HR Challenges, Retention, and Negotiation in Accor Hotels: A Report

This report provides an executive summary and analysis of the challenges faced by Accor Hotels in managing its workforce. The report focuses on critical issues in HR planning, retention and development, and negotiation, and it draws on literature to support its findings. The key challenges discussed include the difficulty of managing a large workforce, retaining talented employees, and effectively negotiating outsourcing programs. The report recommends implementing advanced technology for HR planning, motivational programs and training for employees, and improved medical and safety services. The report highlights the importance of addressing these challenges to maintain the quality of services and ensure the well-being of the Accor Hotels' employees.

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Executive summary
Mercure Accor hotel is one of the leading hotels industries in Sydney having been
possessed more than 6 hotels in Australia states. The operation of the hotels has been excellent
and therefore it’s dominating the economy in Australia. The hotels is capable of donating 130
properties to the local industries under management. It is as well in the capacity to donate around
20% of the tourist asset holdings limited (Aung, 2010). The accommodation services are often
offered in the hotel since the year 1980s. Despite Accor hotels being the well-performing
industry in Australia, there are some challenges faced. This report will focus on various
challenges faced by the Accor hotels industry in various categories. Basically, the report will
focus on the critical challenges faced in HR planning, retention and development, and
negotiation. In addition, the solution for the challenges will be determined in line with
recommended frameworks to be taken to prevent the same.
Analysis of literature
The challenges affecting the Accor hotels are well linked with the downturns of the
international financial system. This has affected not only the Accor hotels industry but also the
Australian economy. The human resource programs have been affected in the same way and in
return disrupting the operation of the Accor hotels. The hotels management is working day and
night to get the solutions to the challenges facing the organization of people within the hotel
(Barber & Strack, 2015). In addition, the hotels staffs aims at resolving the challenges facing the
human resources management department. The hotels vice president states that there will be
good chances of improvement in the near future. Despite the challenges faced by the hotels
industry, there is still room for improvement. It depends on how the management team focuses

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on issues related and how to solve them. It is assumed that despite the hotel facing a lot of
challenges there are still high expectations of changes not only from the public but also from the
management team. If the hotels management team comes up with proper recommendations and
solutions to the challenges faced, the industry will continue providing quality services at the
required prices. In connection to this, vice president of the hotels once mentioned that the pricing
sometimes becomes the secondary depending on the number of the priority for the guests.
Despite the challenges faced by the hotels, it is their chance to focus on their hospitality
principles and focus on services. In addition, there is a need for the refurbishment and
improvement of how HR planning is programmed. Through the analysis of the success of the
hotels since the year 2006, there is a reason to believe that the management will deal with the
critical challenges well in the near future (Aung, 2010). In contrary, the implementations
strategies for the growth of the Accor hotels is much threatened because it depends on qualified
individuals. In some point, the challenges faced by the Accor hotels are due to the fact that there
are many unmanageable employees. It becomes challenges to manage that huge number of
employees within an organization.
Summary of key findings
Through the research, there are some critical challenges associated with the Accor hotels
especially in the process of organizing the people. In addition, the same challenges have been
seen in human resource programs. This section will discuss various associated challenges
critically facing the hotel. There will be three discussed critical challenges discussed as shown
below:
HR planning

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The hotel having been employed about 5000 employees, there are challenges associated
with the management of such huge numbers of people. People are generally complicated with
different characters and beliefs. It is true that large numbers of the employees have different
cultural, historical, social and behavioral settings. As human resources, working with such large
numbers of the employees within the Accor hotels is so complicated process. In the management
of the 5000 employees in Accor hotels, it will demand for navigation through set rules,
procedures and policies (Ingram & Jones, 2018). Dealing with the attitude of the employees
becomes so challenging because it demands for coaching, disciplinary actions, and mediation.
There is a lack of coordination within the Accor hotels as the managers are totally focusing on
various activities. Generally, there little time spend in monitoring the individual employees
considering the large numbers. There is minimal integration of the organizational plans due to
noncooperation between managers in various departments.
Retention and development
Currently, Accor hotels are facing the challenge of retaining talented and valuable
employees. This is because there is less attention paid to employees to determine the talented and
well-performing ones. The employees feel that their needs are not cared for and they quit the
hotel. Over many years, the hotels have lost a lot of the employees due to low attention
individual employees’ welfare considerations. In connection to this, the development of the
employees’ skills and performing power has not been well catered for. The fact that the hotels
are dealing with large numbers of the employees; it has been challenging to offer the training
services to the employees (Bouncken, 2012). This is a major challenge facing this section
because the quality of the employees remains unimproved. In every organization, there should be
a training program for employees to add more skills on how to perform various tasks within the

