On the other hand there are the seasonal jobs that are carried out only at a fixed period of time during the year. Seasonal jobs include job roles like the hotel singer, staff transports manager, hotel singer and hotel magic maker. The jobs are seasonal because they are not carried out throughout the whole year as the theme park operates mostly on the summer months (from March- October). Thee month are the peak time hereby the month receive mot of it customers. Seasonal job are therefore suitable during the months in which the park receives most of it guests like in June, July and August.
The permanent and seasonal jobs are further grouped into full and part time job. This is because some jobs will have greater responsibility than others and are only available at fixed period of time. Hence, job roles in Alton Towers are grouped in terms of the determination and level of skill that is required to carry out the tasks which well explains why the lifeguard will have full time.
Below is a chart that shows a comparison between two job roles- Pool lifeguard and administration assistant. (Information obtained from job descriptions of Alton Towers.)
As the above chart shows, the two-job roles clearly differ not only in explicit features such as duties, responsibilities and posts but also in terms of the qualifications required, previous experience and personal attributes. For instance the open and friendly of the pool lifeguard is completely different from that of the academic and sophisticated approach administration assistant. Also the lifeguard ha to be alert during his/her shift in case of an emergency. Therefore his main duties are unexpected and could be even more challenging if he/he does not posses qualities such as being friendly, approachable and outgoing personality who can easily interact with guests a ell a colleagues.
In contrast, the administration assistant’s attributes have a more academic approach. For instance they have to be organized, able to cope under pressure and ability to work unsupervised. The job role of lifeguard can be either done outdoor or indoor whereas the administration assistant is required to carry out hi/her task indoor (in the main administration building).
Like these two job roles, other job roles in Alton Towers also differ in term of positions; duties and responsibilities; personal attribute/qualities; qualification and experience and skills required to do the job. Considering all these features, the pay of employees will also differ. Different employees are entitled to different amounts of pay. This is because the pay is affected factors such as the employee’s skills, education, experience and economic environment. For instance unskilled jobs like cleaning and, maintenance tend to be paid less than skilled jobs like an accountant. This is the reason why the education and qualification of the employees have to be considered so as to decide on their pay. However this does not necessarily mean that an unskilled worker is worthless in the theme park, it’s just a way to point out that different job roles can have different pays, depending on skill and the level of training employees require in order to be more productive. Also unskilled jobs can be done by almost everyone because no qualification but training is needed. On the other hand, there are fewer skilled workers so they tend to be paid more than unskilled workers. These jobs roles can be categorized into permanent or seasonal. The permanent jobs include jobs like the lifeguard, who works full time in the theme park to ensure that the health and safety of the pool in the park is met. The lifeguard has the responsibility of advising and directing guests with regard to the health and safety procedures. The other permanent job is the water park team leader whose effective leadership is required to play a significant role in the water park of the theme park. The leader has to manage 50 lifeguards, receptionists, cleaners and changing room attendance at one time. Therefore the job role is permanent so as to ensure the responsibility of effective leadership.
On the other hand there are the seasonal jobs that are carried out only at a fixed period of time during the year. Seasonal jobs include job roles like the hotel singer, staff transports manager, hotel singer and hotel magic maker. The jobs are seasonal because they are not carried out throughout the whole year as the theme park operates mostly on the summer months (from March- October). Thee month are the peak time hereby the month receive mot of it customers. Seasonal job are therefore suitable during the months in which the park receives most of it guests like in June, July and August.
The permanent and seasonal jobs are further grouped into full and part time job. This is because some jobs will have greater responsibility than others and are only available at fixed period of time. Hence, job roles in Alton Towers are grouped in terms of the determination and level of skill that is required to carry out the tasks which well explains why the lifeguard will have full time.
Divisional Director- Alton Towers
& Warwick castle
Human resource
Alton Towers has its on human resource department which maintains a high standard of looking after its employees. It deals with issues such as:
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Employment- Alton Towers uses a number of payment systems to pay its employees. There are three types of payments used by the theme park, which are time based, namely -wage, salary and overtime. Wages are paid according to the number of hours an employee works. Employees who do physical work like operating machines tend to be paid wages. If they work more than agreed then that is considered being their overtime. Salary is paid to employees who don’t do physical work, for instance a human resource manager. It is paid monthly or annually rather than weekly.
