Effective Human Resource Management at Travelodge UK: A Case Study

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes Travelodge UK's human resource management.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
TRAVELODGE UK

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is the activity of managing the human force in the business
organization. It is the process in which human force manage in such a manner that will help the
cause of business to achieve its goals and objectives effectively. Human resource is the most
important and irreplaceable asset for the business organization which can drive business
success and helps business to gain competitive advantages over its rival companies. This
assignment shows the importance of human resource management as well as the different roles
and activities played by the human resource in context to the business organization.
Travelodge UK hospitality business organization selected for the assignment as it is a very
popular hospitality business industry which has many hotels throughout the UK as well in many
countries. Travelodge hotel Ltd. Is a private business industry that operates hotels and
hospitality sector business in all over UK country. Travelodge is a very popular brand in the UK
and currently is 2nd largest and best rank hotel business industry measured by no. of hotels and
no. of rooms in a hotel.
Travelodge founded in 1985 at Barton-under-Needwood at A38 near Lichfield, Staffordshire and
now it currently has over 500 hotels in the UK, around 11 hotels in Ireland and approx. 5 Hotels
in Spain, Currently the headquarter of Travelodge is at Thame, England, UK under the
supervision of Keith Hamill (chairman) and Peter Gowers (CEO). Travelodge hotel currently has
over 11000 employees, works as part-time and full time in hotels, Travelodge generating
approx. £637m revenue shows the effectiveness of the human resource management process
in Travelodge as having over 11000 employees needed lots of planning and strategic decisions
with respect to human resource management.

LO1
1.1 ANALYZE THE ROLE AND PURPOSE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
IN TRAVELODGE UK
Effective HRM activity can drive any business to success. Effective HRM planning is necessary
to gain a competitive advantage over rival companies. There are various roles and purpose of
human resource management such as managing employees, recruiting and selection of new
employees, manage the financial needs of the human force, etc. in simple language
management of existing as well as new human resource is refers to as human resource
management and the person or individual authorized for handle all these activities refer to as
HR manager (Bamber et al., 2013).
The roles, purpose, and responsibilities of human resource management of Travelodge UK are:
 Human resource management of Travelodge UK is responsible for recruitment and
selection of employees for the business industry.
 Effectively create HR policies for the employees to maintain the work efficiency and
healthy environment in the Travelodge UK.
 Effectively manages the human resource within the business industry and transfer the
employees according to the need of the business industry (Burke, 2017).
 The HR department of Travelodge is responsible for making an effective HR plan to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the activities such as operational activities.
 Provide motivation and encourage for better work is another role of the HRM in
Travelodge UK.
Figure 1: Purpose of HRM within Travelodge UK

Source: Burke, 2017
Functions of HRM within Travelodge UK
Human resource management is the very important activity for the accommodation hospitality
as human resource is the main capital of the Travelodge hotel such as to attend customers,
provide them good food is all done by human resource, there is no new technology or
automation in this sector which makes human resource much more important (Greenland and
Irwin, 2014). Following are some functions of HRM in Travelodge UK:
Planning & Forecasting – Planning & forecasting is the important activity of Travelodge’s HRM
department as the managers of Travelodge is responsible for forecast and plan according to the
human resource needed for the business industry (Bailey et al., 2018).
Recruitment & Selection – After identifying the need of human resource within the Travelodge
UK the next function of the managers of the business industry is to fulfill the need for which
recruitment and selection activity is conducted in which managers seek and find effective
employee according to the requirement of the Travelodge UK (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
Contract of Employment – HR manager of Travelodge UK is responsible to create the contract
of employment for the employees which include minimum work duration, salary, etc. the
contract of employment serves as evidence for both companies as well as the employee
(Gepperte et al., 2016).
Training & Development – HRM department of Travelodge UK organize training and
development sessions for the employees to improve their skills and personality which motivates
them and improves their work also helps Travelodge to achieve its goals and objectives (Barros
and Couto, 2013).
Soft and Hard Skills
Soft skills Hard skills
Communication skill Proficiency in a foreign language
Flexibility Professional course
Leadership Deep knowledge
Teamwork Effective motivator

1.2 JUSTIFY A HUMAN RESOURCE PLAN BASED ON THE ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY
AND DEMAND FOR TRAVELODGE UK
For any business industry, it is important to effectively plan to fulfill the human resource needs
which require for the business organization. It is really necessary to plan ahead for the future to
manage the human resource that helps the business activities as in case of shortage of human
resource the planning can be really helpful (Hawkins, 2017). As in the hospitality business, the
importance of human resource is significance which makes the HR plan is mandatory for the
Travelodge UK.
The HR plan with respect to Demand and Supply and according to changing environment:
Forecasting Supply and Demand – The HR manager of Travelodge created HR plan in which
critically analyze how much human resource business will need in the coming future as well as
human resource supply to the various hotels of Travelodge (Hoel, 2013). Effective forecast
activity of demand and supply helps business to take down its rival industries.
Resource strategy – The business environment keeps changing day by day something new is
introduced in the business industry it is important to manage the resource of the business which
helps the business organization to significantly increase productivity (Kalyani and Sahoo, 2011).
The HR managers of Travelodge UK significantly plan for resources such as a plan to retain
existing employees etc. these help Travelodge to give effective results in a crisis situation.
Labour Turnover – The effective HR plan of Travelodge hotel significantly helps HR managers
to control the rate of Labour turnover and increase the effectiveness of the business
organization (Keep, 2014).
Flexibility – The HR plan should be flexible and created in a way as it can be applied in any
condition according to the situation of the business and its need. Flexibility is very important to
point of any plan as it gives business the luxury of being prepared for every situation (Larsen et
al., 2012).
Productivity – HR plan increases the productivity of the business organization. The HR plan
created by the HR managers of Travelodge UK covers all the aspects which require increasing
productivity and efficiency of the human resource of the business industry (Moser, 2012). For
example – Travelodge UK applied Custom fit operation in its plan which helps to understand the
need of the human resource as well as helps Travelodge to meet its expectations.

LO2
2.1 ASSESS THE CURRENT STATE OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN
TRAVELODGE HOTEL
Employee Relations
Employee relations refer to the corporate relationship between employees and employers. It is a
relation in which the company makes efforts to create a good relationship between employers
and employees (Nadler and Nadler, 2012). A good employee relation strategy makes the
environment of the business industry healthy and provides the job satisfaction to employees as
well as to employers that increase their productivity and results in a better commitment to their
works and remain devoted to the business industry (Phillips, 2012). The employee relation in
Travelodge hotel is very effective as managers and employee work together to provide better
customer’s service to their customer as well as give better results to the owner of the
Travelodge UK.
There is so much change within 30 years for the business industry as in respect to Travelodge
UK, in 1985 business have only 1 hotel now it has over 500 and the no. of employees also
increased significantly as Travelodge UK today has approx. 11000 employees (Phillips, 2012).
The employees 30 years ago were pretty much satisfied in Travelodge as the technology is not
so much developed like today, a customer came to the hotel generally to attend functions and
rarely been to the hotel for vacations for which employees provide better quality and create a
healthy environment for the customers. But now with the development of so many technologies
employees needs to aware of all the technologies which uses in Hotels such as Wi-Fi, automatic
Air-conditioners, Digital TVs etc. from 1985 to 2015 and so with respect to change in the
working culture, the culture of the employees and working pattern their mindsets also
significantly changed (Stainback and Tomaskovic-Devey, 2012).
Regulation of EU and UK
With the introduction of various regulations with respect to human resource in the business
industry, Travelodge UK gives special attention to the needs and job satisfaction of the
employees, as the regulations of the EU and UK work for the safety of the employees

