Identifying Competencies And Personal Development In Hospitality Industry

Part 1: Identifying Competencies

Having developed an interest and love for the sector of hospitality, I see myself as part of this industry in the near future. The hospitality industry is one of the most coveted professional sectors and consists of jobs that require skills that are different from all other industries. In particular, the job role that I want to take up is that of a human resources manager. Having pursued a degree in management based on human resources, I want to take this profession up and apply the skills I have garnered in the hospitality industry. This industry being highly volatile in nature needs a particular set of skills and competencies that are described herein.

As mentioned in Appendix 1, the roles of any human resource manager require a lot of practical training so that the human resources executives and managers are able to introduce the new employees to all the processes. This step is extremely important, as it requires direct services being rendered to the customers and catering to their demands on and regular basis. There are many factors that the human resource executive or manager need to consider while hiring new employees including diversity issues and occupational health issues. The type of responsibilities differ across different hotel chains in the hospitality and this is represented in the table provided below:

Hotels	Customised Competencies Required
Hilton Worldwide Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper	Proper delegation of work so that urgent needs of customers can be met with, adhering to the legal needs, hiring diversified work force for specialised services in different fields
Radisson Blu (Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group)	Advertising for vacancies, hiring for the required skills, providing the best perks to the employees including medical and transport facilities, and providing the best training possible
Premier Inn Manchester Salford Quays Media City	Building a strong culture and ambience by inculcating values in the employees so that the customer satisfaction increases.

Table 1: Hotels and Competencies Needed

Source: Self Made

In an organization, the human resource manager plays a very important role in terms of controlling the employees and thereby led them to appropriate direction.  Boella (2017) puts stress on the fact that diversity is one of the major aspect of hospitality industry due to the inclusion of travellers from different backgrounds. As per the discussion of Riley (2014) it is evident that comprehensive training is one of the greatest ways, through which linguistic barriers among the staffs can also be mitigated. It is the prime responsibility of HR managers to face any kind of challenging situation and take prompt action to resolve the same. As discussed by Baum (2016) this is the way, through which the staffs have become able to communicate efficiently across different gender and culture. According to Bratton and Gold (2017) it is to be said that implementing strong policies and procedures for integrating diversity within internal functionality is also a major skill of successful HR manager. Communication is one of the greatest skills of team leader, which is the key of strengthening bond among the staffs. Nieves and Segarra-Ciprés (2015) observed that as a team leader, it is the prime responsibility of align all the staffs within a single platform. Deery and Jago (2015) commented that strengthening commitment level among the staffs is also a greatest skill of proficient team leader.

As mentioned earlier, I can assert that taking up a human resource management position in the hospitality industry will be a justified decision as I have gathered and built on the skills and competencies needed for such a job. In this part of the report, the required skills and why I think I am capable of such a job are described with evidence in the form of my own experiences. This is represented in the following table:

Skills Required	Rating
1. Business Communication	9 out f 10
2. Problem Solving	8 out of 10
3. Decision Making	9 out of 10
4. Emotional Intelligence	8 out of 10
5. Analytical Skills	7 out of 10
6. Legal Skills	6 out of 10
7. Diversity Maintaining	5 out of 10
8. Advertising Jobs	9 out of 10
9. Training	10 out of 10

Part 2: Personal Audit and Evidence of Development

Table 2: Skills and Competencies

Source: Self Made

The first skill mentioned in the table is that of Business communication. I have rated myself high (9 out of 10) in this aspect because I have built on this skill at every step of my career. Being a part of leadership programs and being a member of student council back during college, I have learnt how to use my communication skills in the best proportion possible. I have learnt to use these skills in such a way that I am able to both persuade and explain in the best way possible. This will help to provide proper training to the new employees as well as increase the level of customer satisfaction in the organisation.

As I have been involved in the process of charity and social work for a period of almost a year, I have also learnt how to solve problems using the time and the resources available in a strategic way. Being a volunteer at a non-governmental organisation has helped to solve problems in a calm and complacent way. I have learnt how to handle stress in a steady way and hence I think that I am good at problem solving. This skill will also help in providing a good level of customer satisfaction and help solve their problems on time and in a way that will gain their trust and loyalty.

In the context of emotional intelligence again, I think I will be able to handle the problems and issues faced by the customers because I have been associated with social work for a long time. I think that being associated with an NGO and also having good communication skills will bolster the skill of emotional intelligence. I think being a part of an organisation that completely identifies the problems of the customers and solves them not only through a particular process but also with the use of empathy is required and needed.

