Unit 3 housekeeping human resource issues

UNIT 3
HOUSEKEEPING HUMAN
RESOURCE ISSUES
1

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Describe several sources of potential employees
including internal and external sources, creative
recruiting tactics, online sources, and
advertisements.
 Describe the factors that should be taken into
account when selecting employees.
 List the steps to skills training and what must be
accomplished in each step
 Describe the challenges involved in scheduling
employees
 Identify several methods of motivating 2

INTRODUCTION
 “Employees are the lifeblood of any hospitality
operation; without them, an operation stands
still.”
 Adults, in any working environment, demand a
meaningful, mature environment and to be
treated as professionals.
 It is therefore very important that management
recruit the right employees and offer employees
the training that they need to do their jobs well.
3

TURNOVER
 Each time a position is vacated, either voluntarily or
involuntarily, a new employee must be hired and
trained. This replacement cycle is known as Turnover.”
 Annual employee turnover in housekeeping can be
higher than 100 percent.
 Turnover costs are often classified as tangible or
intangible.
 Tangible: directly incurred when replacing employees e.g.
uniforms and advertisements
 Intangible: do not relate directly to out-of-pocket expenses e.g.
lost productivity
 It is critical to maintain low levels of employee turnover
and absenteeism.
6

PERSONNEL ACQUISITION
 A means to reduce turnover and absenteeism
in the housekeeping department is to follow
technical rules for personnel acquisition.
 Recruiting: Sound recruiting policies
should be adopted. Hiring the wrong
applicant will result in high turnover.
 Selecting: The purpose of selecting
potential workers is to screen out applicants
who do not meet the criteria for the job
advertised as specified in the company’s
job description.
5

PERSONNEL ACQUISITION (CONT.)
 Interviewing: The goal is to find the best
match between the person and the
position to be filled.
 Testing: can be a helpful tool to avoid
hiring unqualified or overqualified
applicants.
 Induction: The purpose is to complete the
necessary paperwork, answer questions,
and make the newcomer feel welcome.
The peer group is an important part of the
new employee’s orientation.
6

PERSONNEL ACQUISITION (CONT.)
 Training: A lodging property cannot afford to
have an untrained or uninterested worker on
the housekeeping payroll.
 Training in the housekeeping department
should encompass four major areas:
1. technical skills
2. employee attitude
3. personal development
4. knowledge of the property
7

TYPES OF RECRUITMENT
 Internal Recruitment: “ A process in which
managers recruit job candidates from within a
department or property.”
 Examples: Cross-training, succession planning,
posting job openings and keeping a call-back list.
 External Recruitment: “A process in which
managers seek outside applicants to fill open
positions…”
 Examples: Community activities, internship
programs, networking, temporary agencies or
employment agencies.
8

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES OF
INTERNAL RECRUITMENT
Advantages
 Improves morale of both
the employee and the rest
of the staff
 Abilities are known to
managers
 May result in a succession
of
 promotions
 Costs are significantly
reduced
 Reduces training costs
Disadvantages
 Promotes inbreeding
 Can cause morale
problems
 May have an influence on
the
 politics in the company
 Creates a critical gap in
the
 department
10

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES OF
EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT
Advantages
 Brings in ‘new blood’ and
ideas
 Gives recruiters insight
into their competitors
 Provides the company with
a fresh look
 Is sometimes cheaper than
 training
 Avoids the political issues
 Serves as a form of
advertising for the
company
Disadvantages
 May be difficult to ‘fit in’
with the culture of the
company
 Morale problems due to the
employees being
overlooked
 Job orientation takes
longer
 May lower productivity
 Personality conflicts
 Looks can be deceiving
11

SELECTION OF EMPLOYEES
 Four important principles that need to be
followed when selecting employees:
 Explicitness
 Objectivity
 Thoroughness
 Consistency
13

TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWING
 Do your homework before the interview.
 Establish the appropriate setting.
 Establish a rapport.
 Know the job.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
 Rapport-building questions
 Behavioral questions
 Fitness questions
 Job competency questions
 Closing questions

THE FOUR-STEP TRAINING METHOD
 The trainer’s primary function is to communicate
performance standards to employees. Trainers
achieve this by following a four-step training
method (on the job training).
 Prepare to train
 Present (Conduct training)
 Practice (Coach trial performances)
 Follow up

PREPARE TO TRAIN
 Analyze the job.
 Identify job knowledge
 Create a task list
 Develop a job breakdown.
 Develop your department training plan.
 Make copies of materials needed.
 Establish a training schedule.
 Select a training time and location.
 Notify the trainees of the dates and times
of training.
 Practice your presentation.
15

THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING JOB
BREAKDOWNS
Job breakdowns - A form that details how the
technical duties of a job should be performed.
1. List positions in the department
2. Write a job list for each position
3. Write performance standards for each task on
the job list
4. Supply additional information, when needed

PRESENT
 Prepare the trainees
 Begin the training session
 Demonstrate the procedures
 Avoid jargons
 Take adequate time
 Repeat the sequence

PRACTICE
 Let the trainee perform the tasks alone
 Let the trainee explain each step while
performing and what’s the purpose
 Trainer correct the trainee when problems
are observed

FOLLOW UP
 Provide opportunities to use new skills
during and after training.
 Have employees discuss training with
co-workers.
 Coach a few tasks each day.
 Provide constant feedback.
 Evaluate the employee’s progress.
20

SCHEDULING OF EMPLOYEES
 Labour is considered to be Housekeeping’s
biggest expense, so it is very important to get
the correct number of employees to work
everyday.
 There are commonly two types of positions
available in the scheduling process:
 Fixed Staff Positions: those that must be filled
regardless of the volume of business.
 Variable Staff Positions: filled in relation to changes
in the hotel’s occupancy.
21

STAFFING GUIDE
 A staffing guide is a scheduling and
control tool to determine the total labour
hours, the number of employees and the
estimated labor expense needed to
operate the housekeeping department
when the hotel is at specific occupancy
levels.

