Hrm Practices In Hotel Industry In Australia Management Essay

Hrm Practices In Hotel Industry In Australia Management Essaythither has been widening recognition that charitable resource prudence strategies (HRM) impact organisational af true(p)ing and overall effectiveness instigateicularly in the overhaul perseverance where strategicalal HR charges sewer contri besidese to competitive edge (Cheng Brown, 1998). The cordial reception and touristry pains essentially comprises a service and production sector and with the abundant emphasis on service reference, people essentially represent the wide-cut pains. The success of the pains is dependant on the calibre of its employees and how they be managed in order to overhaul the organisation get to its objectives. HRM causes in smaller organisations atomic event 18 given comparatively a impoverisheder-rankinger priority with life-sizedr hospitality organisations. (Kelliher Johnson, 1987) contrive recorded studies to rede that even super hotels harbour not stock-st ill excogitateed a model for HRM moreover is moving away from force out management in the past two decades. The major challenges set about by the hospitality constancy and organisations inside this industry ar that the industry is cognise for poor pay and custom conditions and a low take-up of HR practices. It is besides generally believed that the industry has relied extensively on low- toll, numerically plastic and disposable organiseforce. Within the Australian context, at that place has been controversy regarding the extent to which organisations ar moving away from a low wage, low-road border on to HRM exemplified by naughty levels of contingent labor party towards a more systematic amply loading approach consistent with carryally on the table, enabling officiate practices (Angela Knox Walsh, 2005). The key issues that baffle central implications for strategic HRM are the casualisation of the workforce and extravagantly employee disturbance at bottom t he industry and human resource managers need to utilise practices that enable them to bedevil flexibility with respect to study contracts and casual beat back and excessively submit strategic objectives to compress the steep employee overturn. This report attempts to identify the key issues deep down the Hospitality and tourism industry like casualisation of the workforce, employee turnover and its implications for strategic human resource management. The report to a fault discusses the case of Marriott internationalistic Inc., a large hotel chain operating within Australia and world over and attempts to identify if in that respect are trends of best practices within its HR department which derriere be applicable to the entire industry.2. HRM practices in Hotel industry in Australia(Lockyer Scholaris, 2004) breedinged a check up on that revealed that there was a lack of systematic natural selection procedures in the hotel industry particularly the small hotels and the larger hotel chains were having difficulties meeting the acquires imposed by the cranch foodstuff and other recruitment constraints. HR practiti atomic form 53rs must have a tacit knowledge of a hotels local labour market and guest base to be able to make strategic selection procedures. Recruiting and selecting staff members is essential to an organisation and since the hospitality industry is largely a service industry, the employees should likewise be considered as assets. Hiring practices in Australia have move from traditional methods (advertising, walk-ins, selection interviews, reference checking, etc.) to more strategic approaches like realizeworking, midland labour market, behavioural interviewing, targeted selection, etc. Australian hospitality industry trends educe that there is more internal recruitment within organisations and internal recruitment is inclusive of transfers and promotions of casual and part time staff. Recruiting methods in Australia are seen to be predominantly strategic but less innovative. Australian hotels place spirited emphasis on the recruitment and selection process to attempt to clip employee turnover and there is a large number of casual labour hired in particular amongst the young because of the ease of entry.Consequently it can also be recognised that effective education and ontogenesis practices within the service industries is imperative to providing a unique and differentiating standard of service, enabling increased gainfulness and bottom line results. According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), the hospitality and tourism industry is the largest sector and effective HR practices like educational activity and remuneration and will benefit the organisation succinctly through their death penalty (Taylor Davies, 2004). Australian hotels use a number of methods to identify the dressing need of the employees by usually analysing guest comment cards, consultation sessions amongst employees etc. The industry being highly labour intensive poses a major proletariat for the management of this labour as the product delivery is conversely base on the effectiveness and manner in which service is delivered within the industry.The hotel industry is partnerd with long, unsociable hours and poor working conditions suck ups the poor pay, low skills and lack of race opportunities as characteristics that influence the gainion, development and retention of managers.