Where Contribution Is Lacking
- There are no job description tools
- There are no templates in use to document work trials properly
- No scoring criteria to demonstrate an individual’s level of success
- More use should be made of international links
- The current international transfer system has no real value
- Hilton does not proactively encourage societal diversity. There are no links to other sources such as the prison service and homeless back-to-work schemes
- Internal recruitment process is poor as it is unstructured, untimely and there lacks a clear assessment process. Colleagues are often ‘cherry-picked’. If a colleague is successful development plans are not written
- Employees are also always seen within the capacity of their current role
Having analysed valid recruitment deficiencies, this report will now move onto the subject of Manpower Planning. Importantly, the next section identifies several noteworthy improvements to be made.
5.1.2 Manpower Planning
Ideally, Manpower Planning is concerned with using systematic techniques to assess the extent to which an organisation will be able to meet its future requirements for labour. This report has highlighted that this is an area of weakness, where significant improvements could be made.
Where a Contribution is Being Made
- Creative Management workshops are being rolled-out and are compulsory for all HOD’s. This equips them with understanding of productivity and targets
- All rotas have to be authorised by senior management
- All HOD’s have to evidence weekly wage and productivity forecasts and then provide actuals to track progress
Where Contribution Is Lacking
- Follow-up coaching and on-the-job support stops once a colleague has attended the Creative Management workshop
- Feedback from the senior management team is making its way back to HOD’s concerning their rotas, however costs are not decreasing. Pressure is put on to make cuts but not in a way that optimises customer service
- The senior management team have created a succession plan, but they are the only ones in the business that know about it
- HOD’s don’t proactively schedule elements such as sickness and holiday
From the points above, it appears that feedback from HOD’s and follow-up coaching are priority recommendations. This report will now evaluate the Performance Management systems in place and how, if necessary they can be improved.
5.1.3 Performance Management
Simply put, performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on performance of the organisation, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees, etc. Hilton as a company excels in providing management tools, but consistently fails to implement effective procedures.
Where a Contribution is Being Made
- There exists an excellent range of quality tools, which promote fairness, efficiency and effectiveness, e.g.
- 1-2-1’s
- PDP’s
- Disciplinary procedure
- Grievance procedure
- See Appendix 1 for sample policy documents
- An effective process for tracking the completion of all performance reviews exists
- Hilton successfully communicates all performance management systems to staff. The system is transparent. All policies are sent to a new employee together with their offer letter and contract. Policies are then re-enforced upon Induction
- HOD’s are presented monthly with statistics detailing their current sickness percentages, labour turnover. See Appendix 2 for a sample presentation
Where Contribution Is Lacking
- There is no consistency on the training of procedures. Some managers are weak, others strong and some don’t use them at all
- The quality of reviews is poor, and few colleagues are being set objectives as part of their appraisal
- Hilton could be better at identifying training needs from PDP’s
As we can see, contributions are being made but issues, such as lack of consistency, are inevitably causing employee relations to suffer. However, greater awareness of deficiencies may be enough to create positive action.
This report will now look at the area of Release and provide well considered estimations of financial improvements to support the recommendations.
5.1.4 Release
In 2003, turnover at the Hilton Brighton Metropole stood at 51%. For the purpose of this report, the following areas of release have been explored - redundancy, dismissal, voluntary leavers and retirement.
5.1.4.1 Redundancy
As an organisation, Hilton provides their HR departments with a set of tools to conduct redundancies. The pack consists of redundancy policy guidance notes, a ready reckoner to calculate statutory pay, the procedure for selection, selection criteria, redundancy process guidance notes, do’s and don’ts during the redundancy interview, managing employee responses, a feedback form and information on how to handle redundancy dismissals fairly – See Appendix 3. Although the information is good, it is not updated on a regular basis.
Recommendations
This report makes the following recommendations:
- That standard letters are included within the guidance pack
- More information is collated and distributed via Head Office on ‘Red Circle’ benefits. These are some of the benefits that some colleagues still hold from when the hotel was previously owned by Stakis
- That outplacement help is offered
- Jobshops are put in place to help with tasks such as the writing of CVs and preparing for interviews
5.1.4.2 Dismissal
The dismissal procedure at Hilton is fair, ethical and transparent. No-one would be dismissed without a full disciplinary hearing and all new colleagues are trained on the process on their first day in the company. See Appendix 4 for a copy of the procedure.
