Hospitality Human Resource Management and Supervision Flashcards

Human Resources Fundamentals

• The Necessity of Management: Managers must lead the operation through several core activities to ensure goals are met and employees are facilitated effectively.

  • Planning: Set clear goals and make a plan to reach them.

  • Organizing: Decide who will do which tasks and how they will do them.

  • Coordinating: Make sure that everyone works well together.

  • Staffing: Find and hire the right people for each job.

  • Supervising: Support and guide workers while they are doing their tasks.

  • Controlling: Keep the company on track to meet its goals.

  • Evaluating: Look for problems and find ways to fix them.

• Supervisory Responsibilities: Managers must oversee the entire lifecycle of employment, including:

  • Hiring new employees.

  • Talking to and choosing the best job candidates.

  • Training new workers to help them succeed in their roles.

  • Handling when employees leave the company.

Generational Differences in the Workplace

• Overview: The current U.S. workforce comprises five generations, each with distinct values, communication styles, and worldviews. A "one size fits all" approach is ineffective.

• Traditionalists ($1925-1945$):

  • Workforce Share: $2\%$.

  • Traits: Dependable, straightforward, tactful, and loyal.

  • Shaped by: The Great Depression, World War II, radio, and movies.

  • Motivations: Respect, recognition, and providing long-term value.

  • Communication: Personal touch; prefer handwritten notes over email.

  • Worldview: Values obedience over individualism; believes age equals seniority; values advancement through hierarchy.

  • Employer Strategy: Provide satisfying work and stability.

• Baby Boomers ($1946-1964$):

  • Workforce Share: $25\%$.

  • Traits: Optimistic, competitive, workaholic, and team-oriented.

  • Shaped by: Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, and Watergate.

  • Motivations: Company loyalty, teamwork, and duty. Note that $65\%$ plan to work past age $65$, and $10,000$ reach retirement age daily.

  • Communication: Efficient methods, including phone calls and face-to-face interaction.

  • Worldview: Achievement follows "paying one's dues"; success requires sacrifice.

  • Employer Strategy: Set specific goals/deadlines; place in mentor roles; provide coaching-style feedback.

• Generation X ($1965-1980$):

  • Workforce Share: $33\%$.

  • Traits: Flexible, informal, skeptical, and independent.

  • Shaped by: AIDS epidemic, fall of the Berlin Wall, and the dot-com boom. They represent the highest percentage of startup founders ($55\%$).

  • Motivations: Diversity, work-life balance, and personal-professional interests over company interests.

  • Communication: Efficiency-driven; phone calls or face-to-face.

  • Worldview: Favors diversity; will leave if needs aren't met; resists work changes that affect personal life.

  • Employer Strategy: Give immediate feedback; provide flexible arrangements; offer personal development opportunities. They are project to outnumber Boomers by $2028$.

• Millennials ($1981-2000$):

  • Workforce Share: $35\%$.

  • Traits: Competitive, civic-minded, open-minded, and achievement-oriented.

  • Shaped by: Columbine, $9/11$, and the internet.

  • Motivations: Responsibility, quality of management, and unique work experiences. $15\%$ of those aged $25-35$ live with parents.

  • Communication: IMs, texts, and email.

  • Worldview: Seek challenge and growth; value a fun work life; likely to leave if they dislike change. By $2025$, they will make up $75\%$ of the global workforce.

  • Employer Strategy: Personal connection; manage by results; offer flexible schedules and assignments; provide immediate feedback.

• Generation Z ($2001-2020$):

  • Workforce Share: $5\%$.

  • Traits: Global, entrepreneurial, progressive, but less focused.

  • Shaped by: Post-$9/11$ life, the Great Recession, and early technology access.

  • Motivations: Diversity, personalization, individuality, and creativity.

  • Communication: IMs, texts, and social media.

  • Worldview: Digital device addicts; value independence; prefer Millennial managers and innovative tech. $40\%$ want to interact with their boss daily, and $84\%$ expect formal training.

  • Employer Strategy: Multiple simultaneous projects; provide work-life balance; allow self-direction.

Managing Employee Performance and Leadership

• Leadership Behaviors: Successful managers guide teams, motivate staff, and drive change. They provide direction, foster teamwork, and focus on employee development.

• Essential Supervision Skills: Managers must work within budgets, ensure quality standards, and see challenges as chances for improvement.

• Interpersonal Skills for Development:

  • Listening well and respecting others.

  • Taking responsibility for developing future leaders.

  • Supporting company values and maintaining a sense of self-worth and accountability.

  • Removing obstacles for employees and encouraging risk-taking.

  • Encouraging employees to adopt the company's vision and keeping calm in crises.

• Leadership Styles:

  • Autocratic: Centralized authority with little employee input.

  • Bureaucratic: Management by the book, following strict rules and procedures.

  • Democratic: Encouraging employee participation in decision-making.

