HRM: Contemporary Issues, Trends, and Policies in Hospitality

This report delves into the realm of Human Resource Management (HRM) within the hospitality industry. It commences by exploring contemporary issues and emerging trends, such as cross-cultural communication, change management, employee retention, sustainable development, globalization, workplace ethics, and the impact of mergers and acquisitions. The report then provides detailed job descriptions and person specifications for key roles including Purchase Manager, Marketing Manager, and Hotel Manager. Furthermore, it examines the process of performance management, highlighting its role in reducing employee turnover and identifying training and development needs. Finally, the report critically analyzes and revises existing HR policies and practices, offering recommendations for improvement. The report provides a comprehensive overview of HRM practices and challenges in the hospitality industry.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
QUESTION- 1.................................................................................................................................1
Contemporary issues and emerging trends in HRM of hospitality industry................................1
QUESTION- 2.................................................................................................................................3
Job Description and person specification....................................................................................3
QUESTION-3..................................................................................................................................8
Process of performance management to assist in reducing employee turnover and identifying
the needs of training and development........................................................................................8
QUESTION- 4...............................................................................................................................10
Critically analyse and revise two existing HR policies and practices.......................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is strategic approach to manage and handle the people in
an organization effectively such that it can derive competitive advantage for the company in the
industry. This develops operational efficiency for the business through the boosted morale and
satisfaction of the employees. The project shall be highlighting the contemporary issues and the
recent trends in the process of managing human resource in the hospitality industry. The
contemporary issues like managing change and adaptation to the new innovations are now
successfully managed by undertaking various specialized training sessions. Apart from this the
report shall be reflecting the job description and specification of the various management
positions within the hospitality industry. The various roles and responsibilities that are performed
by the top management in order to maximize the level of satisfaction that is derived by the
employees. It shall be discussing the performance management and its significance in assisting
the reduced employee turnover and discovering the need of training and development. Lastly it
shall be reviewing the HR policies and practices that are to be communicated to the staff in the
hotel for generating awareness regarding the functioning. The recruitment and selection policy
that is undertaken by the management and the stress management practices are to be
communicated and accordingly suggestions and feedbacks must be welcomed for improvisation.
MAIN BODY
QUESTION- 1
Contemporary issues and emerging trends in HRM of hospitality industry
There are some contemporary issues that are faced in the human resource department of
the hospitality industry like cross- cultural diversity, change management, workplace diversity
and retention of the employees. There are also certain emerging trends developed in order to
cater to the inefficiencies that are pertaining in the human resource management and developing
better services to satisfy to the guests and enhance their stay at the hotel. Some key issues and
emerging trends in HR of hospitality industry are:- Cross-cultural communication:- It is a contemporary issue that is faced by the human
resource of the hotel regarding how to communicate within the cultural diversity that
exists in the workplace. The people belong to different cultural background, traditions,
linguistic barriers, beliefs, mentality etc. The difference in the value systems lead to
conflicts in the workplace which is a major challenge that is being faced by the HR
1

manager (Boella and Goss-Turner, 2019). Due to the linguistic differences there are
several barriers to effective communication in the business and which leads to wrong
transmission of the information. This can be efficiently handled by the management by
establishing formal lines of communication and also conducting the awareness
programmes regarding the perception of the various culture. Change management:- Managing the change and innovations in the organization is also
one of the recent issues in the hospitality industry. Since technological changes and
higher expectations of the guests is the emerging trend in hotels nowadays, so it is
challenging to adapt to the changing business environment of the hotel (Top HR
challenges in the hospitality industry, 2021). The workforce restricts changes so effective
training and developmental sessions are to be designed so that the employees are trained
to work on the improved technology of the hotel. Employee retention:- Retaining the employees for longer term is also a challenge that is
faced by the hotel. The high degree of labour turnover may be due to technological
changes, work-culture diversity, low level of motivative and less growth opportunity
(Goh and Lee, 2018). These factors contribute to increasing the overall cost of the
company. In order to boost the morale of the employees and retain them for longer
periods the HR is planning talent management and performance appraisal system. This
shall ensure satisfaction of the employees and in turn they shall be loyal with the hotel. Sustainable development:- The sustainable development is one of the emerging trends of
the hospitality industry which is also posing severe challenges to the human resource
department of the hotel. The guest satisfaction can be derived by fulfilling the corporate
social responsibilities towards the society. It shall involve less pollution, clean and green
environment, waste disposal and following the 4'R policy to save the essentials for the
future generation (5 Challenges for HR in The Hospitality Industry, 2021). Many
practices and policies have been designed to ensure that sustainability of the environment
is ensured and customer satisfaction is maximized in the hotel. Globalization:- The era of globalization is one of such trends that is there in the recent
times because of which the employees of the company are forced to the multi-cultural
environment and different business policies according to the business environment
(Chand, 2016). The expansions that are being done in the growth oriented countries lead
2

to issues in the human resource management of the hotel. This is being catered by taking
regular feedbacks, opinions regarding the problems faced in the work culture and
accordingly changes are being done to improvise the same. The various other policies for
boosting the morale of the employees are undertaken so that the change can be
conveniently introduced in the hotel. Workplace ethics and culture:- The workplace ethics and culture are also obstacles to
efficiently managing the human resources in the hospitality industry. The work-culture
may or may not be favourable for working as it may not permit informal communication,
leadership, corporate governance, mutual respect and understanding. These factors
develop into issues which demotivate the employees and downgrades their operational
efficiency in the hotel. Mergers and acquisitions:- The mergers and acquisitions are the recent trends in the
hospitality industry as the companies try to assume the benefit of synergy by the
combining the resources of the two hotels (Zopiatis and Theocharous, 2018). Apart from
this it also helps in gaining competitive advantage, market share and benefits related to
the research and development department. But incorporating these merger and acquisition
is a complex procedure, which changes the working environment completely and to
adjust in the new organization culture is a challenge for the human resource of the
organization.
 Re-framing the vision and mission of the company:- Earlier the vision, mission, goals
and objectives of the company used to be according to the organizational perspective, but
now the trend has changed and the management has to prepare the goals and objectives
focusing on the personal needs of the human resource in the company. The perfect
combination has to be designed regarding both the professional and personal interests
which shall only satisfy the employees of the company and boost the operational
efficiency in turn maximizing the profitability of the business.
These are some recent issues and trends that are posing challenges to the company which
the HR department is trying to meet and develop prosperity in the organization.
QUESTION- 2
Job Description and person specification
3

Job Title: Purchase manager Reporting to: Head of Purchase Department
Location: London Nature of job role: Procurement of goods,
materials and supplies that delivers the best
service to the customers at the lowest price.
Main Duties:
Assisting the head of department, resolving
contractual relationship with suppliers,
working with the contract mangers, ensuring
that the financial aspect and impact of the
contract is clear, assessment of risk, handling
the daily operations, offering directions and
instructions.
Hours of work:
40 hrs per week — might be required to work
outside the normal hours for the purpose of
dealing with international clients.
Qualification: Degree in business
administration or related field, experience will
be an added advantage, proficiency in
Microsoft office, strong planning and
organization skills.
Salary: £40,000 to £60,000 (maybe higher for
exceptional candidate)
Knowledge and skills:
 A broad knowledge and understanding
about the scope and contract laws and
different forms of contract.
 Specialized technical knowledge
pertaining to procurement.
 Detailed knowledge of common
practices like purchase, pricing,
shipment, taxes and services.
 Knowledge and understanding of large
scale purchasing approaches.
 Exercising substantial autonomy in the
Desirable: Having higher degree in the related
field will be preferred, diploma in purchase and
supply or other professional qualification.
4

