Challenges and Trends in Human Resource Management in Hospitality Industry

This study explores the challenges and trends in Human Resource Management (HRM) in the hospitality industry. It discusses issues related to HRM, provides a job description for a management position in the industry, and explores performance management strategies. The study also discusses the revision of existing HR policies and provides insights into the contemporary issues and trends in HRM in the hospitality industry.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Issues and trends related to HRM...............................................................................................4
Job description for management position in hospitality industry..............................................7
Person specification....................................................................................................................8
Performance management ..........................................................................................................9
Revision of existing HR policies...............................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
The study is about Human Resource Management having its challenges and strategies to cope
with issues and implement measures. Human Resource Management is about recruiting people at
work, providing them training about work concerned and solving the problems of employees.
The study takes in account the contemporary issues and trends in HRM of hospitality industry.
An account of job description with person specification has been provided of managerial position
of hospitality industry. The process of Performance management has been illustrated helping the
organisation in employee retention and motivation. The existing HR policies analysis and
revision including some changes have been discussed.
Issues and trends related to HRM
Human Resource as a function has evolved over the years as organisations have become large in
operations. As more people were recruited, HR function also became large. Thus, also came
problems with the function growing up. The first issue which came up was of intercultural
management. For instance,people being recruited in Travelodge hotel are from diverse
backgrounds and different countries it being an international hotel. There is an influx of urban
and rural culture also. People from different countries have different mannerisms and culture.
Bringing them together to align with each other and thus realising organisation's objectives is the
ultimate goal of HR (Martins, Silva and Silva, 2017). Managing the rural and urban influx is a
challenge which HR has to address . The people working from different countries may face a
language barrier in the initial period. HRM keeps induction of employees to help the employees
break ice between them and get to know each other better. Here they speak about their academia
and previous experiences and thus get to know each other better. The HRM also help arrange
some fun activities in which employees further gel out with each other. Through talks, people
also get to know each other's culture and tradition. Travelodge believe in unifying various
cultures in one team and through team cooperation and efforts help build the organisation (Otoo,
2019).
As employee base is large, the amount of data to be kept also becomes a challenge of
many employees. All the identities taken of the employee have to be stored, their forms filled up,
dispatch of Provident Fund forms also has to be taken care of. HRM have to keep their software

updated and thus have to bring new technical changes in software to hold employee data. The
Provident Fund has to be kept in regulations with government policy of the nation concerned.
There is another challenge to recruit a pool of talent who can cater to guests who are
coming from different countries. Guests from different countries would like to be greeted in their
own language. Thus comes a task before HRM to recruit people who can converse in different
languages. This may hike up the salary budget and thus HRM have to manage the salary budget
of the company. Travelodge HRM focuses on getting a talent pool who can cater to international
guests (Thite, 2018).
Other issue being faced by HRM is management of work force and allotting duties to
them. Hospitality has a number of functions and thus employ a large base of employees. The
employees' interest area has to be kept in mind and duties have to be allotted according to the
skills possessed by them. It can only be managed if employees' feedback is taken after an interval
of time. Their interest in work will keep the momentum going. The second thing is that
employees are from different places and would like to visit their homes once in a while. The
Travelodge HRM have to schedule the leaves of the employees in a way that it does not hamper
the working of the organisation and also their morale is not affected. Like every hotel, there
comes a peak time for Travelodge and at that time it is necessary to have work force in sufficient
number. Thus, HRM has to figure out ways in which the employees get leaves before such a
period and are rewarded for their service during peak seasons (Datta, 2020).
HRM have to manage the salary component of employees. There can be issues regarding
attendance which has to be looked after by HRM.
Speaking of trends within HRM, the trend foremost is redefining the role of HR
professional. The HR have to broaden their horizons and become more creative while discussing
business solutions and giving valuable inputs.
The current era has seen advent of technology in the way HR function. HR from the
process of recruitment use technology to source candidates till their on-boarding in the
organisation. There are tools which help HR in filtering the resumes of the numerous candidates
received on their portal. There are mass mail messages to help reach out to candidates who
possess the desired qualification to suit the role. In recruitment and selection process, use of
techniques like Skype for conversation and interview can be held with distant candidates. There
are software which can be used to conduct intelligence tests for employees.

