REPORT ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report is aimed at uncovering the reasons behind the success of the company as .far as human resource is concerned. Having won the human resource awards three times, the company is clearly ahead of others in the sector. The report uncovers the various aspects that motivate the employees and how the management comes in to render a hand in improving the skills of employees. The collection of data was basically in the company so as the data collected would be first hand and a real indication of what happens at the ground rather than theories and speculations.
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- INTRODUCTION
Human resource development is a crucial process that should be undertaken for a firm to be successful. The report concentrates on the human resource aspect of the firm and how it has come to be the leader in the sector having achieved several awards. The dissertation was important as it shed light on the dos and don’ts as far as human resources are concerned and how to manage the vast sector. The strategies of the firm have proved to be worthy of consideration having won the awards multiple times. The sources of the information were basically in the firm through the employees and the human resource department. The information was based on the data that is available in the company and thus did not involve any outsiders. However, the study was faced with various hindrances. They include;
- Lack of enough data from the company’s records,
- Uncooperative respondents due to fear of job loss
- Limited time
- BACKGROUND
Ritz Calton Company is chain of luxury hotels operating 81 hotels in 26 countries. The company started in 1983 in Atlanta. The hotel was started by a Swiss mogul Cesar Ritz. The founder was a well-known businessman in the hospitality industry in Europe. He continued opening hotels at various parts of the world until his death. Today, the company has 38000 employees worldwide with a revenue base of US$3 billion.
Ritz-Calton is a two time winner of the Baldrige National Quality award. This makes the employees of the company feel pride in their work as they feel part of the success of the firm. Ritz-Calton Hotel business has employed many techniques in an effort to make their human resource more productive and competent. In this light, the firm has structured various programs aimed at identifying the best suited employees to perform a particular job so as to boost performance.
- SCOPE
The main focus is to determine the techniques that Ritz Calton has employed in its human resource development needs. The main goal is to shed light on the various techniques that are used by the company since it is claimed to be one of the best in human resource development.
The report is also aimed at identifying the various reasons as to why the company regularly updates the skills of its workers and the advantages that accrue to the firm as a result of this. The study focused on the various ways to promote productivity among the employees by studying the strategies of the firm and the techniques that it has employed in the past years.
- DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS
After hiring the workers, the company conducts extensive training sessions to arraign the workers with the business practices of the firm. The training includes the virtues ‘of the firm, policies and the mission objectives. The new workers are taught how to handle clients of different calibers and attitudes. This is because the hotel is home to different people with different cultures and perceptions. Having this in mind, the human resource department has made training a mandatory procedure for new workers. The workers are trained to be professional so as to best serve the clients hence attracting more business. This intensive training is very crucial as it equips the worker with the current status of the company and the expected of projected objectives of the short run and the wrong run.
Orientation is another key activity that is performed by the human resource department. The new workers are familiarized with the goals of the firm and the visions. This is done in an attempt to infuse them and make them part of the company. Employees feel well integrated when they have substantive amount of information about the company and its activities. In this regard, the company introduces the new workers to other workers who work towards the achievement of similar objectives. In addition, the managers explain to the employees the history of the company and the values that the company stands for. This information is essential in defining the goals and objectives since continued progress of the company motivates the workers such that they would not afford to reduce performance.
Ritz-Calton Company has developed a number of values and principles. These values are transferred to employees through training. Some include; trust, respect for clients and workers, honesty, commitment and integrity. In addition, the company also embraces the principle of diversity where all the workers and visitors are treated as equals. Moreover, the company believes in enhancing the quality of life and fulfillment of individual aspirations. These are done in an effort to strengthen the Ritz Calton Mystique. Schuler (2012) asserts that winning the trust of clients is the key to success in the hotel industry. The company has effected this principle by ensuring that the service rendered to the clients are of enough quality to warrant a positive impact on the business. In this regard, the image of the company has by far been boosted by improving the image
The company recruits its staff out of experience and qualification rather that race, religion and culture. This has positively impacted the image and the customer’s base since all the customers feel represented in the firm. Diversity also assists in tapping the skills that can be available in a certain group and also attracting visitors who require specialized treatment like food and other services.
Specific training on the particular job is offered after orientation. Here, the workers are trained specifically on the docket they are to hold. This involves performance rating tools and also emerging trends in the industry. This is done in an effort to make the company up to date with the periodic improvements in the sector and technology. The basics of this training include conduct in regard to customer services. A good example is that the worker is supposed to escort the guest to his or her desired location rather than just pointing with a finger. This makes the visitors feel more important and appreciated. In addition, the workers are also enlightened on some specific tasks. The management emphasizes on how the job is done rather than getting the task completed. The activities here include; training waiters on courtesy skills like apologizing in a more acceptable manner, managing stress and intimidation from freaky customers while upholding the hospitality ethics.
