Analyzing the System for Employee Training and Development in Order to Improve Service Quality in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague

Transcription

1 Analyzing the System for Employee Training and Development in Order to Improve Service Quality in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague Bachelor dissertation Natália Gécziová Institute of Hospitality Management in Prague Department of Hospitality management Major field of study: Hospitality Management Dissertation advisor: Donna Dvorak, M.A. Date of submission: Date of defense: Prague 2015

2 Oath I swear that the bachelor dissertation titled Analyzing the system for employee training and development in order to improve service quality in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague was written by me independently, and that all literature and additional material used are cited in the bibliography and that this version is exactly the same as the work submitted electronically. In accordance with 47b law no. 111/1998 coll. on higher education institutions, I agree to my dissertation being published in its complete form in the publicly accessible electronic database of the Institute of Hospitality Management in Prague. Natália Gécziová In Prague on

3 Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the advisor of my dissertation Donna Dvorak, M.A. who continually and persuasively guided me throughout the whole writing process. I would like to thank her for her advice and the worthy support I have got from her during my entire study at the Institute of Hospitality Management in Prague. Without her supervision, kindness and constant help this dissertation would not have been possible. I would also like to thank to the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague and its employees for the possibility to write my thesis focused on this hotel. Special thanks go to the Training and Development manager, Zuzana Varmužová for her help and willingness to give me so much of the information needed to complete this dissertation, the F&B manager, David Pátek for his time and willingness to answer my questions, my dear friend Bc. Marek Kameništiak for his kind help and support and to Bc. Monika Kodešová for her assistance and contribution. My thanks also goes to all FOH employees who responded to my questionnaire promptly and very kindly. Last but not least, I acknowledge the support, knowledge and possibilities I have got from the Institute of Hospitality Management in Prague during my entire study there and the possibility to study and work abroad which also enriched my professional opinion, gave me amazing friendships and most importantly, helped me to overcome my own limits. At the end, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank my family who supported me throughout my entire study, especially to my dear mother, Alena Gécziová, MBA who has consistently supported my education, dreams and desires and who always stands by my side during all the important decisions in my life. Without her endless love and support I would not be where I am now, and thus would not be able to successfully complete this work.

4 Abstract GÉCZIOVÁ, Natália. Analyzing the System for Employee Training and Development in Order to Improve Service Quality in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague. [Bachelor dissertation] Institute of Hospitality Management in Prague. Prague: The human factor is the most important component for success in any kind of business. The hotel industry as a part of the service field is very specific and working in this sphere requires a lot of knowledge and skills together with the ability and potential of individuals to meet expectations not only of customers but also of the management and organization itself. To be able to achieve the organization s goals and provide an excellent service, employees need to be fully trained and motivated to succeed on a daily basis. Employee training and development is introduced as an essential part of human resource management (HRM). The purpose of this thesis was to raise awareness of the importance of staff training and development in order to systematically improve service quality and to put to the forefront the role of investment into the human factor in every institution. This thesis explains the role and operations of the HRM, employee training with its costs and benefits for the organization, management and employees together with the significance of employee development and empowerment in the hotel. The methodology part explains how the data in the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is collected and why the method of interviews and questionnaires are used. The results and findings part discusses the system, methods and areas of how the employee training and development in the chosen organization is provided together with the management's and employees perception of the impact of those system on the service quality and customer satisfaction. Results showed that various important trainings are provided by the hotel and both management and employees perceive that the service quality is highly influenced by appropriate training and the performance of employees. Key words: employee training, employee development, service quality, hospitality industry, hotel industry, service delivery, human resource management.

5 Abstrakt GÉCZIOVÁ, Natália. Analýza Systému Trénovania a Rozvoja Zamestnancov v Dôsledku Zvyšovania Kvality Servisu v Radisson Blu Alcron Hoteli v Prahe. [Bakalárska práca] Vysoká škola hotelová v Prahe. Praha: Ľudský faktor je najdôležitejším elementom pre úspech v akomkoľvek biznise. Hotelový priemysel ako súčasť servisového odvetvia je veľmi špecifický a práca v tomto odvetví si vyžaduje množstvo vedomostí a zručností spolu so schopnosťou a potenciálom jednotlivca splniť očakávania nielen od zákazníkov, ale aj od manažmentu a organizácie samotnej. Na to, aby bol zamestnanec schopný dosiahnuť ciele stanovené organizáciou a poskytnúť excelentný servis musí byť plne trénovaný a motivovaný dennodenne uspieť. Tréning a rozvoj zamestnancov je predstavený ako základná súčasť manažmentu ľudských zdrojov (HRM). Cieľom tejto práce bolo zvýšiť povedomie o dôležitosti tréningu zamestnancov a ich vývoj v dôsledku neustáleho zlepšovania kvality servisu a dať do popredia rolu investovania do ľudského faktoru v každej inštitúcii. Táto práca vysvetľuje úlohu a funkcie HRM, tréning zamestnancov spolu s jeho nákladmi a prínosmi pre organizáciu, manažment a zamestnanca spolu s významom vývoja a splnomocnenia zamestnancov v hoteli. Metodická časť vysvetľuje ako boli zozbierané dáta v Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, a prečo na to boli použité metódy ako dotazník a rozhovory. V praktickej časti sa rozoberá systém, metódy a oblasti, v ktorých hotel zabezpečuje tréning a vývoj zamestnancov spolu s vnímaním vplyvu tohto systému na kvalitu servisu a spokojnosť zákazníkov zo strany manažmentu a zamestnancov. Výsledky ukázali, že hotel organizuje rôzne dôležité tréningy a že oba pohľady, zo strany manažmentu aj zo strany zamestnancov potvrdzujú, že kvalita servisu je vysoko ovplyvnená vhodným tréningom a výkonom zamestnancov. Kľúčové slová: tréning zamestnancov, rozvoj zamestnancov, kvalita servisu, pohostinstvo, hotelový priemysel, poskytnutie servisu, manažment ľudských zdrojov.