(OLeary Deegan, 2005), (G. Martin Woldring, 2001). at that placefore a high emphasis must also be laid on the development of managers. (Brophy Keily, 2002) developed a competency framework for middle level hotel managers by mapping these to the key results states of customer care, quality and standards, managing staff, achieving profitability and growing the dividing line. They highlight the grandness of operational activities for middle managers, concurring with the finding of (Watson McCracken, 2002)and (Watson, McCracken, Hughes, 2004)Another area of importance is motion management and most hotels practice procedures like the motion development plan (PDP) which involves employee feedback and input and are integrated into the performance idea plan (Cheng Brown, 1998). The practices adopted in Austrlian hospitality firms are a combination of egotism appraisal in conjunction with supervisor subordinate military rank. This practice has been widely adopted by a number of Australian firms because it is sensed to be a more balanced assessment of the employees but a strategic and component partal practice which can be adopted is the 360 floor feedback because this is a service oriented industry and the feedback from customers and peers would certainly benefit the evaluation of an employees performance.There is also an underlying practice amongst Australian hotel industry employers regarding rent out relations and they engage right off in firm-level bargaining with trade mergers. The Australian hotel industry was measure upd by poor union participation but in recent years, inference from (Angie Knox Nickson, 2007) suggests that this is not the case especially in larger firms. The union representation of this industry approximates about 37 percent dumbness according to Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. Wages and mesh conditions are regulated by efficaciously enforceable awards and Australian hotels are regulated by a combination of federal awards and collective agreements (Angie Knox Nickson, 2007). This in turn has a cascading effect on the type of trading human relationship in existence and also introduces the issues pertaining to the hiring of causal labour, part time concern of majority of the entry level service jobs and also the prominent puzzle of employee retention.The most significant challenge faced by HR practioners is to work effectively with other function managers within the hotel to create integrative plans that help the firms achieve their business objectives and to link the strategic goals of the Human Resource function to that of the other departments and the organisation as a whole (Tracey Charpentier, 2004). This involves intensive practices of corporeal Social Responsibility implemented by the HR function but aligned with the organisational objectives. The interest in business ethics in Australia has also increased with significant research being conducted not tho on the role of the HR function but also its ethical implementation. There is a low consensus among HR managers in translating ethical principles into organisational practice and strategic HRM helps to implement these principles and minimise the deficit in transfer of knowledge. Business ethics and the role of HRM is significant here as it includes the concept of productivity, profitability, efficiency and effectiveness in achieving the organizations basic purposes, comply with legal requirements, or, alternatively, that they succeed in avoiding legal threats and to improve quality of work life, to ensure fairness in policies, and to parent harmonious relationships between management and workers. Therefore strategic HRM is outstanding to achieve organisational goals and therefore achieve better firm performance (A. Martin, Mactaggart, Bowden, 2006). This sort of strategical HRM practices can be seen in the case analysed below of Marriott global Inc. which is a large international hotel chain also operating within Australia.3. Marriott world(prenominal) Inc.The case of Marriott International Inc. illustrates some best practice principles which have resulted in the organisation being awarded the employer of choice awards a number of times and determined 50th in a jumper cable newspaper as the opera hat Company to Work For. Marriott uses its employees as a brand differentiation dodging as revealed by their surveys with employees which was the outstanding service qualities delivered by the employee s. Marriott International Inc. has an organisational coating of spirit to serve whereby they use a three stage approach to implementing these strategies. Training programs lasting five days are conducted on a closeic alkali for their leaders and managers and have a map of customer expectations created and a plan to exceed those predicted expectations. Managers are given techniques to improve self motivation and that of their team through imperative attitude including visualisation, writing goals down, and positive vocabulary. They are also equipped with culture change to drive their business. They also deliver 15 minute training sessions that cover major aspects of job quality and also have a daily basics training that covers on one of the basics to deliver good products. Marriott has recognised that the only way to deliver the brand is through their people (Anonymous, 2003).Marriott is committed to fair come up toment of associates and to providing training and advancement opp ortunities to all employees. Diversity is also an important policy in Marriott. The company believes that this is the way they attract, develop and conceal gift people. Such diversity is not only within group, but also applies to suppliers, customers, owners and so on. Marriott states that one of major efforts are devoted to recognize associate hard work, appropriate health care, and create opportunity for growth and go development. The company is trying to build an associate-centered environment. Therefore, it provides a total compensation packet which include Medical, Dental, Life, and Disability Insurance Annual Salary Increases 401(k) Retirement nest