Regarding the employee data base, through use of latest software, HR are able to keep
track of employee data and get the desired information within seconds. Data analytics is used to
simplify searches, gather data at one place. This also helps HRM in computing compensation and
incentives as per employee performance on KPIs.
Technology has also changed the way of marking attendance, absenteeism, half-day etc. The
finger impression devices help to avoid missing out on attendance records, this helps HRM in
salary documentation. The technology has helped in providing employee portals to access login
to see their privileged leaves, salary slips and other relevant information. Travelodge has made
use of technology in helping sort out employee issues on salary and recruitment (Zopiatis and
Theocharous, 2018).
The next trend seen is Travelodge HRM focusing on training and development on multi-
linguistic skills. Employees are getting trained by experts in language of the people who
frequently visit the hotel. This is done to give customer a homely and delightful experience as it
gives a very positive impression on the tourist or customer.
Apart from this, more focus is being given on training and development measures.
Training in hospitality is on different functions ranging from front office, housekeeping,
engineering and works department. The training is given by calling experts to give lectures on
different topics and trends in hospitality management. This gives an encouragement and
motivation among employees. Training is also given on the skill improvement in employees.
The employees are also trained in more than one operations so that responsibility can be taken up
when required (Ahmed, 2020).
Employees are also being given training sessions on improving soft skills. They are being
encouraged to converse with each other more often and also give presentations on different
topics pertaining to their work and hospitality industry. Travelodge too believes that a better
communication skill will help employees deal with customers in a better and polished way.
There would be less chances of any miscommunication arising.
HRM of many organisations have taken to outsourcing. This means that consultancies
help HR function to get the right candidate for the job. This may happen due to pre-occupancy of
HR due to various operations it is handling. Consultancies get the job description for searching
suitable candidates through online job portals and do a telephonic round and in some cases as

desired by the company, an aptitude test for the candidates. After screening through these
rounds, candidate is sent for final round by HR (He, Zhang, and Morrison, 2019).
There is also a provision for hiring person with disabilities in organisations. There is a
certain percentage of vacancies allotted to people with disabilities. The nature of work is such
that a person with disability can also perform the duties. This is also in context with the
government regulations. Travelodge also recruits person with disabilities and does its part in
society development.
Job description for management position in hospitality industry
Job Code: 151
Job Title: Hotel Manager
Reporting to: General Manager
Summary: Oversees all aspects of Hotel Management including maximisation of financial
performance, guest satisfaction and staff development with established quality standards.
Responsible for recruitment and infusing discipline in staff (He, Zhang, and Morrison, 2019).
Qualifications: MBA in Hotel Management with 5-10 years of prior experience in management
of a five star hotel.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Recruiting and conducting training sessions of staff.
Management and allotment of duties.
Maintenance of statistical and financial records.
Planning of events and maintenance work.
Handling customer grievances.
Making marketing plan of business.
Ensuring compliance within operations.
Doing event management.

Language Skills:
Hotel managers must have developed language skills in order to:
 Reading and Interpreting of documents in English.
 Writing routine reports on correspondence and business letters.
 Ability to converse publicly in English.
Computer Skills:
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
Yield Management System
Payroll Programs
Reasoning ability:
Must be able to understand current market scenario and carry out instructions.
Use of maths and logical skills to interpret financial information (KAYA, and Dağdeviren,
2018).
Reading and interpreting business record and revenue reports.
Making business decisions on production reports.
Work Environment
Must be able to give proper directions and communicate well with employees.
Must be able to effectively welcome and deal with guests.
Must be able to change activity frequently.
Person specification
Job Title- Hotel Manager
Job number: 111
Essential Attributes:
Well Organised

Motivator for employees
Ability to use computers for coordination with departments.
Desired Attributes:
Ability to give command
Ability to form proper coordination with other departments
Ability to multi task
Physical Characteristics:
Well dressed and organised
Previous Experience:
Must have been in a managerial role for at least five years.
General Intelligence:
Use of computer skills like excel, word etc.
Special attributes:
Must be able to handle events on large scale.
Can motivate people to work together as a team when facing odds.
Temperament and Personality:
Patient attitude
Dedication
Enthusiasm
Good general Knowledge
Politeness.
Performance management
The performance management is a tool for assessing the employee performance in hospitality.
This helps employees realise their work and efforts put in and to which standards they have to

