Employability Skills in Hospitality: A Travelodge Case Study

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes employability skills at Travelodge.

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
TRAVELODGE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................2
TASK 1...................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 SET OF OWN RESPONSIBILITIES AND PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES................................3
1.2 OWN EFFECTIVENESS AGAINST DEFINED OBJECTIVES...................................................4
1.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT....................................................................4
1.4 HOW MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUES CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF
PERFORMANCE.....................................................................................................................5
TASK 2...................................................................................................................................... 8
2.1 SOLUTIONS TO WORK-BASED PROBLEMS......................................................................8
2.2 COMMUNICATE IN A VARIETY OF STYLES AND APPROPRIATE MANNER........................9
2.3 EFFECTIVE TIME-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES..............................................................11
TASK 3.................................................................................................................................... 13
3.1 ROLES PEOPLE PLAY IN A TEAM AND HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE
SHARED GOALS...................................................................................................................13
3.2 TEAM DYNAMICS..........................................................................................................14
3.3 ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO COMPLETE TASKS AND ACHIEVE TEAM GOALS......................15
TASK 4.................................................................................................................................... 16
4.1 TOOLS AND METHODS FOR DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS.........................16
4.2 APPROPRIATE STRATEGY FOR RESOLVING THE PROBLEM OF LABOUR TURNOVER.....17
4.3 THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY.........18
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 20
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 21
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INTRODUCTION
An employee could excel in their job role when they have adequate knowledge and
experience regarding the field. The knowledge and experience help the employee in
meeting their roles and responsibilities in an effective manner. Moreover, it could be stated
that the role of employability skills have been vital for the employee in attaining a
substantial position in the organization (Hind and Moss, 2012). A study has been conducted
in order to gain information and knowledge regarding different attributes related to
employability skills. The study helps in assessing the responsibilities and performance of the
employee along with the development of the interpersonal and transferable skills. Further,
the dynamics of teamwork are evaluated and suitable strategies are developed for solving
the problems. The knowledge and information which would be attained through the study
would help in understanding the areas for improvising the employability skills in an
appropriate manner.
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TASK 1
A report has been developed which discuss the responsibilities and performance objectives
of the Hotel General Manager in Travelodge. In addition, the report evaluates the personal
effectiveness against the objectives along with the recommendations for improvement.
Moreover, the motivation techniques are reviewed for improving the quality of
performance.
1.1 SET OF OWN RESPONSIBILITIES AND PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES
The General Manager of Travelodge is considered as the key component of the organization
and has a major responsibility in the organization's functioning. Moreover, the General
Manager plays a key role in maintaining a healthy relationship with the customers that
further build customer loyalty. There are several responsibilities of the General Manager in
Travelodge such as:
 The complete functioning and operations of Travelodge are managed by the General
Manager.
 Assisting the hotel management team in conducting recruitment and selection.
 Effectively conducting the management of hotel staff, marketing and sales, and
finance and budget.
 Moreover, the General Manager also possess administrative role and oversee the
other managers and departments.
 There are employment legislation, ethics, employment rights and responsibilities
which are important for the General Manager to follow such as the Minimum Wage
Act 1998, Employment act 2002, etc.
Moreover, there are certain performance objectives which are important for the General
Manager to meet so that they could carry their responsibilities effectively. There are some
performances objectives which are mentioned below that are essential for the General
Manager such as:
 Healthy communication with the customers and staff members
 Development of effective policies
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 Directing and tracking employee performance
 Delivering high customer satisfaction
1.2 OWN EFFECTIVENESS AGAINST DEFINED OBJECTIVES
It is sheer responsibility of the General Manager of Travelodge that they effectively meet
the performance objectives of the organization. I effectively assess my skills and abilities
against the performance objectives in order to evaluate the areas where major
improvement is required.
I evaluate that the role of communication has been significant in the functioning and
operations of Travelodge. My communication skills are average which requires substantial
improvement so that the performance objectives could be met. The healthy communication
in Travelodge is vital as it assists in explaining the responsibilities to the hotel staff. Also,
communication with customers could be effective due to it (Shockley-Zalabak, 2014).