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Placements –human resource department is responsible for recruiting and offering placements such as retail place/shops, restaurants, home based casual working for it local community. However it has to make sure that the right people are working at the right placements and at the right time. For instance a student can only be recruited hen they are available during break like eater holiday or during the summer holidays. They ought to be offered a placement require a minimum amount of skill as youngsters may lack experience.
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Human resource planning- in order to undertake certain tasks like recruitment of the right employees, the human resource department has to ensure that it plans for the consequences of their actions. It does this by looking at factors like local employment trends, local skills shortages, competition of employee, availability for labour, labour training, sick and accident rates, age skills and succession. The process is known as the human resource planning and is closely regarded by Alton Tower human resource department.
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Recruitment and selection- Recruitment is the most important task for a human resource department as it is when the business is willing to take on new employees. By recruiting the right person the business may hope for succession in the future. A person with the perfect skill for a particular post may make a huge difference to the way a business is run. It is the human resource department of a business that is responsible for the recruiting and training of new and existing staff alike. This department is therefore considered to be significant in the sense that it recruits, trains and dismisses employees hoe only presence determine the success or failure of the business. New employees may be needed when:
- The business has expanded and increased its output.
- New skills to improve productivity may be needed because of the advance in technology.
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Existing employees are dismissed, retired or simply joined another business. Therefore by recruiting more employees, the business will be filling in vacancies created by resignation, dismissal and internal promotion. There are several stages involved in recruiting the right person for the job. The stages are known as the recruitment process. The recruitment process involves: - (attached is an example of an application form of the theme park)
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Equal opportunities and legal responsibilities- the health and safety of employees is an important aspect of the working conditions and it’s one of the main duties of any human resource department Within the organization, there are many laws that protect the health, safety and rights of employees. It is the duty of every employer to abide by these laws so as to provide safe working conditions for the employees. The laws include:
Under this Act, employees must be treated equally with regard to their sex. Therefore a woman must be paid the same rate of pay as a male employee who is doing the same job or a similar job.
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Sex Discrimination Act 1975-
This Act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against individuals on grounds of their sex or marital status. As this law applies to men as well as women, it makes it impossible for employers to advertise jobs by clearly excluding a particular sex. For instance Alton towers could not have advertised for ‘female secretary’ because this would have determined that the vacancy is only available for a particular sex.
- Employment protection Act 1978-
This Act gives employees a number of right that make their working conditions favorable to them. It gives employees
- the right to receive a written contract of employment that gives the employee the main terms and conditions of the work.
- the right to take time off for personal concerns like pregnancy and not be unfairly dismissed for such reasons. After pregnancy the employees will be able to continue with their work.
- The right to receive a written statement for causes of dismissal and not to be unfairly dismissed without a reasonable cause.
- The right for employees who worked for the business for a period of two years to receive redundancy payments if the jobs are being abolished.
With regard to the equal opportunities and legal responsibilities, Alton Towers’ Tussauds group policy opposes all formal, unlawful or unfair discriminations, victimizations and harassments that cab be practiced within the theme park. By making sure that there is a safe environment for employees, Alton Towers maintains it good reputation for providing equal opportunities, legal and ethical responsibilities for employee as well as for customers. Like employees, employers expect certain rights from their employees. Employers expect employees to:
- Attend work for hours that were agreed in the contract
- Carry out the duties that were expected from them for instance Alton towers expects its employees to take good care of the customers when using the rides.
- Take holidays only as set out in the contract.
- Follow the health and safety regulations in the case of preventing careless accidents in the workplace or possible identify hazards that could cause accidents or injury to other employees.
Probationary period
Probationary periods give new employees the opportunity to experience the tasks they are assigned to carry out. It offers them the chance to see for themselves if they are capable of undertaking appointed tasks without any hassle. Similarly it provides managers and supervisors the opportunity to find out if the new employees are really the right people for a particular job. As such the probationary period is a trial period for the employee in order to have a first hand experience of the tasks they will do in the future for the theme park. The probationary period of employee in Alton Towers is a 6 week duration whereby the employee will be closely examined in terms of their actions and consequences based on their decision making at highly demanding times; for instance in an emergency involving guest or dealing with complaints. Below is a flowchart representing the process of the probationary period of the theme park during the 6 weeks.
Most businesses display their health and safety regulations on notices that every employee could easily recognize.