task at the professional level.
 Demonstrate leadership and make
identifiable contribution to change.
Job Title: Marketing manager Reporting to: Hospitality Director
Location: London Nature of job role: To lead develop and
implement media and public relations, doing
publicity and internal communication.
Main Duties:
Point of contract for media and the
spokesperson for the company, writing and
distributing press content and publicity
initiative, advising teams on PR and media
issues, brand and image development,
managing media training, writing internal
company newsletter, interview business
leaders, staff presentation, coordinating
presentations and messages for internal
meetings.
Hours of work:
40 hrs per week – needs flexibility
Qualification:
Bachelors degree in marketing or related field,
efficient in planning strategy, prior experience
will be an added advantage.
Salary: £50,000
Knowledge and skills:
 Knowledge that covers various
principles and practices of marketing.
 Knowledge and understanding about
the other specialization helpful in
Desirable:
Higher degree or experience in journalism or
public relations would be beneficial.
5

marketing and public relations.
 Interpersonal skills to take
responsibility and facilitate work of
others.
 Ability to use computer software
applications including MS-office for
supporting and enhancing work.
 Professional level skills in writing and
editing articles and skill of varied
writing skills.
 Deploying successful marketing
campaigns and interpreting the
outcome.
Job Title: Hotel manager Reporting to: General manager
Location: London Nature of job role:
The responsibility of hotel manager is to
handle the day to day activities of the hotel and
its staff. He/she will be having the
accountability for budgeting along with
financial management, organizing, directing all
the services of hotel which involves the
reception, F&B, concierge and housekeeping.
Main Duties:
Planning and organizing the accommodation
and other hotel services, promotion and
marketing of business, maintaining the
financial records, setting and accomplishing
the sales and profit targets. Recruiting and
Hours of work:
6

training staff, planning the work schedule of
the teams and the individuals, addressing the
problems and ensuring that events and
conferences are running smoothly. Also, other
duties involves the maintenance of the supplies
and furnishing, handling the contractors and
ensuring that the security is effective. It also
includes ensuring compliance with the relevant
legal laws such as the licensing laws, health
and safety and other statutory regulations.
Qualification:
Bachelors degree in hotel management and
other relevant hotel management experience
will be an added advantage.
Salary: £40,000 + performance related bonuses
Knowledge and skills:
 Ability to practice in on a professional
level which involves the degree of
unpredictability.
 Ability to draw on wide range of
sources in order to make judgement.
 Having relevant skills and knowledge
pertaining to the IT application for
supporting and enhancing the work.
 Identify and analyse the problems and
issues pertaining to the hotel settings.
 Able to analyse, interpret numerical
findings and the graphical data in order
to effectively appropriately accomplish
and meet with the set targets and
objectives.
Desirable:
Ability to speak or communicate in other
languages will be plus point.
7

 Prior work experience in the field of
exercising autonomy and initiating
some activities at a professional or
expert level in a large hotel.
 Ability to undertake responsibility for
the work of others and the ability to use
appropriate resources.
 Having abroad and integrated
understanding in respect to the scope
and boundaries of the hotel and
catering sector.
QUESTION-3
Process of performance management to assist in reducing employee turnover and identifying the
needs of training and development
Performance management system is a systematic manner to monitor and regulate the
work of the employees. In order to efficiently manage the human resource in the hotel and create
an environment which is suitable for the operations, less complexity, defined organizational
structure and formal lines of communication. It leads to developing interaction between the
management and subordinates such that employee engagement can be facilitated boosting the
confidence among them and maximize their ability to perform better in the direction of deriving
success for the institution.
The performance management is required in the hospitality sector so that qualified
personnels are developed to provide the services to the guests meeting their expectations,
generating profitability, customer loyalty and ensuring future growth prospects for the company.
This can be undertaken by following a systematic procedure or process to manage the human
resource of the company (Bititci, Cocca and Ates, 2016). The very first step starts with
employing the right people at the right place having the right skills to perform their duties in the
organization. After the proper allocation of the resources, the next step shall be making them
well-acquainted with the objectives, targets, value-system and culture of the hotel. The
workforce should be provided with all the necessary guidance, trainings, supervision, coaching
8

