Human Resource Management Report: HRM Practices and Trends

This report provides a detailed overview of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices, issues, and trends within the context of the hospitality industry, specifically focusing on The Lanesborough hotel. It begins by outlining contemporary issues such as intercultural management, language barriers, and workforce deployment, emphasizing the importance of employee training and team building. The report then explores current HRM trends, including the use of technology for attendance and recruitment, the increasing emphasis on soft skills, and the utilization of recruitment consultancies. A job description for a hotel manager is provided, detailing responsibilities, qualifications, and required skills. The report also includes a person specification for a hotel manager, outlining essential and desired attributes. Furthermore, it delves into the concept of performance management, explaining its importance in evaluating employee performance, providing feedback, and fostering employee development. Finally, the report reviews HR policies, offering insights into how The Lanesborough addresses various HRM challenges and trends to maintain a motivated and efficient workforce.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Issues and trends related to HRM ..............................................................................................3
Job description of hotel manager................................................................................................6
Person specification....................................................................................................................7
Performance management ..........................................................................................................9
Review of HR policies..............................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
The study describes the issues in Human Resource Management. Human Resource Management
is about recruiting people in an organisation, giving them training about work concerned and
looking after their grievances while motivating them to achieve organisational objectives. The
study reflects on the articles which highlight contemporary issues and emerging trends within
HRM. The study gives job description of a range of management positions within the hospitality
industry. The study emphasises on the concept of performance management within hospitality to
assist employees problems being addressed. An analysation and revision of employees'
concerning HR policies has been done. The organisation taken for assessment is The
Lanesborough which is a UK based five star luxury hotel.
Issues and trends related to HRM
The HRM employs people according to various skills required and vacancies available in a
particular section. The hospitality industry has seen employees coming from different
backgrounds and cultures. The first issue to deal with is thus intercultural management. The
industry sees an influx of rural and urban backgrounds with people of different educational
qualifications (Naik and Kanade, 2019). Managing them to gel with each other and forming an
understanding and coordination with each other to get the tasks done is an issue to be addressed
by the HRM. HRM keeps an introductory session of the employees where the members are
introduced to each other speaking of where they belong to and what has been their academic
qualifications and past experience. This helps in break of ice between employees. Sessions of
activity which can be fun based are organised for the employees to participate and make their
team win. This helps people to know each other better and eventually infuses a quality of
cooperation between them with friendship. The Lanesborough believe that a team which can
cooperate with each other can easily lend their best of services even when hotel receives its peak
season. The hotel employs a diverse set of employees and the management lays focus on
building a sense of team spirit in their employees who can work to achieve common goals for
organisation (Müller, 2017).
Next comes the issue of having the employees deal with international guests who can be
of different countries. Every country national likes to converse in their own language although it

is not always possible. The issue before HRM is either to recruit people with knowledge of
different languages or get the employees trained in multi-lingually. It is not possible for
employees to learn many languages but HRM tries to make them learn the language of nationals
who frequently visit the hotel. The way of greeting tourists is also different in various countries
having different cultures. The HRM has to keep training sessions of the way of welcoming
customers by the employees and also teaching the body language mannerisms prevalent in
different countries. The Lanesborough has a staff which can converse multi-lingually with
international customers and trainings are also departed by HRM.
The next issue faced by HRM is managing of work force and deployment of employees
in various sections. Organisation being large like The Lanesborough employ on a large scale and
thus management of employee becomes a foremost task. The employee may feel out of place if
the person is given work not being of the skill and interest the employee possesses. The
employee may not like to continue for a longer period of time increasing the staff turnover (Naik
and Kanade, 2019). Thus, it becomes important for the HRM to have an interaction monthly at
least with the employees to take feedback and place them according to their skills and interests.
Secondly, people working at a big enterprise come from different places. They have to take
leaves in between to visit their family and address their home issues. The scheduling of leaves is
thus another task to be managed by HRM. As it happens, that like every industry hospitality too
have their peak seasons where they need employees to receive and welcome guests, help them in
lodging, offering services like catering etc. Thus, HRM has to schedule leaves of employees
accordingly such that enough strength is there within hotel to meet the demands of customers
and lend operational services. The leaves being sanctioned are also done on priority basis. The
employees are not to be made singled out and given leave appropriately is looked after by HRM
function. The Lanesborough HRM follows the mentioned practices to see that employees'
interests are also taken care of while organisational needs being met (He, Morrison and Zhang,
2019).
The trends in HRM function have evolved over the years. Currently, the ongoing trend
within HRM is use of technology of implementing automated response systems. The companies
are implementing finger recording system for attendance of employees. There have been issues
reported earlier that attendance not being marked properly a which led to deduction in salaries.
Through the technical approach the log in timings of employees are registered and this helps in