egg Plan Continuing Education/Tuition Reimbursement Hotel Room and Food deglutition Discounts Ongoing Training and Career Development Marriott International Inc has a chunk corporate culture there are also holistically planned HR policies, although there are different emphases between those formal corporate culture and HR p olicies (Fu Liu, 2005). Marriott award their employees with the highest award, which is the J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence and the selection is made from over 300,000 employees (Anonymous, 1996). The company also awards employees on their excellence towards corporate social indebtedness with the Alice S. Marriott Award for Community Service which goes to show their efforts towards building an ethical and socially responsible organisation through their spirit to serve our community efforts (Anonymous, 2003). Marriott International Inc., also has programs with its low-skilled, low-wage workers to offer them opportunities with day care, English classes, and other social go for loyalty, enthusiasm, and a low turnover rate. Employee stock options are also part of the package. This is one instance where the self-interest of low-skilled, low-wage employees coincides with the self-interest of their employer (Bethesda, 2009). It can clearly be noted here that considering the leve ls of the casual workforce in Australia, Marriott has made arrangements to attract and retain even these types of employees. Since, Marriott, have recognised that the hospitality industry is a labour-intensive service industry, depending for its success on the social and technical skills of its personnel, their tact and hard work, their commitment and attitude, they have created a conducive environment to treat their internal customers with priority and it permeates to all the HR functions.4. Casualisation of the workforce in AustraliaThe Australian context of the tourism and hospitality industry has been characterised by casual employment which has been permitted under labour regulation with concerns of it being precarious (Campbell Brosnan). (Wooden Warren, 2004) also emphasises that this is one of the distinctive features of the Austrlian labour market and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data suggest that just over 27 percent of all employees were employed on a casua l basis. Australian Employment law Guide reports that this fortune has been progressively increasing in the past 5 years as shown in Appendix 1 in terms of the number of labour hours worked. Milman suggests that 51.3 percent of teens are employed on a casual basis within the hospitality tourism and retail industries which is a significantly large number of casual workers. On the other hand (Angela Knox Walsh, 2005) suggests that research shows that a number of managers are employing irregular and casual workers and, to a lesser extent, underemployed employees, as come up as female, ethnic minority and immigrant labour.The increased number of casual employees is largely filled by young workers especially in the Food and Beverage outlets, Banquets and Housekeeping. There is almost no qualification demand for these entry level puzzles and employees are usually trained on the job. The employment of temporary and casual workers is shaped by fluctuations in customer demand and the size and number of extra events and functions that are scheduled during the day and nasty labour cost-control practices are considered to be a key characteristic of HRM in the Australian hotel industry. These characteristics have been the primary reason for the employment of causal and temporary workers based on demand. This form of employment can be seen as employment that falls under Total Quality Management, where employment is on the basis of production, or in this case service demands.As labour regulation has developed, casual employment has come to be firmly introduce in labour regulation. Casual employment has a number of characteristics regardless of the industry being examined and this can be further reiterated by the laws that provide for casual and temporary employment. The Australian Employment Guide says that it is important to write out casual contracts from continuing contracts because by definition casual contracts impose no obligation on either party to continu e the relationship. Each period of hiring is distinct and severable and any continuing relationship does not sloshed in law a continuing contract. In casual contracts, therefore, there is a work/pay bargain that provides no continuity of employment, and consequently no obligation on the employer to provide, or continue to provide, work and directly ties work, output or time spent to the rate of pay. This is so whether the reputation of the payment is on a piece-work or time-rate basis.The issues here that develop as a direct consequence of this descriptor of employment include but are not special to greater job insecurity, low pay, limited opportunities for career progression, unsatisfactory working hours, low levels of access to work-related training and low levels of union representation. Even though the union membership has increased significantly over the past few years within the hospitality industry, the union membership for casual employees is virtually non existent. Woo den conducted research which provides conclusive evidence that although there are negative attributes of casual employment, it is extremely misleading to characterise non-standard jobs as sub-standard jobs. It thus follows that initiatives intended to inhibit the diversity of employment options that are available to employers will often not result in changes in working arrangements that will be unambiguously preferred by employees.If Australia wishes to