My decision-making skills lack a certain level which requires high attention so that the
certain performance objectives could be met adequately. It has been evaluated that
effective decision-making skills assist in building the organizational policies suitably. In
addition, the skills are helpful in assessing employee performance and further taking
appropriate action for their improvement.
The success and growth of Travelodge have been dependent on their customers such that it
is essential to maintain a healthy relationship with the customers. My interaction with the
customers is carried at a small level which needs to be improved. Adequate interaction with
the customers results in high customer satisfaction.
1.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT
It is important that suitable actions should be taken by me for improving the skills and
abilities so that the performance objectives of Travelodge could be met effectively. The
areas which require improvement are communication skills, decision-making skills, and
interpersonal skills.
Initially, the communication skills would be improved by me so that the key performance
objective of Travelodge could be met. I would be participating in training programs for
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improvising my communication skills. The training program would be completed in a time
duration of 2 months.
Further, the next focus is on improving my decision-making skills. The role of decision-
making skills in Travelodge has been significant and it could be done through dealing in
situations with logical and analytical challenges (Guffey and Loewy, 2010). In addition, the
seniors in Travelodge would also monitor my progress and give their feedback so that I
could make a significant improvement. The process would take around a time period of one
month.
At last, the inter-personal skills would be improved through the help of a suitable training
program where I would be participating in different activities which would help in
improvising the inter-personal skills. The effective inter-personal skills would help me in
maintaining healthy interaction with the customers which help in attaining their loyalty. The
high customer loyalty would help Travelodge in gaining effectiveness in the business.
1.4 HOW MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUES CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE
QUALITY OF PERFORMANCE
The role of performance quality in Travelodge has been significant and it is essential that the
performance quality should be high. There are various motivational techniques whose
application would help in improvising the quality of performance. The key motivational
models are Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg Two Factor Theory, etc. The major focus
of these motivational models is on fulfilling the needs which improvise the quality of
performance.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is considered as the most potential model as it effectively
manages and handles the need of the employee. There are five stages in which the model
has been segmented such as Physiological needs, Safety needs, Love and belongingness
needs, Esteem needs, and Self-actualization needs. The role of a manager in the application
of Maslow's Hierarchy of Model has been huge as they understand the needs of the
employees as per the stage and take suitable action to fulfil them.
In addition to this, there are other motivational techniques also which could be utilized in
order to improve the quality of performance effectively. The manager could provide
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incentives and bonuses to the employees for exceptional performances so that their
motivational level remains high and further encouraged them.
It could be stated from the report that it is essential for the manager that they improve their
skills and abilities adequately in order to meet the performance objectives of the
organization. The assessment of the personal skills against the performance objectives helps
in understanding the improvement areas. There are various approaches which could be
utilized for gaining improvement. In addition to this, the application of suitable motivational
techniques is helpful in improving the quality of performance at a huge level.
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TASK 2
2.1 SOLUTIONS TO WORK-BASED PROBLEMS
Travelodge has been a growing hospitality organization who has been growing in a rapid
manner. Still, there are certain work-based problems which possess a significant impact on
the organization. It is essential for the manager that the work-based problems should be
managed and handled in an effective manner. The two work-based problems which are
faced in Travelodge are ineffective communication and interpersonal skills. The manager
should apply a suitable solution in order to handle them.
The ineffective communication occurred in Travelodge among the manager and hotel staff
which impacts the functioning and operations at a significant level. The manager of
Travelodge could carry verbal and non-verbal communication with the hotel staff in order to
maintain healthy communication. In addition to this, the utilization of ICT in Travelodge
could assist the manager in building healthy communication. The regular meetings between
the manager and hotel staff are also helpful in improving communication.
The next problem is ineffective inter-personal skills of the hotel staff which possess a huge
threat to the brand image of Travelodge. The customers of Travelodge will be avoiding
visiting the hotel as the inter-personal skills of the hotel staff is not effective (Lowden et al.,
2011). The manager could conduct a training program for the hotel staff so that their social
and interpersonal skills could be improvised. In addition to this, the healthy communication
skills among the hotel staff would also be helpful in managing the problem effectively.
