Introduction
Achieving sustainability is one of the critical human resource management principles to firms in the hospitality industry (Hollingworth 2012). There are various levels of sustainability, which include economic, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability. In the course of their operation, firms are increasingly focusing at achieving various forms of sustainability.
It is vital for hotel managers to ensure that guests are satisfied, as a high level of guest satisfaction is likely to increase a hotel’s customer base, hence achieving financial or economic sustainability. However, achieving economic sustainability cannot be achieved if an organisation does not have a strong human resource base.
Integrating optimal human resource management strategies and practices can increase the likelihood of achieving the desired level of sustainability. According Redman and Wilkinson (2009), HRM functions play an essential role in firms’ effort to attain sustainability. The two main categories of HRM functions include the operative functions and the managerial functions. The managerial functions relate to planning, controlling, directing, staffing, and organising.
Planning entails formulating goals and objectives coupled with formulating rules and procedures to achieve the predetermined objectives. Organising entails establishing structures and allocating duties and responsibilities, delegating authority, establishing the channel of communication, and coordinating employees. On the other hand, directing is comprised of various activities such as communication, employee motivation, and leadership.
Controlling refers to the process of assessing the employees’ performance while staffing relates to various activities that are undertaken in order to retain employees (Redman & Wilkinson 2009).
This paper is aimed at analysing the contribution of HRM functions in enhancing organisations’ ability to achieve sustainability. The essay intends to achieve this goal by evaluating the case of Le Moulin Blanc, a four-star hotel. The HR challenges facing the firm are identified and recommendations on how to improve the firm’s overall sustainability are made.
Analysis of the case
Identification of challenges facing the firm
In an effort to enhance its productivity, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel has integrated a collaborative working environment. The firm’s management team has given employees substantial freedom in the course of executing their duties. The management team occasionally seeks the opinion of employees with regard to various operational aspects. Despite this aspect, the firm is experiencing a number of challenges due to ineffective human resource management practices and strategies.
For example, the firm’s reward and performance management strategy is unfair. Some of the employees within the firm’s management team are remunerated at the same rate with lower level employees despite their experience and level of education.
Employees are also subjected to long working hours and excessive workload. Some employees are forced to perform tasks and duties that are not part of their job description. This aspect leads to employee conflicts due to the occurrence of errors. One of the reasons that explain the excessive workload faced by the firm’s employees relates to the firm’s commitment to minimise the cost of operation through downsizing.
However, the duties and responsibilities of employees who leave the organisation are allocated to other employees, and this move affects their productivity adversely and hence the firm’s performance. Employees who remain in the organisation are required to pick up the slack, hence increasing their workload. Additionally, a significant proportion of employees are dissatisfied with the firm’s operation.
A further analysis of the hotel shows that some of the firm’s managers do not have adequate skills with regard to time management coupled with how to utilise the firm’s internal communication system. Most employees are not adequately informed about the firm’s financial position due to poor information disclosure.
Moreover, the firm’s managers do not utilise the employees’ feedback in improving their performance. The firm’s ability to maximise the employees’ productivity and hence its profitability is limited by the poor working conditions. The front office manager implemented strict regulations that were oppressive and difficult to comply with by any means. For example, receptionists were not supposed to sit or have their meals while working.
The above analysis shows that the likelihood of the firm achieving long-term sustainability is limited. The human resource management strategies adopted by Le Moulin Blanc Hotel are ineffective. This aspect is likely to lower the employees’ level of job satisfaction and hence their commitment in executing duties.
Moreover, the poor working conditions may trigger voluntary and involuntary employee turnover. Employee turnover is very costly. Therefore, it is imperative for firms’ managers to ensure that they retain their workforce (Boros 2008). Examples of employee turnover costs include the cost of replacing employees, training costs, financial costs, and operational cost.
