Human Resources in the Leisure and Recreation Industry Essay

Most medium sized to large businesses have a human resource department, which looks after the welfare of staff who are employed in the company. The Leisure and Recreation Industry is the biggest growing area of business in the UK with people spending of over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12 billion on leisure and recreation products/services. There are * people working in the Leisure and Recreation industry in the UK. Many of whom work on a temporary basis linked to tourism. External and Internal Influences on a department External Economic climate If the country were in recession this would mean that a lot of people would be unemployed and therefore not able to spend money on leisure and recreation industry because they would need to spend on their basic needs i.e. tax, bills, food etc. However in the UK employees often have a high disposable income, which means that after an employee gains income paying all tax, bills, mortgages etc, then most employees will have money to spend on the leisure and recreation industry because of their high disposable income. Minimum wage The national minimum wage will be à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.05 per hour in October 2005 but this often changes from time to time, so that it can meet the demands of cost of living. So if the wage was less than the cost of living people will not be able to afford to live and spend money and may need to work extra shifts/hours to gain more money. However the leisure and recreation industry may have higher wage so that it can motivate the employee because money is the biggest method of motivation. Trends in consumer demand In the fast moving pace of life of today, many consumers want leisure and recreation facilities open earlier and later. This means that human resources departments need more flexible working arrangements with staff. So they may need to recruit extra staff to do different shifts. Employment trends Many students apply to do temporary contracts in the summer months, because students have holidays and so will work for extra money. This is also a good advantage for the HR, as they will organise holidays for other employee that will want to go on Holiday especially during the summer months. So the student will apply to fill in for other employee’s to go on Holiday. Skills shortages In some industries such as carpentry and engineering there is a growing shortage of new recruits going into the trade. The leisure and recreation industry bucks the trend as more and more courses at schools; colleges and university focus on the subject/industry. There are more skills needed in the carpentry and engineering (or other) industries than the leisure and recreation industry, which is why there are more new recruits going into the trade. Location issues If the business is located in the city then it will be very good for the business especially the HR, as there will be a high rate of employment and there will be a high number of people with suitable skills. However the premises would be expensive and the cost of labour would also be high as the cost of living will be high in the city. Internal Organisational structure Organisation charts are mainly used in larger businesses to show where different jobs fit into the organisation (shows who’s doing which job). It also shows the different levels of responsibility employees have. So the higher you go up the chart the responsibility of employees increases. Responding to customer trends in terms of products or services Audit of staffing requirements from department heads Before HR can recruit any one they will need to look if vacancies are available by going around the other departments and ask heads of the departments Staff turnover, career moves Sickness rates, absenteeism and levels of motivation Legally an employer can’t employ someone else to do a job on a permanent basis if there is someone else doing the job already. Statistically employees in the UK work till late, which is why the government are trying to, decrease the number of working hours. This is because working parents seem to neglect their children and aren’t spending enough time with them. Flexible work force HR tries to make employees working time very flexible and so this is why they recruit extra staff to do some shifts permanently so that every employee has flexible working time. Sometimes the HR will recruit some to do part time i.e. Saturdays when it is very busy they will recruit part time employees or even temporarily like the summer holidays. Recruitment and Selection To recruit an employee, first a HR manager for example will have to go around to other different departments to find vacancies, so that he/she can recruit new members of staff. Then if vacancy is available HR will have to draw up a: * Job description – this shows the roles of the job of the employee * Person specification – outline of the skills and qualities required of the post holder * Then they will have to advertise it on the local newspaper or Internet. HR can also go to jobcentres, employment agencies or Head hunters to find employees with higher qualities but this method would be expensive and time consuming so it is mainly used to find employees to do jobs needing high skills. After the job has been advertised, HR will have to go through a process called selection (selecting the right employee) and so HR sort through the applications, putting aside any which are definitely not suitable and then producing a shortlist of applicants to call for selection. This saves time and so next HR will have to arrange interviews for the applicants shortlisted and so references can be followed, practical testing, psychometric testing etc, can be done to speed up the process of selection. Selection process can vary depending on the organisation. Contract of Employment Contract of employment states the terms and conditions of the job, showing a legally binding agreement between the employer and employee. So if an employee offers to work for an organisation then in return the employer must pay that person to do the work. Contract of employment mainly states: * Holidays and sick pay entitlement – legally Employee’s are entitled to at least 4 weeks holiday and so it should state how many weeks of holiday the employee is entitled to, also it should state whether employee is entitled to employer sick pay or SSP (Statutory Sick Pay) * Grievance and disciplinary procedures – it should state who the employee can refer if he or she has a grievance and should state who is responsible for disciplinary procedures. * Notice periods – If an employee decides to leave or is dismissed by the employer then it should state the notice time for that i.e. one-month notice time. * Wage/pay – it should state the amount of pay the employee should receive when job is done, also it may state how it is paid i.e. electronically. * Hours of work – it should also state the hours of work i.e. 48 hours a week, and what time he/he will start and finish * Fringe benefits – it should also state * Period of contract – whether it is permanent or temporary An employee is legally entitled to a contract of employment if he/she is working for the business for 1 month or more. Key components of staff training and development Induction Staff Appraisal Training and Development Induction training is given at the start of a new job to show how the activities of the firm are organised. Performance Reviews Self Evaluation Peer Evaluation Target Setting Measuring individual and group output/production Mentoring and coaching Apprenticeships In-house training External training Motivation Keeping staff motivated is good for the business because: * Motivated workers are more productive and higher productivity usually means higher profits. * In a service industry, workers who are well motivated will provide a better level of customer service, keeping the customers happy. * Staffs who are well motivated are more likely to stay with the company. They grow in experience and become even more valuable to their employer. * If a business successfully keeps the staff it has, the cost of recruiting and training new staff is reduced. > Management styles > Job Rotation, Job Enlargement > Team working > Financial incentives An employee can be demotivated if: * The environment is not safe, so the HR will have to make the environment safe. * The managers/employer