Research Project: Social Media and Talent Management in Hospitality

This research project explores the critical role of social media in enhancing recruitment and retention strategies within the hospitality industry, specifically focusing on fast-food restaurants in London, such as Nando's and Leon. The report examines the concepts of digitalization and talent management, analyzing how social media influences attracting, recruiting, and retaining skilled employees. It investigates key factors pertinent to social media's effectiveness in talent management, considering the dynamic nature of the business environment. Through a literature review, the project addresses research questions concerning digitalization, talent management, and the impact of social media on employee attraction and retention. The research offers recommendations for the London fast-food industry to leverage social media effectively, aiming to improve employee satisfaction and overall business success. The methodology includes a detailed analysis of the use of social media in the context of talent management within the hospitality sector.

UNIT 18- RESEARCH
PROJECT (HOSPITALITY
MANAGEMENT)

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
CHAPTER ONE..............................................................................................................................3
Rationale.....................................................................................................................................3
Research questions......................................................................................................................3
Aims and objectives of study......................................................................................................4
CHAPTER TWO.............................................................................................................................4
Literature review.........................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER THREE.........................................................................................................................7
Methods and methodology..........................................................................................................7
CHAPTER FOUR..........................................................................................................................10
Data analysis.............................................................................................................................10
CHAPTER FIVE...........................................................................................................................18
Conclusion................................................................................................................................18
Recommendation......................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................22

CHAPTER ONE
In this modern and civilised work environment all the things and business activities are
performed through the help of digital technology. This is basically because of the reason that the
business environment is very dynamic and ever changing and there are many different changes
taking place in the technological sector (Foung, Yeh and Jaw, 2020). Thus, in the present
research the main focus is on the use of social media in order to improve the level of recruitment
and the retention of the employees within the company. For the success of the business within
the hospitality sector the most essential thing is the management and satisfaction of the
employees within the company.
Thus, due to this reason the major focus is laid over the use of social media in assisting
the company in managing talent in Nandos and Leon fast food restaurant. This restaurant is a
chain which is established in London and deals in variety of services relating to food. Thus, the
current research will outline the concept of digitalization in the management of the talent within
the hospitality sector. The current research will outline the use of social media in the effective
management of the talent in the restaurant. Also, this research will discuss about the fact that
how the social media influences the attraction, recruitment and the retention of the talented
employees within the company. In the end the research will also outline the various factors
relating to social media which increases the talent management within the restaurant.
Rationale
In the current world the digitalisation is a very fast and popular concept or trend which
needs to be used by the companies for getting successful. This is particularly because of the
reason that if the company will not use the latest trend in the working then the company will not
get successful in its working. Also, another major reason for the selection of the topic is that the
competition within the company is very intense and if the company will not try to ace the
competition then the company will not be able to manage competition. In addition to this another
major reason for the selection of the research topic is the personal and academic interest of the
researcher themselves in the study. Also, due to the high and intense competition it is very
essential for the company and the restaurant it is very essential for the researcher to manage the
work in more effective manner.

Research questions
1. What are the concepts of Digitalisation and Talent Management from a theoretical
perspective?
2. Which key factors are pertinent to social media resulting to effective talent management
in the London Fast Food Companies?
3. How do social media influence attraction, recruitment and retaining of talented
employees in London’s fast food industry?
4. What kind of recommendations is effective to London’s fast food industry in utilising
social media to recruit and retain talented employees?
Aims and objectives of study
The main aim of the study is to analyse the effectiveness of social media on improving
recruitment and retention of talented staff members. Other subsidiary objectives are as outlined
below.
 To investigate the concepts of Digitalisation and Talent Management from a theoretical
perspective
 To identify key factors pertinent to social media that result in effective talent
management in the London Fast Food Companies
 To assess the influence of social media in attracting, recruiting and retaining talented
employees in London’s fast food industry.
 To provide effective recommendations on how London’s fast food industry can utilise
social media to recruit and retain talented employees.
CHAPTER TWO
Literature review
Theme 1: Concept of digitalization and talent management.
In the views of Chung and D’Annunzio-Green (2018) digitalization is defined as the
using of digital technology for the use in the normal course of business activities. The
digitalization makes the working and the operations of the company more easy and effective and
this increases the efficiency of the company. Thus, the use of the digital technology assists the
company in managing the work in more proper and effective manner. On the other side, Naim
and Lenka (2017) states that talent management is also very essential for the restaurant to be

