Developing and evaluating human resources through education programs in hospitality business
Lazoura Ioulia
PhD candidate, Department of Tourism, University of West Attica
Abstract
When administration is met with the human factor there are a number of parameters that should be taken into account. Apart from decision making success depends on abilities and skills. In administration we shall meet the capabilities of what a successful manager is consisted of but also soft skills that lead the personnel to better results through creating bonds among them.
“Soft skills” have to do with abilities and attitudes we adopt when dealing with our colleagues, supervisors, co-workers in matters as communication, flexibility, leadership, time management, team spirit, risk taking. They are famous among employers as skills in – demand.
Education plays another important role to job life. Development of the business actually aims for the wider education of individuals and doesn’t stop at expertise knowledge of the job. The education someone gets from the development of the business he works for is the one that provides perspectives, better judgement and evolution.
Key words: development, evaluation, training, hospitality business, human relations
Introduction
Hotel success depends on administration decisions. It should be clarified that it is the persons that decide and implement, are the ones responsible and lead businesses to profit or damage. Businesses do not run on market powers. Crisis or prosperity is managers’ responsibility to choose the best strategy to thrive. Human factor is crucial whatever the result.
Surroundings also affect business future. For example hotels with main source of customers a special characteristic of the venue are susceptible to any change. Moving of airports to another location or constructing bridges on channels covered with ferries are some reason for those hotels to lose their main source of income. These unexpected changes can be seen as major chances of profit. Changing location of an airport can also mean less noise. Quiet environment can attract different target group that adding or altering services can lead to profit making hotel than a ready to collapse one. It is obvious that it is the way we deal with the situation that matters not the situation itself.
During crisis times specially, the HR department proves itself. Unity creates the moves that are necessary to bond both employees and administration under the same goal. Complains that fall on lower ranking staff giving them the responsibility for about everything is a common phenomenon. Unfortunately not many realize even today that it is the general manager’s fault. He is the one who should choose the best for the job top down. He is the one who has to control, train, organize and make the best of everything. Finally he is the one to blame for not doing so. Unsuitable staff is not evidence of inefficiency. Unsuitable general manager is.
On the other hand we meet many hotel businesses that have their attention on hiring trained executives as head of departments. Believing that transferring the responsibility to executives can lead to secure results. Creating elite of supervisors to deal with customers does not lead automatically to better results. The rest of employees will feel neglected and untrustworthy from their own manager. This fact will create a negative climate that will be transmitted to the customers as well. Negligence of employees is a negative factor that administration should be aware of and build a true interest among all levels of staff.
Well known hotels are famous for their capable employees that support their capable business with their personal interest. Participation of employees in setting goals is responsible for a bonding feeling and makes business’ philosophy easier to be adopted. Making business goals personal, helps creating team spirit, job satisfaction while absences and withdrawals become lower.
Hospitality professionals that have understood that creating moral in their business would act for their own benefit in the long term is successful professionals. Realizing that tourism industry extends socially and deal with tourists not only when in the hotel but generally through time and place, offer their expertise and talents make them be tourism conscious. Being tourism conscious is necessary to engage yourself to hospitality.
The importance of human relations in hospitality businesses
Apart from decision making, higher levels of positions have the ability of administrating personnel with best resulting. These employees acquire emotional intelligence in dealing with recognizing, controlling and influence other employees emotions. Τhey should be able to approach and motivate employees to perform their task willingly and effortlessly.
We often deal with terms like abilities, experience, knowledge of specific job requirements in order for an employee to be hired, promoted, transfer etc. Apart from what is known as hard skills people are now looking for soft skills as well. Personality virtues, behaviour, team spirit qualities that need determination, will and persistence.
In order to distinguish from a crowd of highly expertise people seeking for the same job position “soft skills” are referred as crucial. Many head hunters or consultants are now looking for these special characteristics in order to proceed in hiring but most importantly keeping the job.
Stanford Research Institute and Carnegie Mellon Foundation refer to a 75% of most highly respected CEO around the world results from “soft skills” they possess while the other 25% comes from their technical abilities or knowledge they possess. Harvard University researches show that 80% of achievements in a career is due to “soft skills” while the other 20% is attributed to “hard skills”.
“Soft skills” have to do with abilities and attitudes we adopt when dealing with our colleagues, supervisors, co-workers in matters as communication, flexibility, leadership, time management, team spirit, risk taking. They are famous among employers as skills in – demand.
Higher level employees perform their task not only in the hotel premises but also out of it. They have a number of tasks to perform that requires connection with people and establishments in the environment of the hotel business. These executive positions include the responsibility of a specific department or more. Working positions are internal control manager, reception manager, housekeeping manager, maitre, chef and others. These employees should have higher level of education, working experience, intellectual abilities. These level working positions offer initiative opportunities, fame and satisfactory rewards.
