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TH2303 Service Staffing in the Tourism Industry The service product in the tourism industry is either tangible or intangible, requiring different employees to do diff...

TH2303 Service Staffing in the Tourism Industry The service product in the tourism industry is either tangible or intangible, requiring different employees to do different jobs. The tourism industry is mainly labor-intensive. Many employees must provide services and products and accommodate guests' needs and wants. The management's role is to hire the employees, train, evaluate, reward, and oversee all the other tasks that must be accomplished to ensure they are ready to serve guests at the correct time and place. Hence, a tourism and hospitality business must prioritize staffing for operations (UNWTO, n.d.). Staffing for Service (Cornell & Manzano, 2022) Each employee in the tourism and hospitality industry plays different roles and will have different levels of customer contact. They will be helping each other collaboratively (teamwork) to deliver that service, directly or indirectly. The industry's challenge is hiring service naturals, employees who can change the expected interaction with the guests into something special so the guests' experience will be appreciated and remembered. The following are the steps to staff tourism and hospitality businesses properly: 1. Study the job. An organization must engage with human resource planning before selecting a person for a job. Human resource planning analyzes the organization's current human resource capabilities and needs required to meet organizational objectives. Based on the organizational strategy, they must determine their employees' knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to accomplish the goals, what KSAs exist, and how they expect their organization and people to develop over time. After planning and before starting to look for new employees, it is vital to conduct a job analysis, which analyzes what type of job is needed to be filled, such as the exact job specifications and required competencies needed for each job classification. It will help an organization find the employees they need for the company's operations. Aside from the KSAs for a specific job, the following are the characteristics service personnel in the tourism industry must have: Enthusiasm refers to the intense or eager pleasure of serving guests. Enthusiastic employees engage guests in how they serve and, sometimes, go beyond their usual job routine for guests to remember the experience. For example, a flight attendant surprises the newly boarded passengers by singing the preflight safety instructions to rock music. It gives the guests extra value from being entertained while dealing with routine activities such as boarding a plane. An authentic sense of concern for the guests. Service-oriented employees should be cheerful, upbeat, and genuinely interested in serving the guests, even when the guest is not reciprocally positive and even when they don't feel upbeat. Companies must select individuals who can connect with guests in an emotional relationship. 2. Recruit a pool of qualified candidates. After defining the required profile of an employee, the organization can proceed with recruitment and selection. Recruitment is the process and task of identifying, investigating, and hiring the best possible candidates for open and needed positions in the organization (Indeed, 2023). After gathering a pool of qualified candidates, the selection or process of picking the right candidate with prerequisite qualifications and capabilities to fill the jobs in the organization is commenced (Business Jargons, n.d.). In recruiting potential employees, a company may either hire the following types: Internal Candidates. These are candidates working within the same organization. This process is called "hiring from within" and is the best practice of human resource management since this sends a message to the employees that the company cares about their welfare, which helps boost retention. 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 6  TH2303 External Candidates. These are potential employees outside the current organization's staff. Candidates under this type are sourced externally. Organizations that consider hiring external employees outside of the organization can choose different options to promote vacancies in their organization, such as through its website, print media, professional linkages, internship program, referral, walk-in application, or talent pooling (maintaining a list of candidates for a single position). 3. Select the best candidate. With a pool of applicants assembled, the next step is determining who will be hired into the company. The selection process involves figuring out what an ideal candidate for the position looks like by collecting information on the potential candidates and selecting the best person who matches the ideal. Organizations must be able to gather information about the candidates to aid in selecting the best. Some ways to gather information from applicants include checking their application forms, conducting interviews, psychological tests, and background/references. 4. Hire the best applicant. It is a challenge in the tourism industry to hire guest-contact employees with the competency to perform the task skills, the interpersonal skills necessary to interact successfully with the guests, and the creative skills to fix guests' complaints. The difference between a good and excellent guest experience is the indefinable extra that the employee adds to the experience. The following are the questions that the human resources should answer to identify the best candidate for the job: Does the applicant have the right personality to be successful in a service-based role? Is the applicant smart enough to handle a dynamic environment, master the rain, and learn the job efficiently? Does the applicant's experience suggest that they will perform effectively in creating memorable guest experiences? Does this person have the potential to grow into greater roles in the future? Is there a good fit between the person and the work environment? These questions will be answered through different selection methods, such as interviews and various employment tests, which help the organization hire the best employee to make the company's service experience stand out. 5. Make the new hire feel welcome. Once the job offer is made and the selected applicant is hired, the next step in the staffing process is onboarding. Onboarding is getting the new employee started in the new company and job. It is where the company orients the new employee about their job and the organizational culture. 