6 Table of Contents List of illustrations, tables and graphs... I List of abbreviations, symbols, and explanations... II Chapter 1- Introduction Introduction Background information Aim of the research Research questions Research plan Structure of the thesis... 3 Chapter 2- Literature review Hospitality industry in 21 st century Organizational and staffing characteristics in hotels A background to the industry s workforce and contemporary issues within the industry Human resource management (HRM) Strategic human resource management (SHRM) Role of Human resource department (HRD) in hotel Employee training Staff training in the hotel industry Benefits and costs of staff training Employee development Employee empowerment and service quality Learning process Conditions for effective learning by employees Chapter 3- Methodology... 21

7 3.1 Empirical data collection Primary research Secondary research Interview with the training and development manager Interview with the management Chapter 4- Results and Findings Introduction of the case company Introduction of the case hotel Main business activity of the hotel The training system of FOH employees Management satisfaction with training methods and employees performance and its influence on service quality Employee satisfaction with training methods and professional development and how it is influence a service quality Effect of training and development of employees on service quality Conclusion and recommendations Chapter 5- Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusion Recommendations Reference list... III Appendices... VII Appendix 1... VIII Appendix 2... IX Appendix 3... XII Appendix 4... XIV Appendix 5... XVI

8 Appendix 6...XX Appendix 7... XXII

9 List of illustrations, tables and graphs Figure 1: Job Analysis (Woods, 2006 p.56) Figure 2: Effect of staff training benefit (author s own image) Figure 3: Important factors of managing people in the hospitality industry (author s own illustration) Figure 4: Kolb s Cycle of Experiential Learning (Kolb, 1984 cited in Center for Teaching and Learning, n. d.) Figure 5: 6 point Likert scale used for the questionnaire (author s own image) Figure 6: Difference between trainings provided for all employees and those necessary for supervisors (author s own illustration) Figure 7: All trainings provided by the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel Figure 8 (left): Sex of respondents on questionnaire (author s own illustration) Figure 9 (right): Age of respondents (author s own illustration) Figure 10: Job positions of respondents (author s own illustration) Figure 11: Results from question No Figure 12: Results from question No Figure 13: Results from question No Figure 14: Results from question No Figure 15: Results from question No Figure 16: Results from question No Figure 17: Results from question No Figure 18: Results from question No Figure 19: Results from question No Figure 20: Results of the last open question from questionnaire (author s own illustration) I

10 List of abbreviations, symbols, and explanations HRM-human resource management HR- human resource SHRM- strategic human resource management HRD- human resource department FOH- front of house CRHG- Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group QC- Quorvus Collection F&B- food and beverage OHS- occupational health and safety HOD- head of department II

11 Chapter 1- Introduction 1.1 Introduction For many people, the hospitality industry is one of the most exciting and interesting industries to work in. Hospitality means to serve someone, to behave hospitably to your guests. Some people working within the industry were born with this skill, but some of them have to learn how to act in people-oriented businesses. The hotel industry is not just about management and managerial skills. Every employee has to be trained in order to achieve the company goals. Every person working in the hotel is somehow connected to the guest experience. In addition, the importance of employee training and development in hospitality cannot be overstated, because every job ultimately aims for guest satisfaction. 1.2 Background information The question of well trained staff is a huge issue in the hospitality industry. The business behind customer satisfaction involves many people, operations and appropriate training. It is very important to involve all employees to maximize hotel standards and gain more repetitive and satisfied customers. The appropriate employee training and development benefits both the employee and employer. Every hotel has a different scenario; deals with different demands from customers, but every hotel is trying to achieve the same goals- higher profit, satisfied customers and motivated employees. The case hotel for the topic was Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague. The history of this hotel dates to the year 1932 when the hotel was opened for the very first time and it became the most luxurious and revolutionary building in the whole country. During the next 60 years, Alcron played an important role during the 2 nd World War, as well as in the history of Czechoslovakia. In the year 1998, the hotel was renovated by the famous London designer Maria Vafiadis and it still operates as one of the most luxurious hotel in Prague. In today s modern times, it is very important to understand the fact that the most important aspect in achieving quality in the hotel industry is still the human factor. The author decided to choose this topic, because of a deep interest in appropriate employee training and development, which will in the author s opinion, improve the overall quality of the hospitality industry in the 21st century. Many years spent actively working within the industry taught the author that appropriate training, well-targeted motivation and 1

12 recognition from colleagues, together with the satisfied and grateful customer is the right combination to be a satisfied and productive employee. With this thesis, the author wanted to get closer to the issue of investment into quality and permanent employees from both the management and the employees points of view. Often, the problem is that both sides see investment in human factors in various forms from different perspectives causing many problems to arise within the industry. To eliminate this problems it is very important to pay attention to the needs and requirements of the employees, not just the company s goals. 1.3 Aim of the research The aim of this research is to analyze how employee training and development influence the quality of customer service within the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, and to explain the importance of training and development in the chosen organization and to determine possible ways to improve the system of employee training and development Research questions What are the types, methods and areas of employee training offered in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague? How do employee training and development influence the service quality from the perspective of management? How do employee training and development influence the service quality from the perspective of employees? 1.4 Research plan Before anything else, it was necessary to collect all information about the hospitality industry workforce in the 21 st century, along with the organizational and staffing characteristics in the hotel. After the analyzing of the contemporary issues in managing people in the hotel industry, the role of human resource management in hotel was researched. After that employee training, development and empowerment along with the characteristics of learning process were discussed. Next important step was to create the research questions which needed to be answered by this analysis. Furthermore, to clearly understand the topic, a practical example was needed. The author chose the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague as an example of an internationally recognized hotel group, Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts. The aim was to analyze the attitude to employee training 2

13 and development- how far does this extend, and initially- what changes should the organization be considering. At the end, it was necessary to collect some materials used within the hotel and cross reference the quality of training and development programs with the results in customer satisfaction. The whole process of empirical data collecting and usage of internal materials will be explained in depth in chapter 3- methodology. 1.5 Structure of the thesis This thesis is divided into five main parts. The first part provides a general introduction and background to the topic and helps reader to orientate themselves throughout the thesis. The research questions and research plan are also introduced in this section. The second chapter covers a literature review. This section consists of all academic and theoretical sources related directly to the topic and research questions given at the beginning of the research plan. In this section, the qualitative research is provided to help identify unbiased and valid studies. It might identify areas of controversy in the literature and formulate questions that need further research. The third chapter deals with the methodology, where the complete process of gaining data and information about the case hotel will be explained in depth. The next chapter covers the case company- Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (CRHG) and the case hotel of this thesis- Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague. This part is divided into sub-chapters including, introduction of the case company, case hotel, the training system used in the hotel and its results, as well as employee and management satisfaction with the ongoing system. An identification of management and employee perception about training and development programs is also provided in this section. Moreover, customer satisfaction with trained staff and quality of service delivery together with the influence of appropriate training and development of employees on service quality is analyzed. There will also be a conclusion and recommendation part at the end of this chapter. Final conclusion and possible improvements will take place after the Results and Findings, the last chapter of this thesis. In this chapter, the summary of the whole thesis is given along with the author s suggestions for possible improvements and changes. 3