The next skill I have mentioned is that of analytics. I think that with the advent of technology and good analytical software, using these skills helps in speeding up the process of distribution of work, allocation and major decision making as well as the measuring of productivities. As I have taken a few courses on the major analytical tools used and implemented in the hospitality industry. However, the application and extent of the usage of tools vary among different hotels. Hence, I have rated myself with an eight out of 10 as and not a complete 10 as experience is important for the various processes in which the analytical tools are used.

The other two skills that I have mentioned as to being important for working in the human resources sector of the hospitality industry include legal skills and maintaining diversity. I think that though I have some idea of the practical implications of these competencies, I am not too confident of these skills and hence have marked myself lower than the other competencies listed because I only have theoretical knowledge and will not be able to handle work related to these competencies in the best possible way.

Part 3: Reflection on Learning

The advertisement and posting of jobs using different websites as well as references is both extremely important and necessary. It is one of the central pillars of the hospitality industry as hiring the right fit is both difficult and needs strategic planning. I think over the years, I have learnt to do the same and hence will be able to benefit the organisation boy hiring the right fit for the organisation.

In the context of providing training, I am extremely confident as I am well aware of all the different processes that are required for training the newly hired employees. Besides training is one of the integral processes applied in all industries and across all sectors. In the context of the hospitality industry, it is a process of modification where new skills are incorporated into new employees in such a way that they are able to handle customer needs and customer problems in the most efficient and effective ways such that the objectives lying ahead of the firm get fulfilled in a lesser span of time. This is only possible with the hiring of the right fit of employees. Thus, the two competencies are complementary in nature and one helps in ensuring the other.

Borton’s Development Framework is one of the most important models of reflective learning and is generally implemented in the form of a cycle. It consists of three important questions which are to be answered in three different phases of one’s career decision making (Maiden 2017). The first step involves the question of the individual role played by the individual who is reflecting on the activities carried out by himself on the past and the challenges that he/she faced while playing the same role so that these very challenges and barriers can be overcome by the individual. The next question that is included is involved with the investigation of the outcomes as to how did the role played by the individual in the past helped him and how were the challenges dealt with such that it benefits him later on. It also involves the identification of the importance of the role played earlier by the individual. The last step or set of questions involves identifying what more changes can be brought about with respect to the skill the individual has garnered earlier and how can he same be enhanced so that the outcomes are bettered in that respect. It also involves how future practices can be enhanced and improvised using the past learnings, experiences and challenges faced can be utilised later for the career objectives facing the individual.

In this case, the same model is being utilised in the possible ways in the context that, I am mentioning my past experiences and basing my future goals on the same experiences that i have gained through various career and extra-curricular activities of mine. The skills/competencies that I have mentioned in the earlier part of this assignment are being demonstrated in details in this part. I have provided evidences in this section and reasons as to why it was easy for me to identify the skills that will be needed in the industry. I have also mentioned how these skills and competencies will enhance my scope for performing better in this industry.

Part 4: Your Future Planning

Gibb’s Reflective Cycle is another example of a reflective model that also consists of a cycle in which an individual assesses himself and is able to better the set of skills and competencies after identifying the same (Husebø, O’Regan and Nestel 2015). There are five steps involved in this model and these include description, feelings, evaluation, conclusions and actions. In the five steps the student is required to assess where and in which experiences did he/she gain the skills and then understand if he was performing well according to himself. It then involves the person to investigate the flaws and how can the same be overcome. Finally it involves using the same set of competencies in an enhanced way for the future plans or career objectives lying ahead of the individual.

Description:

During this stage, the students are in need to make sure that they be able to obtain the capability to assess or describe the event. In this stage the general queries like what happened, the time occurrence, the place of the occurrence, the number and the identity of the individuals involved in it, the activity of the individuals present in that situation and the result of it are significantly important for the students.

The section is concerned with the feelings that the occurrence of the event generated in the student and the other activities that took place in the occurrence of the event. In this stage the queries which will be highly helpful are the expectations from the event, the feeling generated during the event, the feeling that generated with the ending of the event. Along with that, the queries like the how others felt about the incident or whether there was any gap between expectation and the result.

In this stage, the student must question themselves whether the experience of the event was good or it was not up to the expectation and along with that, the evaluation of the approach applied on it is also significant for the student. In this stage, the queries that will be significantly helpful for the students are like the identification of the best experiences in that event, the reason behind that, the identification of the worst experience and the reason behind that long with the identification of the contribution of himself or herself and others.

The stage is concerned with the learning from the occurrence of the event and the activity of the individuals in it. This is significant for the students as it make sure that the students know what to do in similar situation. This provides an assessment of both the positive and the negative impact and learning of the event for the students.

Conclusion:

This is the stage for the assessment where the student needs to find what went well for him or her from a distance as it is much needed for the student to get the evaluation of the fact of what was to be done in order to improve the experience of the event. The assessment in the stage is significantly helpful with the answers of the queries like the identification of the positive and the negative experience that the situation created, the identification of a different approach for the improvement of the experience and the development of the skills required to cope up with the adverse experiences of such events.   

The self audit and evidences provided in the second part of the assignment and then discussed in details in this part of the assignment are of the same nature and implies usage of the Gibb’s Reflective Cycle. Usage of this model has helped me to investigate the strengths and weaknesses and determine the industry as well as the career path that would help me to be successful and achieve the career objectives lying ahead of me.

Human resource management is one of the greatest aspects of hospitality industry, which supports in aligning all the employees within a single platform (Úbeda-García et al. 2018). Since I have gone through a lot of learning phases in my career and professional life, I think that I will be able to implement all of these skills and competencies in the right proportion and in the right method.

In the context of business communication, like I mentioned earlier, the various leadership programmes that I have taken up are going to help me and I am very confident about this particular competency because, I have also taken up public speaking courses. I think that the combination of these skills will help me to effectively solve a lot of problems and help in solving problems both among employees as well as for clients.

Domínguez-Falcón et al. (2016) stressed on the ground that as money is not the only factor that can raise motivation, the HR managers should ensure flexible working condition for the staffs. At the same time, Nieves and Quintana (2018) also perceived that flexibility has also supported in promoting career of the staffs by providing them with effective training. There lies the significance of flexibility, through which I have introduced rotational shifts. Baum (2015) shaded light on the fact that through this way, the staffs can choose shift timing by their own and thereby maintain their personal and professional life. Through the internship I have taken up earlier and the leadership skills that I possess because of the social work that I have conducted earlier. I think I will be able to distribute work and manage processes in such a way that will ensure the freedom and the flexibility of the workers in such a way that they will be able to have a work-life balance.

Moreover, the use of the analytical tools that I have taken trainings in will not only help me to better the quality of distribution of work but also help me to increase the productivity of the employees. It will also help me to introduce the use and implementation of smart devices and disruptive business models so that I can increase and improve both the productivity as well as the quality of work for the employees. The use of analytics is something I want to take up as a customised service as it really helps in reducing the time and effort involved with many processes.

I also think that the process of team management is one of the most important and integral skills that I have managed to garner over the years. Both during the pursuing of management and graduation, I have worked on numerous projects which have instilled the sense of team spirit in me. I think that the different competencies I mentioned are all applicable only if this one skill is implemented and used properly. Instilling motivation helps in both increasing the productivity of the employees as well as increasing the retaining power of the organisation as a whole. I have invested a considerable amount of time in sensitivity training session in terms of aligning all the employees within a single platform and I am sure I will be able to implement the same in the context of any organisation in the hospitality industry.  Al-Refaie (2015) focused on the fact that as shared decision making is a major way of promoting growth, effective team working is a major way of executing such kind of decision. Sainaghi et al (2018) commented that team working is the best way of maximizing shared knowledge, which is the fundamental factor of strengthening skill and competency level of individual employees. Based on my experience in team working, it can be said that enthusiasm among the employees is the greatest aspect of team working. According to Amin et al. (2017) collaborative environment in the workplace is the major factor of gaining desired outcome. There lies the implication of team working, which serves the employees with the ability to foster their expertise level.      

It was very easy for me to choose the hospitality sector and human resources management sector of the industry as I am confident about the same. I also think that it was extremely easy for me to list the skills as these are the basic skills that are required for being successful in this industry and helping the organisation to develop and flourish. This is the career that I want to take up in the long-run and I am passionate about. I am sure that I will be able to use the skills and my previous experiences and imply them for my career oath ahead.  The context of diversity is widespread and is being implemented in many firms and organisations all over the world. Even though I am not trained in a lot of aspects regarding this competency, my skills of emotional intelligence and empathy will help me to take up practices that will ensure equal employability opportunities and greater amounts of inclusion. In this context, I will also take up initiatives related to cultural auditing, as it will help to maintain a workforce that is diverse with respect to not only gender but also cultural backgrounds.