sessions which are required to polish their skills in the business. This shall boost their morale and
enthusiasm to work which shall ultimately lower down the wastages and maximize the
operational efficiency of the business. The next step in the performance management is to ensure
employee engagement in terms of taking feedback, grievance redress-al, taking opinions and
suggestions related to the operations of the business. Post the performance generation of the
company the HR department has to conduct the performance appraisal of the employees by
reviewing and accordingly providing them with the rewards and recognition. And the employees
who are not efficient enough to produce results for the company can be filtered and accordingly
replaced in the company (Aravamudhan and Krishnaveni, 2016). The poor staff shall be removed
and the efficient ones shall be retained in the company. This process shall generate efficiency
and effectiveness for the company and improve the guest satisfaction level thereby retaining
them future.
An efficient performance management system that is applied in the organization shall be
assisting in the reduction of the employee turnover ratio of the company. This happens as the
impact of taking feedback relating to the problems faced by the employees and providing them
trainings which shall further enhance the capacity (Bartz, Thompson and Rice, 2017). Overall
this shall boost the motivation and morale ultimately generating operational efficiency for the
company. If the employees are clear with their objectives that are to be fulfilled and get to
interact regularly with the management, in that case they shall stay highly motivated and
satisfied with the organization. This shall ensure employee retention with the company.
Retaining the efficient employees of the company for a longer time benefits it in reducing the
additional cost that shall be incurred in the new recruitment, training and development. Apart
from that confidentiality in respect of business plan, earnings, market plans etc. shall be
maintained within the company and leakage of information can be prevented.
Apart from that it also assists the company in discovering the requirement of training and
development that is to be provided to the employees to polish their concepts and understanding
of the various business operations that are to be undertaken. The reviews, feedbacks and the
suggestions that are taken from the workforce of the company shall help the management about
what are the challenges, shortcomings and difficulties that are faced by them. Appropriate
trainings, coaching, mentorship and supervision is provided by the higher level management in
order to solve the problems and improvise the skills of the personnels (Ashdown, 2018). This
9

shall ultimately boost the efficiency level of the company thereby producing better results for the
company. Since the technological advancements, automation of processes, introduction of newer
trends in the society etc. are taking place in that training and development is the crucial need of
the hour for the company. This shall also prevent unnecessary wastages, standardization and
uniformity in the operations of the company delivering a consistent result. This shall be
contributing to the achievement of the organizational objectives.
The performance management system which is effectively designed to build the human
resource of the organization proves to be helpful in conducting the workforce planning. It
includes supply, demand, gaps, future needs and the talent management among the employees of
the company. In the hospitality industry the performance management becomes a major
requirement because it's goals are to meet the expectations of the guests in the organization
(Cappelli and Tavis, 2016). This shall help in maintaining the loyalty of the customers, positive
word of mouth and image building of the brand. To enhance the experience of the visitors is the
prime concern as this shall boost the profitability and future growth prospects in the hotel.
QUESTION- 4
Critically analyse and revise two existing HR policies and practices
There are times when the organizations are needed to effectively analyse and revise its
existing HR policies and practices in regard to effectively meeting up with the changes. With the
change in time the organizations are required to make amendments in its practices and processes.
Pertaining to the change, in the context of The Lanesborough, there are certain HR policies
which it is required to critically analyse and revise the same. A detailed analysis is described
below.
Recruitment and Selection
It is the process which evaluates and determines the need of the workforce in the
organization which is very critical in the process. Employing people who are in need for filling
up the position or to backfill the existing position should use this as an opportunity for reviewing
the organizational structure. The company by the way of implementing the proper recruitment
plan in place will help it in effectively identifying and attracting diverse and qualified persons
(Dominique-Ferreira, Rodrigues and Braga, 2021). The currently organization The
Lanesborough make use of its career site and the traditional approaches for the purpose of
getting the job application of the interested candidates. This process being followed by the
10