Recommendations
This report makes the following recommendations:
- During a recent case that went to an employment tribunal, it was brought to the attention of the HR department that the list of examples for Gross Misconduct was too narrow. It is therefore recommended that the list is expanded and improved
- That a clause is written into the procedure on when we pay notice. There presently lacks consistency
- When a colleague is dismissed we are not good at ‘policing’. Colleagues frequently return to the building and still hold keys, security passes and codes
5.1.4.3 Voluntary Leavers
The CIPD 2002 survey of labour turnover in the UK estimated that the average cost per leaver was £3,462, and the cost ranged from £1,302 for unskilled manual workers to £5,699 for managers.
In comparison to other hotels in the South East current labour turnover statistics are reasonably healthy. The figures are calculated monthly and are broken down by department. However it is a manual, paper-based process which is time consuming.
There are currently no exit interviews being held and colleagues that leave do so without a good ‘send-off’. It is with these points in mind that the following recommendations are made…
Recommendations
- Structured exit interview questionnaires are written and the data collated and effectively utilised
- Staff relinquish any benefits at the exit interview
- HOD’s actively start recruiting having received a letter of resignation. This allows for a hand-over between the new member of staff and the leaver
5.1.4.4 Retirement
Retirement is a major change and should be prepared for. There currently exists very little information within Hilton for dealing with this.
Recommendations
- That a retirement policy is written and specifies:
- when colleagues are due to retire
- the circumstances, if any, in which they can work on beyond their normal retirement date
- the provision of pre-retirement training
- the provision of advice to colleagues about to retire
- The business proactively talks to colleagues approaching retirement age
- Risk assessments are carried out as necessary
- Retirement is celebrated
5.2 HR at a Strategic Level
A strategic approach focuses clearly on the importance of HR to organisational success. Instead of the HR staff being seen as a support function or an add-on to the core business, they are seen as a key factor in developing and maintaining organisational success and a competitive edge.
Strategic HR aims to develop, deliver and manage high-quality policies and practices which, when they are effectively undertaken:
- contribute to the organisation's strategic intent
- help to produce and mark out high-performing organisations
Tyson and Fell suggest that, “in spite of all the difficulties, the need for personnel specialists to ensure that they both help to create wealth and to obtain recognition for their work is such that the attempt to measure performance must be made”. They developed a ‘building site’ metaphor, distinguishing three roles:-
- Clerk of Works – This role has only a minimal managerial content and has no strategic contribution. It corresponds to the personnel administration role
- Contracts Negotiator – a non-strategic short-run focus of role, although it is critical in times of crisis
- Architect – corresponds to the HR Manager who is involved in top level corporate planning and decision-making
To obtain a better understanding of how strategic the role of HR is within Hilton, questionnaires were issued to key senior personnel. The feedback suggests that HR is significantly involved.
HR is represented on the Board of Directors and each hotel operates a ‘4D’ Structure (Directors of HR, Finance, Revenue and Operations). On the next
Level, HR management then contributes to the creation of the Business Plan and is responsible for key drivers and objectives on this plan.
On a national level, initiatives such as Exchange (employee forum), ROAD (succession planning toolkit), TBS (technical and behavioural skills training), Induction and Esprit have all been generated to drive success through people. Esprit is the benefits package and encompasses all that typifies Hilton’s approach to colleagues. It is the vehicle to further personal and career development needs. To assess these initiatives, a further HR initiative, Viewpoint (staff survey), is used as a tool to provide metrics, gather information and write assessment reports.
At a regional level, some long-term strategies are being developed and others implemented, to improve colleague performance. Working groups are currently looking at improving performance through the Guest Satisfaction Tracking Survey and the policy “Ready, Steady, Manage” looks at the long-term benefit of developing HOD’s.
Success on a local level is decided by the individual General Manager and HR Manager. In an interview with Peter Hales, General Manager, he comments: - “My personal view is that training and motivating colleagues is the foundation of any success in business. The strategy behind improving this is a mixture of national, regional and personal initiatives to follow a balanced path.”
At the employee level of the organisation, HR is also represented on the hotel ‘Balanced Scorecard’ which is the measurement tool of a hotel’s success.
These findings very much mirror a recent survey from the CIPD. The survey looks at the tougher demands being placed on HR, and how the function is undergoing a major transformation that will involve taking on a more strategic role within the business. It indicates that HR activities are heavily business-driven and already strongly aligned with business needs. Business strategy and the views of senior management are seen as key drivers of change. The survey goes on to comment that there has been a shift in aspiration within HR, from a function concerned with reactive HR (fire-fighting) to one focused on adding business value.
At Hilton, the HR department has had to develop the HR Evaluation to enable it to work closer to the HOD’s and to develop a more strategic alliance with them.