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2.2 COMMUNICATE IN A VARIETY OF STYLES AND APPROPRIATE
MANNER
FORMAL LETTER
Senior Management
Travelodge UK
London, UK
Subject – Attention of Senior Management toward Work-based Problems
Dear Sir,
Travelodge has been growing in a rapid manner and have been building a potential name in
the market of the UK. The market growth and development of the organization has resulted
in a positive influence on the brand image of the organization. Still, there are certain
problems related to work which could impact the effectiveness of the organization. The
major problems are ineffective communication skills and interpersonal skills. The
inefficiency of the employability skills in the organization possess an adverse effect on the
productivity of the organization and further impacts the customers.
There are certain strategies which could be applied in order to manage and handle the
work-based problems such as training and development programs along with suitable
assistance. The existing communication skills of the hotel staff are not effective which result
in complex situations and influence the relationship with the customers. The training and
development programs would be helpful in improvising the communication skills of the
employees. In addition to this, the existing inter-personal skills of the employees are not
potent which possess a huge threat to the organization's image in the market. It results in
difficulty during interaction with the customers and also impacts the effectiveness of the
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organizational operations. The employees should possess adequate knowledge regarding
professionalism and also have an adequate understanding of interpersonal skills. It is
essential that suitable training and development programs should be conducted for the
employees so that this problem could be managed and handled adequately. The
organization could improve its communication channels with the employees so that healthy
communication could be developed between them. It would encourage healthy operations
and also assist in overcoming the problems effectively.
Hotel Manager
Travelodge UK
London, UK
Contact – xxxxx
Email – [e-mail]
February 01, 2019
MEMO
Travelodge
London, UK
Memo Date – 06 February, 2019
To: Employees
From: General Manager
CC: Senior Management
Subject: Solving Issue Regarding Communication and Inter-personnel skills
It has been evaluated that the communication and interpersonal skills of the hotel staff in
Travelodge has been incompetent and it requires serious actions in order to overcome the
challenge effectively. Considering the current scenario, a risk assessment and quality
management practices are carried so that the situation could be handled. It is important for
every staff member of the Travelodge that they are aware of the practices.
A training program has been conducted for the hotel staff from 01/02/2019 to 09/02/2019.
It is important for every department head that they ensure that their employees attend the
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activities.
The organization has been optimistic that every department and employees would be
cooperative in ensuring healthy functioning at the workplace
Regards
General Manager
2.3 EFFECTIVE TIME-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
The functions and operations of the organization are carried effectively when they are done
with help of time-management strategies. In Travelodge, the role of time-management
strategies has been major and it is essential for the manager that they identify appropriate
time-management strategies for the hotel in order to attain effectiveness. The major time-
management strategies which could be utilized by the manager are:
Prioritising workload
The manager should ensure that the tasks are carried in the desired manner such that a
diary could be utilized so that the progress of the task could be assessed. Also, it would be
helpful in avoiding the situation of procrastination (Madsen, 2018).
Setting work objectives
It is essential in the work that the objectives should be clear among the staff members. The
Manager should clearly explain the work objectives to the head of the departments and
hotel staff so that they could work appropriately (Madsen, 2018).
Making and keeping appointments
The appointments should be managed by the Manager through effective time-management
skills as it will help in carrying the work in an appropriate manner. Also, it will be helpful for
Travelodge in gaining new heights in the business (Madsen, 2018).
Working steadily rather than erratically
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The multi-tasking in Travelodge should be avoided and it is the responsibility of the manager
that they ensure that the works are carried in a steady manner. Also, regular monitoring of
the performance of hotel staff should be conducted (Madsen, 2018).
A reliable estimate of task time
The Manager should develop SMART goals so that the tasks could be completed in a
suitable period of time. Also, a contingency plan should be developed by the Manager for
avoiding any inevitable situations (Madsen, 2018).
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