organization is little outdated in terms of recruitment. On the side of selection, the company has
implemented written test which varies as per the job profile which is followed by face to face
interview and the final result is disclosed within the time span of 1 month.
These policies and procedures being followed by the organization is little outdated and
may not be effective in grabbing the attention of the large potential candidates and along with
that it restricts the communication of the same which might be because of ineffective
communication system being established. The selection procedure can be further enhanced and
improved as it may not be able to provide a better insight to the skills and potential of the
employees (Madera and et.al., 2017). By looking at the existing recruitment and selection
procedure, it can be stated that the company requires it to make certain changes which will help
it in attracting diverse group of candidates. Therefore, The Lanesborough organization can make
in its recruitment policies like making use of both internal and external recruitment. In the former
the organization can look within the business to fill the vacancy from its existing workforce. In
contrast to it, under external recruitment, the company looks to fill the vacancy from the suitable
candidate outside the organization (Recruitment: Internal v External Recruitment. 2020). This
can be considered to be an expensive process but it will result into bring new ideas and
innovation to the organization, provides an opportunity to find suitable candidate from the large
pool of workers and relevant experience. This will include posting on LinkedIn, various job
portals and distributing pamphlets. This can be taken as an effective method for communicating
the job opening to the interested candidates.
Also, the organization can send a formal mail to all its existing employees, informing
them about the job opening and will be rewarded for every referral. For the selection process, the
company should implement test that will help in checking the communication skills of the
candidate which is important in hospitality industry.
Stress management
In The Lanesborough, there are increase in cases of absenteeism, escaping from work
responsibilities, leaving early, decline in the work performance, more mistakes, over reacting,
arguing, anxiety, improper drinking habits etc. All these are mainly the symptoms of stress at the
workplace. The organization is working on providing safe work environment and timely job
rotation and enrichment in order to reduce the stress of the employees and the related
consequences of it to the organization (Mansour and Tremblay, 2018). But then too, in some
11

aspect, the organization is lacking behind which has resulted into decline in the performance of
the organization as a whole.
Apart from this, stress management is also an important part of an organization and the
HR department requires it to take into consideration all the reasons which causes stress. It
involves the organization factors like discrimination in pay. Ineffective communication, goal
conflicts and interest, lack of promotional opportunities and lack of employee participation in
regard to the decision-making (Employee Stress - Strategies for managing stress at workplace.
2020). It also involves individual factors like family expectations, subordinates from the
employees etc. and inability to understand these expectations causes role conflict which
consequently leads to employee stress. Other factor is job concerning which involves the
monotonous nature of job, lack of confidentially, crowding, unhealthy working conditions etc.
All these factors were not accounted for by the organization while formulating its stress
management policies. Therefore, The Lanesborough can make changes in its policies such as
increasing organizational communication with its employees in order to overcome the issue of
role conflict. The company offer greater independence to the employees with timely feedback
along with encouraging decentralization.
The company can also implement certain strategies which will be individuals like by
promoting healthy lifestyle, counselling employees which will help them in overcoming the
stress (Teoh, Wang and Kwek, 2019). Carrying come interactive sessions where the employees
would be able to open up their mind, share their thoughts and opinion and is considered to be the
best strategy for overcoming the stress of the employees. Therefore, by the way of making such
changes in the stress management policy of the organization the company will be able to mitigate
some of its related problems of absenteeism as well to some level. The company should
effectively communicate the changes made in the policy by conducting a meeting with the
employees and explaining to them the relevance of it and how it can be useful for them in
bursting the stress at work.
Therefore, by critically evaluating these two HR policies has helped in determining the
loopholes in the existing policies and based upon which certain strategies are recommended to
The Lanesborough to be included in its stress management policies and procedures. Along with
that, communication method through which it can properly deliver the information. This supports
12