Recommendations
Above and beyond HR’s current policies, this report recommends that:
- HR goes ‘back to the floor’. HR would benefit from working directly with the operational areas of the business to have a better understanding of procedures and standards. This will then equip the department to become proactive rather than reactive
- It is recommended that HR Officers are split cross-functionally, becoming dedicated to specific departments. This would make them experts in a department, for example, F&B (Food and Beverage), and would better equip them to diagnose business problems
Having reviewed how strategic the HR department is within the hotel, this report will now review the extent to which HR policies are integrated both vertically and horizontally within Hilton. It will also include recommendations for action in these areas.
5.3 Integration of HR Policy
In his book A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, Michael Armstrong writes that “members of HR can give guidance, but it is line managers who are on the spot and have to make decisions about people. The role of HR is to communicate and interpret the policies, convince line managers that they are necessary, and provide training and support that will equip managers to implement them. As Purcell et al (2003) emphasize, it is line managers who bring HR policies to life.”
Is the ideal role of HR approached or acknowledged by Hilton? To gather feedback on policy integration within Hilton’s day-to-day running, interviews were carried out with key senior personnel. In an interview with Clare Price, Regional HR Director, she explains that “The majority of HR policies are driven through Esprit and our people standards. New HR policies, when agreed, through consultation, are cascaded through the hotel manager. The company relies heavily on the individual hotel managers, with the support of the regional HR Director to integrate these policies. The average HR audit score on the south region, where HR policy integration is measured to date, is 84%.” (See Appendix 5)
The opinion of Clare Price is echoed by her colleague, Lizzy Robertson – HR Director for the Brighton hotels. She explains that “HR policies are integrated vertically through ongoing training and communication. However, from a horizontal perspective, whilst all managers are aware of and trained in HR policies the extent to which these are effectively delivered varies depending on the skills and leadership style of the individual department manager.”
She continues by adding that “it is very difficult to get all areas of the business thinking and doing the same. There are barriers, some of which that are historical, to breakdown before advances can be made. I think that there are some great tools, such as the HR evaluation, to drive policies. However, it is something that takes time, respect and trust to build up.”
Having identified the role of HR in policy integration and identified how Hilton integrates policy both vertically and horizontally, this report now makes the following recommendations for improvement.
Recommendations
In the area of integration of policy, this report makes the following recommendations…
- That the Viewpoint (employee survey) analysis report is used as training needs tool
- That the quarterly HR evaluation focuses specifically on policy integration, requiring evidence to be provided from the head of department on the training of colleagues
Having looked at how policies are integrated into Hilton this report will now assess the likely impact of a ‘value added’ approach to Human Resourcing.
5.4 Added Value
In his book ‘People Resourcing’, Stephen Taylor defines ‘adding value’ as “…three separate types of contribution: delivering business objectives, providing an excellent administrative service and acting as a champion for effective people management”. He continues by stating that “value is only added if P&D professionals are able to remind other managers of the potential impact their actions can have on employee satisfaction, staff turnover rates, performance levels, the incidence of absence and organisation’s reputation in its key labour markets.”
To evaluate how the HR department at the Brighton Metropole, ‘adds value’, interviews were held. During an interview with Lizzy Robertson she stated “I believe HR is responsible for driving the people strategy of the business. By ensuring colleagues at all levels are effectively recruited, appraised and developed we help maximise every individual’s potential. We therefore ‘add value’ by encouraging maximum productivity from each colleague.” She added that “by working in this way we improve efficiency, thereby making a direct impact on the bottom line.”
If HR is seen to be adding value then one clear advantage would be the business’s willingness to invest further resources into this area. Ultimately employees will benefit from improved training and development, and welfare facilities. However it depends on what the organisation sees as ‘adding value’. Some organisations have demonstrated cost savings and improved efficiency through the use of ‘E-HR’. However this takes away the human contact and makes HR far less accessible to general colleagues.
Another advantage for employees is job satisfaction and security. The disadvantage is that long term poor performance is not tolerated, ultimately leading to resignation or dismissal.
If HR is perceived to be adding value, one advantage for the organisation is that a well-balanced business grows. A disadvantage is that success has its own problems such as the poaching of high performers and an expectation that success will happen.
Recommendations
This report recommends that:-
- The HR department holds ‘open-days’ for colleagues to come and find out more about the department
- The results from the latest Viewpoint (staff questionnaire) are published via a poster campaign. This will identify what the company does well and how it needs to improve
Having explored the contribution made by the HR department at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, this report will now make some wide-ranging recommendations.
6.0 Recommendations
The previous sections of this report have made recommendations for specific areas. The following recommendations are proposed for Hilton UK & Ireland (HUKI).
