Issues and Challenges in Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry

This report discusses the issues and challenges faced by human resource management in the hospitality industry, with a focus on Marriott Hotels. It also includes a job description and job specification of a hotel manager, and a discussion on the process of performance management. The report provides insights into the challenges faced by the industry and ways to overcome them.

Issues in human resource
management

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
1. Issues and challenges associated with Human Resource Management in the hospitality
industry........................................................................................................................................3
2. Job Description and Job Specification of Hotel Manager in Marriott Hotels.........................5
3. Synthesize and conceptualize the process of Performance Management................................9
4. Critically analysing two existing Human Resources policies and practices.........................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is the strategic process of managing and supporting the employees
of the organization so that they can gain profitability and growth in the market. Human resource
are responsible for recruitment and hiring of an employee and also for the retirement welfares.
Human resource development is also very important within hospitality industry. The word
hospitality means giving a friendly and generous environment to the guest visiting your place. A
hospitable environment attracts guests and customers as well for staying them in the hotel.
Human resource in the hotel industry is involved in selection, setting expectation and growing
the present staff for the betterment of the hotel.in this report we will study about the issues and
challenges faced by human resource management in the hotel industry named “Marriot”. Marriot
is an international brand of hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland in unites states. This
hotel was founded by J. Willard Marriott. And have total 665 number of location internationally.
The core value of this hotel is they put people first, they follow quality, they have integrity and
the last one is they love to change according to the culture or market. (Otoo, F.N.K., 2019) This
report will compute human resource management practices against emerging trends and also
evaluate approaches to performance management and people development in line with
Recognized best practice. For estimating the performance of individual’s job descriptions, person
Specifications, performance appraisal methods and criteria will also be discussed in the report.
MAIN BODY
1. Issues and challenges associated with Human Resource Management in the hospitality
industry.
Human resource management is a strategic process of managing the employees of the company
so as to achieve success.it focuses on the recruitment and hiring of the employees and also on the
compensation benefits and policies associated with them. Human resource are responsible for
managing the human capital of an organization. The main aim of human resource is to gain
success through people in the organization. They focus on implementing policies and
maintaining employee relations within the organization.in this report we will discuss about the
human resource department in the hotel industry. Hotel industry is the service provided to the
individual for accommodation and lodgings. These includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants
and many more. Hospitality is the process of facilitating good service to the guest. ( Nieves, J.

and Quintana, A., 2018) Hospitality influence customers easily and it also build a trust between
the hotel and the guest coming for staying. To be successful in the hotel industry one need to
have certain characteristics like you must be committed to provide satisfactory service to the
customer, you must have good communication skills and good listening ability, great hospitality
employees are enthusiastic and have leadership qualities. Apart from this fact there are always
some positive as well as some negative points of any service. Here also there are some
challenges faced by the human resource management in the hotel industry as they have to
maintain a stability between the employees and the customers. Hotel industry employee are the
front foot of the industry and they are the face of the company .Biggest contemporary issues
faced by human resource management in the hotel industry are as follows:
Staff attrition:
Hotel industry generally suffers from unfilled vacancies. This means when an employee leaves
the job and his profile is vacant and not filled by another employee. This is one of the biggest
contemporary issue faced by human resource department in the hotel industry. This issue was
faced by Marriot also in the COVID pandemic period. This gap of unemployment makes a
difference between the employee and the customer.in most of the hotels timings are very odd
which makes the employee feel uncomfortable for night shifts and wages are also less which lead
to higher attrition in the hotel industry.( Agarwal, P., 2021) Some of the more reason behind
unfilled vacancies are unclear job opportunities, lack of communication and least growth
prospects.
Retaining qualified workers:
The most important factor for the growth of any organization is its employees and retaining
employees is very crucial for gaining success. Retaining qualified employee is also another big
issue faced by human resource department in the hotel industry. There is a shortage of skilled
employees and this plays a vital role in this issue.one of the reason is that qualified workers
apply their skills in the other industries and another is that there is a declining supply of talented
employees in the hotel industry.one of the example of retention is applying skills in other
industries like employee from management department don’t know how to manage a hotel rather
than managing a retail store or restaurant.
Developing existing employees:

