Abstract
This chapter endeavors to draw attention to staff turnover in the hospitality industry by analyzing a company, which will be referred to as “Crossboarder Hotel Company”. The actual name has been disguised to maintain the company's confidentiality. The chapter discusses the causes and effects of employee turnover and ways to prevent turnover. Turnover is divided into three categories: job dissatisfaction, errors in employee selection, and poor management. The common cause of turnover however; is job dissatisfaction which affects employees well-being. A survey instrument that included measures of job satisfaction, and demographic information was used to collect information from hotel employees of an American Hotel Chain we refer to as the “Crossboarder Hotel Company”, geographically dispersed in Georgia, Alabama, California, North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, Utah, and Indiana. Data from 78 respondents were collected over a three-year period. The results show that favouritism, nepotism, lack of responsibility and accountability, lack of training and improper communication negatively contributed to job satisfaction.
TopIntroduction
The growing hospitality industry always had high staff turnover caused by different contributing factors. The industry is vastly driven by service, and little regard is given to those providing the service. The hospitality industry makes up approximately eight percent of the total workforce in the United States. With an increasing rate of employment, little concern is provided to the needs of employees. The industry is characterized as being part time, low wage, and unstable (Haynes & Fryer, 1999; Bernhardt, Dresser & Hatton, 2003). Even with low wages, employees are required to provide the utter best customer service to all guests for continual business (Grandey, 2003; Lashley, 2001).
According to practitioners in the field, the main cause of turnover is derived from poor management skills. Although, poor management skills are not always management’s fault however; the fault reflects on poor training (Sheehan, 1995; White, 1995). The lack of adequate employee training is also a contributing factor for turnover, which includes the training of management. The lack of adequate training results in managers not oriented to deal with and prevent certain situations, which causes management to miss the signs and warnings creating personnel management problems within the company (Laser, 1980). Studies conducted by Wasmuth & Davis (1983b) suggest that immediate supervisor or managers have a significant impact on the levels of staff turnover. If managers demonstrate trust, belief, and assist employees when needed, they will experience a lower level of turnover.
Supervisors lack problem solving skills and leadership skills to properly deal with employee relations also negatively contributes to job satisfaction. This can cause employee dissatisfaction, which leads to employee turnover. Lack of communication skills can also lead to turnover. An important factor is poor communication with employees. Communicating with employees establishes comfort, which allows employees to express their thoughts and concerns, which may not be apparent through body language. Hiring employees without the proper assessment is another reason for the high turnover in hospitality. When there is a high vacancy rate for a position such as housekeeping associate, it is important to promptly fill the positions to ensure the utmost satisfaction from guests. This is not to say employees should start the position before clearance from the Human Resources department however, lack of succession planning can contribute to turnover by new employees as well.
This study examines the determinants of employee turnover at the Crossboarder Hotel Company, which employs about 600 staff. This study analyzes the data collected over a 3-year period, from 2007 to 2010, using time series and repeated measure techniques hospitality firm in a 3-year panel spanning from January 2011 to December 2013. In addition, the study addresses the specific positions that have the highest turnover rate. Staff turnover has become a major concern for businesses in general and especially in the hospitality industry. The cost of employee turnover is taking a great toll on organization as well as productivity. Having high turnover can be very injurious for companies especially in upper management in hospitality if employees leave to work for a competing company. It takes time and money to train new employees, but it costs more to replace them.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Emotional Intelligence: Describes the mental ability an individual possesses enabling him or her to be sensitive and understanding to the emotions of others, as well as to manage his or her own emotions and impulses.
Employee Retention: An effort by a business to maintain a working environment, which supports current staff in remaining with the company. Many employee retention policies are aimed at addressing the various needs of employees to enhance their job satisfaction and reduce the substantial costs involved in hiring and training new staff.
Employee Favoritism: Examples of favoritism in the workplace include the management of assigning responsibility or giving promotions based on specific employees’ preferences or soliciting sexual favors for job advancement, etc. Other forms of favoritism include nepotism and cronyism.
Coaching: A training method in which a more experienced or skilled individual provides an employee with advice and guidance intended to help him or her develop skills, improve performance and enhance the quality of his or her career.
Equitable Treatment: The primary assumptions in the applications of equity theory include: 1. Employees expect a fair return for what they contribute to their jobs, a concept referred to as the “equity norm”. 2. Employees determine what their equitable return should be after comparing their inputs and outcomes with those of their coworkers. This concept is referred to as “social comparison”. 3. Employees who perceive themselves as being in an inequitable situation will seek to reduce the inequity either by distorting inputs and/or outcomes in their own minds (“cognitive distortion”), by directly altering inputs and/or outputs, or by leaving the organization.
Competencies: The knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform a specific task or function.
Employee Motivation: Motivation is an employee's intrinsic enthusiasm about and drive to accomplish activities related to work. Motivation is that internal drive that causes an individual to decide to take action.
Biased Management: Management inclination or preference that influences judgment from being balanced or even-handed. Prejudice is bias in pejorative sense.
Employee Nepotism: Nepotism is a form of discrimination in which family members or friends are hired for reasons that are note related to their experience, knowledge or skills. It occurs frequently in family-owned businesses, nonprofit organizations, small companies and the performing arts. Additional example of nepotism is to create job specifications that are precisely tailored to the qualifications of only one person -- the friend the employer wants to hire.
Employee Recognition: Employee recognition means rewarding a few or all employees who have been identified to have done something exceptional either for the organization or for the employees, or customers, or for the community, or a combination of several activities. Effective recognition systems include activities based on three dimensions: day-to-day, informal, and formal.