14 Chapter 2- Literature review 2.1 Hospitality industry in 21 st century In recent years the term 'hospitality' has become increasingly well known as a concept which covers the world famous organizations including hotels, restaurants or catering services. Although, the hospitality industry has been making great progress for several years, according to Forbes (2014) travel and hospitality trends for the year 2015 are based mainly on the following facts: extensive development in travel and transportation possibilities, shifting economics, enormous progress in technology, increased competition between hoteliers and increased unique demands from shifting demographics. Hospitality and tourism industries became one of the fastest growing industries in the world (Walker, 2010). As it was mentioned above, one of the largest areas within hospitality industry represents hotels Organizational and staffing characteristics in hotels In this section, it is very important to mention that hotels are not a homogeneous grouping. It means that not all characteristics are applicable to all hotels. Various levels of staff mobility and turnover, different divisions and operations and individual skills required from employees are also a proof of homogeneity in this sector. Hotels have a number of important organizational and staffing features which may be applicable also to other sectors of the hospitality industry. Staffing is a critical organizational function concerned with the acquisition, deployment, and the selection of the appropriate human capital. According to Online Learning Centre (n. d.), the human capital refers to the knowledge, competence, and ability of people, and their motivation to use all these factors successfully in their jobs. Additionally, Mullins (2001) describes some of the organizational and staffing characteristics in the hotel industry: Large numbers of individual units in different sizes, located throughout the whole country and internationally No closing time, many units operate for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week There are high fixed costs influenced by fluctuation, seasonality and unpredictable demand 4

15 It is both a production and service industry, with the manufacture and sales operating in the same place Variety of needs and expectations of the diverse range of customers Wide range of operations provided simultaneously The majority of personnel have a low salary High level of staff turnover and mobility of labor Often multicultural environment Good coordination and time management skills required Expectation of working long and 'unsocial' hours Different skills required from the employees Also a high percentage of unskilled staff According to the points mentioned above, it is noticeable that the hotel industry is putting great pressure on its workforce either mentally or physically. Although, the hospitality industry has a number of specifics, there are also many common features with other businesses. Despite the differences among individual organizations, there are at least four common elements in any work institution: People, Objectives, Structure and Management. Earlier research (Mullins, 2001) demonstrated that it is the interaction of people in order to reach objectives which represent the core of the organization. The structure is needed to interact, challenge and coordinate the workforce and all this is happening through the process of managing the activities of the establishment together with the performance of its members connecting with the objectives and goals of the organization A background to the industry s workforce and contemporary issues within the industry There is no doubt that all contributors of development in tourism and economy over the last fifty years or so help to create many jobs within the hospitality industry. "However, whilst the quantity of jobs is unquestionable, the quality of many of these jobs is of great concern to academics and policy-makers alike. Despite the rhetoric of policy-makers and business leaders that people are the industry s most important asset, many remain unconvinced that such a view is borne out by empirical evidence" (Nickson, 2007, p.17). According to this statement, there are many problems with the quality of work provided 5

16 by the industry s workforce. One of the reasons could be the high employee turnover. As Boella (1992) states industry has bad reputation for rapidly changing staff. According to a Deloitte Hospitality report (n. d. cited in Hotel Marketing Strategies, 2015) the average hotelier spends 33 percent of revenues on labor costs alone. While, the average level of employee turnover is 31% in U.S., in the UK this problem resulted in 34 %. In many cases, the fact that the hoteliers have to train and pay attention to the new employees, results in poor service quality and performance of working teams. According to a report by the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research Studies, co-workers attitudes over time play a large role in whether a person leaves or stays with the organization (Marketing Strategies, 2015). The employee turnover can also cause many financial problems, for example predeparture costs or recruitment process to find a new employee. Furthermore, the 'contagion effect' is when the overall attitude in an organization becomes impossible to ignore and the repeated substituting of employees reflects the bad reputation of company culture and its workforce. It may result in situation that even satisfied employee will no longer be a part of the company. However, the 'contagion effect' can cause many problems in business; it also works in the opposite way. It means that the great company culture motivates employees to be engaged and have high morale (Hotel Marketing Strategies, 2015). The low average salary is considered to be another big issue for the industry s employees. The fact is that the hospitality industry was always seen as a long-hours and low-wages sector. According to Mullins (2013), it is very important to motivate employees with the psychological reward and personal growth. However, it is not that applicable in the hospitality industry, where most of the employees are hourly workers. Positions such as dishwasher, housekeeping, waiter or cook are not significantly changing among different companies, so such staff are working mostly for their paychecks. Additionally, McBride (2012) mentions the main reasons why people in such positions may be under-paid. Often, there is a low skills and experience requirement for such positions. Most of this workforce is temporary or seasonal and in many cases, a significant number of parttimers, migrants, students and people in secondary employment working within the companies. When it comes to these positions, one issue still remains- a high staff turnover with high unemployment offering easily available replacements. 6

17 Nevertheless, managers, office and support staff, specialists and professional staff (e.g. chefs and event managers) and executive roles have different position in determination of salary. The main reason why people working in such positions have higher salaries than temporary or seasonal workforce is that there is a high demand of specific skills and experience for work on particular managerial or executive positions. This demand creates a talent war to appeal to the right people in professional roles and therefore many companies are trying to maximize the competitive advantage in order to lure the best professionals on the market. On the one hand, the opportunity to rise through and transfer to other branches or locations is usually offered as a benefit for those workers. On the other hand, formal training programs or paths are seen as a beneficial investment for organizations to keep their full-time professionals as long as possible. If the question: Is the hospitality industry really a low-paid business is given, the situation might not be as negative as many people think. As two categories of workforce were mentioned above, there are also differences between the salaries. Moreover, there are also some differences between the perceptions of the industry s opportunities by people working in this field. According to Hotel Online (2007), the main problems with the industry workforce are connected to demographics, lagging wage rates, industry reputation and de-emphasis on training and worker satisfaction. However, there are many issues within the industry. It is important to examine more closely how it is possible to train and develop the workforce to increase labor productivity and achieve better service and more satisfied customers. This thesis now turns to the question of human resource management and its role in the hotel. 2.3 Human resource management (HRM) The human resource management can be defined logically as managing a human factor and all operations connected to it. Although, various definitions of the HRM exist, according to Heery and Noon (2001 cited in Nickson, 2007, pp ) the meaning and dynamics of HRM can be defined in several ways: A label HRM is another name for personnel management. Despite the fact that nowadays this fact is clear enough, as Boella (1992) mentions there was a big discussion about the differences between the term human resource management and personnel management in the past 15 years. 7