Development is necessary for the growth of any industry and especially in hotel industry it is
very important to have a developing environment for the existing employee. This can happen by
provide them a proper training session on regular basis for better understanding of the rules and
regulations. When proper training is not provided to the employees of the hotel they did not
receive a proper career path and guidance which becomes very challenging for them.to overcome
this problem one of the most attractive way is to provide an online training as videos are more
engaging process to train and it is also cost effective for the industry as well. All these activities
are performed by Marriot for providing a significant training session to their employees.
( Aburumman, O., Salleh, A., and et.al.,., 2020)
Maintaining morale:
Having a morale value is very essential for running any business. Employee morale affects the
wellbeing and productivity of the staff.in this pandemic time hotel industry faced a lot of
problems in terms of losing jobs therefore boosting confidence and supporting them is one of the
most important factor in motivating the employee. There are many ways by one can boost morale
like being transparent and demonstrating that you are hiding nothing from the employee builds a
trust. Always be clear with your expectations as it helps them in achieving their aim and the last
key point to boost the morale value is to be kind .the simplest way of motivating anyone is to
have a humble and kind nature in the work environment. (Huang, S., van der Veen, R. and Song,
Z., 2018. )Taking a short moment to show kindness makes the employee happy and satisfied
with this job profile.
2. Job Description and Job Specification of Hotel Manager in Marriott Hotels.
Job Description-
A job description is a language tool which describes the tasks, duties, roles,
responsibilities and functions of a particular position in an organization. It explains as who will
perform a particular type of work, how that task will be completed and the purpose of the work
which is related to the mission of the organization and its goals or objectives (Gordon, 2020).
Job descriptions are used for a numerous reason such as determining the level of salary,
making of the titles and pay grades and also it is used for recruiting, staffing and selection of the
candidates.
Job Title

Hotel Manager
Job Location
London, UK
Job Summary
As a hotel manager, you will be commercially responsible for the financial management and its
budgeting and will be required to plan, organize and instruct all the hotel services which
includes the reception, reservations that is the front house management , the housekeeping
management and the food operations (Chadee and et.al, 2021).
There will be a particular limit in the larger hotels for example the guest services, accounting
and promotional and your role will be included in the general management team.
Reporting to
The General Manager/ Management company/ Board of directors
Working Conditions
Being a Hotel Manager, you will be exposed to long shifts which will include working till late
hours, on weekends, and holidays because operations in hotel take plave upto 24 hours. There
will be common workplace environment which is fast-paced including high levels of
interactions with the guests, employees working in the hotel, investors and other related
managers.
Depending on the size of the hotel, a hotel manager need to assist with the duties related to
operations, managing the performance of the employees, handling the dissatisfied customers,
managing the working schedules, going on physical walks and inspecting the hotel facilities and
the public areas. The working conditions may vary depending upon the duties and the
requirements of the property. It also includes attending regular departmental meetings,
management meetings, training seminars and other additional functions.
Job Duties
 Examining and supervising the work at all the levels which includes the receptionists,
kitchen staff, employees in the office, maids, etc. and specify clear goals and objectives.
 Plan the responsibilities and allocating the activities to achieve the most effective and
efficient operation level.
 Look over at the sales and profits, interpreting the financial data and analysing and

managing the expenditure and budgets.
 Make an effective marketing strategy and implement it and promote the services of the
hotel.
 Convey with the customers appropriately which includes welcoming them in the
facilities, solving their issues and complaints, find solutions to their problems and
providing them with correct information.
 To manage with the issues related to maintenance, and lack of employees or workforce
in the staff, any shortage in the equipments, renovations, etc.
 To collab with the outside parties like suppliers, travel agencies, event planners, etc.
 Look over at the facilities regularly and implying health and safety rules and standards
wherever required.
Machines/ Software tools to be used
 eZee front desk
 Hotelogix
 Maestro PMS
 Hoteliga
 FCS CosmoPMS
 SkyTouch Hotel OS
 Cloudbeds
 Smart Hotel Software
 Tracktik
Job Specification
A job specification includes a list of all the required qualities which are needed in an
individual to qualify and succeed in a specified position. It includes the traits, skills, education
required and the experience that an individual need to qualify and pass for that job (Liu and Cho,
2018).
It is important as it provides more knowledge into what kind of skills are required in a
candidate that they will use in a role or position instead of what tasks they will perform. The

Human Resource Employees use the job specification to comprehend what type of qualifications,
education and skills the HR manager looks for to fill a particular position.
Qualifications
 A Bachelor's Degree in the Hospitality field
 Master's degree will be preferred in the same field
 Strong knowledge of MS Office required deep insight into hospitality software.
 Leadership experience in a hotel
 Excellent communication skills and commitment to give great service to the guests in
the hotel.
 Previous experience as a Manager in a main role within a medium size chain of hotels.
 Basic knowledge of computer.
 Excellent written skills.
 Great customer service skills.
 Capability to lead in a team successfully(Sarwar and Muhammad, 2019).
Experience
 More than 5 years experience in the hotel management
 Other experience might involve any customer related work for instance catering, bar or
any work in the field of retail.
Skills
 Excellent communication skills
 Interpersonal skills
 Detail-oriented
 Knowledge of the operations
 Leadership qualities
 Team Building
 Financial Management
 Flexibility
Responsibilities
 Maintaining customer relations and guest experience
 Branding and managing the reputation
 Management of the profits and the budget

