GHZP 4033

Human Resource Management in Tourism & Hospitality

Lai Yee Wei 219670

SEASONALITY in

Tourism Employment

Human Resource Challenges

Seasonality in tourism

• Defined as cyclical variations in tourism demand.

• Described as one of the most predominant, yet least understood, features of tourism. (Highman and Hinch, 2002)

• Viewed as a challenge and often a problem affecting many areas.

Seasonal jobs

• Defined as a non-permanent paid job that will end at a specified time, once the seasonal peak has passed. (Marshall, 1999)

Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM)

• Defined as the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable the firm to achieve its goal. (Wright and McMaham, 1998)

SHRM and Seasonality in Tourism Employment

• When the SHRM appropriately deployed, it will provide a primary source of competitive advantage for a firm. Yet, the advantages depend largely on the concept of “fit”.

FIT

What is fit?

• “Fit” is a kind of function has to be aligned to assist the formulation and implementation of an organization’s strategies and priorities.

Horizontal Fit

Vertical Fit

SHRM context

HORIZONTAL FIT VERTICAL FITInvolves aligning HRM practices with one another.

Involves alignment between a firm’s HRM practices and its business strategy.

The coordination among a variety of HR practices.

Concerned more with the compatibility between HR practices in a systematic way.

How does the firm achieve the goal?

GOAL Customer’s Satisfaction

Customer’sExperience

Employee’s Behavior

Horizontal Fit Vertical Fit

Result

• Linking the HR practices & business strategy will shows the employees exhibiting desired role behaviors, in turn, contribute to firm success.

Managing Seasonality in Tourism Employment

• “Embrace” or “Challenge” seasonality.

Embrace Seasonality

ChallengeSeasonality

Embrace Seasonality

• The business that by choice or circumstance accept the seasonal nature of their industry.

• 8-12 weeks, not whole year.• Supplement income with a tourist-related

business.• Example: summer bed-and-breakfast

operation.

Challenge Seasonality

• Tourism operators that are, not by choice, affected by seasonality, nature of a non-seasonal business.

• Operate a year-round enterprise. • Try to extend their season by offering visitors

discounts during the shoulder season.• Example: Hotel extra-ordinary promotion

during off season.

How to decide to embrace or to challenge?

• Align their HR policies and practices with their business strategy.

External Fit

Internal Fit

DefinitionsEXTERNAL FIT INTERNAL FIT

The need to align HR programs with the overall business strategy.

Refer to two types of alignment:I. The need to align HR programs

with other functional areas.II. The need for alignment among

HR programs.

It relates to programs, activities and strategies that the organization develops to respond to the external environment.

Focus on how organizational and HRM systems are connected. Useful to each other and to internal clients.

In short, the HR practices support the overall strategy (external fit), and support one another (internal fit).

HR practices based on seasonality

Embrace Seasonality HR Practice Challenge Seasonality

Focus on temporary workers, employee retention less important

Staffing Focus on full-time core workforce, employee retention valued

Focus on brief orientation and task specific training

Training and development

Focus on continual training and employee development

HR practices based on seasonality

Embrace Seasonality HR Practice Challenge Seasonality

Focus on ability to perform specific tasks (informal appraisal techniques)

Performance appraisal Focus on broader based competencies and task specific abilities (formal & informal appraisal techniques)

Match or lead competitor’s base pay: bonuses based on staying entire season

Compensation Match competitor’s base pay; benefits and merit increases encourage retention; bonuses for staying beyond normal season

Extra Information

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJDjXfM5NBc

Sharing Staff in tourist areas

Thank You for

your attention