18 "A convenient shorthand term that allows for the grouping together of a whole series of sub disciplines that are broadly concerned with people management: such as employee relations, industrial/labor relations, personnel management and organizational behavior" (Nickson, 2007, p. 23). HRM involves a range of personnel practices that can be integrated to gain a professional approach to managing people and have to fully meet the expectations from the external environment. HRM can be also defined as "A competitive advantage where HRM is the means by which an organization can gain competitive advantage, a view best captured by the cliché of our people are our greatest asset" (Nickson, 2007, p. 23) Strategic human resource management (SHRM) Every management decision affects the people working within the organization. Today s trend is to move human resource (HR) from its administrative role to the implementation into the everyday planning process and strategic planning itself (Taylor and Finley, 2009). This concept was expanded in response to developed human capital or human assets within the organizations. Taylor and Finley (2009) defines the human capital as including "skills, judgment, and intelligence of the firm s employees" (Barney& Wright, 1998 cited in Taylor and Finley, 2009, p. 84). SHRM includes principles for connecting people with the business strategies (Miles and Snow, 1984 cited in Taylor and Finely, 2009, p. 85). The HR model of functions in an organization is divided into the 2 categories and 5 individual levels, where an employee is seen as a competitive advantage or as a cost and resource for the hotel. If there is a situation where the employee is considered to be a competitive advantage for the company, HR becomes a strategic partner responsible for getting the maximum value from the employee and their usage for the company s benefit (Kearns, 2004 cited in Taylor and Finley, 2009, p. 85). Strategic HR managers are looking at employees as a source of strategic advantage and benefit for the company, not as a cost which have to be minimized (Pfeffer, 2005 cited in Taylor and Finley, 2009, p. 85). 8

19 2.3.2 Role of Human resource department (HRD) in hotel The HRD plays a very important role in the hotel, in every one of its operations. Jones and Pizam (1993) found that the organizing and managing of international HR functions is directly connected to all macroeconomics problems to which the company s management philosophy faces. The system to manage these issues must be very straight forward and is important for the company. The HRD has to operate very proactively, work on a strategic level and not just cover the administrative support role in the hotel (Jones and Pizam, 1993). The HRD operations can be divided into a few categories. According to website Az Central (n. d.), the HRD s role is to support the organization by taking care of the company s most valuable asset and let the management concentrate on doing the business itself. One of the most important functions is to take care of employment concerns. This function includes roles such as hiring, staffing and recruiting the employees. As a hotel s function is to cater and serve people, the HR department is responsible to hiring and training the best possible workforce hand in hand with the company s aim and philosophy. HR s role also contains compensation and benefits administration. This includes a process of comparing the level of salaries and benefits with the competition and making sure that the levels are roughly satisfying for both, management and employees and whether these levels are consistent with the Labor Code of the specific country. Another function is taking care of morale and mentoring the employees. This role includes training and development programs for employees, which allow them to continue their professional growth, achieve company s goals and meet the expectations from management as well as foster their moral responsibility for the company. This results in benefits for both, employee and employer. The concrete benefits from the employee training and development possibilities within the company will be discussed in detail later. The safeguarding of employees during various employment practices, protect both, employees and companies from litigation and is also a role of the HRD. Because of many situations, when hospitality organizations employ too few or too many personnel it often leads to employee exploitation on one side or compulsory holidays on another. The HRD is in charge to avoid these situations and obey the Labor Code of the country. 9

20 Differences such as religion, sex, opinions or diverse backgrounds in large and diverse work teams may also cause different forms of harassment or other problems and in such cases it is necessary for the HRD to intervene (Mullins 1992; Megginson, 2003; Az Central, n. d.). In conclusion, "HR must have significant input into strategy, into the organizational structure, into the development of management style, as well as into the traditional and highly influential HR technicalities of recruitment, training and management development" (Jones and Pizam, 1993, p. 153). 2.4 Employee training The natural need to train and develop new skills has become a usual aspect in every day working life. As a result of the progress of new trends and technology the training which was provided at the start becomes obsolete and needs to be improved and customized to the present trends and needs (Boella, 1992). Although, the importance of employee training is mostly undeniable, according to Pettinger and Frith (2002) there are still many organizations which attach a very low priority to it and when it comes to hard times, the employee training and development is one of the first operations to be cut and required to restrict its operations. As the role of human resource management was explained above, one of the most important roles of management is systematic training of employees. Employee training and development is a part of the HR department. However, nowadays the position of the training manager is quite common in big hotel chains, but it doesn t always have to be a separate function. Often, it is an HR manager who is taking care of the training and development of the employees Staff training in the hotel industry Cousins and Lillicrap (2010, p. 373) stated that the training may be defined as "a systematic development of people". The main purposes of the training lead to: Increase in the quantity and quality of performance by improving skills of workforce Reduction of damages and accidents 10

21 Increase in employees personal benefits such as salary boost, appreciation and other rewards that motivates employees to work hard Reduce the amount of materials and equipment needed in production in order to make the organization more profitable Concentration of supervisors to lead and plan instead of systematic correction of mistakes and problems Minimization of terminations of employment due to the insufficient skills of personnel Improvement in morale and achievement of good work place culture Adaptation of new methods and trends, motivation of employees to meet their job requirements, manage any potential transfers to different positions or other hotels within the chain and help new employees to adapt in a new work place Encouragement of employee willingness, loyalty and their interest in company s wellbeing aligned with the rewards and appreciation they deserve Before any training is given, the important role of the HR and Employee training manager is to have the right people working in the right positions. There are several steps when it comes to the job analysis and general terms used in the staff training process. First of all, it is very important to define a job itself. Job refers to all tasks fulfilled by the specific employee who is taking care of prescribed duties within the particular working environment (Cousins and Lillicrap, 2010). Then it is necessary to pair the right person with the right position. In this stage, the job description and job specification need to be created (see figure 1). On the one hand, job description contains the detailed description of each task, responsibility and duty needed to fulfill the particular job. Job description also includes information such as job title, purpose and scope of job, place of work, key performance measures and also whom the employee responds to (Cousins and Lillicrap, 2010). On the other hand, job specification defines the combination of knowledge, skills and abilities of particular employee which are necessary to carry out the specific job (Woods, 2006). 11

22 Figure 1: Job Analysis (Woods, 2006 p.56) Benefits and costs of staff training As the importance and role of staff training was explained above, the adequate and consistent training of a workforce show a number of benefits for the employees, management and organization itself. However, there are also several costs connected to investment in trainings and they may have variable, fixed or priority characters. The most visible burdens for any company are definitely financial costs, e.g. paying for courses and other support activities during the on-the-job training and off-the-job training or training instructors, paying for managerial, supervisory, staff time and resources. Fixed character costs may be represented in terms that the management development requires a substantial amount of otherwise salaried and occupational time and giving staff time to do such work and supervising it. Priorities may also represent a fixed cost in cases where managers must be able to block off periods of their time in order to do their job and understand their domain and environment. Opportunity costs may occur in the form of fixed costs involved in staffing that require greater emphasis on organizational 12

