Human Resource Management in the Service Sector: A Case Study of IHG

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes HRM in the service sector using IHG as a case study.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE
SECTOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
LO1..................................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Analyse the role and purpose of human resource management in a selected service
industry........................................................................................................................................2
1.2 Justify a human resources plan based on an analysis of supply and demand for service
industry........................................................................................................................................4
LO2..................................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Assess the current state of employment relations in the hospitality industry........................5
2.2 Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources within the
hospitality industry......................................................................................................................7
M1 Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solution.....................................................8
LO3..................................................................................................................................................9
3.1Discuss a job description and person specification for a selected service industry job..........9
D1 Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions........................10
3.2 Compare the selection process of different service industries businesses...........................11
M2 Select/design and apply appropriate methods/technique....................................................12
D2 Take responsibility for managing and organising activities................................................12
LO4................................................................................................................................................13
4.1 Assess the contribution of training and development activities to the effective operation of
hospitality industry....................................................................................................................13
M3 Present and communicate appropriate findings..................................................................14
D3 Demonstrate convergent/lateral/creative thinking...............................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................16

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Job description...................................................................................................................9
Table 2: Person specification.........................................................................................................10

Introduction
Service industries mainly focus on providing quality, fast and efficient service to its customers
for ensuring the success and sustainable growth of the business. Human resource management
plays crucial roles in ensuring quality and efficient service to customers in the service industries
by managing employees and their activities and performance efficiently and effectively. The
current report will study the case study of Intercontinental Hotel Groups (IHG) to understand the
importance and different roles of the human resource management. IHG has large chain of hotels
where there work and require large numbers employees to perform the quality customer service.
The report will discuss the human resource plan related to the analysis of demand and supply of
human resources in the IHG.
Employment relation is the key aspect in the IHG to ensure healthy relationships between the
employer and employees and to enhance the customer service. The report will identify and assess
current employment relations within the IHG and discuss how different employment laws affect
the human resource management within the IHG. The report will discuss the job description and
person specification for the job of receptionist within the IHG and compare different selection
process used within the service industries. The report will discuss the importance of training and
development activities for ensuring effective operation of the IHG.
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LO1
1.1 Analyse the role and purpose of human resource management in a selected service industry
Role and purpose of HRM in the IHG
Formulate HR strategies: It is the role of HRM in the IHG to formulate effective HR strategies
for enhancing and improving performance of employees by meeting various needs. HRM is
responsible to formulate recruitment, training, development and performance appraisal strategies
to motivate employees and enhance their efficiency.
Meet manpower requirements (Recruitment): It is an important role of the HRM department in
the IHG to identify and meet manpower requirements of the organization to ensure its effective
operations. IHG require large numbers of employees to provide quality service to guests so HRM
department identify the need of manpower in different departments and then recruit and supply
skilled manpower to meet that need (Luo and Milne, 2014).
Compensation analysis: HRM performs role of analysing the compensation after analysing
external factors such as current market trend and needs of manpower or workforce in the market.
HRM in the IHG decides that how much salary the organization must offers to attract talent and
retain them in the organization.
Training and development: HRM in the IHG has role to provide regular training to new and
existing employees for enhancing and improving their skills and working abilities. It is also
essential for the HRM to ensure the development of employees by providing them growth
opportunities and promoting on better position (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
Encourage team work: Team work is essential in the service industry to ensure effective guest
service so it is the role of HRM department in the IHG to encourage employees to perform team
work for meeting needs on-time and providing quality services to guests.
Rewarding:
Rewarding plays important roles in motivating employees and enhancing their dedication
towards the work as well as the organization. HRM in the IHG provides rewards to its employees
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in both monetary as well as non-monetary form to enhance their work efficiency and retain them
in the organization.
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1.2 Justify a human resources plan based on an analysis of supply and demand for service
industry
Human resource planning: It is essential for the HRM in the IHG to develop and prepare
effective human resource plan to identify and fulfil the future needs of human resource to
enhance the customer service and meet desired goal of the business. The human resource
planning will serve as link between the strategic plan of the IHG and its human resource
management (Aladwan et.al, 2015).
Demand and supply analysis: HRM in the IHG needs to identify and analyse the demand and
supply of human resources for performing different roles & responsibilities, enhancing guest
service and meeting the business needs.
Work environment evaluation: The HRM in the IHG needs to develop effective plan and create
healthy work environment where employees of all levels will perform their work, roles and
responsibilities with their full potential. HRM needs to develop plan to provide flexible working
environment and flexible working hours to employees to enhance their efficiency and hence
guest service.