Personal Development Planning is the process of developing an action plan which enables an individual to plan and execute various steps and activities that he needs to take up using the available resources. It helps to take up trainings and processes, which will help in advancing my skills and making them worth implementing in the given industry. I have provided a tabular version of the various activities related to the various actions that I have identified.

Action	Activities	Resources	Timeline
Conduction of self-assessment	· To explore inner strength and weaknesses · To take strong action for mitigating weaknesses · To monitor own competency level.	· In-depth planning · Online examination materials	20th to 25th November
Improve the ability to communicate properly	· To maintain healthy interaction with the coworkers · To establish strong bonding within a team	· Model conversation · Answers of open ended questions · Practice of active listening	26th to 30th November
Aligning HR plan with that of organizational plan	· Conduction of meeting with management. · Working with a range of customers in order to explore their needs and requirements.	· Experience of management · Business technology	1st December to 5th December
To implement HR management model	· Seeking opportunities to design HR planning · Reviewing the existing role planning	· Access to the role profile · Managerial discussion	6th to 10th December
Developing a competent team	· To monitor the skill and competency of the staffs · To provide training to them to improve their level of expertise level.	· Comprehensive time line for the staffs to promote career · Online training material · Efficient trainer	11th to 20 th December

Table 3: Personal Development plan

Source: Self-Made

As is portrayed in the personal development plan above, the major actions that I am considering to work upon include conducting self-assessment, improving communication abilities, aligning HR plan with that of organizational plan, implementing a human resources management model and developing a competent team. Thus, through this assignment I have tried out figure the skills and competencies that I will be needing to implement in the tourism sector in the role of human resource management executive. I hope that this will enable me to improve my skill set and help take on the career path that I have always wanted to take up.

References:

Al-Refaie, A., 2015. Effects of human resource management on hotel performance using structural equation modeling. Computers in Human Behavior, 43 (3), pp.293-303.

Amin, M., Aldakhil, A.M., Wu, C., Rezaei, S. and Cobanoglu, C., 2017. The structural relationship between TQM, employee satisfaction and hotel performance. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(4), pp.1256-1278.

Baum, T. ed., 2016. Human resource issues in international tourism. Elsevier.

Baum, T., 2015. Human resources in tourism: Still waiting for change?–A 2015 reprise. Tourism Management, 50, pp.204-212.

Boella, M., 2017. Human resource management in the hotel and catering industry. Routledge.

Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.

Deery, M. and Jago, L., 2015. Revisiting talent management, work-life balance and retention strategies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), pp.453-472.

Domínguez-Falcón, C., Martín-Santana, J.D. and De Saá-Pérez, P., 2016. Human resources management and performance in the hotel industry: The role of the commitment and satisfaction of managers versus supervisors. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(3), pp.490-515.

Husebø, S.E., O’Regan, S. and Nestel, D., 2015. Reflective practice and its role in simulation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 11(8), pp.368-375.

Maiden, G., 2017. Using reflection and visual representation to analyse and build leadership capacity, through a personal account of exemplary leadership. International Practice Development Journal, 7(2).

Nieves, J. and Quintana, A., 2018. Human resource practices and innovation in the hotel industry: The mediating role of human capital. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 18(1), pp.72-83.

Nieves, J. and Segarra-Ciprés, M., 2015. Management innovation in the hotel industry. Tourism Management, 46, pp.51-58.

Riley, M., 2014. Human resource management in the hospitality and tourism industry. Routledge.

Sainaghi, R., Baggio, R., Phillips, P. and Mauri, A.G., 2018. Hotel performance and research streams: a network cluster analysis. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 7(2), pp.89-120.

Sainaghi, R., Phillips, P., Baggio, R. and Mauri, A., 2018. Cross-citation and authorship analysis of hotel performance studies. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 73 (9), pp.75-84.

Úbeda-García, M., Claver-Cortés, E., Marco-Lajara, B. and Zaragoza-Sáez, P., 2017. Human resource flexibility and performance in the hotel industry: The role of organizational ambidexterity. Personnel Review, 46(4), pp.824-846.

Úbeda-García, M., Claver-Cortés, E., Marco-Lajara, B. and Zaragoza-Sáez, P., 2016. Toward organizational ambidexterity in the hotel industry: the role of human resources. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 57(4), pp.367-378.            

Úbeda-García, M., Claver-Cortés, E., Marco-Lajara, B., Zaragoza-Sáez, P. and García-Lillo, F., 2018. High performance work system and performance: Opening the black box through the organizational ambidexterity and human resource flexibility. Journal of Business Research, 88, pp.397-406.