CHAPTER 9

THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the discussion, you are expected to:

• Discuss the functions and roles of the human resources department in
the hotel organization.
• Discuss the responsibilities with the human resources and its
objectives.
• Discuss the relationship between human resources department and
other departments.

One of the most important departments of any hotel staff is human resources
management. Proper human resources management can be the difference between a really
well-run hotel and a poorly one hotel. The human resources manager can control almost the
whole feeling and the presence of the entire hotel. This makes the importance of human
resources management for hotels very evident.

There are several different areas in which human resources management is very
important. One of these areas is for new newly hired employees. That employees that are hired
in a hotel can really alter the quality of service and the whole atmosphere of the hotel. This
means that is very important to pick upbeat, dedicated workers for each position. It is the job of
the human resources manager to make sure that good people are chosen to work in the hotel.
In many cases many hotel workers are only participating in hotel work because they can find
nothing else to do. Not very many people have a dream of running or serving in a hotel
environment. However, there are some people who do want to work in that capacity, and it is
the job of the human resource manager to find those people.

Retention of employees is another large problem in the hotel service business. Since so
many of the employees do not have hotel work as their ending career goals, many of them only
work on in a hotel for a short amount of time. Other employees may have to be let go because
of poor work ethics or other issues. However, there are ways that a hotel human resources
manager can curb some of the desire and likelihood that employees will move to other jobs
quickly. The importance of human resources management for hotels is very large in this area.
Managers can provide good training and incentive programs that will cause employees to stay
longer at the hotel. Having a clear progression plan to advance to higher levels of service will
also cause employees to stick around much longer.

The issue of employee progression and promotion is also another large issue for the
hotel industry. The importance of human resources management for hotels is proven in this
area. Hotels which provide ways for employees to advance in position, or that provide training
for employees so that they can gain skills necessary for an advanced position are very
important to the retention rate of the employees. It is easy to implement services of this nature
and the expense is negligible compared to the expense and time necessary to constantly find
new employees to replace the ones that always leave shortly after being hired. One of the
easiest things to implement is English lessons. Many hotel employees do not speak English
very well, and so it is a great incentive for them to stay working at a hotel if they are offered
English lessons.

The importance of human resource management for hotels is also important in the area
of employee services. If the employee know they can come to the human resource manager
whenever they had a problem or issue then it is easier for them to work in good conscience.
Many human resource departments implement different games and activities to make the work
environment interesting and fun for the employees. There are many different services that a
human resource manager can think of to help employee morale. Maybe the hotel could
implement a babysitting service, or have a park day every year. These little services go a long
way towards making happy employees. Happy employees make happy companies and happy
customers.

As you can see, the importance of human resource management for hotels is very great.
There are thousands of ways that a human resource manager can make a hotel run more
smoothly and more efficiently. There are many different areas that can benefit from the
experience and guidance of a human resource manager. Therefore, it is very important to not
undermine the manager's importance. Without the human resources manager, a hotel is not the
same or as pleasing to customers and employees.

The human resources (human capital) department has staff relationship with other
department/managers in the total organization. The human resource department is responsible
for advising management from Managing director to the lowest line supervisor on all area
relating to the personnel management and industrial relations. Human resource department also
performs various functions of employment, training and development. It represents
management in many of the relationships that affect the organization as a whole. It is also
responsible for representing various workers problems to management.
Human resource department generally acts in an advisory capacity, it provides
information, offers suggestions and is not responsible for the end results. The human resource
managers must exercise control very tactfully in order to win the confidence and cooperation of
all line managers. He has to persuade the line managers to work with staff specialists and not
against them. The authority of human resource manager should derive from concrete personnel
policies and programs and from the advantage and result of accepted specialized knowledge.

As a Source of help:
In certain situations (when line mangers lack skill or knowledge in dealing with employee
problems) experienced human resource managers assume line responsibility for personal
matters. But it may be represented by the very managers who ought to seek staff assistance in
meeting their personal responsibilities. Human resource managers should learn the reputation
and confidence of line managers of being source of help rather than a source of threat to line
managers. Staff assistance is likely to be effective when it is wanted rather than imposed.

As a Change Agent:
Human resource manager should work as an enabler and change agent regarding personnel
areas and he should be familiar with different discipline like management, technology,
sociology, psychology and organizational behavior as organizational adaptability, viability and
development are dependent on the human resources development. So the human resource
managers should work as a consultant of an organizational development by providing
necessary information and infrastructure to line mangers. Thus, the role of human resource
managers is more concerned with providing information and offering advice to the decision
makers rather than making decisions.

As a Controller:
Nevertheless, it is still true that effective personnel executives advise on policies that help
managers in implementing their programs and provide service and exercise the monitoring and
control function sparingly.

Responsibilities within Human Resource Department

As other managers the manager personnel is also a line manager in relation to subordinates
within the personnel department. Human resource manager is responsible for the success or
failure of his department in contributing to the organizational goals. In most of the organizations
the personnel manager is responsible for supervising the activities of his subordinates,
manager-industrial relations. He is also responsible for the operations of personnel manager at
a divisional and branch levels.