Firstly, that the organisation implements an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). Counselling through an EAP can often be an important first step for many employees seeking advice and support. In addition, the offer of face to face counselling services through an EAP can be seen to discharge the duty of care required by law of an organisation, which may lead to a decline in the number of disciplinaries the hotel currently faces. An EAP can treat a wide range of occupational and domestic stress related issues - racial and sexual harassment, bullying, redundancy, bereavement, domestic violence and mental health problems. Prices per person range from £15 - £25 per person from companies such as The Validium Group or BusinesshealthEAP+.
Secondly, tighter cost control in relation to uniform and company property is needed. The company which supplies uniform to Hilton is currently experiencing huge backlogs and ordering time is anything from six to ten weeks for a single item. Therefore, HR and managers need to recover any uniform that is in good condition. In the same light, any company property needs to be retrieved prior to the individual leaving the company.
Finally, it is recommended that proper exit interview questionnaires are written and interviews conducted. This will enable the hotel to have a clearer understanding of why employees are leaving and may highlight poor management practices.
7.0 Conclusion
This report concludes that HR is making an effective contribution within Hilton across all of the operational areas. However, improvements can always be made. At a national level, vital recruitment tools such as job descriptions are lacking and HR still has limited involvement in manpower planning. Hilton as a whole has excellent systems and policies in place for performance management, but again these are only delivered effectively where the individual management teams are committed to consistent performance management.
8.0 Bibliography
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Taylor, S. (Second Edition – 2003) People Resourcing, CIPD
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Armstrong, M. (Ninth Edition – 2003) A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page
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Marchington, M. & Wilkinson, A. (Second Edition) People Management and Development, CIPD
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Mullins, L. (Sixth Edition) Management and Organisational Behaviour, Financial Times
8.1 Electronic Sources
- www.hilton-university.com
9.0 Appendices
10.0 CPD Log
Having completed this assignment I have the following comments to make about it and the process:
Strengths:
The questionnaires that I sent out and the interviews I conducted with the senior management team really helped me focus my research. This in-turn enabled my report to meet the criteria written in the brief – it made the report very work-specific.
Suggestions for improvement or change:
I would hope that I would use what I have learnt on this assignment in all following pieces of work for submission.
What I encountered that helped the process:
As I mentioned above I found that by using questionnaires and structured interviews it helped me focus my report. It also helped gain different opinions from the senior management about our current processes.
I also believe that I made much better use of my time with this report. My first assignment for the 2nd Year (Learning and Development), I found really hard. But I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I had had quite a long break over the summer. Consequently, I found that I spent much of my time on it in the evenings leading up to the hand-in date. This report, however, has been different and I vouched that I would not be spending hours on it the night before it was due in!
Also one of the first things I made myself do for this assignment was a plan. The plan consisted of a skeleton of the report, with details of ‘intros’ and ‘outros’ for each section. This helped me stay on track and consider how many words were being written in each section.
What I encountered that hindered the process:
I can’t really say there was too much that hindered the process. In terms of research I have found the changes that the CIPD have made to their website very confusing, and I don’t believe it to be as user-friendly as it was previously.
What I would do differently in the future/next time:
As I found this report rather interesting and not very stressful, I decided that what has made it less stressful than previous assignments is the planning that I have put into it. Therefore, with this in mind, I would plan to do the same thing with future assignments.
Key learning for my personal development:
Personally I have learnt that a little planning and being slightly more organised has reduced my stress-levels immensely. I have also learnt to use senior management more at work to help with research. Previously I have felt a little shy in asking for their assistance and a little wary of their response in questionnaires and interviews. However, for this report, I sat down with my manager and showed her my questionnaire that I wanted to use and asked for her approval and comments. She thought that my final version was fine and that I should use it – it was well received and I really appreciated the responses I got from it.
Therefore, I have learnt to maybe exert myself a little more and to have greater faith in my ability.
Key learning for my professional development:
Professionally it has been really interesting for me to realise how our General Manager perceives our department and although at times I feel he thinks we add very little value, it seems that the opposite is true.
In discussions with my manager concerning how we contribute and how as a department we are strategic, I was motivated by realising that we do have a significant impact on the bottom line at Hilton. This made me feel really good about my role as HR Officer.
Armstrong, M. (Ninth Edition – 2003) A Handbook of Human Resource Management, Kogan Page, p.38.
Armstrong, M. (Ninth Edition – 2003) A Handbook of Human Resource Management, Kogan Page, p.347.
Armstrong, M. (Ninth Edition – 2003) A Handbook of Human Resource Management, Kogan Page, p.379.
S. Tyson & A. Fell, (1986) Evaluating the Personnel Function, Hutchinson
CIPD – “HR Survey – Where we are, where we’re heading”
Armstrong, M. (Ninth Edition – 2003) A Handbook of Human Resource Management, Kogan Page, p.139.
Taylor, S. (Second Edition – 2003) People Resourcing, CIPD, p.5 & 9.