The fourth level of working positions includes productivity working positions that require high level of technical knowledge while survey lower level employees such as captains, reception supervisor, pastry responsible and others. These employees come immediate after finishing tourism technical schools or from their evolution through lower level positions.
Basic personnel are included in the last two levels of employees. Reception employee, cook, housekeeper, chef de bar, maintenance employee belong to this level. Their apprentices and helpers belong to the sixth level of a hotel working positions that can be unqualified.
By decreasing the size of the hotel some categories such as public relation manager, sales or marketing managers are disappearing though the other levels as well. The control of every level surpass to the general manager that has the ability of administrating alone the other departments.
Each level rights to a hotel business differ. The first three levels of working positions for example stay to similar rooms with the customers. They dine to the restaurant and have the right to have their family members along. They don’t have working hours, they don’t get paid according to shifts and generally they have more working hours than anyone else.
They don’t follow the production procedure but have the responsibility of the product or service produced. The more the level of the working positions is decreasing the more the connection with the production procedure.
Methods for Training Human Resources
The next phase of a training program refers mainly to training methods that will be used for its implementation. Many methods are referred to by authors, both older and more modern ones that deal with Human Resource Management. A first distinction that can be made is between on-the-job training and off-the-job training methods.
The training methods that can be used are as follows:
Training for the job position (“on the job”). Many specialists insist that 60% of training courses in the United States take place in the workplace. In these cases the employee is taught their job, usually by their manager, while performing it. The advantage of this method is that the training takes place in the daily, real work environment and the things taught are directly related to their work.
Training through learning. This method combines the training of the theoretical and practical aspects required for the employee’s job. The theory is usually taught off-the-job and the practical part is taught on-the-job. A study of 400 members of the American Academy of Personnel Management showed a 30% preference for this training method.
Training through lessons or internships. Companies often work with Universities or (TEI - colleges?) and hire students for pre-set time periods. These individuals will work at the company while at the same time learning how to do their job.
Training in simulator labs. For this method special areas, usually labs, are formed where trainees use the business’s equipment or simulators. This method is widely used. At Pizza Hut, for example, a few thousand executives have seen that using this method can affect the whole business.
Training in classrooms. The traditional method in which the trainee passively listens. This method has received criticism, as it doesn’t allow trainees to take initiative and it doesn’t allow for a course to be personalized, depending on the needs of the trainee.
Seminars. This is a somewhat altered form of the previous method, in which the trainer can discuss with trainees, ask for their opinions and strike up conversation with them. A study showed that in 1997 78% of companies used this method, but by 2000 only 68% were still using it.
Job Rotation. In this method trainees are periodically moved from one job position to another. This way, they can learn more than if they were just working one position and better understand how things in the organization work. This method is costly and has a high failure right due to the people responsible for managing it being unprepared.
Computer Training. The first way of applying this method is to have the trainee read the training material from a computer. The second way completes the first be performing not only the training through a computer, but also evaluating trainees by having them take tests on it and correcting them electronically. Companies such as Domino’s Pizza, Hewlett-Packard and Lexus use this training method.
Scheduled Training. In this method all training material exists in books or manuals and each trainee can study them at their own rate and then by using evaluation criteria, trainers can see what each trainee has learnt. This method is usually preferred for improving upon pre-existing knowledge in fields such as mathematics, physics, etc.
Training using video programs, audiovisual programs or the INTERNET. There are numerous modern programs that can be use for trainees to interact with the modern, audiovisual medium. There are no indicators that audiovisual methods are more effective than the others, unless they have to d owith training for jobs that cannot be observed easily.
Methods for Developing Human Resources
As mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, development aims for the wider education of individuals and is not limited to job-specific knowledge. This education that results from development gives people a wider perspective of situations, improves their judgement and helps evolve their personality. In competitive environments people must constantly improve on the knowledge and skills that will help them in their future work. An executive development programme should be designed after analyzing training needs for all those who hold or will hold management positions. Worker development methods can be split into two categories, much like the training methods above: on-the-job and off-the-job. In short, the worker development methods are:
Coaching. Daily instructions are given to each trainee. The trainer gives an example of what must be done and advises trainees on how to do it, thus turning work into a method for personality development.
Mentoring. According to this method, an employee with experience from the business will take a new member under their protection. A tight bond is formed between them as the mentor will protect and “adopt” the new employee.
Participating as a member in committees. The person undergoing the training will take part in various committees as a member, gaining experience on the problem solving and decision making processes.
Multiple management or board of trainees. By taking part in committees executives can gain experience and study real problems of the organization.
Assistant (staff). The trainee assists an experienced and successful executive.
Substitute-replacement. The trainee will substitute or replace their superior, taking initiative and making decisions.