Role of HRM in achieving sustainability
Incorporating effective HRM strategies enhances firms’ ability to position themselves as sustainable organisations. Le Moulin Blanc Hotel can implement a number of HRM strategies in order to achieve sustainability. Some of these strategies are evaluated herein.
Reward and performance management
According to Armstrong and Baron (2005), performance management is one of the fundamental elements of in a firm’s effort to implement the total reward process. The concept of total reward underscores the importance of taking into account diverse aspects of reward in order to satisfy and motivate employees.
The hotel’s management team should formulate a comprehensive reward system that should be focused towards satisfying all employees. This assertion means that the firm should integrate both monetary and nonmonetary forms of employee remuneration. Therefore, to develop a total reward system, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should integrate six main elements as outlined below.
- Contingent pay
- Non-financial rewards
- Total rewards
- Employee benefits
- Base pay management
- Performance management
In a bid to ensure that employees are remunerated equitably, the hotel should structure its employee remuneration into different pay levels. The firm can achieve this goal by integrating the concept of grading (Armstrong 2012). From the case study, the firm’s employees work for approximately 12 hours per day, which is a relatively long working duration. Despite this aspect, their compensation is not equitable to the number of hours worked.
Additionally, the employees’ remuneration system is not aligned to their level of skills. Some employees with relatively lower level of competence and knowledge are remunerated higher when compared to others with higher level of educational qualification with regard to hotel management.
In a bid to eliminate this problem, the firm should integrate the concept of contingent pay in determining employee remuneration. Contingent pay entails aligning the employees reward system with their level of competency, skills, contribution to the organisation’s performance, and length of service. When determining the contingency pay, the firm should consider the aforementioned elements in determining the base rate.
For example, the firm can incorporate allowances such as overtime payments to take care of the additional hours worked. The firm should also consider integrating working condition allowances. This move is important considering the fact that employees are required to work in a hotel that is not fully competent. By implementing such allowances, employees are likely to be motivated to continue staying in the organisation (Armstrong 2012).
The firm should also consider improving the employees’ level of satisfaction through intrinsic mechanisms. The firm should ensure that the intrinsic strategies adopted enhance the employees’ personal growth. The firm can achieve this goal by adopting a number of ways such as employee recognition, allocating employees challenging tasks and responsibilities, and influencing their personal growth. These strategies improve the employees’ level of commitment to an organisation (Armstrong 2012).
The firm’s management team should also consider integrating strategies that will contribute towards employees achieving their career development goals. Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should ensure that it understands its employees’ career goals and guide them through the most effective career paths.
Such a strategy is crucial in improving the level of employee commitment and engagement. Armstrong (2012) asserts, “These non-financial rewards can make a longer-lasting and more powerful impact than financial rewards such as performance-related pay” (p.12).
In an effort to improve the employees’ level of engagement and commitment, Le Moulin Hotel should base reward system on employee performance. The firm should assess the employees’ performance by conducting a comprehensive employee appraisal. The appraisal system should be unbiased to ensure that all employees are rewarded fairly.
Additionally, the firm should communicate the results of the appraisal system to employees in order to provide them with an opportunity to identify areas of their performance that they should improve on. Such a feedback will contribute towards development and maintenance of a strong rapport between the firm’s top management team and lower level employees.
Organisational culture
Al-adaileh (2011) defines organisational culture as “a collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the member of one community or organisation from another” (p.219). Developing a strong organisational culture is crucial in determining the degree of organisational identification. A high level of organisational identifications contributes towards improvement in the rate of employee retention.
Nurturing a strong organisational culture entails a number of aspects. In an effort to position itself as a sustainable organisation, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should focus on eliminating discrimination that is rife in the workplace. According to Green (2005), discrimination in the workplace can arise from various work-related situations. First, the firm’s management team should ensure that all employees get equal access to training and development opportunities.
Moreover, discrimination in the workplace can emanate from the terms and working conditions implemented by the firm (Ferrary 2009). Examples of working conditions include the number of working hours, the employees’ safety and health, the employees’ leave and remuneration.