Planning to control employee turnover: High employee turnover in the IHG may reduces its
productivity, customer service and hence the profitability so HRM needs to formulate effective
plan to reduce the employee turnover. HRM needs to more focus on providing regular training to
employees to enhance their working skills and provide promotion opportunities to ensure
development. Also rewards and other benefits will enhance interest of employees to work in the
organization hence reduce the employee turnover (Noe te.al, 2017).
Analysis of operational efficiency: The needs to analyze the operational efficiency of the IHG
by indentifying and analyzing effectiveness of employees employed in providing hospitality
service to guest and assessing the final outcome. HRM needs to analyze the capability of the
organization as well as its employees in providing quality services and then needs to formulate
plan accordingly to improve operational efficiency and enhance customer service.
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LO2
2.1 Assess the current state of employment relations in the hospitality industry
The employment relations can be defined as the study of interrelationships between the employer
and employees or can be defined as the legal relations between the employer and employees. The
healthy relationships between employer and employees ensure that organization makes fair
treatment with all employees and also at the same time employees are committed towards their
work or job assigned to them. The hospitality industry can ensure the healthy employment
relations by creating healthy work environment and providing flexible working conditions and
other benefits. Currently, the hospitality industry like IHG is mainly focusing towards improve
the employment relations by making fair employment contracts, developing effective policies &
strategies and avoiding inequality among employees from any location, culture, family
background, race and gender (Townsend et.al, 2014).
The hospitality industry follows or needs to follow various employment legislation and laws to
ensure the healthy employment relations. There are large numbers of employment laws which
hospitality industry like IHG can follow to make equal and fair treatment with employees, to
ensure their safety and security to health, security to the confidential data and to provide flexible
working environment. For ensuring healthy employment relations, the IHG mainly focuses on
making effective employment contract with employees at the time of recruitment and selection.
The organization focuses on providing maximum benefits to employees in return of their
valuable efforts and time contributed in the organization (Lynn and Boone, 2015).The
organization focuses that employees get equal opportunities of participating in the training and
development programmes, fair remuneration and salary, equal growth opportunities and
protection to the health and confidential data stored in the organization. For ensuring the healthy
employment relations, the hospitality industry like IHG follow some legislation and laws which
are mentioned below:
 Employment Rights Act 1996
 Employment Act 2002
 The Flexible Working Regulations 2014
 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act, 1992
 Equality Act 2010
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 Race Relations Act, 1976
 Sex Discrimination Act 1975
 Data Protection Act
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2.2 Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources within the
hospitality industry
There are numbers of employment laws which are formulated to protect the interest and rights of
employees at the time of employment in the organization. IHG is the large hotel chain in the UK
and there are large numbers of employees working in the hotels so various employment laws
play crucial roles to safeguard the rights and interest of employees. Human resource management
in the organization also needs to focus on employment laws while dealing with employees to
ensure the sustainable growth of the business. Following are given below some employment laws
and their brief explanation that how they affect the management of human resources in the IHG:
Equality Act 2010: As per this law, the IHG must needs to make equal treatment with all
employees in the organization without discriminating on the basis of race, gender, family
background, and disability. The HRM in the IHG needs to ensure that organization must make
equal treatment with all employees and provide equal opportunities to participate in the training
and development programmes to enhance morale and performance of employees (Wilton, 2016).
Employment Rights Act, 1996: As per this, IHG must needs to provide all basic employment
rights to its employees for protecting their rights and interest in the organization. The HRM in
the IHG has to make sure that employees are getting their employment rights or not and then
take actions accordingly to protect rights and manage employees efficiently.
Employment Relations Act: As per this law, the HRM in the IHG needs to develop and regulate
healthy relationships between the employer and employees for ensuring effective operations and
management of the organization. HRM needs to develop transparency between the organization
and employees so that they both will contribute their efforts in achieving organizational as well
as personal goals (Tyson, 2014).
The Flexible Working Regulations 2014: As per this law, all employees that have meet
minimum service eligibility criteria are eligible for enjoying flexibility in work within the
organization. The HRM in the IHG needs to formulate effective policies for providing flexible
working environment to employees. As per HRM policies, IHG can allow its employees to work
in different shifts for reducing work pressure and enhance efficiency.
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M1 Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solution
Different employment laws have discussed to indentify and assess their impact on the
management of human resources. The information of different employment laws has collected
form appropriate online sources and has indentified and discussed their impacts on the human
resource management.
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LO3
3.1Discuss a job description and person specification for a selected service industry job
Job description
Job description is the document that defines the qualification and skills needed in the person and
duties and responsibilities that will have to perform by the person on the position. For instance,
the IHG require a receptionist in the hotel to greet and meet the guests and resolve their various
queries and complaints (Astuti et.al, 2018). The HRM in the IHG will have to look for the
candidate that possesses good communication skill and other attributes to perform the roles and
responsibilities of receptionist position in the hotel.
Table 1: Job description
Organization: Intercontinental Hotel Groups (IHG)
Job title: Receptionist
Department: Front office department
Report To: Manager
Location: London, UK
Summary of Position: Responsibility to greet and meet guests, records their general details and resolve
various queries and complaints of guests.
Working hour: Working hours will be of 9 to 10 hours.
Salary: Salary between £15,000 to £20,000 a year
Duties and responsibilities:
 Duty to Greet and meet the customers
 Responsibility to provide information and serve the guests at reception
 Duty to resolve various queries and complaints of guests
 Responsibility to communicate with manager and other department through mail and
appropriate source
 Duty to record data and information of guests
 Duty to report the manager
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