Managing workforce issues in the hospitality industry in india

Managing workforce issues

in the hospitality industry in India

Vinnie Jauhari

HP Labs Open Innovation Office, Hewlett-Packard India, Gurgaon, India, and

Kamal Manaktola

School of Hospitality and Tourism,

Institute for International Management and Technology, Gurgaon, India

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the workforce issues as they relate to the

hospitality industry which if managed well, could lead to higher growth for the firm and consequently

the industry.

Design/methodology/approach – The perspectives have been drawn from the hospitality industry

and academia in India.

Findings – The key workforce issues that need to be addressed in the hospitality industry are:

perceptions about the industry; levels of manpower attrition; education; competencies and skill

development; work environment and compensation; opening up of diverse opportunities for the

workforce. These have a strong bearing on the firm’s growth and consequently industry’s growth and

contribution to the economy.

Originality/value – The paper integrates viewpoints from industry and academia and specific

suggestions are made to address the listed issues.

Keywords Hospitality services, India, Education, Competences, Industrial relations

Paper type Viewpoint

Introduction

The hospitality industry in India is growing. With increasing GDP, there are many

new business opportunities and hence there is a need to develop the workforce so as to

manage this growth opportunity as effectively as possible. A discussion with senior

practitioners from the hospitality industry revealed that workforce issues are a key

challenge for the industry in India. Finding and retaining talented people, training,

career planning and leadership are areas which need to be addressed. These issues are

important and must be addressed. The relationship between satisfied employees and

the profitability of the firm have been talked about for a long time. Employees who are

happy in their place of work are more motivated to contribute and can do so more

effectively. This also translates into better consumer experiences and in turn, leads to

stronger financial performance by the firm and overall economic growth.

The growth drivers in these changing times are: knowledge, talent and investment in

R&D, among others. Firms must track their financial performance and also deploy

non-financial performance measures to create an organizational culture that promotes job

satisfaction, empowerment, training and employee satisfaction. The literature does point

out that other non-financial aspects are also emerging as important issues. For instance,

the measure of profitability per employee is an important indicator of the likely

productivity of the firm and as long as the profit per employee is more than the cost

incurred in developing and retaining the employee, it adds value to the firm (Bryan, 2007).

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/1755-4217.htm

Workforce issues

in the hospitality

industry

19

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism

Themes

Vol. 1 No. 1, 2009

pp. 19-24

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

1755-4217

DOI 10.1108/17554210910949850