Case studies. Through this method of development, trainees study real and hypothetical scenarios and learn about the composition and analysis of facts as well as about making decisions in order to solve problems. In the same way as other training/development methods, the success of this method relies on the quality of its application.
Management games. This method was developed in the United States in the 1950s and games are still used in industries even today. Trainees are split into groups, each of which represents a business and create competition between each other.
Role playing. Trainee executives play specific roles, which have to do with specific hypothetical situations within the company. By playing a role, individuals learn to deal with situations and to see things from somebody else’s perspective.
Seminars. A traditional method of personnel development through lectures in classrooms.
University programmes. A method used only recently in Greece that is a more widespread practice in other countries. Universities organize business administration programmes addressed to executives.
Lectures-workshops-conferences. Development methods aimed at informing executives on recent developments.
Behaviour Modeling. In this method trainees watch a, usually recorded, example of how to handle a situation and are then tasked with mimicking it in their work environment.
T-groups. A team of trainees is placed in a room and must have a conversation on subjects that are not predetermined. Throughout the conversation each person freely presents their opinions on how they see each other and what feelings each other’s behavior brings out (Kanellopoulos, 1991).
Active Learning. A combination of learning in a classroom and learning through practicing a specific task in the workspace. It was proposed in the 1970s with the main goal of training executives in decision making(Raelin, Lebien, 1993).
Wilderness trips and Outdoor training. In this method companies send their executives on dangerous and adventurous trips to test their physical and psychological conditions and increase their self-esteem.
New Age Training. These are lessons-exercises that challenge trainees to reveal their emotional and mental world to others through the use of meditation techniques, yoga, self-hypnosis and brainstorming in order to change their attitudes and beliefs.
Evaluation of Training & Development Programs
For a training program to be considered complete, its results must be evaluated following its completion, as a correct learning process must be two-way and not one-way. Training evaluation is defined as the systematic collection and assessment of data and information that have to do with the success rate of a training program. Despite the fact that many recognize the importance of personnel training and development, there is very little effort made on the part of European and Greek companies to systematically evaluate training programs (Papalexandri, 1997). However a proper training attempt should be measured in terms of results.
The evaluation of a training program is an integral part of it, as it helps those in charge with assessing the extent to which the results match the predefined goals of the program. This function is even more valuable if it is then used to improve already applied procedures and for the further planning of others.
The feedback from evaluation results can lead to a cumulative evaluation so as to have better program coordination, better program preparation, to reduce duplicate programs and to better adapt programs to their content, their methodology and to the groups taking part in them.
Training evaluation has four goals:
Evidence, that something happens due to the training and development process,
Improvement, an attempt to ensure that current and future training processes become better,
Scrutiny, ensuring trainers and the training process work as they were designed to by the original designer
Learning, which treats evaluation as an integral part of the training process
According to Kirkpatrick, the first to look into training evaluation methods, training evaluation must take place on four levels (Plant, Ryan, 1994):
Reactions: The most common way of evaluating a training attempt is assessing how participants react to it. Happy and satisfied trainees are more likely to apply what they have learned on a daily basis. For this reason, the employees’ views must also be taken into account.
Learning: In addition to what participants believe they took away from training, it is also important to see what they actually learned and if they have more knowledge and experience than before going through it.
Behavior: Sometimes, even if those in charge believe the training to be successful, the behavior of workers that took part in it may remain the same during their work. Gaining knowledge is of little value if it is not transferred to the workplace.
Results: It is obvious that the reason for any training program taking place is to end up with the desired results. For this reason, the resulting changes in the business can be examined in order to evaluate a training course, e.g. productivity, profits, sales etc.
It has also been supported that there can be a fifth measurement criteria of training: Return on Investment, in other words if the monetary value of the results is greater than the cost of the program.
Finally, based off the four main criteria of evaluation, we can see if a training attempt was successful by answering four equivalent questions:
- Did changes occur?
- Did the changes occur due to the training?
- Are the changes positively connected to succeeding organizational goals?
- Will similar changes be seen from new participants that undergo the same training program?
Evaluation Strategy
Evaluation must be a part of the design of a training program. By designing an evaluation method the processes for collecting, interpreting and recording necessary information are defined, as well as when and by whom they will be performed.
The evaluation process must be documented in terms of data collection, archiving, analysis and reporting as well as the progress of trainees and the program itself. For the above to be achieved, the existence of appropriate information systems is obviously required.
To measure the quality of training, an understanding of the importance of quality to customers is required. Once that is understood, the vital factors of quality can then be defined. There can be two strategies. The first is to compare employees that have completed their training to their performance before undergoing it. The second strategy is to compare the learning levels, changes in behavior and results of a team that has undergone training with those of a team with similar characteristics that has not.
The choice of strategy should be focused on improving the working conditions of a position. Evaluation in other words should be focused on the trainee and their advancement and professional development after undergoing the training course.
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