HOUSEKEEPIN

Chapter 4 G HUMAN
RESOURCE
ISSUES
 Housekeeping employee need to be
Employees are the lifeblood of any
scheduled efficiently to meet
hospitality operation; without them, an
organizational goals; if employees are
operation stands still. It stands to reason,
motivated, if they really want to do their
then, that management must do all it can
best, those goals will be more easily met.
to recruit the right employees and offer
Efficient scheduling and employee
employees the training they need to do
motivation are more challenges for the
their job well.
executive housekeeper.
 3.1 NON-TRADITIONAL
LABOR MARKETS

• In the face of the current labor pool crisis, with

unemployment rates in many areas at their lowest in years,
the hospitality industry will have turn to new labor sources.
Additional labor sources include:
• Displaced homemakers
• Student employees
• Dislocated workers over age 50
• Recent immigrants
• Person with handicaps
• Welfare recipient
• Retirees
 Displaced homemakers

Widows or divorcees who have spent their adult lives as

homemakers. They typically lack work experience and the
skills necessary to bring them ready for employment.

Many communities sponsor training programs that help

displaced homemakers with career planning and acquiring
such job-related skills as resume writing, job hunting,
interviewing skills, and assertiveness.
Student employees
• College students have long been
work force mainstays of summer
resorts. Students also provide other
benefits such as they are willing to
do heavy physical labor that older
employees cannot or would rather
not do.
Dislocated workers over age 50

Such workers may have been laid off from other jobs or idled because
of factory shutdowns. Like retirees, workers over 50 are usually
steadier than younger people since they often have ties in the
community and families to support.
Recent immigrants

Recent immigrants are frequently

good candidates for entry level
positions. They tend to be hard-
working and speak English well
enough to fit in.

Because hotels attract increasing

numbers of foreign guests, they
value employees who speak more
than one language.
Persons with handicaps

Experience show that many hospitality operations

find employees with mental or physical handicaps
cheerful, enthusiastic employees who enjoy work
and the guest.

Work for employees with mental impairments may

include mopping floors or washing walls or dishes.
Some hotels use teams of people with mental
handicaps to clean guestrooms.

Wheelchair-users could perform clerical duties in

the housekeeping department, vacuum hallways, or
fold towels.
 Welfare recipients

Many states have mandated that welfare recipients must

work in order to receive benefits. Hospitality properties
can take advantage of this by working with local welfare
offices to help employ those receiving benefits.

Often, local offices also offer work skills classes that teach
personal grooming, good work habits, and also
communication skills.
Retirees
• Retirees are enjoying increasingly longer,
healthier lives. Growing number of retirees
are looking for part-time and even full-time
jobs to fight boredom, fill extra hours and
extend limited retirement pensions and social
security benefits.
• Retirees are often available to work not only
during the peak summer tourist season, but
also in the spring and fall when college
students are not available. And retirees often
prove to be among the most reliable of all
employees.
 3.2 MAKING JOBS EASIER TO
FILL.

In order to hire and retain a highly

qualified team of employees, the
housekeeping department and the
property as whole will want to do
what they can to make the jobs, the
department, and the property
appealing.
They can do this by offering special
employment benefits which go
beyond the typical benefit packages.
Possibilities include assistance with
transportation and child care.
Transportation Assistance

Hospitality operations may decide to offer their

employees transportation assistance. Properties in
areas offering good mass transportation systems
may provide employees with discounted or free
transit passes.

The property may wish to organize or even

subsidize ride-sharing programs. A small property
may develop a car pooling program, while a
larger property might donate the use of company
vehicle.
 Child Care assistance

The federal government and some states offer tax incentives to

persuade businesses to ease their employees’ child care needs. Child
care assistance programs could go a long way toward attracting
young parents and displaced homemakers.

Large operation can afford on-site child care facilities while smaller
may consider other possibilities such as allowance, subsidizing
parental leaves or offering alternative scheduling. It has improved
employee attendance and decreased tardiness and turnover.
 3.3
EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT IS THE
PROCESS BY WHICH APPLICANTS
ARE SOUGHT AND SCREENED
CONCERNING THEIR SUITABILITY
FOR POSITION IN THE OPERATION.
RECRUITING EMPLOYEES
IN LARGER PROPERTIES, THE IN ALL PROPERTIES, THE
HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION EXECUTIVE HOUSEKEEPER SHOULD
ASSISTS THE EXECUTIVE PERSONALLY INTERVIEW TOP
HOUSEKEEPER IN FINDING AND CANDIDATES FOR OPEN POSITIONS
HIRING THE MOST QUALIFIED IN THE DEPARTMENTS.
INDIVIDUALS.
3.3.1 Internal Recruiting

Cross-Training

Succession Planning

Paying for performance

Posting job openings

Keeping a callback list

3.3.2 External Recruiting

Networking

Temporary Agencies

Leased Employees

Tax Credits

Employee Referral Program

 3.4 Skills Training

Ensuring that department employees receive proper training is one of the executive housekeeper’s
major responsibilities.

The actual training functions may be delegated to supervisors or even to talented employees.
However, the executive housekeeper should be responsible for ongoing training programs in the
department.

Most managers and trainers understand that the goal of training is to help employees develop skills
to do their jobs well. The four step training methods are:

Prepare to
Present Practice Follow up
train
 3.5 SCHEDULING

Since labor is the greatest single housekeeping expense, one of the most important managerial
functions of the executive housekeeper is to ensure that the right number of employees is scheduled to
work each day.

When too many employees are scheduled to work, the department is overstaffed. Overstaffing result in
excessive labor costs that decrease hotel profits. When too few employees are scheduled to work, the
department becomes understaffed.

The first step toward efficient scheduling is to determine which positions within the housekeeping
department are fixed and which are variable in relation to changes in occupancy level at hotel.
• Fixed staff positions are those that must be filled regardless
of the volume of business. These positions are generally
managerial and administrative in nature and may include
the following:
• Executive housekeeper
• Assistant executive housekeeper
• Supervisor (Day shift)
• Department clerk (Day shift)
• Department clerk (Afternoon shift)
• Employees occupying these positions are usually
scheduled to work at least 40 hours a week, regardless of
the occupancy level of the hotel.
• The number of variable staff positions to be filled varies in
relation to changes in hotel occupancy. These positions
include:
• Room attendants (Day and afternoon shift)
• House persons (Day and afternoon shifts)
• Inspectors
• Lobby attendants
3.5.1 The staffing guide
• A staffing guide is a scheduling and control tool that enables the
executive housekeeper to determine the total labor hours, the
number of employees, and the estimated labor expense required to
operate the housekeeping department when the hotel is at specific
occupancy levels.
 3.5.2 Developing employee work
schedule

Occupancy forecasts generated by the rooms

division are used in conjunction with the
staffing guide to determine the right number
of employees to schedule each day for every
position in the housekeeping department.
3.5.3 Alternative
scheduling technique
Part-time employee

Flexible work hours

Compressed work schedules

Job sharing
3.6 Motivation
• Management in any organization is
responsible for creating a work environment
that fosters the professional growth and
development of its employees. A major
challenge facing hospitality manager is
motivating employee. Current changes in the
labor market and the high cost of employee
turnover demand that organizations seek
ways to retain good employees. One way to
accomplish this objective is to practice
effective motivational techniques.
3.6.1 Methods of Motivating Employees

Training

Cross-training

Recognition

Communication

Incentives Program

Performance appraisal