Analysis of Human Resource Management Strategies at Hilton Hotels

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Human
Resourc
e
Manage
ment in
Service
Sector

Table of Contents
Introduction:..........................................................................................................................................2
LO1: Understand human resource management..................................................................................3
1.1 Analyse the role and purpose of human resource management in a selected service industry.. 3
1.2 Justify a human resource plan based on the analysis of supply and demand for a selected
service industry business...................................................................................................................4
LO2: Understand the effect of employee relations and employment law on service industries...........5
2.1 Assess the current state of employment relations in a selected service industry.......................5
2.2 Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources in a selected
service industry business...................................................................................................................6
LO3: Understand the recruitment and selection process......................................................................7
3.1 Discuss a job description and person specification for a selected service industry job...............7
3.2 Compare the selection process of different service industry business........................................9
LO4: Understand training and development in service industries businesses.....................................10
4.1 Assess the contribution of training and development activities to the effective operations of a
selected service industry business...................................................................................................10
Conclusion:..........................................................................................................................................12
References:..........................................................................................................................................13
Introduction:
For any business organisation, the most important as well as valuable assets are the
workforce or the human resources. Human resource management looks after the
management of the workforce by the organisation and therefore it is of great
importance. For service industries particularly, the importance of effective human
resource management system is significant as they need to provide effective
services to their customers which is possible only if the human resources within the
organisation are managed properly. The following assignment will discuss the
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importance of the human resource management for the hotel sector within the
service industry and is focused on the Hilton Hotel. In the following report, we will
discuss the importance of the employee relations in Hilton Hotel and the impact of
the various employment laws on the functioning of the hotel. Further, the importance
of training and development will also be discussed in the following assignment.
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LO1: Understand human resource management.
1.1 Analyse the role and purpose of human resource management in
a selected service industry.
Human Resource management refers to the process that is mainly concerned with
the planning, acquiring, managing as well as training of the various human resources
within an organisation (Business Dictionary, 2018). The whole process is carried out
in such a manner that the overall efficiency of the organisation’s employees as well
as the productivity of the organisation gets increased. Being a part of the service
industry, hotel sector needs to ensure maximum customer satisfaction through
enhanced and improved customer services. Therefore, there are various different
roles that are played by the effective human resource management within the hotel
sector.
With the help of the effective HRM system, the Hilton Hotel becomes capable of
carrying out various business operations effectively. The staff members at Hilton
hotel gets motivated to work effectively for the betterment of the organisation by the
proper management of the human resources within the organisation (Cania, 2014).
The most important concept of HRM consists of HRM planning through which Hilton
Hotel decides the quantity of the manpower that is required by the organisation in
order to carry out its business operations and to meet the needs of the market. In
addition to this, due to its huge popularity, the hotel needs to maintain its reputation
and hence only efficient workforce needs to be recruited by the hotel so as to meet
the organisational goals.
In addition to planning, HRM also consists of workforce forecasting which helps the
Hilton hotel in identifying the future needs of workforce. Forecasting is important for
Hilton Hotel as it helps the hotel in avoiding situations like workforce inadequacy.
Another important function being played by HRM at Hilton Hotel is the recruitment of
the right candidates which is done through the proper recruitment process. This
helps the hotel in meeting the service expectations of the market and remain leader
in its industry.
Further, the HRM also plays the major role of monitoring the activities as well as
performance of the employees of the hotel. This helps the Hilton hotel in identify the
major loopholes and make improvements wherever required. Apart from this, HRM
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at Hilton Hotel is also responsible for providing training as well as proper
development to the employees of the hotel so as to make them capable of carrying
out their responsibilities in an effective manner (Bratton and Gold, 2012).
Therefore, it can be very well said that effective human resource management
serves as the major source of organisational success.
1.2 Justify a human resource plan based on the analysis of supply
and demand for a selected service industry business.
For every business organisation, the creation and development of effective human
resource plan is a must as it helps the business organisation in carrying out its
operations in a smooth and effective manner (Boxall and Purcell, 2015). However,
the Hilton Hotel needs to consider the demand as well as supply of the workforce
properly in the market before developing the HRM plan. Being the part of the service
industry and due to intense competition in the market, there is increasing demand for
the skilled and talented staff in the hotel sector. By hiring skilled staff, it becomes
possible for hotels like Hilton to meet the expectations of their customers. However,
due to scarcity of talented staff, sometimes the organisation might not recruit the
suitable candidate required for the job. Hence it becomes important for the
organisation to analyse the supply as well as demand of the workforce in the market.
The HRM planning within the organisation also gets affected by several internal
factors some of which includes structure of the organisation, its productivity level as
well as the skills required by the job within the organisation.
After considering all the above factor, Hilton Hotel can develop effective HRM plan
so as to increase its profitability and productivity. The organisational structure of the
Hotel needs to be appropriate so as to increase the efficiency of the employees.
Besides, skills of the workforce are also important and have a significant effect on
the HRM plan as to meet the goals and to achieve efficiency, the workforce of the
hotel needs to be skilled and talented so as to provide enhanced customer
experience (Boxall and Purcell, 2015).
