HRM Practices in Service Sector: A Case Study of Hilton Hotel, UK

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) within the service sector, with a specific focus on the Hilton Hotel in the UK. The report begins by outlining the importance, role, and purpose of HRM, followed by the creation of a human resource plan based on supply and demand analysis. It then assesses the current state of employment relations in the UK service sector, including the impact of employment laws. The report delves into recruitment, selection processes, and provides a job description and person specification for a role within Hilton Hotel, comparing its selection process with another service business. Finally, the report examines training and development practices at Hilton and their contribution to effective business operations, concluding with a summary of key findings.

Human Resource
Management in Service Sector

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Importance, role and purpose of human resource management............................................2
1.2 A human resource plan based on the analysis of supply and demand...................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Assessing the current state of employment relations in the service sector of UK.................5
2.2 Impact of various employment laws on HRM in the UK with a focus on service sector.....6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Identifying a job title in Hilton hotel and its job description and person specification.........7
3.2 Comparing the selection process of Hilton hotel with another service business...................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
4.1 Training and development in Hilton hotel and its contribution in effective operations of
business......................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Human Resource Plan......................................................................................................3
Figure 2: Employment Laws in the UK...........................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
In the present era, firms operating in service industry are pursuing strategies that focus on
providing high level of customer satisfaction. For the same, service firms have realised that
without having customer oriented behaviour from employees, execution of these strategies is not
possible. Thus, firms are emphasizing more on human resource management (HRM) practices to
reinforce and stimulate the behaviour of employees (Boella, 2017). Present report will discuss
HRM and effect of employee relations with employment law on service industries. Further, there
will be study on recruitment and selection processes with understanding the training and
development in businesses operating in service sector. All concepts associated with HRM will be
discussed with reference to Hotel Hilton located in England, UK.
Overview of Hilton Hotel
Hilton is basically an American hospitality company which is known for managing and
franchising a large number of hotels and resorts. As of September 2018, the firm is having more
than 5,500 properties with number of rooms more than 8, 94,000 in around 109 nations and
territories. In distinct market segments, Hilton hotel is having 15 brands including Hilton Garden
Inn, Embassy Suites Hotels, Try by Hilton, Double Tree by Hilton, etc. Hilton was initially a
private hotel but later it became a public company with an increased estimated about of $2.35
billion (Hilton Hotels and Resorts - About Our Brand, 2018). The hotel was found by Conrad
Hilton in the year 1919 in Cisco, Texas. Being one of the most recognized names in hotel
industry, Hilton is known by travellers who have been approaching it and availing the services
for almost a century. As hotel is providing innovative approach to products, amenities and
services, it has gained high market share as well as goodwill across the world. Hilton Hotels &
Resorts is popularly known among customers for its stylish and forward thinking approach and
thus, it has become global leader of the hospitality sector. The hotel is making it easier for
travellers and local customers to have luxury and relaxation with authentic hospitality and smart
as well as innovative restaurant concepts (Hilton Hotels and Resorts - About Our Brand, 2018).
However, for this purpose, it is making the workforce capable enough by adopting suitable HRM
practices like recruitment, selection, training and development, employee relations, etc. to gain
high commitment from the global community.
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TASK 1
1.1 Importance, role and purpose of human resource management
HRM is important for any other organisation in service industry as human resources are
the lifeblood of business without efforts of whom to run operations and keep customers satisfied
is not at all possible. Also, in service industry, they are the human resources only who come in
direct contact with customers and so, their satisfaction and whether they will stay with firm for
long or not highly depends on employees. HRM in Hilton hotel is of high importance and plays a
vital role in making the firm operate in market with sustainability. Some of its importance, roles
and purposes are discussed as below:
Importance of HRM in Hilton hotel
 Motivating and retaining employees – To keep employees highly motivated and making
them stay in the organisation is main importance of HRM in Hilton hotel as when people
working in the firm are encouraged and willing enough to work, then render quality
services to customers.
