Question:
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyse and evaluate the major features of national and international employment markets from which organisations source staff and ways in which these markets evolve or change.
- Play a leading role in the development and evaluation of resourcing and talent management strategies, diversity management and flexible working initiatives.
- Manage recruitment, selection and induction activities effectively, efficiently, lawfully and professionally.
Assessment brief/activity
You work in the head office of a rapidly growing UK based budget hotel chain which has a focus on providing high quality, but basic services. The HR Director is aware that the hotel chain has been experiencing problems with the resourcing of staff in both managerial and reception roles. This has been attributed to the unsociable hours, as well as the extensive responsibility of the roles. Staff turnover in both these roles is much higher than the sector’s average and a great concern for the organisation.
The hotel chain also has discrimination cases pending which, when reviewing turnover and current staffing, it is suggested that there is a large numbers of females leaving both roles and practically all managers are now male. Current reception staff are working extra shifts to cover shortages of staff especially in London and the South East. The reward package is above the norm for this segment of the sector. The reception and management roles are made up of full time and part time permanent staff as the hotel has a commitment to staff and to the high quality services they provide. Contracts have mobility clauses (staff may be required to work in any of the hotels within their region) these have only recently been utilised however. Shift hours are fixed although the days and nights staff are required to cover frequently change.
The organisation is concerned about some of these resourcing issues. Your new HR Director has asked you to produce a proposal in the form of a 3000 word report which draws on examples of organisational practice and academic literature to provide a rationale for a new resourcing and retention strategy.
Your proposal should provide the HR Director with an analysis and evaluation of the following:
- the key features of the employment market, such as labour trends that may impact on the recruitment and retention of suitable candidates for the roles
- recruitment, selection and induction practices which are: effective, efficient, lawful and professional and are appropriate to each of the roles in question
- retention strategies, diversity management and flexible working initiatives that will address the issues experienced by the hotel chain
The analysis and evaluation should provide a rationale for new resourcing and retention strategy which will enhance employee retention and thus facilitate employee diversity, and support flexible working initiatives.
All submissions should be in the region of 3,000 words plus or minus 10% and references should be added in the Harvard Referencing Format. There is a Harvard Referencing tutorial in the Resources Area which outlines the formatting required.
Solution:
Executive Summary
This report entails the resourcing and talent management for a hotel chain that is experiencing employment issues. The key challenges include high turnover due to unsociable hours and extensive responsibility for the roles. The hotel chain also has several discrimination cases pending, and the majority of individuals leaving the organisation are female. In both the managerial and receptionist roles, the hotel chain should employ effective recruitment, selection, and induction process. In these processes, they should abide by the employment laws in various dimensions of discrimination, equality, and avoiding bias. The report further provides some of the retention strategies, diversity management, and flexible working initiatives that will address the issues experienced by the hotel chains. Retention strategies include performance management, employee engagement, and conducting regular training and development. Diversity, on the other hand, can be achieved through buy-in and loose-fit strategies. These approaches will promote employee retention, which is related to individual and organisational performance.
2.1 Politics and Regulations. 5
2.2 Dynamism in Working Environment 5
2.3 Technology and Globalisation. 6
2.5 Changing Customer Preferences and Demographics. 6
3.0 Recruitment, Selection, and Induction Practices. 7
3.1 Recruitment and Selection Practices. 8
4.0 Retention Strategies, Diversity Management, and Flexible Working Initiatives. 11
4.3 Flexible Working Initiatives. 13
1.0 Introduction
Resourcing and talent management have emerged as central elements in contemporary companies globally. According to Gallardo-Gallardo et al. (2020), talent management refers to the processes and activities that involve the attraction, identification, development, engagement, deployment, and retention of talents that have a high value to the company. This is aimed at creating a strategic and sustainable competitive advantage. CIPD (2020a) affirms the importance of resource and talent planning as central management approaches. Other activities in resourcing and talent planning include talent audits, career planning, individual management and development, turnover and retention, and succession planning. Current organisations are characterised by complexities, which are marked by dynamism in technology, globalisation, and wide socio-economic, demographic, and geopolitical changes. These elements influence the organisational focus on the identification, attraction, recruitment, and retention of competent individuals that aid the firm to navigate these issues.
This report is based on the hotel chain case study, which focuses on the basic services that are also of high quality. Notably, the HR director faces several challenges related to resourcing in both the reception and managerial roles. Among the key factors attributed to these challenges are unsociable hours and extensive responsibility for the roles. The turnover in these two roles is higher than in other sectors. Discrimination cases are also pending, and drawing from the review of the present staffing and turnover, it is revealed that the majority of leaving staff are female. The management is practically composed of men. There are also concerns over working extra shifts, although the reward package is more than the norm in this segment. The report, therefore, focuses on various issues, including the key features of the employment sector, recruitment, selection, and induction practices, and retention strategies, diversity management, and flexible initiatives. Also, the analysis and evaluation of how the organisation can enhance the resourcing and retention are provided.
