Staff Turnover In Hospitality Organizations
The greatest asset in any industry is manpower. This is a fact that can never be refuted. Over the past, many people have been viewing employees in the industry to have the ability of saving rapid cash. However this is not always the case. There are several stresses causing situations in the industry that result in a high turnover among the employees. However, the management in these industries should be able to fathom why their employees quit their jobs. The high turnover results from such factors as unsuitable working hours, ineffective leadership, failure of training programs and also for the fact that most of the staff are in seasonal or casual (Helium, 2002,para 2-6).
Although working for a hospitality industry can be rewarding, the career can be challenging leading to employees leaving their jobs. Most workers complain of the high stress that characterizes the sector. American Hotel Association released a report showing that the estimated staff turnover for non- management employees is considerably high with 60-300 % for all employees in the industry all through a year (E-how, 2010, para6).The research also indicated that employee turnover in a hospitality sector is high compared to other sectors.
The work stress majorly comes from the disrespectful attitudes and lack of communication as shown by the management towards their employees. The industry, over the past, has been attracting college students and at some instances unqualified personnel. It is very possible for one to be hired and be replaced within few months. Another research was carried out by psychologists in one of Australia’s University among workers in efforts to establish causes of stress in the hospitality industry employees. The results of the study clearly revealed that workers get intimidated and that they can quit their jobs due to lack of communication in the management (Article-click. 2010, para. 3-6).
From the stated case, Susan was working with fears of been replace with another person. She did not receive the lucrative package of salary as promised at the time when she was hired. This is a common problem that most staff in hospitality industry faces.
Susan as a casual employee in the hospitality industry faced these same problems that most non-management employees in the hospitality sector face. Susan was employed on casual basis. She was promised to be trained fully for the position. Whether qualified or unqualified, there was need to explain the reason as to why the training failed to be executed. All the other benefits accruing to the position from transport allowances to security. These are pertinent issues that determine a worker’s security. It was critical for the hotel’s management to explain the reasons for the delay in fulfilling the promises. From the description, it is also clear that there lacked communication between the management and the workforce, situation that can negatively affect a business.
To avoid such incidents, it was important for the management to set transparent policies and procedures to govern the firm. The policies should stipulate that after an employee has been recruited to work for the hotel, then a thorough induction is given to familiarize them with the business operations. More so, the policies and procedures in the hotel must be kept transparent, consistent, applied fairly among all staff and all details adhered to. This makes the staff view the management in good light.
Further, the management must be guided by the need to compensate the workers for their efforts. The compensation may be in form of bonuses and rewards. Insurance perks and security measures are some of the key essentials in a recognition strategy. Training programs should be made part of the employee’s jobs. Trainings enhance workers skills and knowledge (Davidson, Simon, Woods P & Griffin, 2009, p.
The other imperative requirement in satisfying employees in hotel industry or other businesses is for the management to be approachable. From the description, it is clear that there existed no good employer- employee relation. The management should have placed themselves at a position where the staff can share with them concerning problems they are encountering in their daily routines (Helium, 2002, para 1-5).
Leadership style and alternative styles at the organization
The management at ‘Harbour Inn’ demonstrated autocratic style of leadership. This is a style of leadership in which leaders have a complete power at the place of worker. In most case, the staff will have no opportunity or very minimal if available, opportunity to give suggestions or contribute in decision making processes.
The suggestions of the employees are considered insignificant to be applied in the management’s decisions. Autocratic style of leadership results in high staff turnover and absenteeism. From the above case, the employee says that the managers and supervisors are not close to the staff and are not friendly. Such leaders do not associate with the workers and would therefore have nothing to discuss with them (Mind tools limited, 2010, para.1).
Democratic style of leadership is one of the best styles of leadership that the management can adapt. Although the management in this style makes the final decision, they also give the other members of the staff or team to give their contributions in the process of making decisions. By so doing, the style encourages skills development among the staff. It also enhances good communication habits employees and the management (Mind tools limited, 2010, para.4).
Leissez faire is another style of leadership that the management of Harbour Inn would have used. This is because of the big difference in age between the mangers and the staff. In this style of leadership, leaders monitor the results of what the employees are assigned to do and then respond to them. The communication happens regularly (Mind tools limited, 2010, para.5).
Motivation Theory for 18-25 age groups of workers
In order to have a strong team of employees who are determined and dedicated to offer the best for optimum production, there has to employees’ motivation at the place of work. There are several theories which explain employees’ motivation towards work.
According to Fredrick Herzberg, workers are motivated by two factors which form his theory of motivation. Firstly, hygiene includes the environment of the organization and work. It says that the organizational policies and its management will highly influence the attitudes of employees at the work place. The kind of supervision and the perception that individuals have concerning the administration also dictates their level of motivation.
For team of teenage individuals, they are in the category of people who wish to have strict supervision. They would want to have a situation whereby they are allowed to make their own decisions. This theory also says that employees work well when they have good interpersonal relations at the place of work. Youth relate a lot at work place compared to people who are in the age bracket of 40 years and above (Chapman, 2001, para. 2-5).
Motivation also comes when employees are given the opportunities to grow and advance in their careers. This in turn stimulates their interests in the job. He also says that motivation can be in the form of incentives and salary rewards (Chapman, 2001, para. 2-5).
Hawthorne effect is another theory of motivation that can be used to describe motivation in youth employees. According to this theory, managers and administrators reap a lot of benefits when they pay attention to the workers. Individuals within the bracket of 18-25 require command a lot of attention by nature. There fore, the more the managers show interest in them and associate with them, the more the staff will be motivated (Riley, 2010, para.2-4).
Conclusion and recommendation
It is important for the management of any business to consider the age differences that exist at the work place between employees and the administrator. This will help in formulating policies and procedures that will be effectively embraced by both, hence a good working relation and successful achievement of the set goals and objectives (Accel-team, 2010, para.4). This is because different age categories can be chaotic in business management if not properly handled. Research indicates that satisfied workers in an organization results into satisfied customers. In the service industry, the case is not different.
Reference List
Accel-team, 2010. Employee motivation, theory and practice. [Online]. Web.
Article-click., 2010. Reducing employee turnover in hospitality. [Online]. Web.
Chapman, A., 2001. Frederick Herzberg motivational theory. [Online]. Web.
Davidson, P., Simon, A., Woods, P. & Griffin R. W., 2009, Management: core concepts and applications [E-book] 2009. (2nd Ed). Sydney: John Wiley & Sons.
E-how., 2009. How to incorporate motivation theory in work place. [Online]. Web.
Helium., 2002. Why Turnover is high in hospilaity industry. [Online]. Web.
Mind tools limited., 2010. Leadership styles. [Online]. Web.
Riley, J., 2010. Managing people. [Online]. Web.