successful. This is majorly due to the reason that when the talented employees will not be there
in the restaurant then the consumer will not be happy and satisfied. The talent management is a
concept which focuses on the retaining of the talent in the company itself. This is essential
because the competition in the hospitality industry is very high and it is necessary for the
companies that they have talented staff and employees within the restaurant.
In against of this Sanjeev and Birdie (2019) states that the use of digitalization is very
helpful in the retaining of the talent in the companies itself. This is due to the reason that when
the restaurant uses all the latest trends in the working then the company makes the employees of
the company happier. Thus, the use of digitalization is very essential for the London fast food
industry to get successful. Also, the use of digitalization will assist the restaurant in managing
the work in more effective and good manner. This is due to the reason that with help of the
digitalization there will be more perfection in the work and this will assist the employees in
increasing their efficiency level. The major digitalization taking place in the hospitality sector of
the country is the mobile integration, integration with IoT, focusing on reputation and the
recording of data, use of virtual reality and many others. The fact food companies all over the
globe are very much digitally transformed and this has resulted in better performance of the
company and the employees in attracting the consumers.
Theme 2: Factors pertinent to social media resulting in effective talent management in
London fast food chains.
In the views of Goh and Okumus (2020) there are many factors which are pertinent to the
use of social media at time of the management of talent within the hospitality industry. This is
majorly due to the reason that when the restaurant uses the social media in recruiting the
employees then they get much good and better choices for candidates to select from .thus, this
increases the level of the working of the restaurant and more consumer are attracted towards the
restaurant. The major factor which influences the company in using the digitalization for the
company is to be in the competition. This is the major factor as with help of using the digital
technology the company improves the efficiency of the employees and the overall performance
of the company as well.
On the other side Gibson (2017) argues that major factor affecting the use of the social
media in retaining good talent in the company is the frequent changes in the working
environment. This is majorly because of the reason that if the company does not work in

accordance with the latest changes taking place in the external environment then the company
will not be able to manage the sales and profitability of the company. This is majorly because of
the fact that when the company does not uses the social media then the company will be able to
manage the work in proper and effective manner.
In the views of Naim and Lenka (2017) another major factor which promotes the use of
social media in effectively managing the talent within the company is the latest knowledge which
employees can get from the use of social media. This is majorly due to the reason that when the
restaurant uses the social media then the all the employees of the company can use the social
media in analysing the latest changes taking place in the need and demand of the consumer and
other working of the restaurant chains in the industry. Thus, the use of social media will assist
the restaurant in managing the working and the knowledge of the employees to a great level.
Thus, this will assist the employees in retaining in the company to a great extent and they will
not leave the company and will go to some other competitors.
On the other side as per the thinking of Weyland (2017) states that another major factor
which influences the use of social media in retaining the employees in the restaurant is that with
the help of the social media the employees can easily communicate with one another and this
motivates the employees in working in effective manner. This is majorly because of the reason
that whole restaurants are connected with an internal system and with help of it the
communication is clear and understandable. Thus, this makes the working of restaurant in more
effective and efficient manner.
Theme 3: Major influence which the social media has in recruiting, retaining and attracting
the talent in the fast food industry.
As per the thinking of Cismaru and Iunius (2020) the major influence which the social
media has over the recruiting and retaining of the talent in the fast food industry is positive. This
is majorly because of the reason that the use of social media helps the restaurant in getting the
candidates from all over the world. Thus, this will ensure that the company is getting a
diversified workforce. Thus, this will provide for a better working environment and this will
make sure that the restaurant is having a wide range of employees from all over the globe.
In addition to this Jooss (2018) states that major influence of the use of the social media
over the talent management in the company is that this will increase the working efficiency of
the restaurant. This is particularly because of the reason that when the company makes use of the