Other than this, there are also external factors that have an impact on the HRM
planning. The external factors comprises of government rules under which hotel
needs to operate. Therefore, hotel needs to develop its HRM plan in accordance with
the government rules and policies. Hence, all the internal as well as external factors
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needs to be considered carefully by Hilton Hotel while developing its HRM plan so as
to achieve growth and success (Boxall and Purcell, 2015).
LO2: Understand the effect of employee relations and
employment law on service industries.
2.1 Assess the current state of employment relations in a selected
service industry.
Employment relations refers to the term used for the relations that exists between
the organisation’s employees and its management. The present state of employment
relations in the hospitality industry is considered to be favourable which benefits
organisations like Hilton Hotel and the hotel carry out their business operations in an
effective manner (Kapiki, 2012). The proper organisational structure of Hilton Hotel
provides full support to its employees and therefore the employees of the hotel are
motivated to work for the betterment of the business and hence the performance of
the organisation gets maximised. Hilton Hotel also values the opinions of its
employees and therefore follows consultation approach. The hotel has become
capable of running successfully as it considers the views as well as opinion of its
employees.
Further, the work environment at Hilton motivates its employees and therefore helps
it in achieving its business goals in an effective manner. The organisational culture at
Hilton is flexible enough which allows the employees to work as per their ease and
suitability. In addition to this, Hilton Hotel motivates its employees to participate in
each and every business activity so as to boost their morale and make them feel
valued as well as important for the business. In this way, the bond between the
employees and the management gets stronger (Brotherton, 2012).
Hilton Hotel also handles the various employee issues and their conflicts in a very
effective as well as polite manner. This becomes possible because of the hotel’s
effective conflict management process which helps the management to manage the
hotel’s workforce in an effective manner. In addition to this, Hilton Hotel also
empowers its employees so as to make them feel satisfied with their jobs and hence
assigns them important duties and responsibilities. Thus, in this manner it can be
very well said that the current state of employment relations in Hilton Hotel is quite
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satisfactory which serves as the development tool for the organisation and therefore
leads to positive and profitable results for the Hotel (Kapiki, 2012).
However, the service industry companies also undertake proper disciplinary actions
so as to deal with situations like employee or staff misconduct. This helps the
organisations to handle difficult situations with ease which are beyond their control.
2.2 Discuss how employment law affects the management of human
resources in a selected service industry business.
Employment laws are the laws that govern the working of the employees and
protects them from the inappropriate behaviour at workplace. The management of
the workforce gets directly impacted by the employment laws that are introduced by
the government of UK (Barnard, 2012). The Hilton hotel follows employment
relations act 2008 which mainly focuses on the protection of rights of employees,
conflicts and disputes resolution, maintenance of strong employee relations and
easing the process of registration for the employees. In order to run its operations in
an effective and smooth manner, it is must for the organisations like Hilton Hotel to
comply with this law as it boosts the overall performance and productivity of the
hotel. For the growth as well as success of the hotel, the employee relations act
2008 is of great importance (Barnard, 2012). The Hilton Hotel needs to comply with
employment right act as well in order to safeguard the rights of the employees of the
organisation. This includes employment contract, salary, incentives, working hours,
holidays, minimum age for getting employed etc. Employment Rights Act mainly
focuses on the protection of rights of employees so as to support the employees in
the times of need in every possible way.
Other than this, the hotel also abide by contract of employment in which policies
related to appointment, resignation, termination as well as retirement are considered.
This also provides protection to employees from situations like getting fired out of no
reason. Therefore it also works for the welfare of the employees of the hotel. The
hotel needs to face legal action in case it terminates any employee out of personal
dissatisfaction or without any valid reason. The hotel also abide by parental laws
where the employees are sanctioned maternal and paternal leave for taking care of
their baby. Therefore, in this manner the hotel safeguards the interest of its
employees. Apart from this, the retirement related laws are also followed properly by
Hilton Hotel so as to allow their staff to retire from the job at particular age and
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continue if they wish to. Thus, it can be very well said that the hotel properly follows
each and every single employment law so as to become the leader in the industry
and to carry out its business operations smoothly and without any disturbance.
However, sometimes, the employment laws makes hotel change the way it operates
and therefore the firm has to alter the processes it normally follows. If the firm does
not abide by the laws and policies of the government, then it might have a negative
impact on the overall performance of the hotel and the hotel might need to face legal
actions (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).
LO3: Understand the recruitment and selection process.
3.1 Discuss a job description and person specification for a selected
service industry job.
Another major function of the effective HRM system at any organisation is the job
analysis. Job analysis is the term used for the work analysis which consists of the
identification of the various job activities and the various qualities and qualifications
that must be possessed by the candidate in order to carry out that job (Buller and
McEvoy, 2012). Job analysis mainly comprises of job description and person
specification which can be described as follows:
Job Description: Job description is the term which is mainly used for the written
statement in which the purpose of the job, the duties and responsibilities involved in
the job, working hours, scope and other information in relation with the job are
mentioned (Buller and McEvoy, 2012).