develop a committed, highly skilled workforce, it must offer jobs which are reassure and where the employees receive benefits commensurate with their skills and experience in other words the many an(prenominal) holes in the legislative and administrative framework need to be tightened up so that casual work is not abused. The practices used by Marriott International Inc. as described earlier have been very useful in preserving the ethical integrity of casual employment within the hospitality industry in Australia and even hotels li ke Hilton offer its employees a work at home option to improve both company as well as employee growth and performance. The research findings of (Angela Knox Walsh, 2005) also suggest that a number of recent studies have challenged the notion that the hotel industry takes an unequivocally low-road approach to employment and HRM matters and this reflects insights from research studies on the hotel industry that suggest that differences in employer policy and practice whitethorn well reflect variations in organisational size and market position. As in the case of Marriott which is a large company with 300, 000 employees and with percentage of net profit to be 14.4 percent (appendix 2), the company size and market position have allowed it to take the high road and utilise the HRM function as a source of competitive improvement and align it consistently with the business strategy, goals and objectives.5. Staff retention and high turnoverThe Australian hospitality and tourism industry not unlike the rest of the world is notably a highly labour intensive industry with employees often taking on varying degrees of work load and pressure within the service construct. Employees, especially entry level, casual, part time and temporary employees are often faced with high pressure work systems where performance is given considerable importance which has direct impacts on firm performance on the whole. Most leading hotel chains even have regulations on grooming standards and codes of conduct of employees and employees can be dismissed based on those grounds. This puts added pressure on the workers which can lead to an increased percentage of staff turnovers.The prominent issue that arises from high staff turnover is naturally increased personnel costs incurred because of recruiting and training new replacements, but the turnover analysis is often ignored within the Australian hospitality industry as it is seen as a clandestine cost and is considered a normality within th e industry itself (Cheng Brown, 1998)(Dibble, 1999) suggests that turnover may be caused by personal or personality factors, family issues, work, team relations, as well as organisational structure and strategic human resource practices. (Cheng Brown, 1998)Cheng and dark-brown here suggest that HR practices should pervade every HR function and the organisation itself to reduce the turnover within the industry. Organisations that employ more flexible HR practices have a greater probability to induce low employee turnover. (Davies, Taylor, Savery, 2001) conducted research in hotels in western Australia that enlightened the fact that although researchers have long spoken about the numerous HR functions like training, performance appraisal, remuneration, employee development and their effect in reducing turnover, the most prominent function that indicates an improvement in quality, productivity and reduced employee turnover is the training function. Employees relish empowered and c ommitted to the organisation for the training received by them. The kind of training within the hotel industry can be skills acquisition, performance management training, leadership and development etc. Although the current economic crisis has increased the accessibility of talented labour for the hospitality it is still imperative to integrate HRM functions to retain employees within the organisation.6. RecommendationsThe HRM department of Australian hospitality and tourism industry although strategic in their approach towards their function, needs to adapt to the increasing demands of the industry and the high increase in casual work force. HR managers need to conduct substanstiative training and development activities to empower even their casual staff to reduce turnover and utilise employees as a source of competitive advantage for firms. They need to align their strategy with the goals and objectives of the organisation itself so as to be able to recruit and select appropriate employees whether it is causal, part time or full time employees. Increasing the benefits and compensation given to employees also reduces the turnover in the industry as clearly indicated by the Marriott case. Providing low cost benefits for casual employees and training reduces the annual turnover and increases firm performance.7. ConclusionThe Australian hotel industry is highly dynamic and has various attributes to it most significant of those are the casualisation of the workforce and high turnover. The recommendations put to practice certainly aides organisations perform better and reduces the negative implications for the HR department within these organisations. Taking a High road approach and focussing on delivery of quality helps the HR managers to focus on training and development of the employees and to increase higher(prenominal) commitment from them. The areas of significant change likely within the hospitality industry are technology, power paradigms, training and de velopment, compensation programs, employee relations and family, social and work life balance. These areas need to be facilitated by the Human resource managers by integrating their practices to ensure high firm performance and low turnover by empowering employees.