proper recording of attendance. The use of technology has also changed the way recruitments are
being done. There are applicant tracking systems to pre-screen candidates and reduces time to go
through the applications. Chatbots are also being used for the same purpose. The Lanesborough
HRM uses technology to search and filter candidates for interview process.
The HRM lays nowadays more emphasis on soft skills. They want the employees to be
more fluent in expression. The HRM apart from soft skills training also incorporate aspects like
team work, creativity, interpersonal communication and time management skills in training
sessions to impart overall professional development in employees. The Lanesborough HRM
realises the importance of expression in hospitality and thus imparts various training sessions
which will help employees in personal as well as professional growth. The employees are also
motivated to bring out their creative suggestions which can help improve customer service as
well as giving a personal growth to them (Müller, 2017).
Another trend seen in hiring of HRM function has been seen of consultancy help being
taken by HR function. The organisation being large has many vacancies to handle and thus
recruitment process can become a lengthy process. The HR function does not get enough time to
interview people as it has to handle a number of functions regarding the existing employees like
making salary statements, scheduling of leaves, allotting Provident Fund etc. In this situation,
HRM take help of recruitment consultancies to source candidates for them. The Lanesborough
HRM sends the details or the job description as to what type of candidate they are looking for.
The consultancies after receiving the job description source candidates from online job portals
and do a listing of candidates who can suit the requirements of hospitality. They do a telephonic
round of candidates to check on the communication and knowledge skills pertaining to the post.
Thus, a screening of candidates is done and those which consultancy thinks are suitable are sent
for final round of interview at the organisation. Sometimes aptitude rounds are also conducted as
per the post. The organisation gets relevant candidates who are in know how of the work process
and thus makes HRM to recruit the right pool of candidates (He, Morrison and Zhang, 2019).
HRM trends also seen in recruitment nowadays has been that they conduct intelligence
and aptitude tests if the post is an analytical one. It helps them know whether the candidate
possesses the analytical and quantitative skills required. This saves the organisation time and
resources to give training to candidates and they can start work soon. There are posts like Data

Analyst and financial analyst at Lanesborough. The intelligence and quantitative tests taken get
hotel the right candidate.
Another trend in recruitment being seen of hospitality sector is that hotels are recruiting
people with disabilities by identifying positions which can be managed by people having
problems. There has been greater awareness about this trend in corporate HR and also
government has made provision for the same to be upheld in corporates.
Another prominent trend being seen is that use of analytics to gain data driven insights in
workforce trends and engaging to achieve a refined recruitment, incentives, compensation etc. to
gain a competitive edge in the market. The business life cycle will be able to do collection,
processing and analysing of data.
Job description of hotel manager
Job Code: 121
Job Title: Hotel Manager
Reporting to: General Manager
Summary: Oversees all aspects of Hotel Management including maximisation of financial
performance, guest satisfaction and staff development with established quality standards.
Responsible for recruitment and infusing discipline in staff.
Qualifications: MBA in Hotel Management with 5-10 years of experience in managing team at
five-star hotel.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Recruiting and training of staff.
Management and deployment of people.
Maintenance of statistical and financial records.
Planning of events and maintenance work.

Handling of customer queries.
Promotion and marketing of business.
Ensuring compliance within operations.
Language Skills:
Hotel managers must have developed language skills in order to:
 Reading and Interpreting of documents in English.
 Writing routine reports on correspondence and business letters.
 Ability to converse publicly in English.
Computer Skills:
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
Yield Management System
Payroll Programs
Reasoning ability:
Must be able to understand and carry out instructions.
Use of maths and logical skills to interpret financial information.
Reading and interpreting business record and statistical reports.
Making business decisions on production reports.
Work Environment
Must be able to give proper directions and communicate well with employees.
Must be able to effectively welcome and deal with guests.
Must be able to change activity frequently.
Person specification
Job Title- Hotel Manager
Job number: 121

Essential Attributes:
Well Organised
Ability to meet deadlines
Ability to use computers for coordination with departments.
Desired Attributes:
Ability to give command
Ability to form proper coordination with other departments
Physical Characteristics:
Well dressed and organised
Previous Experience:
Must have been in a team handling role for at least five years.
General Intelligence:
Use of computer skills like excel, word etc.
Special attributes:
Must be able to handle events on large scale.
Can motivate people to work together as a team when facing odds.
Temperament and Personality:
Patient attitude
Dedication
Enthusiasm
Good general Knowledge
Politeness.

