HRM: Heart of the Hotel Industry

Human Resource Management is an Integral and Significant Part of the Hospitality Industry. Since Hospitality Service is All About Providing Better Services to the Consumer, the Quality of Hotel Would Depend on the Employees, Who Are Considered as Brand Ambassadors of the Property. Therefore, Choosing the Right Candidates and Training Them is a Task That the Hrm Has to Perform Diligently. The Hr Dept. Is Thus an Important Segment of the Hospitality Industry and is Essential for Efficient Running of a Hotel. Ashok Malkani Examines the Tasks of the Hr Dept and the Problems That It Has to Tackle for Smooth Functioning of the Hotel.

Human factor plays an important role in the success of an organisation. This is particularly true in the case of hospitality industry. When we speak of hospitality industry we normally think in terms of hotels and restaurants. However, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, hospital ity means “the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers with liberality and goodwill.” To ensure that guests receive courteous and proper attention it is essential for organisations to have an effective personnel and Human Resource Management (HRM) department. This becomes more indispensable in the hospitality industry, since it is a people driven business which relies mainly on satiating the desires of the customers, for its success.

The HR department thus has multifarious tasks to ensure that the hotel staff delivers.

According to Aishwarya N, CHE, Asst. General Manager – L & D (Learning & Development), Brigade Hospitality Services Limited, “the Human Resources department is the conduit between management and realisation of goals.”

She adds, “The various functions of the department are Recruitment and Selection, Pe rsonne l Admin i s t rat ion , Learn ing and development, Talent Management, Performance and reward management, Succession and Career planning, Statutory compliance and labour relations. These functions make the channel of information flow more robust and healthy.”

Pradeep Ghorphade, Director of Human Resources, Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway while concurring with the functions of the HR Dept briefly describes some of them thus: