HR MANAGEMENT IN HOTEL INDUSTRY – HOTEL HR PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

HR MANAGEMENT IN HOTEL INDUSTRY – HOTEL HR PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

The human resources department serves no customers, books no business, yet it plays a very important role in the hotel’s efficient operation.

The three major functions of the human resources department are employee recruitment, benefits administration and training. The director of human resources is expected to be an expert on labor laws and to advise managers in other departments. The human resources department’s major challenge is in its interactions with other hotel departments. Although the human resources department recruits, interviews and screens prospective employees, the final hiring decision rests within the department in which the employee will be working. The same is true of promotion and disciplinary decisions. The human resources department’s input is, in most hotels, limited to advice and interpretation of legal questions. The human resources department’s effectiveness depends on its manager’s ability to form effective working relations with managers of other departments.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT PRACTICES USED IN HOTEL INDUSTRY

§  Recruitment and selection – recruiting and selecting staff with the correct attitudinal and behavioral characteristics of human resources department.

§  Retention – the need to avoid the development of a ‘turnover culture’ which is common in hospitality industry. For example, the use of ‘retention bonuses’ to influence employees to stay.

§  Teamwork – the use of cross-process and multifunctional teams.

§  Training and development – the need to equip operative level staff with team working and interpersonal skills and managers with new leadership style is another responsibility of human resources department.

§  Appraisal – having appraisals in the form of customer evaluation, peer review, team-based performance, and appraisal of managers by subordinates is also a responsibility of human resources department.

§  Rewarding quality – a need for more creative system of rewards and payment systems that reward employees for attaining quality goals.

§  Job security

§  Employee involvement and employee relations