  • Laissez-Faire: A "hands-off" approach allowing employees to make most decisions.

• Corporate Culture: Defined by shared beliefs and experiences. A strong culture attracts talent and gives organizations a competitive edge.

Diversity and Ethics in Operations

• Benefits of Diversity: Promotes a positive workplace, expands the labor pool, attracts more customers, and enhances legal protection.

• Diversity vs. Prejudice:

  • Prejudice: Limits the labor pool, increases turnover, lowers morale, stifles ideas, raises conflict levels, and decreases overall productivity and profitability. It also heightens litigation risks.

  • Diversity: Increases the labor pool, enhances the company's reputation, encourages new ideas, promotes cultural appreciation, and attracts new customers while meeting regulatory standards.

• Promoting Diversity: Focus on recruiting diverse candidates, encourage cross-cultural interactions, educate staff, set clear expectations, and hold employees accountable.

• Ethical Decision-Making: Managers should be trustworthy, loyal, fair, respectful, committed to excellence, and accountable for their decisions.

• Managerial Ethical Checklist:

  • Is the action legal?

  • Will it hurt anyone?

  • Does it represent core values?

  • Does it make anyone uncomfortable?

  • Does it show respect and fairness?

  • Would I be comfortable sharing this with my family/manager?

  • What would others think if this were posted publicly?

• Code of Ethics: Identifies a foundation for acceptable behavior, promotes standards for decisions, provides a benchmark for evaluations, and supports obligations to customers and the company.

Position Analysis and Job Descriptions

• Position Analysis Process: Provides information for job descriptions and identifies every task.

  • Step $1$: Develop a task list (ask employees/supervisors, observe work, review industry resources).

  • Step $2$: Break down tasks into smaller activities (task breakdowns explain the "correct" way for trainees to learn).

  • Step $3$: Determine performance standards.

  • Step $4$: Develop the final job description.

• Uses of Job Descriptions: Essential for recruiting, hiring, orientation, training, performance evaluations, salary administration, safety, and legal/union concerns.

• Developing a Job Description: Must include job identification, position manager, job summary, duties, and position requirements (specifications like experience and education).

• Legal Compliance (ADA):

  • ADA Guidelines: Descriptions must avoid references to gender, age, race, or disability.

  • Essential Functions: Duties an employee must be able to perform with or without reasonable accommodation.

  • Reasonable Accommodation: Alternate ways to accomplish duties.

  • Undue Hardship: An action that causes significant expense or hardship to the employer.

  • Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQs): Narrow exceptions where specific traits are legally allowed for hiring.

• Revision Triggers: Change in reporting structure, new technology/equipment, new menu items, or new union contracts.

Employee Recruitment and Selection

• Recruiting Goals: Influence the largest number of qualified people to apply.

• Forecasting Staff Needs: Based on last year's revenue, staffing patterns, current schedules, and the Employee Turnover Rate (Formula: $\#\text{ who terminate} \div \text{average } \# \text{ in workforce}$).

• Recruitment Sources:

  • Internal: Advantageous because applicants know the operation; disadvantageous if no suitable candidate is available.

  • External: Networking, school/community sponsorship, advertising (traditional and other media), career events, and open houses.

• Anti-Discrimination in Recruitment: Avoid gender-specific language; avoid group references; focus strictly on skills and knowledge.

• Screening and Selection Tools:

  • Initial Documents: Application form, cover letter, and resume.

  • Interviews: Managers should ask about qualifications, strengths, skills, and expectations.

  • Forbidden Interview Topics: Birthplace, age (except proof of work eligibility), national origin, religion, gender, marital status, parental status, and sexual orientation.

  • Acceptable Interview Topics: Current residence length, languages spoken (if job-related), and ability to fulfill hours/functions.

  • Applicant Tests: Must be culturally neutral, consistently administered, and job-related (includes drug tests, physicals, and skill tests).

  • Background Checks: Verification of work experience (pay stubs), education (transcripts), criminal record, driving record, and credit record (following federal/state restrictions).

Job Offers and Onboarding

• The Job Offer: Should be timely and include an employment letter or contract. Items to include: position, compensation, benefits, logistics, contingencies (e.g., passing a drug test), union info, and an "at-will" statement.

• Employment at Will: A legal doctrine where either the employer or employee can terminate the relationship at any time for any legal reason.

• Onboarding Phases:

  • Hiring: The act of employing.

  • Orientation: Welcoming the employee to the organization.

  • Training: Developing skills.

  • Follow-up: Scheduled check-ins.

• Required Documentation:

  • I-9 Form: Employee eligibility verification (must prove legal right to work in the U.S.).

  • W-4 Form: Federal withholding tax.

  • Certifications: Food Handler, Food Manager, Allergen, and Alcohol Service.

• Personnel Files Management:

  • Stored in: Safe, secure, private space.