As the Chief of the Human Resource Department the Human Resource Manager has to get
effective results with cooperation of all the employees working the department by showing the
validity of the concept of the team work. The success of the human resource department should
be measured in terms of its contributions to the personnel programs.
The effectiveness of HR Manager Department can be gauged by the fact how smooth they
conduct the negotiations with workers union without the workers resorting to strikes and how
fast the periodic agreement (once in 3 or 5 years) is signed with them.

Human resources is exactly it says: resource for humans - within the workplace! Its main
objective is to meet the organizational needs of the company it represents and the needs of the
people hired by that company. In short, it is the hub of the organization serving as a liaison
between all concerned. Depending on the size of the company, the HR department might be
called Personnel with a manageable workforce that can be handled by a personnel manager
and a small staff. For larger, more complex organizations with hundreds of departments and
division, the task is much more demanding, taking on a life on its own.

Some companies have more than one HR Department - Corporate and Union. For example, a
food service industry might have a Corporate HR department that oversees the "blue collar"
workforce with an emphasis on labor relations. The organization will, thus, institute these two
HR Departments to manage on the unique needs of both union and non-union employees.

Organizational Development

To ensure its success, a company must establish a hierarchal reporting system. The
funnel of responsibility is critical to the efficiency of a smoothly operating business entity in
which there is a clearly defined understanding of who is responsible for what. They provide
consultation to a company's management team to identify what the company's core business
and culture is about, and proceeds to plan and map the company's organizational infrastructure
to support those needs.

Employee Recruitment and Selection Process

There are many steps to recruiting and

selecting qualified employees. First, a
department head must inform the HR manager
of an opening in their department. Then the HR
manager must obtain the job description to
formulate a Job Description Sheet for
publication either internally, publicly, or both.
Then HR must field the responses to the
responses to that job announcement to weed
out the qualified from the unqualified
applicants. Once that is completed, the
interview process must be coordinated. They
prepare the job description, contact the
newspaper, run the add, field the calls, compile a list of potential candidates, submit the list to
the department's hiring manager for approval and selection, contact the chosen candidates to
set up preliminary interviews, and interview the candidates. Although most interviews are with
the hiring manager or their associates, not all applicants get to meet with the department's hiring
manager right away. It is not uncommon for a company to
filter out those who fail to impress the HR manager first. For
those select few who make it through, the HR manager
schedules interviews between the department's hiring
manager and potential candidates, and follows up with the
hiring process to establish the new hire with the company.

Employee Training & Development: As a company and

the requirements of a position evolve, a company needs to
take certain measures to ensure a highly skilled workforce
is in place. The HR department oversees the skills
development of company's workforce, acting as in house
training center to coordinate training programs either on site, off site, or in the field. This might
include ongoing company training, outside training seminars, or even college, in which case an
employee will receive tuition reimbursement upon earning a passing grade.

Employee Compensation Benefits

This covers salaries, bonuses, vacation pay,
sick leave pay, Worker's Compensation, and
insurance policies such as medical, dental,
life, and 401k. The HR department is
responsible for developing and administering
a benefits compensation system that serves
as an incentive to ensure the recruitment and
detainment of top talent that will stay on with
the company. When an employee is hired,
the company's Benefits Coordinator is
required to meet with employees one-on-one or in small group settings to explain their benefits
package. This often requires an employee to make an informed decision and to provide their
signature for processing purposes.

Employee Relations
With the increased rise in unethical
practices and misbehaviors taking place
in today's workplace such as age,
gender, race, and religion discrimination
and sexual harassment, there needs to
be mandatory compliance with
governing rules and regulations to
ensure fair treatment of employees. In
short, employees need to know they
have a place to turn when a supervisor
abuses his or her authority in anyway.
Whether corporate or union, the HR
department will get involved to act as a arbitrator and liaison between legal entities, regulatory
agencies such as human rights, supervisors, and employees to properly address and resolve at
hand.

Policy Formulation
Regardless of the organization's size, company policies and procedures must be established to
ensure order in the workplace. These policies and procedures are put in place to provide each
employee with an understanding of what is expected of them. Similarly, these policies and
procedural guidelines will assist hiring managers in evaluating their employee's performance.
These policies can be established company-wide or used to define each department's function.
It is Human Resource's responsibility to collaborate with department managers on the
formulation of these policies and regulations to ensure a cohesive organization. A common
practice is the development and implementation of an Employee Procedure Manual or
Employee Handbook that is either distributed to each employee at the time of hire or a master
copy allocated one to a department.

The Human Resource Information Systems keeps track of the vast amount of data, a HR
department must have a good HRIS in place to automate many functions such as planning and
tracking costs, monitoring and evaluating productivity levels, and the storing and processing of
employee records such as payroll, benefits, and personal files. It is very important that you, the
job seeker, understand how the HR function works - especially in the area of candidate
recruitment. If you are considering a career in human resources, you can choose to become a
Generalist or a Specialist. Whether a job seeker or a HR professional researches a company
well before applying for a position.

Kindly check the video link below to have an insight about the Hotel Human Resource
management.

VIDEO GUIDE:
Please check the video guide below of ‘What are Human Resources
Management in a Hotel ?’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on_tfL8wguU