reach for promotional aspects. This also provides motivation for employees that their
performance is being counted and motivates them further to do better. Methods like performance
appraisal are implemented to check on the progress of goals set being achieved or not. A
procedure of steps which go in performance management are as follows:
a) Getting the right talent: An employee recruitment has to be such that the company does not
have to focus more on training and development. The employees can be put through recruitment
and aptitude tests which can assess their abilities for the job.
b) Setting Expectations: On selection of employee, the employee has to be given a proper
briefing about the organisation. The laurels which the organisation had set in the past has to be
told to the employees for motivation. The role of the employee and the responsibilities need to be
made understood to the employees. The briefing of guests, values of the organisation , the
service quality provided has to be given aptly to the employees. The orientation will motivate the
employee to excel in whatever function is performed by him (KAYA, and Dağdeviren, 2018).
The manager and the employee usually sit together before the beginning of the year and
chalk out a plan on how the performance has to go. The goal to be achieved by the employee is
decided and the process of how the employee will go forward on the same. Travelodge follow
this routine during appraisal.
c) Performance coaching: The training and development sessions have to be kept for new
employees as well as the previous ones to brush up their skills. As per the different functions in
hospitality, the training sessions also have to be tailored suiting different departments. For
example, the front office department can be trained multi-lingually to cater to international
guests. The front office can be trained to record the customer queries on system and solve within
allotted time frame. This will help improve the effectiveness of service (Baum, 2019).
The housekeeping can be trained to feed in the cleaning status of rooms in the system so
that it makes easier for front office to know which rooms are ready for customer check-in. The
emphasis can also be given on setting of coordination with other departments like engineering
and works department to report any technical glitches occurred in rooms of electronic
equipments like AC, refrigerator etc. and help solve the grievance on time.

Training measures will thus help people to reach the goals and improve their quality of
work.
d) Performance appraisal: This exercise is performed annually where employee's performance
is evaluated and accordingly rating is given to the employee's performance. The manager and the
employee sit together to discuss on the employee performance throughout the year. Manager has
made a report on the KPIs the employee has met which is discussed with the employee.
Suggestions are taken by employee on where employee feels rating should be more at
Travelodge. Employee gets to note where the performance has not been up to the mark and
which are the factors employee needs to work on. If the employee has worked well in some
areas, employee receives appreciation for it and it can also reflect in employee's bonus and
incentives. Employee can receive promotion also if the work has been considerable (Dolot,
2017).
The performance management can be done by following the steps of performance
appraisal by using the following techniques:
a) General Appraisal: There goes a communication between the HRM and the employees
throughout the year. The year end sees the pre set goals being met between the manager and the
employee. Feedback is then provided by the manager and thus new goals are set by the
employees. Development plans and training programs are recommended by the managers to
employees to improve their skills. Travelodge annually conducts the appraisal exercise.
b) 360 degree appraisal: The appraisal technique allows managers, peers, department managers,
internal and external stakeholders for sharing employee performance and team behaviour. This
type helps the employee know feedback from many perspectives. The feedback is again
reviewed by manager in appraisal process (Dewantara, Haerani, and Hamid, 2019).
c) Technical appraisal of performance: This appraisal technique is used to assess the technical
expertise and capabilities of the employee. Employees who are proficient in technical skills will
be given importance and they will get marked more for appraisal. The employee can assist in
coordination of a number of functions be it reporting of technical problems which need to be

solved within hotel rooms, coordinating with security on systems etc. Travelodge rates this
section of employees high.
d) Self assessment of employees: The employee has to assess own self and own appraisal is
compared with manager's appraisal. The assessment process is then discussed and further
discussions are held to discuss any differences between manager's and employee's appraisal.
e) Project Evaluation review: This technique helps in getting employee reviewed in an
upcoming project rather than waiting for whole year for appraisal. For instance, it may be an
event recently held on which employees can be judged. It may be a conference held of
corporates, the manner in which the stage was presented, the guest were received and welcomed.
The arrangements for sitting and refreshments served can also be taken in account (Dyer, and
Hurd, 2020).
f) Sales performance appraisal: This appraisal is related to front office in hospitality sector.
The focus is on parameters like how nicely the guests had been received, range of services made
available to them to make the stay comfortable, resolving of queries, presenting the hotel or
briefing being given to build long term relationships with customers.
In performance management, there is a very important aspect considering motivation of
employees which can be done by rewarding and appreciating employees. A certificate of
appreciation given to employees can boost their morale highly and motivate them to keep
improving their performance. There can be an award function arranged in which employees can
be rewarded on the basis of their performance. The managers can hand out awards in form of
certificates or memento to the employees and thus increase their morale. Employees can also be
given compensation in the form of incentives or increase in bonus to keep the momentum of
performance going.

