hotel parisinternational

7/28/2019 Hotel ParisInternational

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Hotel Paris International: AComprehensive Strategic Human

Resources ProposalThe Hotel Paris International, in order to meet their mission of using superior guest

service to differentiate the Hotel Paris properties, increase the length of stay and return

rate of guests, and boost revenues and profitability should begin a comprehensive

human resources overhaul by developing a clear plan to direct all actions during the

overhaul process. This plan should begin with outlining each step as it should be

performed. To start, in an effort to streamline hiring worldwide, job descriptions should

be clearly defined and standardised. Once job standard job descriptions are developed,

then aggressive recruitment can be instated to provide an almost-constant pipeline of

applicants, which will also make the interview and hiring process more competitive.

Qualified applicants should not require extensive training in Hotel Pariss systems, but

some introductory or orientation training should be phased in to further standardise

operations. In addition, periodic recurrent training may be beneficial. Once reliable and

consonant employees have been integrated, systems of performance evaluation should be

introduced and maintained to ensure quality service company-wide. Finally, in order to

retain valuable employees, a superior reward system should be implemented, and

compensation should be fair within industry standards.

Clearly defined job descriptions are important to maintaining a happy and motivated

workforce. Without proper descriptions, employees can become shiftless and morale drops

quickly because of frustration from the I wasnt hired to do this attitude that manyunder-appreciated employees exhibit. Not only can proper job descriptions enhance

existing employee morale, but it can also (and most importantly) make future recruiting

and training much easier. Hotel Pariss first priority should be to develop comprehensive

descriptions for all front-line positions, then work their way up the corporate ladder. This

is most easily done by having supervisors make observational surveys of their subordinates,

coming up with a list of tasks and duties for each position. To enhance the companys

mission of being customer-oriented, some customer service duties may be added to each

descriptionespecially in front-line positions where customer interaction is most likely.

Once these surveys are completed, job descriptions can be disseminated to all positions

company-wide where employees will be elaborated as to their expectations. The

employees that fit the positions best will be retained, those that do not will be let go

through attrition, and overall morale will improve. Improved morale will translate into

better customer service and lower turnover rates.

Once concrete job descriptions are in place, the task of overhauling recruitment becomes

priority. As some employees may have left because of new expectations, those positions

must be filled. As there is no uniform standard for recruitment and hiring, several key

factors must be considered. First is internal recruitment; promoting from within is one of


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the easiest and cost-effective ways to fill positions within a company. Intracompany

memos (employee newsletters, etc.) can advertise available positions at each location,

and qualified prospects can apply directly through the company HR department. Internal

promotion retains valuable employees who have a vested interest in the company as well

as allowing for job mobility worldwide. Second (and the first priority in external

recruitment) is media coverage; a wise choice would be to advertise in several media

outlets in each market and survey applicants to determine which outlets are most

effective at attracting not only qualified applicants, but also which of those applicants are

hired. One of the best sources for applications is a careers section of the corporate

website, these applicants often perform more research into a company and are typically

proactive in their job selection process. Headhunting can also be a valuable tool in

recruiting new corporate-level managers if there are no viable options at the front-lines.

No matter what the methods determined, Hotel Paris must keep regional preferences in

mind and advertise accordingly. Once the most effective media outlets have been

determined, then HR can keep a pipeline of potential interviewees ready for callbacks any

time that a position must be filled.

Interviews should be standardised as much as possible company-wide; that way, a desk

clerk in Paris has the same (or very similar) qualifications, attitudes, and skills as a desk

clerk in Los Angeles, Miami, or London. A customer who chooses Hotel Paris for one city

should expect to see the same level of service and care in any other city they travel to. In

addition, the interview process should include a skill assessment tailored to each job

description which may or may not include behavioural assessments or technical

evaluations, depending on the position. Security guards, housekeepers, and anyone else

with front-line access to guests security (keys, rooms, parking areas, etc.) should,

obviously, pass a criminal background check while a desk clerk should be able to handle

computerised data entry while having impeccable people skills such as courtesy,

manners, and tact. A set of standard interview questions can allow managers to perform

effective interviews coherent with the mission goals set by the corporate HR department.

These questions can be inferred from job descriptions as well as by interviewing model

employees already in those positions to determine their thought processes and proliferate

those attitudes throughout the company.

Even when hiring good employees that should, arguably, need little-to-no initial training,

an initial training period can be prescribed in order to streamline and simplify the

transition to the position. Some initial HR department training can be incorporated into

the orientation process, indoctrinating the new hires into corporate culture and showing

the rudiments of individual jobs. After an initial orientation period, new hires can be

formally trained on-the-job by either their immediate supervisor (who will have taken acourse in OTJ training) or by a training manager whose job it is to train new hires in a

particular position at any location. The orientation training can be done at the group level

in a classroom setting or at the individual level via computer-based training (CBT). With

the proliferation of the Internet, the latter can be a significant cost-saving measure as it

can be updated from a central HR department and maintained by the corporate IT

department. Also important, in order to maintain superior employees, is to institute a

program for continuous and recurrent training. Recurrent training can vary from job to


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job, from formalised training on new equipment to customer service workshops and even

professional certification programs where applicable. This continuous training program can

also support internal promotion by providing supervisor or manager candidate workshops

focusing on important concepts such as leadership and conflict resolution. The important

thing to consider here is that it is not the amount of time devoted to training, necessarily,

but the quality of training received as well as the quality of employees hired into those

positions, which the earlier stages of this comprehensive action plan have already

addressed.