23 development and employees or management involved in training who cannot be doing anything else at that time. Moreover, there is a certain amount of variable costs such as disruption of regular work flows and patterns. In addition to all possible costs connected to training of workforce mentioned above, sometimes there could be a presence of capital costs including accommodation, rent and equipment needed for training programs (Pettinger and Frith, 2002). Despite to number of costs required for employee training programs and procedures, the benefits of proper staff training show significant impact on business as well as pay back on investment Benefits for the employee Job satisfaction and motivation among employees One of the most important benefits for the employee is the satisfaction with the work and positive work environment. If this is provided, the employee is motivated to work harder and meet company and management expectations alongside their own satisfaction and fulfillment of a working life. Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods of innovation in strategies and products Sustainable training can improve the employees ability to learn and understand new methods and adapt their skills. This may lead to a better understanding of duties and responsibilities of personnel and also to improved quality of work performance. Increased service quality Poor service quality is not only bad for the organization, but also for the employees who deliver it. The general aim of the training should be to build a strong and highly motivated workforce with a natural effort to provide an excellent service. If the organization seeks to apply this goal in its highest interest, it would also attract high-quality employees to be a part of the finest working environment (Teare and Olsen, 1992). 13

24 Benefits for the management High-quality enduring management-staff relations Highly-developed relationships between management and staff will often help with early identification of problems or any further gaps in knowledge or skills. Moreover, as long as the management provide support and encouragement to the employees, the satisfaction is visible on both sides and the management can count on full organizational, environmental and operational understanding from the employees side. Measuring employee performance and reward system When training is provided on a regular basis, it is easier for management to find out the improvement or worsening of employees performance. Therefore, it is also easier to measure their output and fairly reward staff with bonuses. It is very important for management to know how the employees respond to the training and if the improvement in service quality is visible. According to website Go2HR (n. d.), the more engaged and involved employees are, the better reward is given. Furthermore, the evaluation and measuring of employees performance is also helpful in further planning of training program and analyzing training needs. Flexibility and efficiency Management should be able to cross-train employees to be capable in more aspects of the field. It is important to educate employees in sales, promotion, administration, operations and customer service. If the employees are trained to be capable of more than one skill or duty it will keep them interested in business and often motivate them to perform better in order to gain a higher position. This will result in greater help for the management, when setting schedules or filling in for absences as well as when transferring among positions and other hotels within a chain is needed (Go2HR, n. d.) Benefits for the organization Increased efficiencies in processes resulting in financial gain The most important benefit for the organization is connected to profit. Employee training helps to increase efficiency and effectiveness of workforce performance and it results in higher profit for the organization. Research carried out the question of successful 14

25 business by Gummesson (1992 cited in Teare and Olsen, 1992, p. 318) found that the golden triangle of success consists of quality, productivity and profitability, when quality effects both, productivity and profitability and productivity leads to higher profitability. Reduced employee turnover As it was discussed in section 2.2, high employee turnover is one of the biggest contemporary issues in hospitality businesses. Employee training and development helps to minimize this issue by giving the employees a reason to stay and work in a progressive and developing company which fosters them to expand their knowledge and team spirit. Organizations may also take advantage of seasonal workers by giving them the opportunity to stay working for the company and invest in the training and development of their actual skills and knowledge and benefit from their experience instead of hiring someone new when the whole training process for the new employees is necessary. Enhanced company image Overall company image is very important for any organization. It influences the guest expectations and feelings before, during and after they stay, partners and suppliers as well as the expectations of further or existing employees. The sustainable investment in employee training and development lead to a successful and highly professional company image on the market. The relationship between professional and occupational harmony and effective product and service delivery Trained employees will be better equipped to handle customer inquiries, make a sale or use computer systems. Everything contributes to the development of attitudes, values and behavior, and therefore collective cohesion and harmony, as well as expertise in product and service output and delivery (Megginson and Whitaker, 2003). The effect of staff training and its influence on all participants is depicted in Figure 2. 15

26 Oganization Management Staff training benefit Guests Employee Figure 2: Effect of staff training benefit (Author s own image) 2.5 Employee development Employee development can be defined as an act of encouraging employees to acquire new or advanced skills, knowledge, and viewpoints, by providing learning and training facilities, and avenues where such new ideas can be applied (Business dictionary, n. d.). This definition points to the general function and meaning of the employee development programs. Various employee development activities help workforces to increase their skills and utilize their actual know-how in order to boost success and effective operation of the organization. In addition, training needs as well as specific training programs are closely related to the process of mastering employee development. Needless to say, trainings and all employee development activities lead employees to be a reliable resources for the organization and motivate them to provide their best performance. Trainings on a regular basis form and prepare individuals for unpredictable changes in the system or unexpected negative situations (Management study guide, n. d.). Latest research (Bartram, 2014) shows that involvement of comprehensive and efficient professional development within a company can be an exhaustive task for management and the implementation requires a significant investment of time and resources from both, management and employee. On the one hand, there are some considerable investments from the management and organization side, but on the other hand, the positive impact on employees performance and improved will multiply the investment and boost the overall company s image (Tisch and Weber, 2007). 16

27 Unfortunately, many organizations are still worried and reconsidering the fact that if they train their key staff, it might happen that they will leave the company due to some better job offer. The problem is, that the core workforce will certainly do this, if they do not get the opportunities to put into practice what they have learned, or if they feel that they are stagnated in one place without any vision of further development and usage of their skills and knowledge (Pettinger and Frith, 2002). 2.6 Employee empowerment and service quality "Employee empowerment is giving employees a certain degree of autonomy and responsibility for decision-making regarding their specific organizational tasks. It allows decisions to be made at the lower levels of an organization where employees have a unique view of the issues and problems facing the organization at a certain level" (Study.com, n. d.). According to this definition, employees are able to participate in the decision-making process within the company and in some cases also perform and deal with some situations without any supervision. Empowerment fosters employees to be motivated and involved in customer satisfaction and making the front-of-house (FOH) employees more responsive to customer needs and meet their expectations and at the same time working productively and reducing company s costs (Lashley, 2001). Empowerment represents one of the current trends in managerial fields of study. Nevertheless, managers are trying to foster the FOH employees level of responsibility and accountability by multi-skilling them and providing a wide range of trainings and development programs. The empowerment process works very effectively when it is supported by adequate levels of resources, regular managerial support, ongoing job training and organizational commitment to admit and accept the decisions of the empowered staff (Pettinger and Frith, 2002). In addition, Lashley (2001) states that the FOH employee has very often to produce the service under pressure and in front of inquisitive eyes of customers so the form of empowerment is needed when it comes to the service delivery. Often, the decision how to handle some unpredictable situation with a customer or quality of given service is just up to the particular employee. This may be very likely to occur because the manager or supervisor is not able to control every employee, especially during a busy service time. 17