(Stainback and Tomaskovic-Devey, 2012). some of the regulations which provide a better
environment for the employees:
 Minimum Wage act 1998
 Age discrimination act 2010
 Pay Holiday 1938
 Pay Discrimination 1970
These are the acts which serve the safety for the employees and increase their productivity as
well as the efficiency of work.
Concepts
Following are the concepts which show the employment relation in Travelodge UK
Collective bargaining – Collective bargaining is a concept which introduces by the trade union
in which employee group negotiates with the employers or managers for the fulfill the needs by
modifying the working conditions or policies (Nadler and Nadler, 2012). The demands of the
employees basically represent the demand of the whole employee of business industry.
Employee participation – Travelodge UK treats its employees as an important part of the
business industry. The business includes their employee for various business meetings, the
decision-making process in which their decisions are deeply appreciated as well for good
decisions business industry give them rewards. Employee participation increases motivations
for the employees.
Trade union – Trade union is the group of people who represent the whole employee of the
organization to negotiate their requirement with managers and employers (Usanmaz, 2011). A
trade union in the past and now is totally changed as with the introduction of new technologies
trade union is pretty much overshadowed as the HR manager use effective strategies to fulfill
the needs of employees.
Pluralistic approach
This approach believes that there is more than one power which affects the relationship of
employee and the leader. In this approach, unions refer to a central component which aims to
maintain the balance between employees and leadership (Usanmaz, 2011).

Unitary approach
This approach shows that all the employees and management shares the same goal as well as
the same working plan. Any change in the working plan results in the poor performance and
wrong approach as the approach is not that flexible (Wagener and Ison, 2014).

2.2 & M1 DISCUSS HOW EMPLOYMENT LAW AFFECTS THE MANAGEMENT OF
HUMAN RESOURCE IN TRAVELODGE UK
The rules and regulations of the UK government protect the rights of the employees and
encourage them for better work. The government ensures the safety of the employees within
the organization with their rules and regulations. Following are the employment laws which are
followed by Travelodge UK.
Age Discrimination Act – This act ensures that employee not mistreated with respect to their
age as they protect the right in which any individual no matter what is their age get the equal
importance as any other employee (White and Klinner, 2012). Travelodge equally treated all
their employees and protect their rights.
Minimum Wage Act – Travelodge UK ensures that minimum level workers get minimum wage
which is determined by the government of the UK government as they get minimum paid to fulfill
their basic needs for better living (Werner and DeSimone, 2011).
Pay Holiday act – The Act makes sure that employee gets enough time for themselves as well
as this act make sure that employee gets 1 week paid leave in a year to get time for
themselves. Travelodge applied this act within their working process as well give additional
benefits (Werner and DeSimone, 2011).
Pay Discrimination Act – Travelodge hotel gives special attention to the respected act as they
give equal importance to men and women and pays according to their work and designation.
Travelodge makes sure that there is no dissemination made within their hotels as they believe in
protecting the rights of the employees.

LO3
3.1 DISCUSS A JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION FOR
TRAVELODGE HOTEL
The HRM department aims to provide better customer satisfaction to the customers of the
Travelodge UK. The Travelodge hotel aims to the fine the perfect candidate for the manager
post which is required for the Travelodge UK (Phillips, 2012). The manager is an important
designation for the Travelodge as it is referred to as the main body of the hotel. Following are
the job description of the Manager post of Travelodge UK.
Manager at Glasgow Central Job Description
Company Name: Travelodge UK
Department: Glasgow Central
Band: Management
Job Purpose
Very great opportunities for the who seek a job to developing their skills as well as boost career
in Travelodge UK Glasgow Central. The candidates must know the customer satisfaction talent
and make sure helping customers to enjoy their time on the hotel as well as they need to provide
the best customers services for the Travelodge UK.
Very good chance for the job seeker to apply for the Travelodge hotel as they can be a part of
Travelodge family which gives them a very good environment of work as well as chance to prove
their potential and gain very important learning in their life (Moser, 2012).
We are looking for a candidate who knows how to satisfy the customer with their different
satisfaction skills as well as try to solve their queries and also have good communication skill
and talent to lead their subordinates. Also, Candidate must possess a professional skill which
can be used in as a Manager in Travelodge hotel.
Principle Accountabilities
- Ensure the safety of the customers as well as employees of the Travelodge hotel.
- Become the role model for the employees as they will motivate towards work.
- Ensures that customer gets the utmost level of satisfaction by providing them their
required needs to enjoy their time in the hotel.
- Ensures that employees as well himself follow all the rules and regulations which is