In addition to training employees in the basic functions of their jobs, health and safety

training should be a recurrent system that encourages strict limitation of workplace

hazards. This sort of training can be facilitated through video lectures and online seminars

that identify particular hazards associated with each job function. From the obvious

benefit of not harming employees, focusing on health and safety of employees will

translate to the overall welfare of the guests in our charge. For example, housekeepers

using various cleaning products will not mix certain chemicals that can give off noxious

gases if taught correctly. Pool attendants can keep decks clean and clear so that guests orother employees do not slip and fall. Safety is an utmost priority for any business, but in a

service industry, where a safety violation can potentially harm your customer, it can not

be avoided, and so, standard company-wide training in safety must be incorporated into

orientation and recurrent training programs.

Having formalised job descriptions and standard training procedures, Hotel Paris can now

focus on the task of actually maintaining day-to-day operations with their employees. The

most effective method of ensuring that the new hiring and training policies are effective is

to perform periodic appraisals of employees work. Thanks to the new, specific job

descriptions, human resources can now develop performance appraisals tailored to each

individual position. At this point, HR should develop benchmark metrics to best evaluate

employee performance. Can a desk clerk keep an average five-minute check in/out time?

Can a housekeeper keep an average ten-minute cleaning time? How many instances of

customer security violations are recorded monthly? Can the kitchen maintain a thirty-

minute delivery time on room service orders while holding the highest standards of quality

(as defined by customer comment cards)? Those employees that are able to maintain

standards should be rewarded not only through their basic wages, but also, periodically,

through incentives as these have been proven to foster a high level of morale leading to

improved teamwork and, consequently, customer service.

There is an old adage in business that says if you keep your employees happy, then theywill keep your customers happy. This has been proven time and again in various industries

from air travel to steel production. In order to attract (and retain) the best talent

possible, Hotel Paris must raise the base pay of their employees in all job categories to

above that of the local industry average. Likewise, the best way to keep employees happy

and focused on the mission-at-hand (superior guest service) is to incentivise the pay

schedule. Through (now well-defined) performance appraisals for each job, managers can

pay employees on a sliding scale based directly on the nature of the quality of their work.


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Housekeepers can be compensated for maintaining a quick pace while working together to

ensure quality in their room maintenance. Desk clerks can be rewarded for keeping a quick

registration pace and high marks in customer comments. Security guards can be rewarded

for preventing incidents by staying vigilant. Having defined performance metrics allows

employees to know exactly what they are working for and seeing those rewards come

through concretely keeps morale high enough to maintain that level of service defined in

the strategic mission statement.

In addition to wage compensation, a comprehensive benefits plan can help retain quality

employees and keep them career-focused rather than looking to Hotel Paris as a job to

help cover a few extra household expenses. New lines of thinking in benefits packages

produce systems where some benefits can be traded for others, depending on employee

preference. Instead of a use it or lose it system for awarding sick days, a new a la

carte system can allow employees to trade unused sick days for extra pay or scheduled

vacation days. In addition to keeping employees happy by giving them an enhanced

measure of control over their benefits packages, there is the added benefit of incentivising

actually coming in to work every day. Missing a day due to illness (or personal errands, asmany employees tend to use sick days for long weekends or to handle other personal

matters) may not mean a loss of normal wages, but it can mean a loss of bonus pay or that

extra vacation time. Employees also not wanting to use sick days will take care of their

health better, further reducing insurance spendingsaving thousands (or even millions)

that can be used to pay better wages, build new locations, or renovate existing hotels.

Making these benefits available to employees as soon as possible (immediately, or, at most

30 days) will further motivate the new hires into a high sense of duty and performance

instead of waiting through a long probationary period watching colleagues enjoy benefits

that, in all fairness, were earned just as diligently.

As Hotel Paris implements the steps outlined in this action plan, a culture of equality and

fairness is only sure to arise thanks to new policies regarding treatment of workers and

compensation. To restate an earlier idea, in a service industry, happy and fulfilled

customers are the direct result of happy and fulfilled employees who are the direct result

of an ethical and fair-minded management team. Basic company ethics can be introduced

during orientation training, but they are best ingrained through action on the job. When a

company hires the best, they should not have to worry about labour relations or

unionisation. In order to better stay focused on changing employee concerns, not only

should an open-door policy be implemented where a subordinate can address their concern

with an immediate supervisor, but a direct human resources hotline can be opened that

will address all concerns in an anonymous and immediate manner. Having a sense of

importance in the company supported by strong incentive pay and egalitarian corporateculture can virtually eliminate any concerns regarding union labour as well as making sure

employees take ownership which will lead not only to superior customer service, but also

to long-lasting, career-oriented employees, saving time and money in recruitment, hiring,

and initial training costs.

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