Person Specification: Person specification mainly known by the term job
specification is again a written statement which mainly consists of the educational
qualifications and other personal attributes that must be possessed by the personnel
in order to be selected for the job position (Buller and McEvoy, 2012).
The job description as well as the person specification for the job of Hotel
receptionist at Hilton Hotel is given below:
Job Description
Job Title: Receptionist
Reports to: Office Coordinator
Location: 111, New Street, London
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Working Hours: 40 Hours a week
Job Purpose: The primary responsibility of the receptionist is to provide support and
assistance to the staff of the hotel. They serve as the face as well as the voice of the
hotel as they are the first point of contact for the visitors.
Key Responsibilities:
 Greeting visitors and clients on arrival and making them feel comfortable by
offering refreshments etc.
 Keep the reception of the hotel up to date and totally manned during working
hours.
 Answering all the incoming calls of the hotel in a polite and professional way and
transferring the calls to the appropriate personnel.
 Answering the queries of the guests, clients and visitors and providing them the
appropriate information.
 To receive payments and maintain payment records in an effective manner.
 To make sure that guests check in and check-out as per the standard procedures
followed by the hotel.
Salary: Best in the industry and competitive (Hilton, 2019)
Person Specification
Essential Experience:
 Minimum 4 years of experience as a receptionist with a reputed hotel is essential.
 Proven experience in office administration.
Essential Skills:
 Good verbal and written communication skills and the ability to answer the
various calls, emails as well as addressing clients and visitors in an effective
manner.
 Effective customer handling skills
 Patience and politeness.
 Good IT Skills
Educational Qualification:
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 Must have completed high school degree or any equivalent degree with high
standard of English.
Additional Qualities:
 Pleasant personality
 Computer literacy is must (Hilton, 2019)
3.2 Compare the selection process of different service industry
business.
The various organisations within the service industry have adopted different
selection processes so as to select the most appropriate candidate for the job. Being
one of the most popular hotels of UK, Hilton hotel needs to serve a large base of
customers and therefore the organisation needs to adopt the effective selection
process. Most of the times, Hilton Hotel makes use of internal sources for the
selection of candidates. Externally, the hotel uses a series of processes in order to
select the most suitable candidate for the job. The processes are followed by the
personal interview in order to analyse the suitability of the candidate for the position
required. The process involved in the selection of the candidate keeps on updating
with the requirements and are flexible in nature (Ekwoaba, et.al, 2015).
Hilton carries out various checks before selecting the candidate which comprises of
checking the background as well as the past criminal record of the candidate etc.
The various processes in the selection process of Hilton Hotel ensures that the
candidate applying has all the skills as well as qualities that are required in order to
perform the job in effective manner. The effective selection process helps the hotel
to grab the upcoming opportunities in the market and manage human resources in
an effective manner.
On the contrary, another major organisation and competitor of Hilton i.e. Marriott also
has an effective process for the selection of candidates and involves the online
application. The candidates need to apply online for the position on the website of
the hotel. The hotel sends an acknowledgement mail to the candidate informing
them of the next stage. The selected candidates are then invited for the personal
interview where their suitability for the job role is tested and analysed. Therefore, it
helps the hotel in selecting the right candidate for the job. The selection process is
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important for the organisation as it helps the hotel in enhancing its performance by
hiring the best candidates (Ekwoaba, et.al, 2015).
LO4: Understand training and development in service
industries businesses.
4.1 Assess the contribution of training and development activities to
the effective operations of a selected service industry business.
Training as well as development of the employees is important part of human
resource management as it enhances the knowledge as well as the various
employee skills which makes them capable of handling business operations in much
more effective manner (Mathis, et.al, 2016). Hilton is a big name in the service
industry and therefore it needs to provide effective services to its customers and
hence training of employees in Hilton is given much importance. With the increasing
competition and advancement of technology, the customer expectations have
increased and therefore it has become important to provide training to employees so
as to make them capable of providing effective customer services.
With the changing market trends and changing customer preferences, training has
become important so as to enable hotel to provide effective services and remain
competitive in the industry (Guest, et.al, 2012). Training and development helps the
Hilton hotel in staying ahead of their competitors. By providing training and overall
development of employees, it becomes easy for the Hilton hotel to handle the
various issues associated with human resource management. in addition to this, the
hotel also provides training to the employees who lack in skills for their job roles and
therefore make them capable of carrying out their roles. The new staff hired by the
hotel also gets the training from the hotel so as to gain the knowledge and skills in
relation with the job.
Training and development also enhances the employee morale and provide them job
satisfaction by providing them knowledge and skills and therefore making them
capable of handling job roles. In this manner, training and development enhances
the performances of the employees as satisfied employees performs much
effectively. The enhanced performance leads to maximised productivity of the hotel
and therefore helps the hotel in dealing with various market challenges as well as
issues in an effective manner (Rolstadas, 2012).
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