social media for the advertising for the vacant position then they will get better review and will
get more effective candidates. Thus, this will increase the overall efficiency of the restaurant and
this will increase the satisfaction level of the consumers. in contrast to this Collings, Mellahi and
Cascio, eds (2017) argues that the major influence of use of social media in recruiting and
retaining the employees is that this will help the employees in getting latest knowledge relating
to all latest changes taking place in the economy and external environment. Thus, this will ensure
that the all the employees working in restaurant are having the knowledge of the recent trends
and need ad demand of the consumer going on.
In the views of Bali and Dixit (2016) the major influence of using the social media on the
recruiting and retaining of employees in restaurant is that this creates a good image of the
restaurant among the employees. This is majorly because of the reason that when the restaurant
uses all the latest trends that are the use of social media then the employees will like this. Thus,
due to this reason more and more people are attracted towards the recruitment within the
restaurant and the hospitality sector.
In against of this Cappelli and Keller (2018) argues that the major influence of the use of
social media for the purpose of recruitment and retention of the employees is that the cost of the
company or the restaurant increases. This is majorly because of the reason that when the
company makes use of the social media then high cost needs to be incurred by the company for
giving advertisement in the social media and also the training need to be provided to employees
for the use of social media.
CHAPTER THREE
Methods and methodology
Research type: Research, is regarded as a collection of the activity which are performed with
the purpose of finding out the solution of variety of the issue which is being faced by the client in
general (Kumar, 2019). There are two known research type which are always used by the
researcher in the field of research namely Qualitative and Quantitative research. Qualitative
research is the one which consider looking at non numerical information and providing the
solution. In the current research Qualitative research type will be consider by scholar reason
behind the same is these sort of research type get easier to present the outcome of research, as it
is very difficult to present the data in the numerical form. Reason behind the same can be there

are variety of information which generally used to form the research, information can be in the
form of numeric as well as non numeric form, so conceiving all the data in the form of numerical
is much tougher ask as compare to conceiving the same into non numerical form.
Research philosophy: Philosophy, here means to conduct the in depth research on the topic and
looks at the variety of different nature of the philosophy. Two profound and most trusted
research philosophies are interpretivism and positivism research philosophy (Mohajan, 2018).
Positivism philosophy is consider to be the one in general which eventually used to look at
researching on to the variety of different sort of factual data which are universally expected.
Generally this used to include the information which has been trusted and proven in the past by
variety of different researcher to conduct their study as well. At the same time Interpretivism
research philosophy generally looks at considering the variety of human interest which is
involved into the research. To achieve the objective of the current study, researcher has looked
for a interpretivism research type, reason behind the same is identified that for these sort of
research it was too important for the business to understand the interest level of different level of
Human who are involved in the study. As to gather a good understanding on the topic of the
study it is very much vital for the organization to understand the point of view of the human as
they are also equally involved in the study.
Research Approach: research approach is regarded as a one which generally used to look at
making and considering the variety of different sort of assumption in regards of the way data can
be collected and use for the purpose of conducting the research. Two approaches of study are
inductive and deductive research approach. Deductive is the one which consider the previous
theory and principle and on the basis of same outcome of the research are found. These
approached and theories in general have been tested by many in past for their purpose of
conducting a research. On the other note inductive research approach are one which looks at
giving the new theory on the basis of the outcome of the research which has been already found
out. General all the information which is found out under these approach is generally freshen in
nature Current study will look to consider the inductive research approach as it used to suit the
type of research type which has been selected in the study. Also, inductive research approach
will eventually help the scholar in using the variety of different thing such as patterns, resembles
and variety of regularities in real experience to achieve and find out the conclusion of the study
in more efficient way.