 Keep an eye on the latest hotel technologies
 To be a great role model for the staff.
 To be able to work directly with the team of management and to be able to manage all
the activities related to the employees, sales, maintenance, revenue and sales generation.
 To coordinate, supervise and manage the operational activities which will eventually
help in the maximization of the profits, to assure the satisfaction of guests, protect the
financial aspects of the business and maintain the organization (Xu and et.al.,2020).
 Reading and writing skills to be utilised when analyzing the paperwork and making the
reports of the management, interpreting the results, providing the results, and the
training to the employees.
 Acquire the quality of employees with the help of effective and efficient hiring,
retention, training and successful planning.
 To make sure that the property is very well maintained with the help of regular
inspections and proper maintenance.
 To ensure that the location is provided with all the required necessary supplies, tools and
equipment.
3. Synthesize and conceptualize the process of Performance Management
Performance management is one of the most vital part of human resource management.
Performance management is defined as the way of identifying and improving the performance of
each individual associated in the industry. Performance management aims in getting the
organizational goal. For improving the performance the employee should be motivated for better
services.it is not only about improving the poor performers but also setting the right path for the
right talent by meeting their expectations.( Marinakou, E. and Giousmpasoglou, C., 2019)The
main ail of the human resource department to is to get a high performer team for the productivity
of the organization. Here we will discuss on four steps for improving performance management
in the hotel industry and in Marriott too.( Altin, M., Koseoglu, and et.al., 2018)
Getting the right people:
If we hire the right talent then it will be easy for the organizer to train them as in sports filed also
the one who have best records require less coaching. Getting the right talent includes recruiting
and selecting employees and also includes personal interviews. Checking the background of a

person is very important process in the hotel industry. It includes the introduction of the
employee as well so as to know you hired a right person or not.( Baradarani, S. and Kilic, H., 2018)
Hiring the right talent is also beneficial for the Hotel as well because it reduces the time and also
the company cost.
Setting expectations:
Setting expectation is very important for improving the performance of the employee. Once a
person is hired for the industry he should be well aware of the orientation program which
includes the rules and regulations of the industry .he should know the policies and processes of
the hotel industry. The orientation program is important for the new interns as this motivates
them for working more efficiently. On job training should also be provided to the employees for
the betterment of their performance. Maintaining first impression is very crucial in the workplace
and one never get a second chance of having a good impression.
Performance coaching:
For improving the performance in the industry proper training and coaching sessions should be
given to the employee. Having training sessions motivates employee and also help in boosting
the confidence level of the employee. From this the industry will able to find the best performer
with the strength and weakness as well. Performance assessment will able to change the
employee in the field in which they are not working well enough.( Sari, K. and Suslu, M., 2018)
Getting rid of the poor performers:
Knowing whom to keep and whom to terminate is the best approach for running the industry in a
productive manner. Effective termination of employees helps in removing the poor performers
and also reminding the other employees to meet their expectations for better performance. Before
terminating an employee the department should give some performance letters as a warning.
These are some of the points which should be take care by the human resource department in
order to improve the performance of the hotel industry. The human resource management of
Marriott is very strong and there are some actions taken by Marriott for improving the
performance management of the organization.one of the most valuable program started by
Marriott is new hire orientation program. The aim of this program is to introduce the newly hired
staff to the culture, rules and regulations of the organization. To ensure that the new staff have
skills to perform more significantly. This organization also provide a hourly training to the
employees. This program is known as international hourly training. Marriott provides 15 minutes

training each day on hourly basis (Brock, E., 2021).the training includes all the activities like room
operation, cooking and many more for the betterment of their job profile. Gateways is an another
program organized by Marriott. In this training is given to the non-management employees on
hourly basis.it teaches different discipline skills for improving the performance of each
individual. All these activities or programs offered by Marriott human resource department is
essential for the overall team as this influence them in doing better and also motivates them for
achieving more. Basically performance management comprises of three phases which are
coaching, corrective action and termination.( Wickham, M., French, L. and Wong, T., 2020)
Performance management is responsible for managing and correcting the performance of the
team members. Coaching and motivation helps in improving performance .there are some ways
through which effective coaching can be done for the better performance:
 Employee should work hard for their recognition, and should concentrate less on the pay.
 Creative ideas and innovations should be appreciated and positive atmosphere should be
given to the team members for boosting their morale.
 Employee should be satisfied from the workplace as satisfied employee works harder and
helps in giving more productivity.
 Having healthy work life is beneficial for both the employer and the employees as well as
it helps in maintaining good atmosphere for the work.
These are some of the initiatives which should be taken by the whole human resource department
for the betterment of performance management. This helps in increasing the productivity and
growth of the organization.
4. Critically analysing two existing Human Resources policies and practices
The human resource management have the many different kinds of role sand duties from where
they can be able to contribute their efforts in making the organisation to grow and develop
successfully. Accordingly, the HR management of the mentioned hotel Marriott has
implementing the major two policies which will help and support them to recruit and retain the
employee effectively which will also deliver the successful results and outcome (Liu, Shiue,
Chen and Huang, 2018). Policies and practises simply define as where the organisations keep the
rules and regulation in regard to provide the safety measures to the people in the organisation.
The Marriott hotel has adopted the two policies as:

Anti-discrimination or harassment
The term anti-discrimination refers where no inequality has been followed and performed
by the people in regard to race, religion, sex, gender, marital status and such more.
Implementation of the discrimination at the workplace is restricted and prohibited and called as
illegal where who so ever will perform the discrimination at the workplace then the person will
be punishable by the law and legislation. These rules and regulation is important to be
implemented in the workplace from where each and individual person will be able to get the
equal chances and fair results as per their working criteria. The Hotel Marriott HR management
has decided and taken the decision of applying the anti-discrimination policy at their hotel from
where the employee or staff both cannot feel uncomfortable and can stay for the longer period at
the hospitality (Gordon, 2018). There are many more hospitality sector who does not keep their
focus on such kind of rules and policies and leads them to get suffer from staff turnover which
reflects the negatively at the entire productivity of the hotel.
The UK government has also announced the legislation of anti-discrimination act where
no individual is allowed to perform any kind of discrimination at the place and if someone does
then the person will be punishable for that particular reason. Adopting the anti-harassment
policies at the hospitality the Marriott HR management will be able to recruit and retain the
employee in effective manner and can also increase the employee satisfaction over the workplace
where the employee can be able to put their best efforts and hard work in making the hospitality
to grow and develop successfully. Applying the anti-discrimination policy helps the individual
employee to feel safe and healthy working environment from where they can put their efforts in
effective manner (Baker, French and Ali, 2019). Even, the HR management of the Marriott is
very responsible as they also provided the suggestion and complaint box at the hotel so that if
anyone do not have feel comfortable to talk directly with the management they put their speech
in the box by writing on a paper.
Equal employment opportunity
In general, it has been already known that today there are many people and candidates who
does not get the equal opportunities at their workplaces which is disappointment and a major
issue in this current era. Each and individual person is doing their working with efforts and hard
work but still do not get the position as per their performance and talent. Accordingly, the hotel
Marriott HR management keeps their focus on the employee satisfaction and needs where they

had implemented the policy of getting the equal employment opportunities which will be very
beneficial for the employee and hospitality as well (Frynas and Yamahaki, 2019). The EEO
policy is the rule where everyone will have the right to pursue the job and employment based on
their talent and skills and not giving the focus on race, religion and sexual orientation. An
individual person has the right to get the equal chances and opportunities from where the
employee will do not face any inequality at the workplace which will not generate the feeling of
partiality and nepotism. However, the hospitality Marriott management considers this
appropriate policy of EEO where each and individual candidate have the equality in getting the
job position as per the set criteria of the organisation.
The government of UK has made up the law and legislation where the EEO is prior from
where the employee and labours can get the equal treatment as per other in the hotel.
Implementation of this policy by the HR management it accelerate the growth and development
of the hotel where the employee are also able to feel equal and valued from where the hospitality
can achieve their set targets and goals definitely. Keeping the fairness in hiring and recruiting it
promotes the workplace practices where the hotel will be able to hold and retain the employee
for the longer period and also fulfil the needs and requirements of the hotel by the efforts of the
staff and employee in effective manner (Leibbrandt and List, 2018). Thus, the Marriott hotel
ensure their staff members and employee to feel free and safe at the workplace and if anything
bother them then they can directly come and commu8nicate with the HR management where the
management will try to overcome and resolve their issues as soon as they can.
CONCLUSION
The above summarised report has mentioned the significance role of the human resource
management and their responsibilities they performed at the workplace. It has been known that
HR department is important and plays a crucial role in the development of the entire organisation
and business field. The report has included the three articles which is based on the contemporary
issue of the HR department and provided the reflection as per the particular mentioned
hospitality sector. Also, it has mentioned the brief about the job description and person
specification within the selected hospitality from where it will deliver the understanding concept
and knowledge. Thus, the process of performance management has also been concluded in the
report and mentioned its effectiveness in minimising the staff turnover and promoting the

training requirements. Along with this, at the last the report has concluded the two major policies
which exists in the selected hospitality and described the effectiveness of these policies in brief
manner.
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