- HOW TO ASSESS THE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF THE STAFF
Development needs are assed based on the difference between what happens at the ground and what is supposed to be done. The managers can identify the need for development when the employees cannot deliver to the expectations thus additional skills become a necessity.
In addition, the management can assess the needs of an improved human resource .when they want to introduce new services that require some professional skills.
The management of the company can measure and assess the required developments on their workforce by employing the Human Resource development Needs investigations method. The various categories used are;
- Performance deficiency
The management may decide on how to improve the staff by measuring the gap between what is supposed to be done and .what is already happening. If the results are not optimal, the management should quickly approve a staff development initiative to avoid excess damage.
- Diagnostic audit
The human resource department can avoid problems in the future by looking for ways to boost performance beforehand. This can assist in minimizing the damage caused by these needs.
- Democratic preference
This is a situation where the management and the staff decide ion the training that they are to undergo so as to meet the organization’s needs. This situation enhances the commitments and is strongly recommended as a booster to performance appraisals
- Conducting multiple types of analysis
- LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR SPECIFIC LEARNING NEEDS
The management should emphasize on training on the fields that are prone to mistakes or misunderstandings. Areas such as stress and habits controls should be emphasized as the clients can be so sensitive to the behaviors and attitudes of workers. As such, the strategy should be to train the concerned parties on how to handle clients [professionally since harassment and sexual molestation is son rampant in the hotel sector. Specific needs are supposed to be left to experienced workers who have encountered challenging situations before. This is appropriate since they can coach the others who they are working with.
- EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERVENTIONS
- Skill tests where the employees are tested on what they have gained in the training. The tests are assed according to the ability of the employees to effectively apply the skills.
- Introduction of tests that aim to find out whether the workers skills have increased is another method that can be used to find out the effectiveness of training. These can be in form of questions where an employee is supposed to answer questions relating to what he has been trained on.
- Performance tests are a more effective form of evaluation. This is where the assessor examines individual workers on their ability to use the skills they gained in real life situations.
- Portfolio assessment also focuses on the workers job after the development. This sis aimed at identifying the impact of training and development on the general productivity of the worker.
- The firm can also measure the effectiveness of the learning process through cost benefit analysis. The company evaluates the costs versus the benefits it gets from such trainings. If the benefits are more than the cost, then the process is labeled as successful.
- The first step is to measure the reaction of the employees towards the human resource improvement program.
- Learning where the knowledge gained by the worker is measured in comparison to the learning period and field.
- Identifying the behavioral change on the part of workers as a result of the learning program undertaken by the firm
- PROPOSED INTERVENTIONS
When introducing new staff, there should be thorough dissemination of information so that the worker is fully aware of all that is expected and also the dos and don’ts of the profession. The new staff should be given a mentor who is to provide guidance on the programs or norms hat cannot be done through training
The services rendered to the customers should be appealing as it indicates the face and values of the hotel. Poor services lead to deserting of clients. It is important to ensure that customer service is conducted in standard way accepted by everyone. The management should ensure that training is much specific on how to handle customers effectively. In addition, this is a department that needs a lot of experience of how to treat different people with different calibers and tastes.
Developing team skills is also vital for the success of any organization. This can be done through organizing seminars on how to teamwork effectively. Moreover, fan days and group tasks can act as a motivator for employees to engage in teamwork. The managers can also boost this by awarding the best team or department to motivate others.
Leadership skills are inborn or induced. He commonly can nurture the inborn skills where a worker can lead others in the right way and also train others on how to lead others. In this regard, the employees become more involved in controlling their own affairs thus the output is bound to increase.
Interpersonal skills define the workers ability to effectively bond with others and work in harmony. The skills pose a great challenge to the hotels sector where modest behavior is endeavored. The human resource management can therefore enhance this sector by training the workers on the importance of positive interpersonal relation.
- CONCLUSION
In conclusion, proper human resource management can greatly influence the success of the firm as seen in the case of Ritz-Calton. The firm has succeeded in mobilizing its human resources for the general improvement of the services. It is of no doubt that the high numbers of visitors prefer the hotels due to the care and service they enjoy while at the premises. Nevertheless, Ritz Calton has also embarked on sharpening the skills of its workforce through regular trainings so that it remains relevant in the hotel business.
Bibliography
Source: Jackson, SE, Schuler, RS & Werner, S 2012, Managing human resources, 11th edition. South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, OH.
Academy of Human Resource Development (U.S.), 2002, Human resource development reviews: HRD review, Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Morris Lindsay, 2009, Human Resource Development in Hospitality,Global Media.