Data Collection: Data collection is regarded as a one in which different information is collected
with the purpose of finding out the solution of the issue faced by organization. Primary and
secondary are two most trusted and used data collection tool (Humphries, 2017). Primary is the
one in which data is collected for the first time from the occurrence itself. Looking at the nature
of the information it has been find out that information which is drive from primary data
collection tool are fresher as compare to other form of data collection. Secondary data is the one
in which data is collected from the source who have collected the data in past. Generally scholar
in general used to touch with the different author and magazine who have collected the different
data for their purpose in past. This sort of data is not fresh in nature it has been already used once
in past. In current study primary data will be collected by the way of conducting the interview
which will be conducted on to 6 different respondents. Interview will be based upon the different
sort of Question which will help the individual in getting good sort of understanding in regards
of the research topic. Secondary data in the study will be collected by going through the variety
of different type of article and journal which are related to the topic of the research in general.
This will help the scholar in supporting the variety of the different type of the information which
has been conducted by the way of the primary data collection tool, as it would work as a
evidence to primary data.
Data Analysis: A process which generally concentrates on giving the best data and presents the
same toward the other out of the data which has been collected with help of different data
collection tool. A process of analysis Data collected is known as Data Analysis. For analysing
variety of data which has been collected in the study Qualitative data analysis tool has been used,
under Qualitative data analysis thematic data analysis tool has been used. By using the same tool
Scholar in study has made the variety of different sort of the theme and graph and on the basis of
same different outcome has been presented in the study.
Sampling: Sampling generally means a process of selecting the respondent base from population
of base. Sampling element of the study can be performed by two general methods. Probabilistic
and non probabilistic method (Ørngreen and Levinsen, 2017). Probabilistic method looks at
providing all respondent an equal chance to get selected in the sample size of the company. At
the same time Non probabilistic sampling relates to a situation in which all the population
member are not given the equal chance to get selected in the sample size. For the above study
researcher has gone with the Convenience Sampling method under non-probabilistic sampling.

In which the respondent has been selected in regards of the prospect that how the respondent can
be contracted. By using the Convenience sampling technique in these research 6 respondents has
been selected as a sample size of the study.
Ethical Consideration: In the process of conducting the study there are variety of ethical
consideration which has been consider by the Scholar in the study. As Scholar has make sure that
consent of all the individual has been taken before collecting the different information in the
project. Also Scholar has make sure that good sort of confidentiality has been maintained
throughout the process of the study to carry out different operation of the study. Also, scholar has
make sure that the different information which has been collected in the research has been
presented as it is there is no change in the information, these eventually means that the
information which is presented is good enough to conduct the research.
Limitation: These were variety of different type of limitation which was also seen by
Scholar at the time of carrying out the study (Ulmer, 2017). First of them was time allotted to
complete the project as time allotted was not good enough to complete the project so with the
help of team member I was able to complete the project on time. Another was one to select the
best source through which different data can be collected in a way that it used to give good
outcome as per the requirement of the project. Communication was another sort of the issue
which was faced, as it was getting to difficult to communicate in the team environment. So for
overcoming the same issue in the study, scholar has make sure that there are more than one tool
has been used to conduct and find the outcome of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
Data analysis
Theme 1: Combination of both male and female employees is present in the restaurant.
Particular Participant % of participant
Male 3 50
Female 3 50
Total 6 100

Interpretation: with the assistance of the primary data collected and evaluated it is illustrating
that the employees witihn the Nandos and leon fast food restaruant is the combinaiton of both
male and female in equal proprtion. As per the research conducted over the 6 respondent 50 %
agreed that males are there and 50 % states female employees are there. This illustrates that the
restauratn is promoting women empowerment as well because it has equal ratio for the male ans
female staff. Thus, this means that the goodwill of the company is good as there is equality and
diversity and this creates a good image for the company over the social media.
Theme 2: The fast food company is having employee working since different time frames.
Particular Participant % of participant
0 to 2 2 33.33
2 to 4 2 33.33
another other 2 33.33
Total 6 100

Interpretation: from the survey conducted over the employees of the Nandos and leon fast food
restaruant it is clear that there are employees working since many different year. Some of the
particiapnt are working in the restaurant since the timeframe of 0 to 2 years. On the other side
some of the employees of the restaurant are having the work experience of around 2 to 4 years of
time frame. In contrast to this the remaining of the employees are having some other time frame
as the work experience of them in the restaurant.
Theme 3: Junior employee is the position which most of the respondent is having in the fast food
chain.
Particular Participant % of participant
Manager 2 33.33
Junior employee 4 66.67
Total 6 100