Managing people in Hilton London Metropole

Hilton London Metropole is one of the largest hotel in London and also has the Europe’s largest conferencing hotel too. It is situated in central London, just 10 minutes walk from oxford street and west end. According to me it is best hotel to stay with for business and leisure guests since one can go to the nearby Hyde Park or relax in the hotel’s gym, pool or sauna. One can also enjoy international cuisine in the restaurants within the hotel. It is also near to the local attractions like Tower of London and the London eye. Also it is only 30 minutes from famous Wembley Stadium where one can watch sports events. All Hilton London Metropole hotel rooms offer high-speed internet access as well as it is available in all public areas of the hotel.

Hilton London Metropole at glance

• 15 minutes from Heathrow and 10 minutes from London Oxford Street.
• Premier conference venue offering 40 events and meeting rooms, including 2 suites with the capacity of up to 1600 delegates.
• Wireless in all public areas and meeting rooms.
• Executive floor
• Business centre
• Parking available
• Smoking rooms available
• 1054 rooms
• Accessible rooms available
• Check In:03:00 PM
• Check Out :12:00 Pm
• HHonors Category: 6
• HHonors Points: 40000

Amenities

• Beauty Salon
• Fitness Centre/Health Club
• Indoor Pool
• Sauna
• Steam Room
• Coffee Shop
• Concierge Desk
• Pets Allowed
• Foreign Currency Exchange

Work related problems in the Hilton London Metropole

Staffs motivation and turn over

Entire hotel industry is affected by this major problem so the Hilton London Metropole. As per 2010 Resourcing and talent planning survey reports shows that the overall staff turnover rate of UK is to be 13.5%.

Though according to this report staff turnover ratios vary from industry to industry but the highest levels are shown in hotels, catering and leisure industry. Main reason for this is that it is one of the lower paid sectors as compared to other and qualified persons skip their current job and try to get in other better paid jobs.

Another reason is available alternative employment since Hilton London Metropole is well located in central London with ample of other hotels which can offer better pay rate is they find a candidate very suitable for their current requirement.

Also job dissatisfaction is another reason for high staff turnover. This is because of lack of communication between management and the operations because of which unnecessary problem and stress on the employee is created.

Employee turnover becomes problem at the point where it starts to have negative impact on the organisation’s performance. And also depends on the type of labour market it is operating, i.e. whether it is easy to find new employees and at little cost.

By difference where skills are somewhat scare which means that are quite difficult new employees and also where recruitment is costly or where it takes long time to fill the vacancy, then turnover is likely to be become problematic for the organisation. This gets more problematic if the organisation is losing staff to direct competitor or where they have build good relationship with customers.

Measuring employee turnover:-

Most organisation keep track of their employee turnover, simple formula for this is

Total number of leavers over period Ã-100

Average total number employed over period

The total figure includes all the leavers living the organisation for any reason.

This only shows how many employees are leaving the organisation but does not give us any estimate on how much organisation is facing losses because of this.

Staffs quit their job because of many reasons. Most of the time it is because of new and better job opportunity and other reason is their job dissatisfaction which forces them to search for new employer.

This further can be explained with the help of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of need Theory, people are motivated by needs that remain unsatisfied, and that certain lower order of needs has to satisfied first for higher needs to be recognized as unfulfilled. Maslow identified general categories of needs; these needs were referred to as “deficiency needs.” While all the people are motivated to fulfil these needs, and eventually progress towards growth and in time towards self-actualisation and for adequate workplace motivation, it is important that management understands the active needs of individual employee. This can be more clearly understood by “Maslow’s Needs Pyramid”.

Ref:- http://www.idrc.ca/es/ev-82311-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Physiological Needs

Physiological needs are those required to sustain life, such as:

• air
• water
• nourishment
• sleep

According to Maslow’s theory, if such needs are not satisfied then person will be motivated to satisfy these basic needs. Higher needs such as social needs and esteem are not felt until that person has already fulfilled the basic needs for existence.

Safety

Once physiological needs are met, one’s interest turns to safety and security in order to be free from the risk of physical and emotional harm. Such needs might be fulfilled by:

• Living in a safe area
• Medical insurance
• Job security
• Financial reserves

According to Maslow’s hierarchy, if a person feels that he/she is threatened then they will not pay much attention to other higher needs until these needs are satisfied.

Social Needs

Once a person has met the lower level physiological and safety needs, then person’s higher level needs become important, the primary of which are social needs. Social needs are those related to interaction with other people and may include:

• Need for friends
• Need for belonging
• Need to give and receive love

Esteem

Once a person feels a sense of “belonging” then the want to feel important arises. Esteem needs may be classified as internal or external. Internal esteem needs are those related to self-esteem such as self respect and achievement. External esteem needs are those such as social status and recognition. Some esteem needs are:

• Self-respect
• Achievement
• Attention
• Recognition
• Reputation

Maslow later refined his model to include a level between esteem needs and self-actualization: the need for knowledge and aesthetics.