28 Employee empowerment helps to build a creative and successful company through reduced costs, raising the morale, direct accountability of employees and improvement in employee-management relationships. With a right balance between freedoms in decision- making of employees and control or supervision from the management side, empowered workforces help with planning of training and development processes of employees as well as with the overall responsibility and service delivery. Employees who feel confident that their input will be listened to, valued or rewarded from the perspective of management will be more willing to share their suggestions and ideas and that is beneficial for both sides (Small Business, n. d.). Attract Educate Motivate Train Develop Empower Reward Figure 3: Important factors of managing people in the hospitality industry (Author s own illustration) 2.7 Learning process In section 2.6 the factors contributing to the managing of people in the hospitality industry were summarized. However, there is a certain way in which every employee is able to learn and respond to various training and development methods. Before any training or development program is given, the effective learning style needs to be established Conditions for effective learning by employees There are many factors influencing the effective learning and absorbing of information during training programs or during daily routine duties. Additionally, every employee is unique and has a different mental, psychological and physical condition. Therefore, it is not easy to set a uniform training program for all frontline employees. According to Pattinger and Frith (2001) there are certain conditions that effect learning, development, enhancement and advancement of employees: Capability Employees involved in training must be capable of learning. Usually, trainers and lecturers are trying to tailor the materials and teaching methods to the capabilities of a group. 18

29 It is also necessary to support anyone who is struggling with the course and motivate them to overcome their limits. Willingness and commitment People must want to learn and develop themselves. On the one hand, management should provide employees with support and create opportunities for systematic training and development but on the other hand, employees must be willing to educate themselves and be committed to attendance, participation and involvement. The important step is to put into practice what has been learned and identify other possible gaps in knowledge. Additionally, this is a partnership between management and staff and therefore it is important to cooperate and achieve the organization s goals together. Rewards Employees as well as organizations expect rewards and benefits from training and development activities. Organizations expect loyalty of employees and improved performance. However, employees expect higher a salary, better career growth opportunities and also to use what they have learned in practice. Moreover, to successfully implement rewards into motivation factors for effective learning, rewards have to meet employees expectations, must be delivered to individuals as promised and the bonuses have to be on both sides, not only from the organizational point of view. Equality An effective learning environment has to create equal opportunities for everyone. The partnership between organization and staff requires a fundamental equality and balance of appraisal, assessment, delivery and evaluation without paying attention to the race, gender, religion, ethnic origin, marital status and age of employees participating in development programs and training. The idea of fundamental equality has a special meaning for international businesses where managers have to lead and manage a multicultural environment. Kolb s cycle of effective learning (Kolb, 1984 cited in Center for Teaching and Learning, n. d.) depicts the experiential learning process. This process includes integration of knowledge, activity and reflection. At the beginning of the process, employees go 19

30 through concrete experience or have a reinterpretation of previous experience. This allows them to observe reflectively the new experience and therefore see inconsistencies between experience and understanding. In the third stage, the reflection encourages employees new ideas or how it is possible to modify the existing abstract concept. In the last stage of the process, the learner applies new ideas and skills into practice to see how it works (Simply Psychology, 2013). Figure 4: Kolb s Cycle of Experiential Learning (Kolb, 1984 cited in Center for Teaching and Learning, n. d.) The next chapter will deal with the question of methodology. The process of obtaining information needed as well as methods of research provided within the Alcron Radisson Blu Hotel will be explained more closely in chapter 3. 20

31 Chapter 3- Methodology In this chapter, all research methods will be introduced and discussed. The process of collecting data needed to complete this thesis will be also explained in detail along with the justification of particular data collecting methods. 3.1 Empirical data collection To find information about the perception of employee training from both, management and employee a plan for collecting internal data was needed. The author used interviews for management and a well-structured questionnaire for employees to find out more about their perception about the importance of employee training and development inside of the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel. In addition to these methods, internal and ethical codes for employees, Rezidor Hotel Group standards and internal materials were also used and processed Primary research As a primary research tool, interviews and questionnaires were used. Interviews seemed to be a desirable data collection method because a lot of in-depth data needed to be identified and collected (Brotherton, 2008). Additionally, questionnaires seemed to be to best possible option to collect opinions from employees. In this case, mostly quantitative data was required, so questions were mostly structured more specifically. Qualitative data were desired in just two open questions such as the job position of respondent and opinion about the possible improvements in future trainings provided by the hotel Secondary research As secondary research tools, internal and ethical codes for employees, Rezidor Hotel Group standards and some internal materials from management were used. Rezidor Hotel Group standards provided information about mandatory trainings given by the Rezidor Hotel Group and all internal materials helped to understand the system which Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel use. This data helped with the orientation among many different trainings provided by the hotel and to design the simple table contained in all trainings offered to employees (see figure 6). Internal code for employees gave information about the responsibilities of employees and labor discipline, which also helped to understand the internal environment of the hotel. Ethical code provided 21

32 information about the respectful, loyal and highly ethical working environment that is demanded in every hotel within the CRHG. 3.2 Interview with the training and development manager First of all, to find out all internal details about trainings and methods for employee development used within the hotel, the interview with the employee training and development manager of Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel had to be done. The idea to interview training manager was also connected to the fact that the position of training and development manager is relatively new and usually combined with the position of HR manager in most hotels. Nevertheless, Radisson Hotels & Resorts Group is systematically creating this individual position of training manager within its hotels as a response to their vision that the systematic employee training and development within the hotel is extremely important and has tremendous meaning. The interview consist of 19 broadly targeted open questions and the whole interview was divided into 4 categories (see appendix 2). Sections of the interview covered background information about the trainings and development programs used in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel and also within the whole Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts Group, employee motivation for sustainable training and development, employee s response to trainings and the last part- future plans and visions of management investing into employee training and development of the human factor. The interview lasted an hour and a half and was recorded with the permission of the interviewee (see appendix 1). This interview was the main data collection instrument for this research. 3.3 Interview with the management F&B manager (Food and Beverage) and two restaurant supervisors Next step was to interview three representatives of management within the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel. The idea was to choose representatives with various skills and time spent in managerial positions. The first interviewee was the F&B manager of the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel. This person represents the highest managerial position in the Food and Beverage Department and is in charge of taking care of service quality in two restaurants and the bar. He has worked in this position for the last 8 years and knows the training system of FOH employees very well. Often, he discusses the content of the service trainings with the training manager. 22

33 Questions for the F&B manager covered topics such as employees response to trainings, evaluation or monitoring after trainings but also the strengths and weaknesses of restaurant and bar employees were discussed. The other two interviewees were restaurant supervisors and therefore answer to the F&B manager. The aim of interviewing the restaurant supervisors was to identify their perception of management decisions about employee trainings and development programs as they are in closest contact with FOH employees. As supervisors, they are basically in the middle of management and employees. On the one hand, their role is to monitor and help employees with their everyday duties, but on the other hand, they have to inform the F&B manager about any possible problems or lack of knowledge of restaurant employees. Both supervisors worked in such positions for different lengths of time. One of them has worked as a supervisor for the last 2 years but the other has been in charge for just the last 4 months. The idea was to find out how differently they see things and to identify how even trainings for supervisors has changed. Questions covered the same topics as for the F&B manager except the evaluation and monitoring after trainings are done. Instead of that part, supervisors were asked about their own trainings as leaders of FOH staff and how prepared they feel to manage their subordinates after those trainings. The interview consisted of 8 open questions (see appendix 3), and the whole interview was structured in a more flexible, open-ended, discursive way and was more like a nondirective, two-way conversation (Brotherton, 2008). All three interviews took place individually in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel and lasted approximately 20 minutes each. All interviewees participated voluntarily and interviews were recorded with their kind permission (see appendix 1). 3.4 Questionnaire for the FOH staff The method of a questionnaire was used for FOH employees in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague. The primary aim of this questionnaire was to identify the employee s opinion and perception of trainings provided by the hotel as well as to find out if they feel sustainable support and investment in them from the management side. The purpose was also to double-check if they are really participating in all mandatory trainings as it was 23