 Securing cooperation of workforce – HRM in Hilton is significant to gain high
cooperation from the workforce which firm is doing by making timely appraisal of
employee’s performance as through the same, they realise the importance of their hard
work and put quality efforts (Importance of Human Resource Management, 2017).
 Developing necessary skills – Also, HRM is important in Hilton hotel for developing
necessary skills in employees working over there which firm is doing with the help of
providing effective training and development sessions.
Role of HRM in Hilton hotel
 Recruitment and selection – One of the major roles played by Hilton hotel is to recruit
and select the best suitable people for organisation in timely manner i.e. whenever there
is need of human resources so that workflow will not get hampered.
 Performance management – Another role of Hilton hotel is to manage the performance
of employees in such a way that they can perform their tasks with highest level of
efficiency and in case if their work is not up to the mark then corrective measures by the
firm are taken like organising training sessions (Kokkranikal and et.al., 2018).
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 Compensation and perks – HR department of Hilton hotel like any other organisation is
responsible for providing fair compensation to work along with perks for their
extraordinary performance.
Purpose of HRM in Hilton hotel
 To increase productivity and profit – Main purpose behind human resource management
in Hilton hotel is to get rise in productivity as well as in profits of business so that it can
stay in market for longer span of time with smooth functioning.
 To match demand and supply of human resources – Another purpose of HRM in Hilton
hotel is to have sufficient availability of human resources with matching the demand and
supply of manpower on timely basis so that operations would not get hampered (Johnson,
Park and Bartlett, 2018).
 To resolve conflicts – Further, to have a healthy environment at workplace is one more
purpose behind HRM in Hilton hotel which it maintains with effective handling of
conflicts among employees.
Functions of HRM
 Human Resource Development – Major function played by HRM in Hilton hotel is to
develop the human resources which it is doing by providing effective training and
development sessions based on the needs of employees.
 Employee and Labor Relations – Another important function played by HRM in Hilton
is to maintain healthy employee and labor relations at workplace which it is successfully
doing by complying with all employment laws like Discrimination Act at Workplace,
Equal Pay Act, Equality Act, etc.
 Safety and Health – Being operating in the hospitality sector, Hilton is following all
safety standards for its employees to minimize the level of risk related to their
employment to the minimal level by providing safe machines and equipment (Wikhamn,
2018). Firm is effectually complying with the Health and Safety Act that is imposed by
the Parliament of UK.
1.2 A human resource plan based on the analysis of supply and demand
Human Resource Planning (HRP) is the process of making plan that is run on continuous
basis for ensuring that optimum number of human resources are present in organisation. In
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Hilton Hotel, HRP is mainly done with an aim to assess the surplus or shortage of manpower
which is given as below:
Figure 1: Human Resource Plan
1. Assessing the current HR capacity – This is the first step of Human Resource Planning
in Hilton hotel where the current staff is assessed before making any new hiring. Thus,
for the same, it first analyses the talent already available inside. On the basis of same, it
develops a skills inventory for which employees in Hilton are asked to self-evaluate
either with the help of questionnaire or by reviewing the past performance (Human
resource planning – Process steps, 2017).
2. Forecasting the HR requirements – Once the hotel determines full inventory of human
resources available in organization, then it starts making forecast about the future need of
manpower. For the same, both demand and supply forecasting are done. Under demand
forecasting, need of people in Hilton hotel in terms of quantity and quality is judged
along with assessing the caliber of talent in employees so that the current and future
requirements of hotel will be met. For supply forecast, resources available for meeting
the demand are analyzed in terms of determining the previous skills inventory available
with firm (Bratton and Gold, 2017). Also, potential hires from outside the organization
are identified to meet the need for human resources.