6. Turnover or Retirement. Turnover refers to employees leaving the organization, while retirement is the stage in life when an employee leaves the workforce and lives off savings or sources of income which do not require active work. These may be voluntary, where employees choose to leave or involuntary, where the choice is made for them by the organization. The tourism industry is known for having high turnover due to working in unpleasant conditions (hot kitchens) or during undesirable working hours (holidays, nights, and weekends). Once a company understands who is leaving and their reason, they can begin to manage the turnover process effectively. Seeing who leaves and who stays, who succeeds and fails helps provide a better understanding of what they are looking for in a candidate. The sixth step then leads back into the first step, and the process becomes an ongoing cycle with the potential for continuous improvement. Training and Developing Employees (Ford et al., 2019) Hiring the most qualified and skillful staff does not mean the service would become the organization's desired result. New or veteran employees need training, learning, and development to perform their jobs properly. Employee learning and development refers to improving employees' capabilities, skills, and knowledge to 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 6  TH2303 enhance performance. For example, a new employee needs to be trained to deliver services and perform tasks consistently based on the values and practices of the organization. In contrast, veteran employees must be updated and reminded of the organization's policies, practices, culture, and strategies. Too much familiarity often leads to neglect and complacency that affect the organization's services. Training can be conducted in two (2) types: External training is conducted by training organizations and consultants with the expertise and resources to handle coaching skills, needs, or other topics required by the organizations. These training firms cater to service organizations that require specialized training for a small group of participants. Internal (In-house) training is done by the department within the organization involved with the training and development of human resources or talents. Major organizations see it fit to maintain a training department so they can personalize the training of their employees and emphasize the type of service and culture the organization wants to portray and provide to its clients. Other categories of training include (Tuzunka & Altintas, 2019): Career progression training allows employees to evaluate and plan their future and expand their job- related skills and knowledge. It helps employees to progress and get better earnings as they bring value to an organization. Employees are also given a sense of purpose, increased satisfaction rate, and boosts engagement and productivity in their respective job roles. Reskilling is the process of learning new skills or transitioning to a new job role. It allows the employees to learn the skills they need to be successful in new roles and provides them with new opportunities for growth and development. Upskilling refers to enhancing or upgrading existing skills to make the employees more relevant to the current market. It allows them to become competitive and adapt to changes in the tourism and hospitality industry. Cross-skilling is the process of learning skills in multiple areas or roles. It allows employees to be more adaptable and versatile since they can take on new responsibilities within the company. Training organizations employ different types of training depending on the required area of expertise. This training can be long-term, where the progress is evaluated periodically or on a short-term basis, where the participants are expected to execute specific skills as part of the culminating activity. Training is often delivered in a combination of methods, such as lecture presentations, role-play, simulations, audiovisual presentations, case analysis, interactive games, exercises, or computer-aided methods. Some of the common methods of training applied by tourism and hospitality organizations are the following: Personal training refers to teacher-and-student training or one-on-one training between trainers and trainees. Mentoring is a type of personal training wherein the one who educates or gives advice is the senior member of the team. This training is done to help the newest team member learn techniques to improve their performance based on the experiences and expertise of the senior member who was there for them. Coaching is another type that functions between an expert focused on building a prodigy's skills and competencies. The coaches inform how the correct actions should be done and how to apply skills to become efficient and productive. The last type, apprenticeship, involves training with an experienced master to learn a new craft through observation and hands-on experience over a set time. On-the-job training is where an individual learns the job through actual experiences. Often, a supervisor oversees the trainee's performance and may be rotated to different departments for exposure. 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 6  TH2303 Classroom lecture is the traditional teach-and-learn approach where the trainees listen to the trainer about the knowledge and skills an employee must know. The trainees may be given exercises as an application of the topics learned. Simulation is where trainees practice their tasks in a controlled environment that mirrors the actual scenario in the workplace. Examples are pilot training for aircraft and lifeguard training, which are too costly to commit a mistake in a real setting. Audiovisual presentation refers to using materials such as a standard training video that employees could use and view as a form of training. Computer-aided training refers to using computer programs to guide trainees through a pre- programmed training course. Many skills and certification training in the tourism and hospitality industry are done with computers. Do-It-Yourself (DIY) training refers to training through modules coupled with a self-paced exercise method. The employee learns the different segments of the course through self-study during the time and place most convenient to them. The benefit of training is to remind the employees of what the management thinks is important. Sending employees to training programs focus their attention on service. It sends a powerful message to all employees that the management cares enough about both its commitment to service and its employees by investing time and money in its people to improve service quality. Motivating Employees (Tuzunka & Altintas, 2019) Tourism staff should be equipped with proper training and knowledge and must be motivated to meet customers' expectations. When employees are motivated, it is easier for customers to accept new services and products, which is conducive to the company's performance. Motivation is the idea that people are driven to achieve their ends and satisfy their needs. To motivate means to instill a desire within a person that encourages them to act. Types of Needs Managers should figure out their employees' needs and want to create systems to motivate and reward them. The following are the four (4) levels of needs