Insights and Rumination of Human Resource Management Practices in SMEs: Case of a Family Run Tour Operator in London

Introduction

In recent dynamic and highly competitive market settings, the delivery of tourism products and services need direction and capacities to deal with confronts. With an aim to tackle multifaceted challenges and to add values to organizations, effective Human Resource Management (HRM) can become an effective and valuable tool. HRM practices are gradually shifting from their typical characters and are replaced by more efficient and dynamic role - playing. Small to medium scale business organizations in the travel and tourism world are required to be more focused to the updated global patterns of HRM. The workforces of today’s business world are more experienced and supported by technological innovations. These peoples are more diverse and represent a broader network of HRM practitioners from almost all over the world. Such diversities are in fact beneficial and are capable to bring dynamism in any business organization. These are also helpful for offering robust employee benefits that are more likely able to meet demands of workforces. This chapter aims to explore issues related to the HRM practices of a small sized travel agent, the Travelmania Limited in London. This is a typical family generated small - sized travel agent, however, friendly and more willing to share business information and to get involved with research activities. In many cases, general business and HRM policies are treated as confidential and undisclosed. This chapter narrows focuses on employee relations and recruitment within the wider areas of HRM. This again, critically explains the current trends and limitations of HRM of a small - scale travel agent and offered facts those might be generalized within the broader HRM approaches. In addition, this considers the person specification model of John Munro Fraser in 1954. This proposed criterion of Fraser is also known as the ‘Five-Fold Framework’, represented as - impact on other, qualifications and experiences, innate abilities, motivation and emotional adjustments (Torrington et al., 2008).