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Assessing the
current HR
capacity
Forecasting the
HR
requirements
Analysing the
manpower gap
Executing the
action plan
Monitoring,
control and
feedback

3. Analyzing the manpower gap – In this stage, manpower gap is analyzed by matching the
demand and supply of human resources. Hilton hotel develops a plan so that demand for
quality staff can be linked with available supply in the market. For this purpose, it offers
training sessions to existing employees as well as hires new candidates on the basis of
required skills and competencies. In case if demand of employees is higher than its
supply, then it is condition of deficit for which new recruitments have to be done by the
methods like internal or external sourcing i.e. transfers, promotions, campus selection,
etc. While, on the other hand, in case if supply of manpower is more than its demand then
this is the position of surplus for which company will have to reduce its workforce by
adopting strategies like termination, voluntary retirement, etc.
4. Executing the action plan – After identifying the staffing needs, talent strategies are
developed by Hilton hotel like recruitment and selection, training and development,
performance management and maintaining employee relations (Human resource
planning – Process steps, 2017).
5. Monitoring, control and feedback – After the implementation of all talent strategies and
hiring suitable employees for filling all vacant positions, the plan is evaluated in terms of
assessing whether it has helped Hilton hotel in attaining its set targets or not. These goals
are like increased production and profits, employee satisfaction and retention, etc. In case
of any deviations, feedback is taken from employees and accordingly, corrective
measures are made (Baum, 2016).
TASK 2
2.1 Assessing the current state of employment relations in the service sector of UK
Employee relations can be termed as relationship in between the employees and
employers focusing on individuals working in an organisation and their collective relationships
at workplace. The term ‘employee relations’ has been replaced with ‘industrial relations’ now-a-
days. As per CIPD viewpoint, under employee relations, high focus is given on supporting the
line managers so that high trust relationship with employees can be built and maintained.
Current state of Hilton hotel, UK is that it is maintaining healthy employment relations
with employees successfully. Hotel is strictly focusing on the culture and corporate standards
which can be seen in the formal attire and professional uniforms of staff members. In the year
1945, WFTU (World Federation of Trade Unions) was established which had a huge impact on
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hotel industry. Major objective of WFTU was to make initiatives for the welfare of workers with
protecting their rights and bringing all trade unions of hotel sector together. Later, with having
affiliation with WFTU, an international trade union was also established, objective behind which
was to make workers united and work for a common purpose (Rubel and et.al., 2018). Hilton
hotel is following all standards made for the safety of workers and keeping them satisfied with
offering high compensation and perks along with healthy working conditions.
In accordance with the Hilton’s current state of employment relations, it is clear that hotel
is focusing on:
 Grievance and Disciplinary Process – In case of any complaints received by
management of Hilton hotel that take place at workplace, these are being resolved with
the help of formal and informal meetings. Also, improved disciplinary mechanisms are
being used by the firm in which trade unions are involved to make satisfactory judgments
by devising and solving the issues of workers as per the codes of conduct of service
industry.
 Employee Engagement and Authorisation – To provide motivation as well as chances
of participating in decision making process is one of the major objectives of Hilton hotel
so that healthy relations with staff can be maintained (Wikhamn, 2018). This effort made
by the hotel helps in keeping staff feel valued as well as recognised and so, their
satisfaction level increased leading to reduce the chances of conflicts and grievances.
 Collective Bargaining and Negotiation – In case whenever a conflict takes place in
hotel, management of Hilton uses approach of collective bargaining and negotiation so
that it can be resolved with making effective judgment and both the parties satisfied.
Collective bargaining is a process in which trade union and employer; both are made
satisfied (Francis and Baum, 2018). Based on voluntary agreements, Hilton hotel take
decisions related to compensation, promotions and other employment terms in case of
conflicts were raised due to these reasons.
2.2 Impact of various employment laws on HRM in the UK with a focus on service sector
In Hilton hotel, HRM gets highly affected due to employment laws imposed by the
government. According to the laws and legislations made for service sector of UK, organisation
is dealing with all employment laws in order to provide a safe and healthy working environment.
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Some of these employment laws being followed by Hilton hotel and their impact on its human
resource management are:
Figure 2: Employment Laws in the UK
 The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 – As per the laws imposed by UK
government, Hilton hotel is liable to follow the primary piece of legislation in which all
laws related to health and safety of employees depending on the occupation they perform
in service industry are covered. For protecting the health and safety of workers, this
legislation plays a vital role (Murphy and et.al., 2018). This law supports the firm in
protecting employees against any hazards or risks related to their work that can bring
their life in danger like Hilton offers employment medical advisory service to its workers.