For instance the need for employees to wear safety clothing in workplaces will have to emphasize in a health and safety notice. At Alton Towers, the health and safety act work 1974 and health and safety act 1975 ensure that the theme park follows the requirements and need of a safe environment. Certain requirements have to be met in order to confirm to the health and safety act of 1974. The theme park ha no choice but to confirm and act upon the standards laid down for the benefit of employees and customers but also because inspectors are likely to pay a visit to the park to ensure that the park I confirming to standards. Health and safety at Alton Towers is of high standard -‘safety record is second to none’ and ‘way above those required by the law’. This is due to the management’s of the theme park’s high consideration for important matter such as:
- Regulations- employees of the theme park have to follow certain regulations, for instance the (HSE, HSG 175) guidance of safe practice at fairground and amusement parks to make sure that the theme park is a safe place for employees and customers. The health and safety at work act further makes sure that employees operate in a safe environment considering the fact it there are lot of dangerous ride the employees have to operate on. Management of the theme park also has to make sure that employees confirm to other regulation such as being fully knowledgeable on how to operate on the machines. The act, which they need to confirm to, is the provision and use of work equipment regulations 1992. Also Regulation like disability and discrimination act 1995 makes sure that employers are not allowed to discriminate against disabled people when recruiting or promoting employees. Disabled applicants must therefore be given the job if they’re clearly the right person for the job. The only exception to this Act is if there are good reasons for the employer not doing so. These reasons may include having to make huge changes to a building so that only one disabled person may do the job there. He or she may, however be prepared to make reasonable adjustments for not seriously disabled staff like secretary who suffers from arthritis and cannot drive, types slowly and may has problems holding a phone. In this case the firm may have to make little changes so that the secretary can be adapted to her job.
- First aid center- the theme park has its own first aid center in case of ongoing emergency risks. They posse emergency medical equipments and medical personnel who are skilled to be able to attend to patients. Those ho require special needs are also catered for. The park’s first aid center also has air ambulance, safe child scheme, and school registrations in case children get lost in the theme park.
- Ride- the park is aware of the risks every ride has while used by guests. The theme park offers height restrictions to minimize the risk of accident, which are set by the manufacturers of the rides. Thee restrictions are based on anthropometrical data and agronomic aspects of ride. Furthermore, evaluation of rider’s injury potential are carried out by determining the magnitude, direction, of force sustained, passenger containment, for instance in the case of obvious but less significant, Nemesis. There are ride operators who also carry out frequent medical checks on the rides before they are operated on, upon the constant trainings provided for them.
- Technical services - these services are provided by the theme park and are responsible for all park maintenance, power and water supply (in addition to the necessity of water, the park has its own water park) and construction work. The technical services also make sure that all rides are checked daily by brake testing, welcome the annual inspections by independent body approved by the health and safety Executive and annual safety assessment. Routine checks are further applied, for instance, oil change, and cable, metal fatigue greasers that drive the ride faster, reducing the amount of friction produced.
- Health and safety department- this department make sure that comprehensive health and safety management system is in place, including risk assessments. They also provide overseeing of safety check and planned preventative maintenance to make sure that personnel confirm to the safety standards for the sake of their own live as well as the guest’s. In other word, the department is responsible for ensuring the safety of guest and staff. Overall they have to make sure that the theme park fully complies with all relevant stationery provisions and industry standards and that high standards of safety are maintained at all times.
- Heath and safety policy- the health and safety department, which is the human resource department has to confirm to the health and safety policy, laid down by the theme park’s management. The policy states that the park has to offer
- Health and safety training to staff,
- First aid provisions,
- Accident reported,
- Identification of hazards
- Safety system at work
- Consultation with employees representatives, that is the trade unions
- Provision of health and safety information to staff.
- Control of contractor
- Provision of protective clothing
- Introduction of new equipment/ rides, material and processors
To make sure that the policy is brought to attention of all employees, the theme park offers all employees with a handbook stating the policy.
- Security- to ensure security at all times in the park, there are:
- CCTV cameras installed
- Officers patrolling the park
- Traffic department
- Fire officer on site
- Access to any area of park
- Special wants met.
- Local community
- Special needs guests- the park make sure that everyone is treated equally and well catered for. Special needs guests and helpers have their own access to rides. Wristband systems are offered to ensure the safety of special need guests. This clearly proves that Alton Towers is definitely not an organization that exists to make profit but one that fully considers their customers every step on the way. Furthermore they provide guidance and advice in the form of leaf to all who require and restriction to certain rides.
