Employee proficiency and engagement are among the most significant factors of business success in the hospitality industry. The satisfaction of customers and their desire to revisit the site depends on the efficient recruitment and staff management. In the presented case, this thesis is confirmed by the decline in seasonal profits of the resort and an increase in the number of customer complaints related to employees. For these reasons, effective HR policies are necessary to improve the conditions of the resort operations and increase its attractiveness to customers. According to Boella (2017), high rates of staff turnover and unfavorable working conditions for employees are traditional problems in the hospitality industry. This paper considers the significant challenges of the resort related to staff recruitment and retention, as well as service standards and corporate culture. It proposes relevant and suitable HR recommendations designed to improve the business situation.
Staff Recruitment
Main Issues
Hudson brothers discovered that less than half of the employees who were employed the previous year desired to return to the hotel. Moreover, the primary category of casual workers in this season was young people in their twenties. Their motivation was generally not related to career development in the company or a desire to evolve in a particular area. Young employees considered the job as a temporary opportunity and were more interested in having a good time than in using it for professional improvement. Thus, it is natural that this group of employees was not aimed at high-quality service provision standards.
It should be noted that the recruitment process is the main issue in this regard. The resort needs competent, motivated, and engaged staff to improve profits and customer satisfaction. Particular attention should be paid to the ways of finding employees, vacancy positioning, and the proposed employment advantages. Researchers point out that work-life conflict, workplace-induced isolation, and excessive stress in the hospitality industry are severe constraints to applying for these jobs (McGinley et al., 2017). Such features that repel many potential employees can be overcome with skillful workflow design. Moreover, they are less typical for seasonal work, which emphasizes its suitability for some of the potential employees.
HR Recommendations
The means and resources used for recruitment should provide the opportunity to reach out to a wide range of potential employees. This will increase the possibility of attracting more professional staff willing to build a long-term career relationship with the company. At the same time, it is necessary to recruit workers who are prepared for seasonal work. Digital platforms, including social media, constitute a particular area of interest in this regard. According to Ladkin and Buhalis (2016), “an online- and social media-empowered recruitment model demonstrates the dynamic multi-way dialogue between employers, current employees, and prospective employees” (p. 339). The company will be able to select staff and create a permanent platform where employees could learn about a vacancy for a specific season using digital tools. Thus, the company will be able to cooperate with employees for a long time, and the number of employees who return to work from year to year will increase.
The opportunity to recruit young employees for one season is rather attractive due to its low cost and simplicity. However, excessively large numbers of low-skilled and unmotivated workers have a substantial impact on the performance indicators and consequently, the profitability of the resort. According to Chytiri at el. (2018), “skills, knowledge, attitudes, competencies and the way they are managed are key factors to produce a sustainable competitive advantage, as they are hard to be imitated” (p. 325). For this reason, higher requirements, at least for more advanced positions, should be imposed on candidates for employment.
In order to attract more skilled workers, the company should offer beneficial conditions. One of these conditions, which is advantageous for both parties, may be the preferential right to be employed when recruiting workers for the next season. Clear job descriptions and working responsibilities should be communicated to potential staff members to avoid ambiguity in their perception. If potential employees are immediately familiar with the job position requirements, they will be able to take a more realistic view of the vacancy. At the same time, it is necessary to inform candidates that the company provides the skills training.
Service Standards and Corporate Culture
Main Issues
The motivation and career goals of staff determine, to a large extent, their performance and approach to fulfilling their work responsibilities. In the case presented, the Hudson Brothers noted the lack of skills of some restaurant workers and the tendency of young employees to organize night parties, which affected their physical condition the next day. It should be mentioned that this problem is not always effectively addressed by the system of fines and penalties, which, on the contrary, can disappoint and demotivate employees. Yuliantari and Martini (2019) state that “employee performance can be influenced on the supporting factors included the education and work level discipline comes from individuals and organizations” (p. 194). Thus, it can be assumed that these incidents were the consequence of a general working environment, dominated by young and low-skilled people who did not consider employment in the resort a serious career opportunity.
In addition, the brothers were not previously involved in employee management since this function was taken over by Paul Wendt. Given that, they may have missed some of the necessary elements of the workflow design. For instance, the senior staff mentioned that the brothers had not done enough to develop the site’s culture. Every company, especially in the hospitality industry, needs well-established corporate ethics and culture that clearly indicates to employees what is expected of them and communicates the company’s values.