34 said by the management and if employees find trainings valuable and usable for their professional duties. All respondents were aware that all information provided on the questionnaire would be treated in confidence and would be used for academic purpose only. The questionnaire consisted of 11 multiple choice questions including 2 open questions (see appendix 4). Employees were asked to circle the expression which described their perception most. The 6 point Likert scale (see figure 5) was used to garner a positive or negative answer in order to avoid indecisive answers and to be able to get more concrete opinions from respondents. 1- strongly disagree 2- disagree 3- somewhat disagree 4- somewhat agree 5- agree 6- strongly agree Figure 5: 6 point Likert scale used for the questionnaire (Author s own image) The next chapter will deal with the results and findings in the case of Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, the system of trainings and how both, management and employees perceive the importance of sustainable training and development of the workforce. 24

35 Chapter 4- Results and Findings In this section, the case company and hotel will be described. There will be given information about the hotel history, facilities and services provided. After that a detailed description of trainings and employee development programs provided by the hotel will be explained and the perception of employee training and investment into the human factor from the perspective of management and the perspective of employees will be given. In this section, methods such as interviews and questionnaire explained in the methodology part above will be used to provide all necessary information regarding the results and findings of the research within the case hotel. At the end, the summary, conclusion and some recommendations for the case hotel will be provided by the author. 4.1 Introduction of the case company Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (CRHG) is one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world. With a credo A brand is a promise CRHG represents hotel brands such as Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Red and Quorvus Collection (QC). On the one hand, Park Inn by Radisson group represents 155 energetic, family-friendly hotels that take pride in delivering the real needs such as a good comfortable bed in a clean and safe environment for families with kids. On the other hand, Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts is the biggest group of hotels in CRHG portfolio. 267 first class, full service hotels that combine a stylish and contemporary approach to design, with a culture of innovative thinking designed to fulfill customer s expectations and meet their specific needs. Radisson Red is a whole new brand concentrating on a new lifestyle market segment and the brand is launching worldwide in Moreover, Quorvus Collection is a new generation of very luxurious hotels inspired by the sensibilities and lifestyle of contemporary travelers. QC represents just three hotels (in Edinburgh, Kuwait and London) now, but the vision is very promising. CRHG represents not only hotels but also restaurant & bar brands such as Filini, RBG Bar & Grill, Verres En Vers and Sure Bar and a Loyalty Programme- Club Carlson SM, which is the global hotel rewards program from the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. To examine Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group standards for employee training such as the unique Yes, I Can! service philosophy or Responsible Business trainings and some of the 25

36 trainings that can be provided individually within the Radisson Blu hotel, the research now turns to the case hotel- Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague Introduction of the case hotel Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is a part of the internationally recognized hotel chain- Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts and therefore part of the Rezidor Hotel Group. Alcron hotel was opened in 1932 and has continuously operated as one of the most luxurious hotel in Prague. This five star luxury hotel is situated in the very heart of Prague. The hotel is located just a few minutes by foot from Wenceslas Square and the Old Town Square which offer a perfect combination of the historical, cultural and shopping districts of Prague. This beautiful historic hotel offers 206 rooms and suites with high ceilings, antique lighting and contemporary amenities. The real pride of the hotel is the dining area which consists of two restaurants- La Rotonde and The Alcron. Both of them won multiple awards but the most famous is definitely a third time defended Michelin star for The Alcron restaurant. The hotel offer a luxury spa area including free-of-charge fitness center and sauna for hotel guests. Concierge service, room service, free internet, super breakfast menu or One Touch Service button on the room telephone to call for any request or assistance come as a standard for all guests. Additional services include garage parking, express checkout, late checkout, 3hour express laundry or grab and run concept of take away breakfast with quality food and drinks. The hotel also provides a perfect space for business conferences, important celebrations and romantic weddings. The hotel Lobby Bar- Be Bop Bar is a perfect place to enjoy a cocktail with a wide range of beverages and quality staff constantly gaining very positive reviews from customers. Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel provide an unforgettable experience in the form of cooking classes with the famous executive chef Roman Paulus. Chef teaches guests how to prepare delicious food and these classes are also provided for kids. The hotel is very famous and sought-after because of its rich history and symbolism of luxury and high-quality services. In April 2015, the hotel had 130 employees in total. There are 25 employees working in front of house. Moreover, there are 5 part-time employees and 10 employees working in managerial positions. Additionally, the hotel has a significant number of staff members "on call" who are asked to work when needed and therefore it is hard to give exact numbers. 26

37 4.1.2 Main business activity of the hotel The main business activity of the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel can be divided into three basic functions, such as: Accommodation Catering services Convention services As it was mentioned above, the hotel has also a variety of additional services. However, these services do not constitute the main business activity of the hotel. Although, the main service is to accommodate guests and provide them all other services, thanks to the excellent reputation of the hotel s kitchen, the hotel enjoys a great number of walk-in guests coming to the restaurants. One of the reasons is certainly the fact that The Alcron restaurant was, in years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 awarded a Michelin Star and is regularly placed on the highest rungs of various Awards. 4.2 The training system of FOH employees In an interview (see appendix 2) findings about the training system were discussed. According to Ms. Varmužová, training manager of Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, all operations and training systems within the hotel are given by the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Three main training programs which are mandatory for all employees of Rezidor Company are therefore given by the directorship. These three corporate mandatory trainings are: New Team Member Orientation, Yes, I Can! Delivering the Promise and Living Responsible Business. New Team Member Orientation This training is mandatory for every employee who wants to be a part of the Rezidor Group. The all-day long training includes everything from introduction to the company s standards and its background, concepts of meeting rooms and any services offered by the hotel. During this stage the employee is introduced to new colleagues in every department and OHS (occupational health and safety) training is also given at this stage to every employee. The knowledge about the history of Alcron hotel is also part of this training added by Ms. Varmužová. According to her, the reason why every employee 27