Alton Towers makes sure that its employees are carrying out their tasks effectively via the human resource department’s concerns of employee performance management and training and development programs.
6. Performance management- Alton Towers closely monitors the performances of its personnel by carrying out performance reviews including appraisals, elf evaluation hereby employee individually analyze their weakness and strengths. Alternatively, employees’ performance could be analyzed as part of a group, hence known as peer evaluation. Target could also be set so that employee is encouraged to meet the target within the period that is set. Similarly the output and production of employee could be used as a determination of the level of performance.
- Training and development – With the constant changes in technology, businesses are nowadays seeing the need to train their employees more often to adapt with the changes. There has been an enormous growth in training and retraining. This is because employees such as many adults need training in basic skills. Young people need training in skills that many businesses are seeking and women also need training after having a career break. Employees who are working within the business also need training to
- Improve product quality and reduce the need for a close supervision on them
- Increase the productivity.
- Use a new machine that is to operate new rides.
- Adapt new ways for doing their tasks.
There are two types of training, the internal and external training. Internal training, (also known as in-house training) is provided by the personnel department and only given to employees within the organization even though outside specialist may be used. Induction training is a common form of training in larger organizations given to new employees. Alton Towers offer this type of training to new employees. It also provide mentoring and coaching to it staff in order to work more effectively and understand the use of technical skills with regards to the constant introduction of new rides.
Despite the in-house training, external training, an off job training is provided which is offered outside the organization by colleges or educational institutions. This type of training is therefore considered to be much cheaper than internal training as the cost of training is paid by the organization providing the training. Alton Towers also offers apprenticeships to students from college and educational institutions.
- Staff benefits- Alton Towers values its staff. Employees working in the theme park enjoy a number of fringe benefits alongside their payment. Benefits provided include:
- Uniform being supplied
- Staff canteen facilities
- Free entry ticket into the park
- Social club
- Subsidized staff transports
- Assistance in finding accommodations
- Stakeholder pension scheme.
- Staff discounts
- Company discounts &
- Incentive schemes.
Disputes
Within any business managers represent the interests of the owners whereas trade unions will represent the interests of employees. The term industrial relation refers to the relations between the managers and owners to that of the employees and trade unions. To some extent these two sides will always have a conflict because manager are those who are usually in control and make important decisions. Employees on the other hand are left with no choice but to confirm to those important decisions for the sake of the business. A conflict may therefore occur when employee don’t with the decision making of the manager. They begin to challenge the manger o that they can have more of a ay in the business which is very unlike their position in the business. This type of conflict is known as industrial disputes. In other words industrial disputes may be caused when both groups have different interests even though they are working for the same aim. For example, the owners of the business will be interested in higher profits, whereas the employees will be interested in higher wages as well as improved working conditions. However they will share a common interest, which is the desire to see that the business does not close. Therefore, it is this interest that obliges both sides to co-operate together to reach an agreement rather than an argument.
The main job of trade unions within the industrial relations is to protect the interests of the employees. As a result, it is better for employees to be part of a trade union so that their issues can be raised by the trade union. The trade union will negotiate on behalf of its member rather than each employee talking to the manager individually. There are four main types of trade unions- the craft union, industrial unions, general unions, and white-collar unions.
Sometimes the talks between the managers and trade unions do not work. Therefore, industrial disputes will occur whereby employees are advised by their unions to take industrial action. Trade unions have developed a range of actions to persuade employers to agree to the demands of employees. These actions include:
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Strike- this is when the employees withdraw from their work. This will result in the reduction of the business production/output. In return the employers will not pay the striking workers whilst they strike.
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Work to rule- this is when the employees do exactly what their job description says. In the dispute, the union will advise the employees to work to rule which means to observe all the workplace rules and act on them. This will slow down the business activity and bring about a fall in production.
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Go slow t- this is when employees will deliberately work slowly and make productivity fall.
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Overtime ban- this is when employees ban working during overtime and only work at their standard working week hours. This will result in important deadlines not to be met. Thus deigned to deliberately affect the output of the business.
Customer service
The customer service department of large businesses deals with the business’s customers. It receives inquiries and complaints about particular products and service of the business. The success of a business is mainly determined by the quality of its customer service, which it is the way it generally deals with its customers. Hence business with good customer service has competitive prices, helpful and friendly staff and responds to complain swiftly. Good customer service will be effective in its task if:
- It has the ability to win new customers. It can do this by reducing the price of service so as to attract a large number of customers.
- By providing a good service, customer loyalty is likely to be met. If customers keep on buying from the business, the business is going to increase its sales revenue.
- By improving a business’s overall image. Keeping the customers happy through the customer service can do this. Satisfied customer will then relate their experience with the customer service to potential customers who wll be attracted to the business.
- Furthermore a good customer service should be able to get possible feedback of the quality of their service from their customers. A good customer service listens to the feedback of customers in order to find out what customers think of the business activity and therefore makes improvement or changes if necessary.
Like employees, customers need their own protection in a business. Customers need to be protected by law from businesses who 0only exist to make profit. Customers need to be protected for a number of reasons. Consumer laws exist to prevent:
- Business charging very high prices or high rates. -Acts like the Sales of goods Act 1979 and Consumer Credit Act 1974 make sure those businesses are unfair that products have their right prices without ant high rates being charged.
- Dishonest practices such as stating wrong measures on labels.
- Selling of unsafe products such as children’s toys which have tiny parts that children could easily swallow- Laws like the health and safety Act 1974, Food and Drugs Act 1984; Food Safety Act 1990 and Consumer Protection Act 1987 are all involved with the main idea to prohibit the selling of unsafe products by businesses.
- Information of consumers being given to other businesses without the consumer’s permission- Acts like the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and Data Protection Act 1998 make sure that consumer’s information are made confidential and not shared without permission of the consumer.
Below are some steps Alton Towers’ customer service takes in order to make their customers’ time at the theme park a joyful one.
“We ensure that guest needs always met by providing 100% commitment
- Smile
- Make eye contact
- Be courteous and polite: show respect.
- Greet the customer politely.
- Show enthusiasm
- Do not discriminate.”
By taking these steps Alton Towers is not only providing the best service possible for their customers but also maintains good reputation so that the customers relate their experience to families and friends.
By keeping in mind the Consumer Protection Act of 1987, the theme park ensures that customers knowledgeable of the benefit and dangers arising from the many rides customers can choose from. The theme park’s considerations in relation to this practice are
- Know the product- be confident
- Give correct information
- Explain thing clearly
- Tell people of the choice there are
- Know where to access information.
- Update information constantly.
By following these steps the theme park provide a good customer service for it customers. Alton Tower believes that part of having consideration for its customers is by presenting a positive image. The theme park’s customer service has to
- Behave professionally
- Wear the appropriate uniform
- Maintain standard of appearance
- Ensure place of work is clean and tidy
- Anticipate potential guest problems/hazards and resolve them before they trouble guests.
- Enhance guest relations by encouraging guest feedback.
Furthermore, Alton Tower’s customer service takes some further steps to provide a good customer service. They:
- “Always remain pro-active looking for opportunities to help, even if people don’t ask
- Treat every individual guest like a v.i.p
- Check that they do satisfy the guest
- Try to exceed expectations
- Keep focusing on ay of improving our service and product delivery.”
Closely looking at the consideration Alton Tower’s customer service has offered its customers, it’s no doubt that it has a good customer service. However in case of complaints, the customer service makes sure that it deals with them in a similar manner. Alton Tower regards complaints as ‘an invaluable form of customer feedback’ that result in an immediate review of the theme park’s services and products. Complaints are dealt with on the park, through a form or telephone. (An example of a complaints form on which the customer making the complaint has to fill is displayed next page.). Alternatively, customer service personnel can complete compliant forms over phone. All complaints made are the logged a sophisticated system hereby various report are generated and then used by management of Alton Towers.
Following are some steps the customer service personnel considers when dealing with a compliant from a customer.
- Be calm
- Empathize/ sympathize
- Use positive body language
- Don’t justify- offer solution not explanations
- Use an area where staff and guest feel comfortable to deal with the complaint
- Listen- be patient and pay attention
- Try to find out what can be done to make the guest feel better and act on it.
- Be aware of when to call for assistance
- Make sure any further communication is agreed with the guest.
Below is an example of a typical complaint procedure depending on whether or not the customer was satisfied with the way the complaint was dealt with.
COMPLAINT PROCEDURE