Introduction
Individuals working in a firm constitute the human resource of that company. Thus, human resource management entails with how people are administered in an organization in order to raise their efficiency as well as the firm’s success (Smith, 2006).
Different companies employ different employment strategies due to the different goods and services companies deal with thus calling for different approaches. Another factor which leads to the different strategies is due to the fact that different people in an organization have different views, feelings, and aspirations towards different situations in the organization.
Human Resources Management has of late been used in referring to approaches that seek to manage the needs of the company, employees as well as the customer needs. The human resource management therefore entails analyzing the different views and aspirations people have within the organization and make them work towards the success of the company. We can therefore summarize by saying that how an organization connects to its employees is all what human resource is concerned with.
In trying to manage and solve the problem of Human Management Resources there have been various approaches initiated toward solving the problem and experts have come up with various theories and concepts that try to define human resource management and what should be done to ensure that the employees reach the ability of attaining their maximum potential capabilities.
The human resource department is thus a very important section especially to the service industries such as the hospitality industry. The hotel industry is an important part of the world tourism and the hospitality industry as a whole. The industry is served with providing services to customers who visit the hotels either in business trips, tourism, and holiday offs among other reasons.
Key in the process of ensuring that the hospitality of these hotels remains at high levels, the hotel employees are major contributors to the situation. It is important to note that the ultimate quality of the services provided depends wholly on both the combined and the individual ability and efforts of the employees to produce the services as demanded by the customers.
To sum these up, the benefits of the hotel employees are many and their contribution to the success of the hospitality industry is a major issue which has been under investigation in the recent past in line with the growing importance, which the hospitality industry has received. Hotels can be defined as the physical structures which are usually supported by the human resources to enable them in the successful delivery of the services.
With the employees being the major contributors of the quality services, there has been a challenge in providing motivation for all the employees whether skilled or non skilled and this has resulted in the high reported cases of absenteeism through out the hospitality industry in the United States of America. This study will try to investigate the motivation factors needed by employees for them to provide quality in the hospitality industry.
A major role for those heading the hotel industries is to ensure that all the employees feel fully motivated due to the fact that it leads to increased productivity translating into more benefits for the industry. It becomes thus important for the management to note that in order to reduce high labor turnover rates while still retaining the productive employees, there is a need to improve the working conditions for the employees.
For the managers to understand the employees’ needs there is a need for them to understand the theories that help one in getting an in depth of human needs such as the Maslow and Herzberg need theories. It is after understanding the employees needs will they be able to provide motivation factors for the company.
Motivation Theories
Human beings and how they behave have been studied for a long period in motivation science of human behavioral science movement. The fact that people always work in order to satisfy certain needs as they climb up the ladder is a major study of concern to many experts. During the same period, concepts of job design for example how satisfying a job is, and the chances of promotion in certain jobs are also considered in the human resource management.
Evidence shows that people work harder if there is satisfaction in the organization and thus the need to design challenging and interesting jobs designed to gain the full attention and commitment of the employee. Theories explaining how human being relates were introduced in the 1960s and later on the 1970s.
Managers at that time were using Maslow and Herzberg‘s theories in their employee management strategies. When designing a new theory the applicability of the theory, the limitations, and the benefits of using certain theory (and not the other) should be considered by any company that hopes to succeed.
A common saying goes that you cannot take a donkey to the river and force it to drink water. The donkey has to be thirsty in order to drink the water. The thirsty feeling motivates the donkey to drink water. Motivation is the key to making the donkey drink the water. Motivation is providing a work environment in which everyone feels satisfied on their own at the same time serving the organizational objectives. The same thing can be described of motivation.
In his motivation theory, Fredrick Herzberg stated that motivation involves the hygiene factors which are explained by the work and organization environment the employee is exposed to. The hygiene factors include the remuneration, job security among others. He explains that these factors may not lead to high levels of motivation as though but when such qualities lack there is dissatisfaction among the employees.
He explains that the second factor which promotes this motivation theory involves actually what goes on in the organization and what the employees do in order to develop an inbuilt motivation with the work force. Achievement and recognition are also among the other factors that make the employees feel intrisinically motivated.