in successfully implementing the changes in the policies for the better functioning and
performance of the organization.
CONCLUSION
It can be inferred from the above that there are various contemporary issues in relation to
the human resource management within the hospitality sector. Along with that there is a change
in the continuous change in the trends and patterns which the businesses are needed to take into
consideration. This involves cross cultural management, change management, employee
retention, sustainability and so forth. These issues are very crucial to the business organization to
be taken into account in order to run the business effectively. The HRM department in regard to
the hospitality sector is needed to regularly analyse the changing market trends and issues which
is being faced by the organizations. The HR department is also needed to develop job description
in respect to the different job roles along with person specification. The organization is needed to
implement effective performance management strategy which assist in effectively handling some
of the major problems pertaining to the ineffective performance management is the higher staff
turnover, decline in performance level. The two of the existing HR policies of The Lanesborough
is being critically analysed and based upon the analysis, the changes in the policies and practices
are suggested in regard to the recruitment and selection and other in terms of stress management.
Both of these policies are important from the point of effectively handling the hotel and its
employees. Therefore, it is crucial for the HR management to identify the issues and implement
solution for enhancing the performance and productivity of the employees.
13

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aravamudhan, N. R. and Krishnaveni, R., 2016. Establishing content validity for new
performance management capacity building scale. IUP Journal of Management
Research. 15(3). p.20.
Ashdown, L., 2018. Performance Management: A practical introduction. Kogan Page
Publishers.
Bartz, D., Thompson, K. and Rice, P., 2017. Maximizing the human capital of millennials
through supervisors using performance management. International Journal of
Management, Business, and Administration. 20(1). pp.1-9.
Bititci, U., Cocca, P. and Ates, A., 2016. Impact of visual performance management systems on
the performance management practices of organisations. International Journal of
Production Research. 54(6). pp.1571-1593.
Boella, M. J. and Goss-Turner, S., 2019. Human resource management in the hospitality
industry: A guide to best practice. Routledge.
Cappelli, P. and Tavis, A., 2016. The performance management revolution. Harvard Business
Review. 94(10). pp.58-67.
Chand, M., 2016. Building and Educating Tomorrows Manpower for Tourism and Hospitality
Industry. International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems. 9(1).
Dominique-Ferreira, S., Rodrigues, B. Q. and Braga, R. J., 2021. Personal marketing and the
recruitment and selection process: Hiring attributes and particularities in tourism and
hospitality. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science. pp.1-21.
Goh, E. and Lee, C., 2018. A workforce to be reckoned with: The emerging pivotal Generation Z
hospitality workforce. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 73. pp.20-28.
Madera, J. M. and et.al., 2017. Strategic human resources management research in hospitality
and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Mansour, S. and Tremblay, D. G., 2018. Work–family conflict/family–work conflict, job stress,
burnout and intention to leave in the hotel industry in Quebec (Canada): moderating role
of need for family friendly practices as “resource passageways”. The International
Journal of Human Resource Management. 29(16). pp.2399-2430.
Teoh, M. W., Wang, Y. and Kwek, A., 2019. Coping with emotional labor in high stress
hospitality work environments. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. 28(8).
pp.883-904.
Zopiatis, A. and Theocharous, A. L., 2018. PRAXIS: The determining element of innovation
behavior in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Management. 35. pp.9-16.
Online
Top HR challenges in the hospitality industry. 2021. [Online.] Available through:
<https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/winter2020/pages/top-hr-
challenges-in-the-hospitality-industry.aspx>
14

5 Challenges for HR in The Hospitality Industry. 2021. [Online.] Available through:
<https://blog.betterworks.com/5-challenges-for-hr-in-the-hospitality-industry/>
Employee Stress - Strategies for managing stress at workplace. 2020. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://www.managementstudyguide.com/employee-stress.htm>.
Recruitment: Internal v External Recruitment. 2020. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/recruitment-internal-v-external-
recruitment>.
15