Performance management
Performance management is a tool that helps HRM monitor and evaluate employee's work.
Performance management is done for creation of environment where employees can perform to
best of abilities to produce high quality work. It is basically the monitoring of employee's work
and accordingly do performance appraisal. Performance appraisal means a formal interaction
between the subordinate and supervisor which usually is in the form of periodic interview, in
which the work performance of subordinate is analysed with identifying strengths and
weaknesses as well as opportunities for improvement and skill development (He, Morrison and
Zhang,2019).
When an employee's performance is measured, evaluated and appreciated, this exercise
motivates employees to perform at their optimum level. The performance of them is evaluated
for promotion purposes and ratings. The employee feel motivated to perform better which can
get them promotion. This in turn will also help in organisational efficiency being improved with
employees feeling motivated. This helps in reducing staff turnover, with employees feeling
motivated to continue for long term. Here, they can suggest in a one to one interaction with the
management what extra help they may require in form of training sessions.
The performance management can be done by using steps of performance appraisal like:
a) General Appraisal: There is an ongoing communication between the HRM and the
employees throughout the year. At the year end, manager and employee have a meeting to
determine whether the pre set goals have been met. The manager then provides feedback and sets
new goals for the employees. The managers recommend development plans and training
programs for the employees to help improve their skills. The Lanesborough annually conducts
the exercise of appraisal.
b) 360 degree appraisal: This appraisal allows peers,managers, line manager, internal and
external stakeholders to share feedback on employee's performance and team behaviour. This
type helps employee know their feedback from many perspectives. The feedback is then
reviewed by manager during the appraisal process (Martin-Rios, Pougnet and Nogareda, 2017).
c) Technological Appraisal of Performance: This assesses technical expertise and capabilities
of employee. Employees proficient in technical skills will be given prominence and marked more

for appraisal as that employee can help in coordinating with a number of functions be it reporting
of technical glitches to be solved within hotel rooms,coordinating with the security on systems
etc.
d) Employee self assessment: The employee assesses self and own appraisal is compared with
manager's appraisal. The assessment process is discussed and discussions are held if there are
any differences between manager's appraisal and employee's appraisal (Madera and et.al., 2017).
e) Project Evaluation review: Rather than waiting for the whole year for annual appraisal, the
employees can be considered for review in a upcoming project. Talking of the hospitality
industry, it can be an event on which the employees can be judged. For instance, an event hosted
of a conference of dignitaries, it is seen that how the guests were welcomed, what were the
sitting arrangements done, how frequently refreshments were served, how well the stage was set
up to look presentable etc.
f) Sales Performance appraisal: This is basically related to the front office in hospitality. It
measures how well they had received guests, made services available to them timely to make
their stay comfortable, solved their queries, presented the hotel in a manner that can build long-
term relationships with the customers.
When the performance management system has been completed, it is time to review the
performance management process. It is done to see how well the performance management
system had worked benefiting both employees as well as the organisation. The questions which
can be asked are:
 Did the exercise meet personal as well as organisational objectives?
 What were the challenges faced by the employees?
 What was the training session which helped employee perform better?
 How did the management find the process and what recommendations they can give to
improve the process?
 Whether the time spent on the activity was done effectively or not?
 Were the employees able to achieve a sense of competitiveness from this activity?

These questions duly answered will help give appropriate feedback of the value of performance
management taken as an exercise.
The final step to be taken in performance management is action. The action is by giving
employees reward and recognition for what they have contributed to the organisation. It can be in
the form of monetary compensation, can be in the form of promotion or it can be moving
employee to a new field of his own interest. It can also be in a form of event where there can be a
meet or get together of employees and management and names of achievers can be called out and
hand them certificate or memento of appreciation. This also works wonders to raise the level of
momentum and motivation of the employees. The Lanesborough follow the approach of reward
and appreciation (Martin-Rios, Pougnet and Nogareda, 2017).
The employees can also be asked what changes can be incorporated in the next
performance management cycle.
There can be a four phase performance appraisal model which gives an insight into the formal
management system which provides for the internal quality assessment of the individual. The
appraisal is generally prepared by employee's immediate supervisor. Although, some
organisations come up with new methods like giving options to employees to exercise their
voting right to choose their supervisor whom they think would be the most impartial. The
process is as follows:
a) Performance Planning: Generally during the end of the year, manager and individual
employee sit together to discuss on performance planning, the key points discussed being the
yearly achievement target, conduct to be followed and discussion on individual development
plan.
b) Performance execution: The employee works to achieve the goals set by the job. The manager
keeps track of the performance and provides feedback to the individual to let individual know the
yardstick which needs to be completed for success (Sharma and Gursoy, 2018).
c) Performance Assessment: This is the time when manager reviews the performance of the
individual,makes assessment of the report generated of employee's performance. The manager