  • Main File Contents: Application, resume, check results, interview forms, job description, tax forms, signed contract.

  • Kept Separately: Benefits info, ADA accommodations, FMLA certifications, I-9 forms, work injury records, and drug test results.

• Probationary Period: A timeframe (usually $30-90$ days) used to assess if a new hire can successfully do the job.

• Orientation Components: Review of vision/mission/culture, facility tour, employee handbook distribution, introduction to staff, and uniform/equipment issuance.

Employee Training Programs

• Purpose: Improve skills for new assignments, new technology, new procedures, and job proficiency to increase sales.

• Training Objectives: Must include four parts: performance, conditions, standards, and repetition.

• Trainer Skills: Must motivate, provide overviews, organize info, allow paced learning, and offer constructive feedback.

• Developing a Training Lesson ($8$ Steps):

  1. Develop lesson objective.

  2. Determine how to provide knowledge.

  3. Consider sequence.

  4. Select method.

  5. Consider time requirements.

  6. Identify resources.

  7. Evaluate and revise lesson.

  8. Consider evaluation method.

• Training Methods: Tell/Show/Practice (demonstration), Role-play, Jigsaw design, Case studies, Information search, and Digital/Online learning.

Communication and Conflict Resolution

• Basic Communication (5 Ws and How): Who is listening? What do they need to know? Where does content begin/end? When is it presented? Why is it important? How is it best presented?

• Oral Communication: Deliver concise messages, minimize jargon, pronounce words correctly, and avoid slang/negative comments. Maintain eye contact and professional facial expressions.

• Written Communication: Three parts—Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. Must be clear, complete, concise, and simple.

• Communication Barriers: Word meanings, jargon, cultural differences, language barriers, assumptions, fixed ideas, and environmental noise.

• Nonverbal Communication:

  • Negative: Biting lips (nervousness), slouching (disinterest), pointing (scolding).

  • Positive: Leaning forward (interest), smiling (confidence), thumbs up (agreement), winking (recognition).

• Coaching Process: Focus on behavior, not the employee. Be tactful, emphasize positives, and maintain open communication.

• Conflict Resolution Strategies: Negotiation, Mediation, and Arbitration.

• Conflict Resolution Steps ($1-6$): Identify concerns, determine facts, develop resolution, communicate resolution, document agreement, and follow up.

Performance Management and Discipline

• Change Management Strategies:

  • Step $1$: Unfreeze the situation.

  • Step $2$: Transition to change.

  • Step $3$: Refreeze the situation.

• Change Agents: Managers who lead change, encourage staff, and engage in Benchmarking (analyzing best practices).

• Performance Appraisals:

  • Preparation: Review job descriptions/goals, identify strengths, and provide self-evaluation forms to employees.

  • Meeting: Create a friendly atmosphere, discuss requirements, and ask for employee input.

• Discussing Performance Gaps ($6$ Steps): Compare observed performance with SOPs, identify gaps, determine reasons, correct behavior, monitor, and follow up with discipline if needed.

• Progressive Discipline: Designed to minimize misunderstandings and give employees time to improve.

  • Oral Warning: Agreement on problem, causes, and specific actions with a timetable.

  • Progressive Discipline Report: Documentation of dates, parties, goals, and consequences.

  • Written Warning: Formal statement of problem, expected outcome, and deadline.

  • Probation: Specific period to meet job standards or face termination.

Employee Termination

• Types:

  • Voluntary: Employee chooses to leave; an exit interview is conducted.

  • Involuntary: Management terminates employment. Requires careful documentation to avoid wrongful discharge claims. Includes acts of insubordination (failure to follow reasonable instructions).

• Termination Process ($7$ Steps):

  1. Identify cause.

  2. Ensure documentation is complete.

  3. Obtain approvals (HR/Legal).

  4. Assemble termination package.

  5. Conduct the meeting.

  6. Collect company property.

  7. Adjust security (passwords/keys).

• Exit Interview Goals: Determine reason for leaving, discover grievances, retain goodwill, identify management problems, and reduce future turnover.

• Separation Checklist: Accrued leave, reference release, COBRA info provided, property returned, repayment of advances, final paycheck processed.

Knowledge Check Summaries

• Facilitating Work: Managers facilitate work through planning and organizing. Employee expectations (driven by generational values) require managers to adjust leadership styles to maintain motivation.

• Managerial Traits: Good managers are set apart by their ability to manage finances, implement quality processes, and view problems as opportunities.

• Diversity Recruiting: Managers can recruit for diversity by marketing to community organizations and using career events.

• Standardized Procedures: SOPs benefit operations by ensuring consistency and provide a baseline for performance appraisals.

• Background Check Purpose: To verify the accuracy of applicant information and ensure the safety/security of the operation.

• Onboarding vs. Hiring: Hiring is the legal act of employment and benefits paperwork; onboarding is the holistic integration and welcoming of the employee into the company culture.