Currently, the firm’s reward system is discriminative. Some of the firm’s employees receive higher pay compared to others. As a result, some of the firm’s employees are contemplating quitting the firm. Craig (2009) asserts that when determining the rate of remuneration, employees should not be discriminated based on gender, age, race, nationality, or any other variable.
The firm should also ensure that it formulates effective conflict management strategies. Currently, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel is experiencing cases of employee conflict and harassment. For example, the rules and regulations implemented by the firm’s front manager are tantamount to employee harassment. For example, the firm’s receptionists are not supposed to sit or eat while at the workplace, which amounts to employee harassment.
Failure to improve the working conditions may stimulate employee turnover, hence affecting the firm’s ability to achieve sustainability. The firm’s management team are charged with the responsibility of nurturing a healthy working environment, and to achieve this goal, the team should focus on influencing the employees’ attitude and behaviour. The firm should formulate a comprehensive anti-harassment policy in addition to training all employees of the importance of working cohesively.
Training will aid in ensuring that employees are conversant with their rights and responsibilities. Moreover, employees who harass others should be properly dealt with, and to counter employee harassment, the hotel should design a mechanism of communicating and seeking support on cases of employee harassment to the top management. This move will aid in eliminating employee victimisation.
In addition to the aforementioned human resource management strategies and practices, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should nurture the elements of shared vision, trust, values, norms, and beliefs amongst its employees. These elements will play a significant role in enhancing organisational relationship. According to Jarratt and O’Neill (2002), nurturing trust in the workplace enhances the rate of collaboration amongst employees. Moreover, the firm should also promote adherence of fairness and honesty.
Jarratt and O’Neill (2002) assert that fairness and honesty are critical in the process of developing a strong communication system. This move in turn improves organisational learning, knowledge, and information sharing. The case study shows that the firm’s employees do not have optimal information regarding the firm’s financial position, which depicts lack of transparency and organisational openness.
Moreover, some of the employees within the top level of management do not have adequate skills with regard to certain issues such as time management. By nurturing a collaborative working environment, the likelihood of such employees improving their performance is high. This assertion arises from the fact that the employees will gain additional skills and knowledge from their colleagues.
By promoting a strong organisational culture, most employees will develop a positive attitude towards the firm, which means that a high level of organisational identification amongst the employees will be developed. Ghuman (2010) asserts, “Organisational identification has a significant effect on a firm’s effort to establish a strong organisational behaviour and hence the likelihood of attaining predetermined objectives” (p.232).
Employee participation and communication
According to Tourani and Rast (2012), employee participation refers to the process of involving employees in an organisation’s operation in such a way that their contribution directly influences the firm’s long-term success. Employee participation is one of the most effective ways through which an organisation can develop a strong employee relationship.
Organisations can integrate various initiatives in order to improve the level of employee participation. Providing employees with an opportunity to participate in the decision making process is one of the avenues that an organisation can empower its employees.
In an effort to develop a high level of employee participation, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should incorporate the concept of decentralisation. The firm should present employees with an opportunity to undertake the tasks assigned without any form of influence. This move will improve the employees’ level of commitment and development of positive attitude towards their duties. Colbert and Kurucz (2007) assert that developing a positive attitude towards one’s job reduces the frequency of absenteeism.
In a bid to improve the employees’ sense of involvement, the hotel should integrate the concept of project management. The firm should formulate design projects aimed at achieving a particular goal. The management should form a project team and assign it the responsibility of executing the project (Kerzner 2009).
In a bid to improve the employees’ level of knowledge and experience, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should ensure that the project team is comprised of employees from different departments. Ferrary (2009) opines that cross-functional teams are very effective in promoting cooperation and collaboration amongst employees.