that people seek to fulfill when joining organizations: Survival needs are the necessities an employee must satisfy. Most people who seek to work for a business do so because they need to earn a living. The primary need satisfied by employment is earning enough to pay rent, buy food, and acquire other basics of living. Social needs refer to an employee's sense of belonging during the work experience. When employees join an organization, they join a formal group (the whole company, the department they joined, or the shift they are working at) or an informal group (a social group that forms without guidance from the organization). The management must establish an environment where employees can work in harmony with both work groups to support employees' efforts to achieve group and organizational goals. Recognition needs refer to the desire for praise and attention from colleagues and superiors. These can be satisfied by acknowledging and appreciating excellent performance, such as public recognition through announcements or posting on bulletin boards or individual recognition through direct email. Achievement needs are the yearnings of employees to contribute and share their expertise leading to them feeling important to the organization, customers, or the community. If employees believe their actions are important, they will be highly energized to give incredible effort to accomplish a vital task. 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 4 of 6  TH2303 Types of Rewards Knowing the different employee needs, the company should develop programs to address them. These rewards may be the following: Financial rewards are wage increases, incentives, bonuses, company stocks, or commissions. Employees use money for food, shelter, clothing, and acquiring various luxuries. Non-financial rewards refer to symbolic rewards that often create a lasting memory of the experience and satisfaction for the employees. Some examples of non-financial rewards are giving plaques or certificates of recognition, giving merchandise with the company logo, and providing incentives like free air tickets or travel. Other categories of rewards include the following: Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards are intangible but give a higher level of job satisfaction, while extrinsic rewards are tangible rewards that employees receive upon doing excellent work. Intrinsic rewards make an employee feel valued, while extrinsic rewards focus on improving the performance of employees through appreciation. Intrinsic rewards include being respected by other employees, being allowed to make decisions on important matters in the organization, learning something new or expanding competence in a particular area. In contrast, extrinsic rewards include promotions, salary raises, commissions, and bonuses. On-the-spot rewards are given to employees who exceed the basic job requirements. These usually involve the element of surprise wherein rewards are given to the employees who display behaviors that align with the company goals. Examples include social media recognition using the company platforms, putting up a photo of well-performing employees in the offices or employee common area, giving spontaneous treats or giving a cash incentive or gift card on the spot. If employees are to see the organization as authentic, they must receive the same type of treatment that external customers have come to expect of the brand. This authentic treatment of the employees would result in increased organizational commitment, which would prompt further service-oriented citizenship. Employee Empowerment Empowerment is the assignment of decision-making responsibility to the employee. It requires sharing information and organizational knowledge that enables employees to understand and contribute to organizational performance, giving them the authority to make decisions that influence organizational outcomes and rewarding them based on their performance. Successful implementation of employee empowerment requires companies to take some fundamental ways, and these are the following: Training. Employees must understand their areas of responsibility thoroughly since they must learn how to make sound decisions within their areas. Willingness. Employees must be ready and able to make decisions about their jobs and be willing to do so. If employees are uninterested in the company and its future, empowering them to make decisions will be risky. Measurement means that the staff should have goals or standards by which the results of their decisions can be assessed so that they will know what they should do or if their decisions were bad or good. Incentives must be attached to successful performance. Incentives help reinforce the program's goals and clarify to employees that using their empowerment appropriately is worthwhile. Managerial buy-in. The management must be willing to accept empowered employees, let them make their own decisions, and not interfere. This empowerment program will not work if the management does not learn how to trust the capabilities of the empowered employees. 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 5 of 6  TH2303 Empowerment can only be effective if it serves the proper purpose. Most tourism organizations apply empowerment when the services rendered are customized or personalized, the connections with customers are long-term, the factors affecting the business environment are constantly changing, or their employees have strong interpersonal skills. References: Arenas, C. (2022). Quality service management in tourism and hospitality. Edric Publishing House. Business Jargons. (n.d.). Selection process. Retrieved May 22, 2023, from https://businessjargons.com/selection-process.html Cheng, M. (2021, October 30). What is retirement? Retrieved June 6, 2023, from https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-is-retirement-2388822 Cornell, D. & Manzano, R. (2022). Quality service management in tourism and hospitality. Rex Bookstore. Farazad, K. (2020, July 10). How important the back of the house is for hotels. In Hospitality Net. Retrieved May 22, 2023, from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4099572.html Ford, R., Sturman, M., & Heaton, C. (2019). Managing hospitality organizations: Achieving excellence in the guest experience. Sage Publications. Goetsch, D. & Davis, S. (2022). Quality management for organizational excellence. Pearson Goldstein, S. & Schroeder, R. (2021). Operations management in the supply chain (8th Ed.). New York: McGraw- Hill Education. Indeed. (2023, March 14). Recruitment process. Retrieved May 22, 2023, from https://sg.indeed.com/career- advice/career-development/recruitment-process Tuzunka, D. & Altintas, V. (2019). Contemporary human resources management in tourism industry. IGI Global. UNWTO. (n.d.). Employment and decent work tourism. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://www.unwto.org/project/employment-and-decent-work-tourism-ilo-unwto-joint-project 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 6 of 6