DEVELOPING A STAFFING GUIDE
FOR ROOM ATTENDANTS
Step 1. Determine the productivity standard
for the task that will be performed by the
employee.
E.g.
 productivity standard to clean a guestroom is 30
minutes (0,5 hours)

FOR ROOM ATTENDANTS
Step 2. Determine the total labor hours
when the hotel is at specific occupancy
level by using productivity standards.
E.g.
 there are 250 rooms in the hotel
 the occupancy is 90%
250 rooms × 0.9 = 225 rooms to clean
225 × 0.5 hours = 112.5 ≈113 labor hours

FOR ROOM ATTENDANTS
Step 3. Determine the number of employees
that must be scheduled to work when the
hotel is at specific occupancy levels.
E.g.
 8 hour shift
 productivity standard 0.5 hours
8 × 0.5 = 16 rooms can be cleaned by a
room attendant
225 ÷ 16 = 14 full-time room attendants are
needed (or 10 full and 8 part-time)

FOR ROOM ATTENDANTS
Step 4. Calculate the estimated labor
expense required to operate the
housekeeping department when the hotel
is at specific occupancy levels.
E.g.
 the average hourly rate is $5
113 total labor hours × $5 = $565

DEVELOPING A STAFFING GUIDE FOR
OTHER POSITIONS
Similar calculations must be made for other
variable positions. e.g. inspector, day-shift
lobby attendant etc.
Step 1. determine the productivity standard
Step 2. determine the total labor hours
Step 3. determine the number of employees
Step 4. calculate the labor expense

EXAMPLE: STAFFING GUIDE FOR
INSPECTORS
Step 1.
E.g. one inspector is needed for every 80
occupied rooms. In other words, the
productivity standard for one inspector is:
0.1 hours.
8 hours ÷ 80 occupied rooms = 0.1 hours
(6 min.)

EXAMPLE: STAFFING GUIDE FOR
INSPECTORS
Step 2.
E.g. occupancy level: 90%
225 × 0.1 = 22.5 ≈ 23 labor hours are
needed to check 225 rooms
Step 3.
E.g.
225 ÷ 80 rooms = 2.8 ≈ 3 inspectors are
needed to check 225 rooms
Step 4.
E.g. the average hourly rate is $5.
23 labor hours × $5 = $115 labor expense

PRODUCTIVITY COMPLICATIONS
 Trainees/turnover
 Send backs
 Meetings
 Messy rooms
 Suites
 Late check-outs and room changes
 Maintenance rooms
 Show rooms
30

DEVELOPING EMPLOYEE WORK
SCHEDULES
 Executive Housekeepers have found the following
tips helpful when developing employee work
schedules:
 A schedule should cover a full workweek
 Schedules should be posted at least 3 days before
the next work week
 Days off, vacation time and requested days should be
indicated on posted work schedule
 Work schedule for the current week should be
reviewed daily in relation to occupancy data
 Posted work schedule can be used to monitor the
daily attendance of employees.
31

ALTERNATIVE SCHEDULING METHODS
 Non-conventional scheduling methods can
be:
 Compressed work schedules
 Scheduling part-time workers.
 Allowing workers to use flexible hours.
 Job sharing between workers.
 Scheduling two section housekeepers to
service rooms simultaneously.
 Allowing for extended time off.
32

MOTIVATION
 An environment that fosters professional growth and
development of its employees, is an enormous
positive factor to have in a hospitality environment.
 Motivation is the art of stimulating a person’s interests in
a particular job or subject in order to challenge him/her to
be attentive, observant, concerned and committed.
 Training
 Cross-Training
 Recognition
 Communication
 Incentive Programs
 Performance Appraisals

EMPLOYEE EVALUATION
 The purpose of conducting evaluations is
twofold:
1. to provide feedback to workers
2. to establish a basis for compensation based
on the quality level of their performance
 Rating scales are effective tools for
appraisals.

EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION
 Compensation (pay increases) should be tied
to performance.
 If an employee’s productivity is high and the
quality excellent, compensation should be
greater than an employee whose performance
is below standards.
 The ideal effort / compensation should be
1 / 1, meaning the effort put into one’s work
should equal the reward obtained from it.

CREATING WORKER SATISFACTION
 Conducting exit interviews is the first step in
attempting in finding out why employees
leave.
 Some tools to create worker satisfaction in
the workplace are:
 Employee career paths
 Incentive programs
 Wellness programs
 Employee assistance programs
 Child-care assistance
 Retention bonuses

EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE
 Corrective actions for unacceptable or
irresponsible behavior must be taken when
necessary.
 The most effective method of disciplining
employees is the counseling session.
 Counselling is designed to correct a problem
without formal disciplinary measures.
 It gives a manager and an employee an opportunity to
sit down together and discuss problems and identify
solutions.

PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE
 The process of progressive discipline addresses
undesirable behavior and take strict measures
for the repeated ones.
 Progressive discipline involves four basic steps:
 spoken warning
 written warning
 suspension
 termination

GUIDELINES FOR DISCIPLINARY
ACTION
 conduct a through investigation of the
incident
 document the action
 be firm, fair and consistent
 stick to the decision
 be careful of unwritten rules
 support the employee, not the behavior

Unit 3 housekeeping human resource issues

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