Self-Actualization

Self-actualization is the pinnacle of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is the search of reaching one’s full potential as a person. contrasting the lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as one grows psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow.

Self-actualized people tend to have needs such as:

• Truth
• Justice
• Wisdom
• Meaning

Self-actualized persons have frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are energized moments of deep happiness and harmony. According to Maslow, only a small percentage of the population reaches the level of self-actualization.

Recommendation for staff retention.

Develop an attractive employee value proposal:-

An employee value proposal means that a company has something attractive to offer that is perceived as valuable to an employee. As an employer, hotel must understand what makes the organization attractive to potential employees and current employees. The best advocates for hotel brand are its current employees. What messages do they send to others about their current employer? Are they truthfully saying and believing that, “This is a great place to work.”

Create a total reward structure that includes more than compensation:

Hotel should have all the normal compensation. Yet, total rewards packages is more than money. While money may temporarily retain employees, it does not always encourage employee. People want a chance to make a difference and recognize themselves. That self-realization is different for each employee. The total reward structure should include, in addition to compensation, support for employees to attain their personal objectives associated with the goals of their organization.

Give feedback on employee performance on a regular basis.

Most managers and employees are not enamoured with the performance appraisal process in the hotel so an effective performance management process serves many purposes. Ongoing performance comment allows employees to know better about their position in hotel, and also gives them a formal means to provide input, and indicates that their managers pay attention to them and that their performance matters. This feedback contributes to employee commitment and retention.

Be flexible in terms of work-life balance.

Today more and more employees want to keep balance between work and personal life. They want more flexible ways to engage with their employer. To attract and keep hold of workers with different work and career prospect, organizations have to be more flexible in structuring work and its outlook. Hence it needs a different professional approach and practices that involve letting go of old ways of controlling workers’ time and attendance in favour of result criteria such as output, productivity and quality.

Create a culture of engagement.

Employees have become more connected with others in the organization through team work and process management activities. Employees are changing their loyalty to people, teams and projects and away from company loyalty. It is organizations who create the culture and climate which will allow people, processes and projects to become fully connected and engaged with each other. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with their employer.

Leadership

Another problem faced by the employees is of mismanagement i.e. there is frequent communication breakdown from the management to the employers regarding various information about day to day operations. For example not updating kitchen staff about last minute changes made in the number of guest attending a given function which leads to unnecessary stress, trouble as well as serving understand food and that too getting late in service.

This also leads to carelessness among staff, underperformance of staff due to pressure, low morale, and unwillingness to work and give their 100% to the organisation.

This can be taken care with the application and understanding theories for leadership and management.

Leadership is an essential part of management and plays a very important role in managerial operations. It provides direction, guidance, and confidence to the employees and helps in the accomplishment of targets in easier way. In hotel business managers play the role of leader and gain control of subordinates, their efforts towards the accomplishment of organizational goals and trigger the persons of an organization to make them work. Leadership influences behaviour of the individuals. It has an ability to draw others and potential to make them follow the directions. Individuals can be influenced to contribute their optimum towards the achievement of organizational goals through effective leadership. Leadership acquires authority and the followers accept the directions and control of a leader.

Good leadership is very important in any organisation. Leadership features can be explained by following points:-

• Leadership is the process of influencing behaviour of individuals of an organization.
• Leadership uses non-coercive methods to direct and coordinate the activities of the individuals of an organization.
• Leadership directs the individuals to attain the tasks assigned to them by following the instructions of their leaders.
• A leader possesses qualities to influence others.
• Leadership is a group activity. Leader influences his followers and followers also exercise influence over his leader.
• Leadership is continuous process of influencing behaviour.

There are three types of leadership:

Autocratic leadership: – This style of leadership is task centred. The most significant thing while using autocratic style of leadership is usually getting a certain task completed. This style of leadership spends less time focusing on explanations and discussions, and more on orders. Sometimes a leader will use an autocratic style to ensure that those he or she is working with realize “they are the boss”.

Advantages of an autocratic style include that it gets things done quickly, it can stop a group from making decisions that always affect a minority adversely, it ensures a leader gets listened to (at first), and it can let team members know when their behaviour is unacceptable.

Disadvantages are that it can distance team members, it doesn’t allow team members to develop by thinking for themselves, and it is often just an “easy option” used instead of spending time working through problems.

Disadvantages are that it can distance team members, it doesn’t allow team members to develop by thinking for themselves, and it is often just an “easy option” used instead of spending time working through problems.

