Introduction
The present case study is based on the current recruitment practices at George Hotel that are essentially based on employee referrals thus encouraging a family oriented culture in the organization. The case study discusses the critical analysis of the current recruitment methods and provides viable solutions to the problems identified in the current recruitment system. A recruitment plan for the expansion of the hotel unit at a new location has also been provided.
- How should the 4 issues identified at the end of the case be addressed? Please be specific and explain your recommendations.
The four issues identified at the end of the case include:
- Documentation Verification and Compliance: It was found that a number of employees did not have an I-9 documentation and the majority of the employees agreed to submit the documentation to HR except for 4 long term employees.
In order to address this issue, the HR department should engage in personal face to face interaction with the employees and understand the reason for non-compliance of the documentation procedure on request. In case there is still no response, a strict action should be initiated against such employees in the form of restrictions or penalties that can modify their behavior. However, since the hotel has an informal organizational culture, the HR department should use participative leadership and conflict resolution skills in order to address the issue in an amicable manner. Punishment should be taken as the last resort and only in extreme cases.
- Background Check: It was found during background check that a three year old employee was a registered sex offender and he is the son of another employee. No background check was initially conducted for him at the time of joining.
In order to address this issue, a stringent and standard documentation and mandatory background check procedure should be implemented in the organization. The service period for the employee in question should be evaluated for the past 3 years to analyze the performance of the employee and his contribution towards the organization. Also, the behavior of the employee should be carefully monitored for the next few months and any case of sexual assault or harassment should be taken seriously. In case, the past records indicate any unwanted behavior traits, the employee should be expelled from the organization.
- Suspended Driving License: The case of a job of a driver allotted to a person with suspended driving license should be taken seriously and the employee should be either immediately be expelled from his job or should be shifted to other departments if possible. In any case, the employee should not be allowed to continue with the job of van driver for the organization.
- Kitchen Employees in Romantic Relationship: In this case, the behavior of the two employees needs to be carefully monitored by the superiors and peers and any instance of informal behavior or unacceptable conduct should be reported to HR and the work areas of the two employees should be changed to restrain contact.
- Critically evaluate the current approach to staffing at the George Hotel.
The managerial function of staffing is defined as the filling of the vacancies and maintaining the current positions in the organizational structure. The process of staffing ideally involves various steps such as identifying the workforce needs, sourcing the people that are available, recruiting, selecting, promoting, compensating and training employees. The organization George Hotel currently employs an informal approach to staffing process as the employees are basically sourced on the basis of employee referrals and the organization does not consider candidates from the external sources. Majority of the employees of the organization right from top management to the middle management and the bottom executive level in the organization are actually relatives of each other. Such a pure referral system of staffing ensures the existence of amicable relationships between the various employees of the organization, as the employees love interacting with each other and have lesser friction due to cultural differences or behavioral orientations. It is a convenient and cost effective system of staffing for the organization as the employees are easily sourced through referral programs. It is also anticipated that such a closely knit organization serves the customers in the best possible manner and has a higher level of emotional intelligence and tolerance among the employees.
However, such an informal and internal staffing system also has many disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages of such a system is that the employees that work in teams are somehow related to other employees at various levels in the organization. The organization does not have a formal HR policy and procedure and code of conduct formulated for the employees of the organization. A fraction of the employees tend to be good performers at work and are an asset for the organization. However, some of the employees may take the advantage of personal relationships and may adopt casual attitude to work and may not contribute substantially towards the growth of the organization. It is critical for the organization to implement performance based compensation plan in the hotel so as to link the personal goals of the employees directly with the goals of the organization. It may also happen that some employees may be hesitant to provide honest feedback to their team members or some level of favoritism may exist in the organization.
Also, the staffing of employees from internal sources refrains the organization from attracting the best talent in the industry that may be better skilled employees and can contribute a great deal towards the growth of the organization The selection of the employees should be made on the basis of a pre-determined evaluation criteria such as job profile, employee qualifications, experience, social skills, thinking ability and performance in the hiring exams rather than the employee referrals that have little or no assessment of the job skill and employee aptitude match.
- Propose a staffing process to be used going forward, in view of the expansion of the business and opening of a second hotel. Be sure to justify the components of the process you are proposing.
The staffing process for the expansion process should include the following steps: a) HR Planning: Determining the number of employees that an organization will need in future and the kinds of skills those employees must possess is the task of human resource planning. George hotel should first assess the staffing needs of the organization and such an evaluation should be conducted by the various departments of the organization. The assessment of the staffing needs (job vacancies) along with the job profiles and the eligibility criteria should be forwarded by the various hotel departments to the HR department.
The HR department then shall plan the recruitment activities for the organization including the hiring activities, the selection of recruitment channels for hiring, the evaluation of the candidates, and the training and development of the new employees. With the plan of opening a new hotel, a plan for human resources needed to manage the new hotel also needs to be created. The number of front desk employees, housekeeping staff, catering staff required should be considered and planned well ahead in advance. The cost structures and salary heads should also be calculated and a hiring budget should be assessed in advance.
b) Recruiting: It consists of those activities undertaken to encourage sufficient number of qualified people to apply for an organization. This can be achieved by advertisements in various online websites, newspapers, social media and sourcing of candidates through the recruitment consultants. The hotel can also partner with leading hotel management institutes to hire fresh hotel management graduates for the new project. The prospective candidates should be evaluated on the basis of various criteria such as work experience, performance in the recruitment tests and educational qualifications.
c) Selection: The goal of selection process is to choose the applicant that is best qualified for a particular position. This component of the entire staffing process must be strictly followed by hotel management and should be conducted carefully. The candidates should be evaluated on the basis of various parameters such as educational qualifications, relevant experience, general aptitude, presence of mind, appearance/personality traits and communication skills. The employee referral should be given the least importance while selecting candidates so as to ensure a fair recruitment plan and also to select the best talent for the new organizational set up. The final decision to select or reject a candidate should be taken jointly by the concerned department managers and the HR department.
d) Orientation: Orientation enables the new employees get a deeper understanding of the work culture of the organization and job functions. Orientation of the newly appointed staff should be planned in advance and should essentially involve an introduction to the organization, its culture, its values and beliefs, HR policies and procedures and the job functions.
e) Training: Training and Development are concerned with improving productivity, groups and entire organizations. Training at the organization should involve a formal on the job training that is monitored by the senior managers of the related department. The candidates should be continuously monitored during the training period to identify and fix gaps in performance and also train the employees for job function. The initial training for the new employees should be supplemented with future trainings that equip the employees with the leadership skills to take higher roles in the organization.
f) Performance Based Appraisal: It is an essential part of staffing process as it is concerned with how well employees are carrying out their assigned duties and responsibilities. The organization should implement a performance based appraisal system in the organization. A performance bases appraisal system evaluates the performance of the employees with respect to the achievement of organizational goals and objectives
g) Compensation: The compensation plan of the organization should consist of a fixed and a variable component that would vary with the performance of the employees. The organization should suitably reward high performers to retain the best talent.
References
Bhattacharyya, Dipak Kumar. 2011. Performance Management Systems and Strategies. New Delhi: Pearson Education India .
Caruth, Donald L., Gail D. Caruth, and Stephanie S. Pane. 2008. Staffing the Contemporary Organization: A Guide to Planning, Recruiting, and Selecting for Human Resource Professionals Third Edition: A Guide to Planning, Recruiting, and Selecting for Human Resource Professionals. USA: ABC-CLIO.
Koontz, Harold. 2010. Essentials Of Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