assembles the appraisal form, fills them and makes assessment. The manager generally
recommends a hike to the compensation of the employee for the work put in throughout the year.
d) Performance Review: The manager and the subordinate meet and review the appraisal form
prepared by manager and discuss on the employee performance in the past one year. Here the
employee also puts forward own suggestions about the review and highlight the points which
may have not been covered by the report. Thus, a discussion takes place between the manager
and the employee to reach to an agreement (Yusoff and Nejati, 2019).
Review of HR policies
Training and Development
The requirements of different type of job positions are different and hence, the training allotted
in hospitality is also not the same. Various departments in hospitality have different functions
like front office to welcome and receive the guests, house keeping to ensure cleanliness of
rooms, food and beverage service department, food production department to cater to customers,
engineering and maintenance department, accounts and credit department, security department
and the HR department. Since these are the different departments in hotel the training sessions
are also conducted differently.
Speaking of the front office, they were currently being given training on the way of
greeting and welcoming customers, working on the communication skills and way of imparting
information about hotel which can also be said as briefing about the hotel. Employees were being
asked to be vocal to each other to increase communication skills and do rehearsals for the
briefing given to customers. The training given was apt meeting up to the expectations and there
was a level of satisfaction within customers about their experience. The training methods
however are being introduced with new reforms to make the staff being more polished in their
skills and making customer experience even better. The Lanesborough staff will now be given
training sessions on developing language skills in different languages as the hotel receives guests
from different countries. They will be performing presentations on different topics related to
hospitality industry and include the information when they have to brief customers. The front
office will be trained to get customer queries solved within time frame allotted electronically

from the time customer registered complaint. This will serve as a KPI for evaluating
performance (Sharma and Gursoy, 2018).
Speaking of Housekeeping department, the work did not require any special training
other than supervision. However, need has been realised to take the status of room cleaning to be
checked electronically. It will save manual time in checking all the rooms and let the front office
know which rooms have been cleaned and can be made available for check in by the guests. The
Lanesborough staff will be given training on how to feed the status electronically. Also, they
would be trained in coordinating with Engineering and Works department through electronic
means to register any problem which they found in the room such as non-working of AC,TV etc.
This will help in reminding works system of repairs pending and will improve coordination with
departments.
Talking of food and beverage department, this department is the backbone of hospitality.
The Lanesborough food department has been serving a lot of delicacies with trained staff having
experience. They were sometimes given surprise checks by the management on cleanliness
measures being taken in kitchen and the quality of food served. The review points were up to the
mark. However, there were some measures to be introduced in training like to improve upon the
culinary skills, a healthy competition round between hotels in the city can be kept to bring a
drive to be the best. Also, the training of new chefs can be supervised by renowned chefs of the
country with the newbies including tips from the experienced (Yusoff and Nejati, 2019).
The security department in the hotel were generally trained staff from early on. However,
a practice of mock drills was done in between to get ready for emergency. The performance of
security department was taken to be satisfactory. The new introduction in the regime is that the
security drills will be held fortnightly and security will be given training to document events and
use new technical equipments for surveillance.
Stress management
The organisations have achieved growth in business with increasing market scale over past
decades. This has also led to increase in stress levels with work burden increasing. The
employees coming from outside countries to serve in an international hotel like The
Lanesborough may feel detached and lonely after some time. To reduce stress, it is necessary for

management to realise the problems being faced by the employees. The stressors could be the
task demands, role demands and other factors like employee being unable to adjust with co-
workers or feeling home-sickness etc. The Lanesborough HRM arranges sessions of employees
with their supervisors and managers to discuss their problems and grievances they may have with
their co-workers or managers. They get to discuss their problems as and when they feel like. The
managers try to find solutions to their grievances and motivate them at the same time
(Hewagama and et.al., 2019).
The changes which will be brought in the scheme or policy are that there will be
introduced yoga and meditation sessions for employees. In these sessions they will also be asked
to intermingle with each other which can relieve out stress and help resolve differences. The
employees can also put their suggestions as to how these sessions can be improved. The next
thing which will be incorporated is scheduling leaves of outsider employees properly so that they
can visit their homes and come back feeling refreshed. Fun activities like moving on a company
picnic will be also held to act as stress busters.
CONCLUSION
The study concludes that the organisation HRM function is multi-faceted and has a number of
operations to perform. The study showed the approaches taken to handle contemporary issues in
the organisation and the trends associated in HRM. The changing trends in recruitment and
selection highlighted the changing scenario from traditional recruitment. The era of online
recruitment has dawned over the organisations. The use of technology used in HRM operations
have facilitated the department. Training and Development has also been facilitated through use
of technology. The job description showed the relevant characteristics of hotel manager in
management position. Performance appraisal techniques and methods were highlighted which
are generally followed in most of the organisations. The impact of performance management
techniques on employee morale were discussed. The analysis and revision of HR policies and
their impact on the performance of employees for their benefit and also to sustain in the
organisational environment were discussed.

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