Human resource planning in hotel industry

Abstract

As awareness of the need for an effective HRP has grown, so has the number of organizations looking for guidance as to the ways in which Human Resource Planning (HRP) can make a practical contribution. The focus of this study was on practical applications of various aspects of HRP system. To be specific following problems were dealt in this study: i. To identify the determinants of staffing in the hotel industry ii. To identify appropriate demand and supply forecasting methods for manpower iii. To identify the processes and problems in designing HRP system iv. To identify the linkages between demand and supply forecast and action plans. The study was carried out in one of the largest group of hotels. Two units were chosen for detailed analysis of the HRP system, the research methods used in exploratory stage were participant observation survey and interview of managers, while data analysis approach was used in designing HRP system. The study identified following important determinants of staffing I. Size of the hotel II. Ownership III. Age and layout of the building IV. Range and type of facilities and services V. Methods by which the hotel services are provided VI. Quality of Staff VII. Organization-technology, policies and procedure Five appropriate methods of demand forecasting have been identified in this study i. Position manning/shift manning ii. Workload productivity ratios iii. Work study iv. Division of task and span of control v. Subjective judgement The following criteria are suggested for selection of supply models, based on the study findings i. Objective of using a model ii. Data requirement of a model iii. Complexity of a model iv. Familiarity of the analyst with various models v. Practicability of a model vi. Extent and use of a model in practice The markov chain model has been selected in accordance with the above criteria. It was formulated and validated through the graphical method. The practicing managers in general feel that objective of filling a model to data are to provide an insight into the dynamics of the system and to make projections so that the model could be judged on how successfully it achieves those objectives rather than insist on a statistical approach per so. The transaction probabilities were estimated and used for future manpower supply forecast. The detailed personnel scheduling exercise carried out in two department showed that break shift and staggering shifts are the important methods used for categories like kitchen stewards, Restaurant and banquet stewards, Room service stewards, etc. The Personnel scheduling exercise led to reduction in manpower strength and number of shifts. As a hotel unit does not open with all its facilities, it became necessary to phase the manpower in accordance with the phasing of the facilities and services.It is found that in the hotel unit under study 75% manpower was deployed in first phase, 19% in the second and 6% in the third phase. Maintenance, security, marketing and personnel were the departments where all manpower was deployed in the first phase itself. The categories which directly depend upon the number of rooms and restaurants e.g. Housemen, Asst. housekeeper, Bellboys, Kitchen Stewards, Restaurants Manager, Captains, stewards, and kitchen staff need specific attention in phasing of manpower. The organization use three different strategies to match the manpower demand derived from model to external manpower supply. They are creation of fooder jobs, creation of source pools and launching special training schemes. Four important indicators of manpower control are suggested. The first two concentrate on the number and cost respectively. The third gives the measure of relationship between manpower and output, taking in to account both the number of employees, cost of employing them and value of output generated. The value added ratio is useful in identifying the separate contribution of manpower. i. Sanctioned Vs actual manpower ii. Budgeted Vs actual manpower cost iii. Payroll cost as proportion of scales iv. Value added ratio The last two indicators are useful in comparing budgeted Vs actual figures and also comparing manpower productivity over the years of comparing different units in multiunit organization.