In the course of its operation, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel is facing intense competition from other firms in the hospitality industry. By promoting a high level of employee participation in the decision making process and other managerial activities, the firm will be in a position to empower employees in addition to nurturing employee creativity. Therefore, the firm’s employees will become more innovative, hence improving the probability of the firm achieving the set goals and objectives will be increased.
Organisational theorists emphasise on the importance of developing a strong communication system between employees and organisational managers. One of the main roles of human resource managers entails planning. The planning process results in the formulation of policies that a firm intends to follow in order to achieve the desired objectives and goals. However, failure to communicate the policies developed to the firm’s workforce may not amount to much (Redman & Wilkinson 2009).
The communication system should enhance information flow amongst employee. Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should ensure that its employees are adequately informed about the firm’s performance. This move will enable employees to develop a clue regarding the firm’s long-term survival. Moreover, ensuring effective flow of information will enable the firm’s employees to determine whether the firm is in a position to support their financial needs such as salary increments.
In order to improve communication within the firm, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should implement an effective internal communication system. The system should be comprised of both top-bottom and bottom-top communication channels. This element will aid in improving the level of interaction between the top management and the lower levels of management. As a result, employees will be in a position to communicate their opinions and complaints to the firm’s top management.
The case study shows that the firm does not have an adequate mechanism to address the employees’ grievances. The firm should provide employees with the right to form unions. Grobler (2006) is of the opinion that this aspect will aid in improving the effectiveness with which the employees’ grievances and complaints are addressed by the firm’s top management.
Conclusion
The hospitality industry is one of the most volatile industries across the world. This assertion arises from the fact that success of firms in the industry is dependent on the level of guest satisfaction achieved and to achieve a high competitive advantage, firms in the industry are focusing on transforming themselves into sustainable organisations.
The case study shows that integrating effective human resource management functions can contribute towards sustainability, which arises from the fact that a firm is in a position to develop a strong and committed workforce.
In a bid to transform itself into a sustainable business entity, Le Moulin Blanc Hotel should implement an effective employee reward and performance management system, develop a strong organisational culture, ensure a high level of employee participation, and nurture effective communication within the firm.
Reference List
Al-adaileh, R 2008, Essentials of management information systems, Yazeed Publications, Jordan.
Armstrong, M 2012, Armstrong’s handbook of reward management practice: improving performance through reward, Kogan Page, London.
Armstrong, M & Baron, A 2005, Managing performance; performance management in action, CIPD, London.
Boros, S 2008, Organisational identification: theoretical and empirical analysis of competing conceptualisation, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania.
Colbert, B & Kurucz, E 2007, The conceptions of triple bottom line business sustainability and the role of HRM’, Human Resource Planning, vol. 30 no. 1, pp. 21-29.
Craig, R 2009, Systematic discrimination in employment and promotion of ethnic equality, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, New York.
Ferrary, M 2009, ‘ A stakeholder’s perspective on human resource management’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 87, pp. 31-43.
Ghuman, K 2010, Management: concepts, practice and cases, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi.
Green, T 2005, ‘Work culture and discrimination’, California Law Review, vol. 93 no. 3, pp. 1-63.
Grobler, P 2006, Human resource management in South Africa, Thompson Learning, London.
Hollingworth, M 2012, ‘ Building 360 organisation sustainability’, Ivey Business Journal, vol. 3 no. 5, pp. 1-4.
Jarratt, D & O’Neill, G 2002, ‘The effects of organisational culture on business to business relationship management practices and performance’, Australasian Marketing Journal, vol. 10 no. 3, pp. 21-40.
Kerzner, H 2009, Project management a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, John Wiley and Sons, New York:
Redman, T & Wilkinson, A 2009, Contemporary human resource management: Text and cases, Prentice Hall, London.
Tourani, A & Rast, S 2012, ‘Effects of employees’ communication and participation on employees job satisfaction; an empirical study on airline companies in Iran’, International Conference on Economics, Trade and Development, vol. 36 no. 2, pp. 1-5.