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organization. In Accor hotels, this has been a challenging exercise because of large numbers of
the employees. The need of the individual employees is not catered for because it becomes so
challenging for the hotels' management to focus on the attention of individual employee. It is the
nature of the human being that some get bored and discouraged easily. It is the responsibility of
the organization to deal with those individual employees. In the case of Accor hotels, a close
interaction of the individual employees is not possible considering there are approximately 5000
employees. Some employees get depressed and quit the hotel for other jobs. Self development of
the employees is another challenging issue in the hotels (Davidson & Wang, 2011). Employees
basically seek opportunities to expand their capacity, skills and knowledge. Basically, many
employees seek the development of their performing skills and therefore they demand for
training programs (Orly, 2018). The hotel has failed in providing individual employees with such
training programs. In addition, employees have not been exposed to other job opportunities and
as a result, most of them have opted to quit the industry. Most of the employees are attracted to
training programs, conferences, and seminars. In reality, if developmental services are not
provided within the organization, it becomes very challenging to sustain such employees over a
long period of time.
Negotiation
In the recent Accor hotels economy, there is a high record of outsourcing programs for
health and safety measures. In addition, it is challenging to deal with measures across various
sectors of the business. Accor hotels are facing challenges in putting the negotiation skills into
practice. There is increased pressure on the determination of the health and unhealthy fit
employees within the hotels (Bouncken, 2012). The hotel has not been able to adhere to the
limited resources and advanced medical and safety services. Following some reports regarding

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the medical issues within the hotel, medical health services are poorly and inefficient offered
especially to low ranked employees. Considering a large number of employees, there are no
efficient services provided. In the hotel industry, medical and safety issues are key factors to be
considered. Accor hotels have faced a lot of challenges to deal with medical provision services
and safety mechanisms for large numbers of employees.
Recommendation
There are various steps that Accor hotels should take to solve the challenges faced in
human resource management programs. In issues regarding human resources planning, the hotels
should implement digital advanced technology methods of controlling and managing the large
numbers of the employees. There is biometric identification of the employees’ attendance to
work place which should be implemented by the Accor hotels industry immediately. Most of the
industries use this method to identify the attendance of the employees. This is because it
becomes challenges for monitoring the individual attendance of the employees manually. In
Retention and development challenges, the Accor hotels should implement motivational
programs for their employees. They should offer training programs for additional skills of the
employees. Most of the employees require seminars/conferences and therefore the hotel
management team should organize for the programs for skills development of the employees. In
addition, the hotel should come up with a well-defined program to monitor the talented
individual employees for mentorship. Promotion programs within the hotel should be well
catered for the purpose of motivating the employees. Psychological counseling programs should
be implemented in the hotel programs so as to cater to the psychological stress of the employees.
This can be done by having guidance and counseling department should be aimed at catering for
the psychological attention of the employees. On issues related to the medical and safety of the

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employees, there should be well-developed services for the employees. Medical services within
the organization should be given the first priority for quality services of the employees.

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References
Aung, M. (2010). The Accor multinational hotel chain in an emerging market: Through the lens
of the core competency concept’. Service Industries Journal, 20(3), 43-60.
Aung, M. (2010). The Accor multinational hotel chain in an emerging market: Through the lens
of the core competency concept’. Service Industries Journal, 20(3), 43-60.
Barber, F., & Strack, R. (2015). The surprising economics of a “people business”. Harvard
business review, 83(6), 80-90.
Bouncken, R. B. (2012). Knowledge management for quality improvements in hotels. Journal of
Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 3(3-4), 25-59.
Bouncken, R. B. (2012). Knowledge management for quality improvements in hotels. Journal of
Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 3(3-4), 25-59.
Davidson, M. C., & Wang, Y. (2011). Sustainable labor practices? Hotel human resource
managers views on turnover and skill shortages. Journal of Human Resources in
Hospitality & Tourism, 10(3), 235-253.
Ingram, H., & Jones, S. (2018). Teamwork and the management of food service
operations. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 4(2), 67-73.
Orly, C. (2018). Quality Circ les in France: Accor's Experiment in Self-Management. Cornell
Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 29(3), 50-57.