HR Recommendations
Organizational culture in the hospitality industry has several distinctive features. Researchers note that they include “level of cohesiveness, social motivation, and ongoing onboarding” (Bavik, 2016, p. 50). Employees of hotels, restaurants, and resorts should be committed to maintaining a high degree of cohesion in order to perform their work effectively. As evidenced in the case, younger workers considered the owners of the resort conservative and did not share their attitudes. Creating a unified system of corporate values that would be communicated to potential employees is a priority. The company should develop an idea message describing its social motivation and mission. If the majority of employees have similar values and views, it will increase their teamwork unity and sense of belonging to the company.
Management should also address the issue of providing the necessary training, as hiring young workers for less skilled positions may be unavoidable. Researchers note that internal development programs for employees not only improve their skills but also increase their job satisfaction (Siengthai & Pila-Ngarm, 2016). Senior staff can work together with the HR manager to develop a unified framework of standards and rules for providing services at the resort. Since some of the senior staff are used to working with a more settled and smaller team, job redesign may be required. Such a process will require joint efforts of all company employees. According to Safavi and Karatepe (2018), “participation in decision making” and “supervisor support” boost the career adaptability of the staff (p. 6). Thus, the HR manager should take responsibility for establishing supportive and productive relationships between all categories of employees.
In addition to organizational culture, internal development programs, and job redesign, it is also necessary to create comfortable working conditions for employees. Workers who are less stressed and enjoy a supportive working atmosphere are more engaged and demonstrate higher performance. Olugbade and Karatepe (2019) state that “customer-contact employees are faced with heightened stress because of the work environment in which there are challenging (e.g. work overload) and hindering (e.g. role stress) demands” (p. 2). For this reason, they should be given opportunities to rest, obtain assistance, or discuss working conditions with management.
Employee Retention
Main Issues
The Hudson brothers’ main challenges in administering the resort began with the resignation of valuable senior staff, including a resident manager and head chef. Business owners had to cope with a number of functions, to which they did not have time to adapt. As a result, they lost some of their profits and received more customer complaints in a particular season. Goldstein et al. (2017) state that retaining employees may be even more crucial to the company than talent attraction, but the methods for retention may not be identical. Paul Wendt reported that the company had been underestimating and underpaying him, and Jan Anders noted that his requests for job redesign due to an old injury had been ignored. Thus, inattention to the needs and problems of the employees resulted in the failure to keep them being employed at the resort. The HR manager should concentrate on the creation of such working conditions in which employees can fulfill their needs and be able to communicate with their supervisors.
HR Recommendations
There are numerous different HR practices that are designed to retain valuable employees. However, all of these are based on the “respect, recognition, and reward” of the staff (Kumar & Mathimaran, 2017, p. 18). If the Hudson brothers had paid Paul Wendt more decent compensation, it is quite possible that they could have avoided a loss of profits and many problems with staff in this season. Therefore, an HR manager should make sure that the company’s most valuable employees do not feel underestimated and underpaid. For this purpose, a wage review system, which is practiced in many companies, should be established. Compensation should be reviewed on the basis of performance every six months or year.
It is also necessary to ensure that all employee requests are considered and addressed by the company’s management. According to Chahal and Poonam (2017), “friendly environment and open communication” directly correlate with employee retention and reduce turnover (p. 122). A system for collecting feedback and submitting requests for employees should be developed in the company. Besides, the term of request consideration should be established, during which the management prepares a motivated reply. Thus, even if the answer is negative, the employee will not feel ignored and will know the reasons for rejection. Moreover, researchers note that a supportive work environment greatly increases employee engagement (Kundu & Lata, 2017). Therefore, the HR manager should also establish a mediation system for sufficient resolution of workplace conflicts.
Conclusion
It should be noted that the implementation of the proposed HR recommendations can not only bring the resort to the previous level of performance but also to surpass it. It should be noted that the implementation of the proposed HR recommendations can not only bring the resort to the previous level of performance but also to surpass it. In order to increase their engagement, it will be necessary to provide them with work advantages, to enhance their empowerment, and to pay attention to their requests.
References
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