Motivation

Training and motivating employees is one of the best ways to retain employees for long. I believe that the training program in the hotel can greatly influence the success rate of the organization. The training can be conducted so as to train the employees as per the hotel standards. The learning provided through training can actually change the behavior and attitude of the employee towards working and they would also feel motivated to learn more and perform better. Training is compulsory for all as it provides the necessary skills to perform a particular task. The training can be of different types, the first type of training is where the instructor trains the employees to do a particular task to make it competitive and increase the efficiency and his performance. The other methods of training employees are by means of computer, it contains certain software’s to train the employees to work effectively and efficiently. There are certain websites of the company that help in training employees at ease. An employee usually goes training when he is new to the organization. Or it may be he is promoted at a higher level so to brief him on the new duties and responsibilities he under goes training for professional development (Noe. 2008) In hotels, special efforts are to be put in training the staff. Because in hotel industry effort and personal character matter a lot, training programs are organized for the employees. But most of the times, the employees are not able to give the desired outcome. To ensure that the employees learn from the training program, Hilton Hotel has labeled the following points:

learning should be linked to value for organization and the employee. The employees of different departments should be trained well to generate greater business for the Hotel.

Turning the learning process into action which will prove employee training effectiveness.

Managers or the trainers should be successful in changing the attitudes and behaviors in the correct manner so as become suitable for the task.

These principles if inculcated in the Hotel staff will give them desired results.

Following are the Training Methods adopted by Hilton Hotel:

On the job training – this training technique is application for all the levels of employment. All the employees undergo on the job training to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to perform the task effectively. In this type of training, the employees are trained while working on the job. This method of training is cost effective as the employees are trained while producing. This form of training is effective in learning and gives instant feedback. Second, apprenticeship Training is another form of training, which is a combination of both on the job training and class room lectures. In this type of training, special classes are conducted to train employees. Job instruction training is a step by step training procedure and helps in making things clearer. Lectures also prove to be an effective means as there is one on one interaction and the employee is supposed to listen and answer when questioned. The employee and the employer interaction make it quite healthy. Some of the effective learning techniques are: visual means in the form of graphics, slides, video shows and the other is auditory means by audio conferencing, sound effects, tapes and videos etc (Bohlander & Snell. Managing Human Resources. USA)

The training is incomplete if it lacks the motivation to the employees. The employer can make training interesting and meaningful for the employee by providing them realistic practice. The trainees learn well when the trainer guides them and give feedback on every action. The employers should also make an effort to make the employees realize the need for training. This can be done by showing video tapes to the employees illustrating the various bad incidents that are possible if the job is not handled properly. The employee training boosts the employees’ morale by giving him work satisfaction. As a result, the employee is motivated to work harder and harder. This increased efficiency towards work helps in company’s financial gain, the company also credits the employees by incentive plans to motivate them further.

6.0 Conclusion

It is really important to motivate the employees in order to retain them. They are the survival off an organization. The managers should use effective means to motivate the employees since this process is complex. The managers can refer to motivation models of Maslow hierarchy of needs and others to motivate the employees as motivated employees are the need of the day. Today, employee retention has become a key challenge in the present business world. So, the line managers should develop strategies in such a way so as to retain the efficient employees. I believe if we follow the correct method of personnel planning, we can save in cost by identifying the needs and requirements of the organization before in time. I also believe that in this age of competition, production of high quality of products at competitive pricing can only yield results which can be possible by following and practicing good human resource management models. Once the candidates are selected they should be given appropriate training to do a particular task to prove themselves effective for that. The training should be effective enough because it is the training that leads to better performance.