Thus, this act proves to be highly helpful in gaining the trust and loyalty from the side of
employees.
 Employment Relations Act 2000 – Hilton hotel is following this act to gain faith of
employees and run a fair process at workplace so that employees, employer and unions
will have healthy employment relations with each other. This is helping the hotel in
solving any issues of workforce related to the employment and thus, successful in
retaining them for longer span of time by providing high level of satisfaction to them
(Nieves and Quintana, 2018).
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EMPLOYMENT LAWS
The Equal
Pay Act 1963
The Health
and Safety at
Work Act
1974
Employment
Relations Act
2000

 The Equal Pay Act 1963 – Hilton hotel is very concerned about the norms like Fair
Labor Standards Act and it has made a lot of efforts to abolish the discrimination among
employees on the basis of their gender or sex. The hotel is offering equal wages to men
and women working there for the same work being performed by them along with
providing similar working conditions. The general rule of act is being followed by the
firm to pay equally to all genders if they are having same skills and responsibilities at
work (Omar and et.al., 2018). This is helping Hilton hotel to follow ethical standards at
work and thus, protecting itself from any kind of penalty or obligation.
TASK 3
3.1 Identifying a job title in Hilton hotel and its job description and person specification
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title – Human Resource Manager
Reporting To – General Manager
Position Summary:
To oversee the daily operations of Human Resource Office and being responsible for hiring
the best suitable candidates, maintaining healthy employee relations, organising events,
providing worker’s compensation and benefits with other employee related activities.
HR Manager’s Duties and Responsibilities:
 To perform activities like sourcing and recruitment of staff and performance
management.
 To adhere with the operational policies and processes of HR and make continuous
improvements.
 To evaluate employee’s morale on continuous basis by keeping an eye over the
absenteeism and turnover records.
 To deal with all matters of employee work permits in a coordinated manner.
 To organise effective training and development sessions time to time.
 To execute the policies of company based on compensation, benefits and incentives.
 To increase employee’s morale and maintain healthy relations by providing effective
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guidance to the leaders.
 To resolve the employee grievances and promote communication activities to
encourage them to provide feedback.
 To be responsible for taking care of all administrative and back office tasks.
Prerequisites:
Having effective written communication skills, a strong background in employment,
government regulations and policies as well as accident prevention with having ability to work
in a multi-cultural environment.
Education:
Must have Four-year college degree in Human Resources.
Complete knowledge regarding HR and Payroll Management Systems (HRIS Systems).
Well versed in Microsoft Office and online recruiting resources.
Experience:
Must have 5 years’ experience in HRM, preferably in hotel industry or,
1-2 years’ experience at the same designation in a 5 star hotel
PERSON SPECIFICATION
HR Manager
Qualifications
Essentials:
 Degree of BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) from a recognised university at
national level
Desirable:
 Degree of post-graduation in HRM
Experience
Essentials:
 4-5 years’ experience in HRM
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 Working with cross cultural teams
 To work under high pressure with a flexible approach
Desirable:
 Hiring candidates at all the positions in hotel
 Having advisory experience with contractual provisions
Technical Knowledge
Essentials:
 Knowledge of HR systems
 About employment laws
Desirable:
 Knowledge of payroll systems
Skills and Competencies
Essentials:
 Excellent communication skills
 Working with tight schedules and deadlines
 Strong skills of information technology
 Commercial awareness
Desirable:
 Attention to details
 High level of emotional intelligence
3.2 Comparing the selection process of Hilton hotel with another service business
Selection processes of British Airways and Hilton Hotel
British Airways Hilton Hotel
British Airways (BA) is the leading flag
carriers and airline of UK with having second
highest fleet size that gives due emphasis on
its selection process. If compared with other
firms of service industry of UK like Hilton
While, on the other hand, selection process
followed by Hotel Hilton is quite different. As
very much technicalities are not required to
have a job in this firm, the process is quiet
simple in comparison to BA.