These two concepts as explained by Herzberg yields more motivation. Herzberg further explains that the two approaches (Hygiene and Motivation) must be performed simultaneously to achieve the desired success. Employees should be handled properly (Accel Team, 2010). The hospitality and hotel industries ensure that their employees achieve such motivation by incorporating their goals into human resource management programs.
In his theory, the hierarchy of needs, Maslow (1943) explained that no matter how well individuals (in our case hotel employees) are satisfied, they may still sometimes (if not a usual thing) develop some discontentment. That is unless the hotel or human resource management ensures that the individual is doing what is best suited for him.
He gives an example that people must be allowed to do what they are trained to do and doing it best. For instance allowing a man to be what best he can. This is what many call self actualization. The hierarchy of needs as explained by Maslow increases upwards: As the basic needs are fulfilled, new needs arise.
As Marslow (1943), asserts “This is what we mean by saying that the basic human needs are organized into a hierarchy of relative prepotency which dominates human beings and when these too are satisfied newer ones will emerge” (375). In summary the theory explains that the way to achieve these self actualization needs is by providing the employees with the chance to grow, become innovative and acquire training for challenging assignments and advancements in which ever docket they are working under.
The Importance of Motivation to Employees and Its Application to the Hotel Industry
An important point to note for the service industries and the hospitality industry as a whole is the fact that employees motivation is an important contributor to how they accomplish their tasks, try to perform their duties which in the long run translates to the organization being the major beneficiary of motivated employees.
The only way of attaining organization goals in the hotel industry is by allowing the employees to come together and work as a team. If a manager discovers that employees usually join any working environment with personal objectives (which they want to achieve), he or she should work towards the realization of such objectives and goals as the end result translate to quality services for the hotel industry.
Other benefits to the hospitality industry which are gained as a result of morale boost relates to reduced absenteeism cases as well as low levels of turnovers. All said and done, it is also very important to note that very high levels of motivation do not always yield high productivity, sometimes other aspects also comes to play.
The levels of motivation are usually classified in three aspects which are: direction of employees’ behaviors, employees’ efforts, and finally the level of persistence showed by the employees. How best an employee combines the three translates into success or failure in his provision of services especially in the hotel industry (Armstrong, 2006).
The Impact of Lack of Motivation in the Hospitality Industry
Lack of motivation to the employees in the hospitality industry has been known to result in high turnover absenteeism, lower services and high operational costs for the industry. These problems are brought about by the need for new recruitment, selection, and trainings required for the new employees who are employed as a result of the high turnover rates.
As the absenteeism caused by low or lack of motivation increases, the hotel is forced to reschedule and even organize emergency staffing problems as a result new payrolls are introduced and provision of poor services due to the time needed to adapt. As a result, this may end up in low customer satisfaction and losses to the industry.
Absenteeism occurs in two forms: the first form involves the allowed or authorized absenteeism which usually does not cause any managerial problems to the hotel since the hotel can always plan in advance. The other form is the unauthorized absenteeism: this form of absenteeism causes hardships for the hotel, fellow employees, and even the customers since it may lead to provision of services below par or employees being overworked as well as chances of undone chores in the hotel.
Lack of motivation to the employees also causes high rates of turnover in the hotel industry. There exist several forms of turnover: voluntary or involuntary, dysfunctional or functional and finally avoidable or unavoidable. A voluntary turnover takes place when employees leave an organization while the involuntary involves being laid off or forced to retire.
On the other hand, a functional turnover occurs when poor performing employee in an organization leaves due to their inability to perform while the opposite happens in case a performing employee leaves the job. The unavoidable turnover occurs when the organization cannot control over the reason for the employee exit for example in case of relocation, pregnancy and other related cases.
The avoidable turnover on the other hand occurs when an employee leaves an organization in such of a better paying job. Most analysts note that the many turnovers in the hospitality industry is due to the fact that employees can easily move in other sectors within the industry who are usually willing to provide better returns without much hassles (Johanson & Guchait, 2008).
The problem with this scenario to the customers and also the human resource department in the hotel industry is the fact that the employees in the hospitality industry literally represent the image of the business itself. If the employees are willing to migrate to other rivals for better services and better job satisfaction, it is for the management to provide the necessary motivation to ensure that the front line employees are always satisfied to ensure the provisional of services to the customers remain high.
How Can The Employees Be Motivated?