Revision of existing HR policies
Recruitment and selection in Travelodge was initially based on interview from walk-ins or
consultancies extending help for getting the right pool of candidates. The hotel has now thought
to do some changes in hiring format by introducing some aptitude and intelligence tests. The
candidates' aptitude and knowledge skills will be assessed and thus suitability of them for the
positions can be assessed. Hotel has also thought of using telephonic rounds for screening
candidates and using online tools for interviewing candidates online. This approach will also
save time for the recruiters. Since hospitality is a customer centric industry, attributes like
courtesy in the candidate, turn out of the candidate and mannerism of gesture would also be
considered. Regarding department of engineering and works, there will be kept technical round
to assess the knowledge of the candidate in the particular field and would be given a task to
perform during the interview through which the panel can assess the technical expertise in the
field (SHARMA, and SRIVASTAVA, 2020).
The references of employees is yet another way of recruiting people. It happens that
employees who are in a particular section can refer to the hotel their friends and relatives who
are possessing the same technical skills and their references can befit the same positions in the
hotel. This saves hotel time in searching for right talent and also money which goes in
consultancies to get them the right candidate. The same will be communicated to the employees
that whoever gives the referrals and the employees are selected then that employee will get an
incentive. Travelodge has found this system beneficial.
Earlier focus was given on qualification and experience of the employee. However, the
hotel group realised that the employee should also possess certain attributes and skills. The
trends which have been seen in job opportunities at hospitality are:
Multi-tasking skills: The candidate having knowledge of multi-tasking and has multiple skills
and has ability to carry out different jobs will be given priority to save labour costs for the hotel.
Up selling skills: They would be needed to make the existing guests utilise different services of
the hotel. As the guests travel in limited number during recent times, the employees have to be
able to make the most out of them. The employees have to be skilled in cross selling.

Personal communication with guests: The employees have to have a personal touch with
customers making them feel at home and making their stay comfortable.
Problem solving skills: The customer grievances and other problems in hotel premises should
be able to solve by employees.
Digital marketing skills: These skills will be an additional benefit for the employees to have.
They will be able to have interaction with customers on social media.
Financial Analysis skills: Talking of recruitment in operations, employees need to have
knowledge of financial skills to assess how the department is performing and what can be the
areas of improvement. There should be good knowledge of financial acumen to know how to
manage cash in the crisis (Kim, Bai, Kim, and Chon, 2018).
Grievance resolution is another policy on which HR at Travelodge are thinking to
introduce reforms. Till now, there was manual feeding of grievances registered by the customers
regarding room service, any technical glitches or regarding food etc. This was generally entered
in a register of office by front office executives and date of registering complaint was entered
and at the completion of the same, the date was put across with remark that complaint has been
solved. This will be now changed to online system of registering complaints with allotted time of
solving the problems. The problem will have the time also mentioned when the complaint was
registered. It will be having a pre-defined time on which the complaint will have to be solved.
The front office will be told about the complaint registered with an e-mail message to keep track.
This way they will be able to get status of the complaint whether it is pending, in process or
being resolved (Chung, and D’Annunzio-Green,2018). The housekeeping staff can also put in
grievances to be solved by works department in rooms where they find technical glitches. This
way a coordination can be built up in different departments. The management can also get to
know the rate at which customer queries are getting solved. This can help them create a KPI for
employees as to mark their efficiency. This approach of using technology will also be helpful in
improving efficiency of the hotel staff and will help improve on customer experience by quick
resolution of queries.

Coming to grievances of employees, there existed a system where employee had to report
their grievance to their line managers. The line manager would solve the problem and if the
problem could not be solved, then the line manager would further report the problem through
mail to the hotel manager or the department manager. Thus, the process had to follow a hierarchy
in which the complaint could take time to be solved. Now this process will be changed in which
employees can directly report their grievances on portal which can be viewed by the hotel
manager directly (Eissner, and Gannon, 2018). The grievance will be given an amount of time to
be solved by the employee senior or the line manager and it will be seen that the resolution is
completed soon. If the employee wishes to have a talk directly with the hotel manager then it can
be done by mailing the hotel manager for appointment in advance. The employee may have
grievances regarding the work place like not getting enough training, some problem with team
mates, salary issues or not being scheduled for leaves timely. This hampers the employee
performance. Having a sound grievance addressal system will help clear out the problems and
enhance productivity of the employee. The same will be communicated to all the employees at
Travelodge in the monthly meeting of the changes in the policy.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that hospitality is undergoing significant changes as an industry. Thus it has
affected the way of functioning of HRM in selection of right talent through modern approach and
use of technology. HRM as a function in any organisation has a lot of responsibility to perform
as they get the talent to drive any industry further and also manage the work force. HRM of
Travelodge has been open to reforms in recruitment and management of employees. This has
helped the hotel recruit the best staff and improve customer service. The job description and
person specification provided reveal the functions and responsibilities to be performed. The
concept of performance management illustrated shows the manner in which both employees and
organisation benefit from the same. The various methods in the concept show the various aspects
considered of employee performance. Lastly, the need to have change in policies to better the
efficiency in the organisation showed the relevance of need to bring changes in system.

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