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hotel, BA does not follow similar process of
getting a candidate selected on some vacant
position.
Step 1. Application form i.e. an online form is
given on the careers page on website of
British Airways which is to be filled by an
individual applying for the position of HR
manager.
Step 1. Hotel gives ads through print and
online media for inviting candidates for
having recruitment for the vacant positions
like in case of HR manager.
Step 2. Then, an interest form is to be filled
by the candidate if he/she has given positive
answers for all questions in the online form.
Step 2. Then, shortlisted candidates on the
basis of their CVs are then called for written
test that they are supposed to give online only
in which their knowledge regarding position
they applied for is assessed (Bratton and
Gold, 2017).
Step 3. Psychometric tests are to be given by
the candidates who have passed the previous
round.
Step 3. All those candidates who pass this test
are then called for personal interview (PI) that
is done by the Corporate HR Manager of
Hilton Hotel in which he evaluates the
knowledge, skills and abilities of individuals.
Step 4. All those candidates who have passed
the tests based on position for which they
have applied then asked for the interview
where they need to give answers of multiple
choice questions along with presentation
(Baum, 2016).
Step 4. Again the final interview session is
held for shortlisted candidates in the previous
round to get the final one by asking questions
based on their salary expectations and other
related.
Step 5. At last, those who got selected in
previous round, their background is referred
and if higher authorities are satisfied with
same, final selection of the candidate is made.
Step 5. Finally, the one with whom Corporate
HR Manager gets highly satisfied is briefed
out with all employment terms of Hilton hotel
offered with the joining letter.
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Therefore, overall it can be said that both the organizations are operating in service
industry but still their selection processes are not similar (Boella, 2017). Process to hire
candidates followed by Hilton hotel is complex and lengthy in comparison to that of British
Airways because of written test which candidates are supposed to give based on the position they
have applied for.
TASK 4
4.1 Training and development in Hilton hotel and its contribution in effective operations of
business
In the present scenario, training and development is that field which is concerned with
making performance of employees and organisation better as a whole. Major aim behind training
and development in Hilton hotel is to develop the human resources in such a way that firm will
remain competitive in the market. In this organisation, training is imparted to employees with an
objective to develop the human resources for current job and preparing them for future roles and
responsibilities (Kokkranikal and et.al., 2018). Further, its contribution in effective operations
can be understood by the following points:
 Rise in productivity and efficiency of employees: Training and development leads to
increase the productivity and efficiency of employees as with improved skills, abilities
and knowledge, they become able to perform their tasks in a fast and better manner.
 Highly motivated workforce: As training polishes the existing skills and knowledge of
employees, their motivational level increases and thus, to perform assigned tasks
becomes easy for them. Therefore, it can be said that training and development highly
contributes in the effective operations of Hilton hotel (Rubel and et.al., 2018). Company
is getting benefitted with same in a way that with rise in the skills and abilities, workforce
become confident enough to perform their tasks with higher efficiency and so,
productivity with quality increases. This ultimately leads increasing the goodwill and so,
in retaining customer base at large.
 Improved working culture of the organisation: Also, to have a healthy and positive
working culture in organisation, training and development is crucial as it translates the
information and knowledge into practice and leads to improve the management of people.
Company gets benefitted with healthy culture as people start working willingly with high
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coordination with each other which increases their morale and team spirit at workplace
that results in smooth flow of operations and meeting the deadlines timely.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that human resource management in service
industry plays a significant role as employees in these firms need to directly contact with
customers. Thus, it can be said that for Hilton hotel, it is crucial to focus on HRM practices like
recruitment and selection as well as training and development so that the best suitable people can
be hired and their skills and competencies can be increased that will result in satisfying and
retaining the customers for longer span of time with gaining their loyalty. It can be articulated
that appropriate use of HRM practices by Hilton hotel will help in reducing the costs and gaining
higher profits as well as market share.
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