It is important for the human resource department to note that employees are individuals just likes them and with everybody coming from different backgrounds, culture and education levels, they require different types of motivation though some aspects of motivation such as a good pay and better working conditions exist to all. With each person being the center of his or her own interest, they have their own main interests which seek to fulfill their won goals, desires and ambitions.
The employees also want to satisfy their basic needs which relate to their survival and a desire to be associated with a certain group. If the human resource management checks in to the motivation factors which lead to a satisfied work force such as good wages, security, appreciation, loyalty to employees, interesting job and a good working environment, this could lead to increased motivation in return leading to improved provision of services within the hotel industry.
Though very few people understand, it is important to note that there is usually no difference in the motivation factors between the genders. Thus, the human resource department does not have to be stressed. In order to motivate the employees, the management can use several techniques which include:
Improved communication within the hotel industry: Communication is a very important tool in passing information from one individual or group to the other. It takes different forms such as verbal or non verbal and upward or downward. The success of the human resource department is usually decided by how good the employees perform their activities.
Since motivated workers are more productive, it is very important for the manager to know and understand what bests motivates the workers. There exist three categories of communication through which managers can use to improve the services provided by their employees, though a combination of the three is the most preferred (Gill & Mathur, 2007).
Downward communication becomes the first group occurring (from high levels of the firm to lower levels) downwards. This method is usually informative in nature and it involves the manager communicating down to the employees.
On the other hand, upward communication, usually the most preferred, originates from the lower levels to the top such as from the employees to their managers. Employees can either communicate directly to their superiors or use suggestion box and surveys. It is the most preferred since if used it facilitates the manager to accept new ideas. It also encourages more frankness and makes the employers more accessible to the needs of their employees’ as a result better services provision to the industry.
The last category of communication is the lateral form of communication where the information is interchanged among all the organization structures at one level. It is usually an essential element of team work if it is managed effectively especially in the hospitality industry, which is usually a group of people working.
Finally, to motivate the employees fully, there is a need for the managers to provide a good working environment. It has been noted that working conditions influence the productivity of employees. Employees working in any organization (hotel industry included) need enough space, equipments, lighting and ventilation to ensure they are working in a comfortable environment. They can also provide other incentives such as bonuses and cash rewards to encourage the employees even work more.
There is a need for clean and secure restrooms and lockers for every employee. In the hotel industry, the food provided should also be the same no matter the rank one holds in the hotel. It is important to note that if a certain type of food is not seen as suitable for the managers, the same situation should be viewed when a junior employee eats the same and thus encourage some equality aspects when it comes to such social issues (Jeffrey & Shaffer, 2007).
Conclusion
Every industry has of late discovered that employees are the greatest and the most valuable assets they can ever possess. This is simply due to the advantages they bring to the organization (the hotel industry included) where employees services are much needed.
When it comes to the hospitality industry, where employees’ services are needed in order for the organization to make positive returns, employees become even a more valued asset. However, in the past there have been instances where the hotel industry has reported cases of increased absenteeism and high turnovers, research showed that the employees who showed such behaviors was due to the lack of motivation.
For example, some employees were reported of moving to better paying jobs in the rival companies and with the employees representing the true image of the hotel, managers have been forced to seek ways in which they can motivate their employees for example through open communication, increased payments and providing better working conditions which increase as well as enhances a conducive environment for the clients resulting in increased productivity in the hotel industry and the hospitality industry as whole. That has brought the role of motivation wholly as a function of the human resource department.
Reference List
Accel Team, 2010. Human Relation Contributors. Web.
Armstrong, M. 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice: 10th Edition. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.
Gill, A.S., & Mathur, N. (2007). Improving Employee Dedication and Pro-Social Behavior. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 19 Iss: 4, pp.328 – 334.
Jeffrey, S.A., % Shaffer, V. (2007). The Motivational Properties of Tangible Assets. Compensation and Benefits Review. Sage Publishers. Web.
Johanson, M.M., & Guchait, P. (2008). Employees Intent to Leave: A Comparison of Determinants of Intent to Leave Versus Intent to Stay. International Journal of Hospitality Management. Vol. 28, Iss: 3. pp 374-381.
Maslow, A.H. 1943. A Theory of Human Motivation: Psychological Review. Web.
Smith, A. (2006). Control or Capability? Human Resource Practices for a Changing Environment. National Centre for Vocational Educational Research (NCVER). Web.