2.0 Key Features of the Employment Market that Affect Recruitment and Retention of Suitable Candidates
The labour market entails the source of all recruits in the country or the sector. Human resources management (HRM) should demonstrate an understanding of the dynamics of the market, which aid in addressing the resourcing and talent management issues. Besides, knowledge regarding these factors aid in setting competitive reward packages and sourcing for individuals with a particular set of skills according to the organisation’s interests. In the hospitality and hotel sector is among the realms facing dynamism in the workforce (Baum et al., 2016). Some of the main concerns are insufficient pay, inadequate opportunities for minority populations, gender-based discrimination, seasonal employment, unclear career structures. A high turnover rate also characterises the sector.
Sustainability in the workforce is also a major challenge due to social, economic, and political issues. Presently, for instance, the hospitality and tourism sector has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the majority of individuals losing their jobs and the closure of the hotels. The key features of the employment market that impact the recruitment and retention of suitable candidates are politics, dynamism in the nature of work, technology, labour trends, stiff competition, and changing customer preferences.
2.1 Politics and Regulations
The labour market is highly regulated, which is reflected in the workforce particularity, employee protection, and controling competition via the trade unions. It is, therefore, essential to continuously enhance the market legislation to address unemployment and promote employee management. In the UK, the labour laws define who and how the employees should be protected, individual rights, and action against issues, such as discrimination. Political issues are demonstrated in aspects, such as Brexit (Lindstrom, 2019). As the transition period comes to a close, there are new rules that will affect businesses and citizens. For individuals to continue working in the UK, one must conform to these rules. Organisations must abide by these rules across various processes and systems, such as recruitment and retention of the suitable candidates for the responsibilities.
2.2 Dynamism in Working Environment
The working environment in contemporary organisations is influenced by the changing economy, evolving business strategies, competition, and global market place. Organisations are, therefore, expected to resource talent that is conversant with these changes. The management, on the other hand, should ensure a suitable working environment that promotes fairness, ethics, and legal practices. Drawing from Herzberg’s two-factor theory, Poulston (2009) note that hygiene factors should first be satisfied to realise the impacts of other organisational strategies, including advancement opportunities, which promote employee retention and satisfaction. In contemporary organisations, employment relations, psychological contracts, and total rewards are some of the elements that characterise the working environment, which promotes employee satisfaction and motivation.
2.3 Technology and Globalisation
Globalisation, which refers to the increase in trade, investments, and migration across borders, has a direct impact on workers in both the developing and developed industries. Information and communication technology (ICT) has also significantly changed, which impact the employment relations. The impacts of globalisation and technology are reflected in the working conditions, health and safety, wages, and job security. For the two roles of managerial and reception, the organisation should ensure equality in the rewards, providing a supportive working environment for all workers, acknowledge diversity at the workplace, and implement ICT in the working systems to enhance efficiency. In the hospitality sector, cultural competence is vital for global workers, which promotes individuals’ ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.
2.4 Labour Trends
The labour trends in a country or region determine the employment levels, wages, and employment relations, which determine the recruitment and retention of suitable employees in an organisation. In the UK, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the employment rate was at a high record of 76.3% in 2019, and the unemployment rate was 3.8% (National Statistics, 2020). The rise in the employment rate was associated with the changes in the state pension age for women. For the organisation, the high employment rate has significant impacts due to the available workforce. For the two roles, the organisation must address the working concerns and other issues, such as unsociable hours. This is aimed at promoting the retention of the employees. Also, the organisation should continue providing higher rewards alongside a suitable working environment, which will promote the retention of suitable candidates.
2.5 Changing Customer Preferences and Demographics
The hospitality industry is service-centred. Therefore, high quality, affordability, and customer management practices are key to the companies’ progress, growth, and development. Customer preferences are also changing, and organisations should strive to provide adequate services that match the clients’ needs (Lu and Tabari, 2019). Drawing from the Maslow hierarchy of needs, the organisation should ensure that it meets all the client’s preferences, which is achieved through competent employees. Further, the hotel industry attracts clients across various dynamics. The impacts of this feature to the recruitment and retention are ensuring the selection of competent individuals the aid in achieving the organisational objectives, continuous improvement of the employees’ skills through performance management, integrating the concept of total rewards for the employees, and facilitating adequate induction programs to enhance the customer services.
2.6 Competition
There is an increasing number of organsiations in the hotel industry globally and in the UK. These include Airbnb, large restaurants, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Across all organisations, effective employee recruitment and retention are required, which are achieved through sufficient rewards. The stiff competition, however, impacts the resourcing and talent management since employees leave organisations for those that offer better rewards and working environment (Alkhateri et al., 2018). For the two roles of reception and management, the organisation needs to benchmark on the reward packages offered by other leading organisations, engage with the employees to establish suitable rewards, and conduct regular performance appraisals to determine the appropriate reward packages for the employees.
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