Democratic: – This is probably the most commonly used leadership style. Democratic leadership involves working with a group to make sure they make decisions fairly and sensibly. It involves intervention to ensure that everybody has a say and that decisions do get made. The typical image of democratic leadership involves a group sitting in a circle, having a discussion and having a vote.

The advantages of democratic leadership include that everybody gets a say, it transfers power away from the leader to those they are working with, and it gives a feeling of power and control which in turn motivates and develops team members.

The disadvantages include the intervention necessary – which can be the wrong thing to do, and the slightly overused techniques that can turn some team members off.

Laissez-Faire Leadership: – The laissez-faire style of leadership can often be used very badly and for that reason often gets a bad name. Laissez-faire is more people than task centred. This leadership style involves leaving a group to make their own decisions – to the extent of not telling them they have to make decisions now. This is the style of a leader who hopes that a group will realize they are doing the wrong thing without telling them.

The advantages of the laissez-faire model are that it can allow a chance to bond in a less formal way, and that leaving team members to make their own decisions can be very successful if they work well together in terms of the ownership and responsibility it gives to team members.

The disadvantages are that often this model leaves team members doing the wrong thing without realizing it, that some individuals can simply dominate, and that if a group disappoints and is reprimanded the effect can be very negative.

Suggestion for improving leadership

Self Esteem

Make your employee feel important, and it will increase their motivation to work for you.

Here are some techniques to improve self esteem:

Ask their opinion. Even if you may feel you got the answers for problem, asking for their help makes the employee feel that their opinion is worth considering.

Always remember the name of the employee you are dealing with, and use it frequently while discussing on matter. Remembering the name is most important thing to an employee.

Compliment them occasionally about their work.

Keep employees well informed about all matters that may concern them.

Planning

Planning is one of the key management tools. A good leader should always plan the days operation and a course of action to achieve goals. Planning helps to prepares management as well as this operation staff for how to deal in the event certain things happen.

Planning requires getting facts and data. Make sure you get all information and it is accurate and well updated it will equipped leaders be to make decisions accurately.

Making a good plan need the involvement of employees as well, this makes organisation to unify helps to unify an organization by getting others involved.

Change is accepted more easily when the plans are known throughout the organization.

Decision making ability of the staff can be improved through proper planning. For example, if numerous alternatives are available solve a problem; a decision must be made as to which one will be carried out. Ask staff for thoughts and comments.

Motivating

All people must feel they are needed. One cannot motivate a person if they do not think they are essential to the process.

Ways to make a person feel needed:

• Keep them informed.
• Challenge a person, thus allowing them to grow.
• Make them feel self-important of the job they are doing.
• Praise the person. Let them know they are doing a good job.

Recognition is more important to some people than salary. People want to be given credit for a job well done.

Disciplining

It is the behaviour when staff fail to do their job or they behave abnormally. With some people, you need to be firm or even demanding and for others, just a hint of a suggestion is enough.

Points to keep in mind for good disciplining:-

• Always discuss the situation as soon as possible after the incident.
• Talk to the individual in private.
• Don’t embarrass the person
• Always try to be friendly, and listen to the person’s story first.
• Weigh and decide the facts before giving any comment to staff.
• Do not argue.
• Try to have the person see the seriousness of the situation, and why they should change their attitude or performance.
• See if the individual feels they are being treated fairly.

Delegating

A SUCCESSFUL LEADER gets things done through others.

Some suggestions for making delegation successful:

• Understand the purpose of delegating. Leader has three basic objectives in delegating:
• Get the job done.
• Free him for other work.
• Have his “team” benefit by learning and experiencing what he has been doing.
• Decide in particular what can be delegated. Usually delegate as much of your work as possible. Do yourself only what no one else can do.
• Be aware of that subordinates will make mistakes. Make sure they understand what they have to do and be prepared to take blame for mistakes made by them.
• Explain what you are delegating. Also, let others know of the actions so that proper teamwork will be extended to get the job done.

Most important, follow-up. Keep in mind that even if you have delegated responsibility to get the job done, you still have the final responsibility for the job. Ask your team for progress reports or discuss with them from time to time.

Conclusion

People management and Human resource management they are concerned with the organisational staffing and bring out the new opportunities for the employee within the organisation and to the managers for their training and developments and also keep its employees motivated by giving them various incentives. Good leadership has great effect on the organisation. There is no particular style of leadership can be used in any given organisation. Managers who are or will be leading the team should always be well-organised and adjust the style which will be required in various situations at different time. They should lead very effectively and efficiently and employees should make an example of them and always be as a motivator. Motivation is employee’s mind-set, where employee gets motivated when their basic needs are satisfied and in some way they have been recognised and praised in organisation. For the organisation, staff motivation is significant as a factor of employee retention. The motivation can come through anything such as rewards, training, cross-training, performance appraisal and recognition. Hilton London Metroplole has to consider all the aspects in future for higher productivity and staff retention.