38 needs to know about the rich history of the Alcron hotel is that it represents good marketing and sales methods. Yes, I Can! Delivering The Promise However, this training is focused on service mainly, it is not mandatory just for the FOH employees. This all-day long training covers the right approach to guests, how to talk to them and give them special treatment all the time. Employees also practice their verbal and nonverbal communication skills. As Ms. Varmužová states "Radisson Hotels & Resorts is not generally focused on 5 star service in its hotels. Usually, hotels within this group are 4 star hotels and just a very few reach 5 star level. Therefore, our hotel is one of the best within the Radisson Group and we work so hard to push the service within our hotel to the maximum level." Living Responsible Business This half day training program is divided into three main parts: think planet, think people and think together. Basically, the training is focused on ecology, health and safety and security standards, all technical standards necessary to fulfill everyday duties. This corporate training was also designed to teach employees how to avoid or eliminate waste of food and raw materials as well as the work of their colleagues. The last part of this training is focused on understanding charity work and an introduction to various charities and organizations supported by the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Every employee needs to pass the first two corporate trainings right after signing a contract while the third one, living responsible business, needs to be completed within three months from the commencement of employment. All these trainings are mandatory for every employee, including full-time, part- time and seasonal workers. The only exception applies to the external staff, e.g. housekeeping and gatehouse security staff from external agencies. All these three training programs are regularly monitored and from time to time changed or updated by the Rezidor Company, usually when some new product is introduced. Rezidor Group regularly controls the attendance sheets for all corporate trainings and especially when it comes to Yes, I Can! training. Moreover, there are some changes within 28

39 the character of the corporate trainings when it comes to supervisors or any managerial positions (see figure 6). Leading Yes, I can! and Leading Responsible Business are trainings mandatory for supervisors and the content of these trainings is given from a different point of view and focus mainly on the process of motivation and leading of subordinates. As Ms. Varmužová explained, there is a new requirement from the Rezidor Company according to which every hotel needs to have its own training manager who is able to train supervisors. The position of training and development manager is relatively new and not very common in every hotel company. However, CRHG is trying to focus on providing quality training for every employee working within the company. The newest project will be the training for supervisors which can by only taught by the manager with a specific certificate. This certificate may be granted by a special business school for training managers which is held once per quarter always in another destination. After participation in this business school and gaining the certificate, Rezidor Group can officially approve you to train the new program for supervisors. The new training is called Program for Supervisor Development and it will take two months always with just a few days of course followed by few days off. This training should teach supervisors the right way to communicate with their subordinates, how to manage various situations in the workplace and also focus on effective division of tasks. Every hotel is given strict directives about the corporate trainings where the whole process of a particular training is explained in detail. Figure 6: Difference between trainings provided for all employees and those necessary for supervisors (author s own illustration) All employees Supervisors Yes, I Can! Leading Yes, I Can! Living Responsible Business Leading Responsible Business Program for Supervisor Development However, though the hotel needs to operate under restrictions given by the Rezidor Company, there are certain training programs and employee development strategies given by the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel itself. 29

40 The aim of the additional service-oriented trainings is to retrain all employees who have any contact with guests. After they pass Yes, I Can! training, this 4 module service course has been used for the last few months and shows individual approaches to every customer, the right behavior in the workplace, problem-solving skills and how to 'wow' customers in a different way. Employees are also taken to a hotel lobby bar to try and evaluate the service from the guest point of view. They can observe which aspects of service guests see in the first place. The method of video recording is used in this training. Thanks to the videos, most employees can see the mistakes they are making in body language, coordination or gestures. According to Ms. Varmužová, this is definitely the most successful teaching tool when it comes to service and personal appearance. This training usually takes 4 months, while every module is trained once per month and is mandatory for all employees chosen by the management. As Ms. Varmužová said "after all FOH employees pass this training, some new ideas will come. Future trainings will be definitely connected to service delivery, because that is the most important area for sustainable development in our hotel". Other additional trainings and courses provided by Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel include language courses offering English classes for beginners but also advanced students. Appropriate language skills are highly demanding in the hotel not just because of its importance to handle communication with guests but also because the working environment is very multicultural. There are employees from different countries working within the hotel so smooth and unhesitating communication and cooperation between colleagues is necessary on a daily basis. Language courses are available for all departments including housekeeping. Sommelier, bar and barista courses and communication skills training are also given. There are a few trainings provided by specialists from certain departments from the hotel such as IT analyst who is teaching MS Excel for beginners and advanced students to help employees create various tables, etc. Financial department organize once per year a course for better understating of financial shortcuts and basic meanings from the financial world to help employees with terminology used during meetings and also for their personal benefit. The sales and marketing department organize a course where employees can find out more about the competition in Prague, the systems by which all data connected to prosperity of the hotel 30

41 are monitored and also which marketing and sales strategies and techniques are used and why. There are also additional Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and first aid and defibrillation courses available for all employees. The possibility to participate in internship abroad chosen by the F&B manager and Executive Chef is offered to service and kitchen staff. Chosen employees have the opportunity to participate in wine tours in Italy, France or Spain and also to join the team in a Michelin restaurant in London for a few weeks. There is also a possibility to be chosen for some individually organized training abroad specifically for some positions, e.g. head waiters in the Michelin restaurant or bartenders. These opportunities are considered to be one of many motivational tools used to encourage employees to learn new things, systematically improve service quality and most importantly stay working in the hotel. All trainings provided by the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel including corporate trainings given by the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and those created by the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel itself are summarized in the table below (see figure 7). Figure 7: All trainings provided by the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel (author s own illustration) New Team Member Orientation Yes, I Can! Delivering the Promise Leading Yes, I Can! History of the Radisson Blu Alcron hotel Living Responsible Business Leading Responsible Business Program for Supervisor Development 4-module Service trainings Language courses Corporate training given by Rezidor Hotel Group, mandatory for all employees Corporate training given by Rezidor Hotel Group mandatory for all employees Corporate training given by Rezidor Hotel Group mandatory for supervisors Training given by Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, mandatory for all employees Corporate training given by Rezidor Hotel Group; mandatory for all employees Corporate training given by Rezidor Hotel Group; mandatory for all supervisors Future training for supervisors given by Rezidor Hotel Group, new course; will be mandatory for all supervisors Training given by Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, mandatory for chosen employees who are in contact with customers Obligatory trainings for all employees (English classes for beginners or advanced students) 31

42 Sommelier, Bar and Barista courses First Aid and Defibrillation MS Excel for beginners and advanced Communication Skills training Financial Shortcuts and Basic Financial Information Sales and Marketing Techniques OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) Internships Abroad (cross-trainings) Mandatory trainings given to the FOH staff Additional first aid and defibrillation course; mandatory for all employees Understanding and orienting in MS excel, obligatory for all employees, mandatory for all supervisors Additional training focused on gestures, body language, etc.; available for all employees Additional course focused on understanding financial shortcuts and basic information about financial markets; obligatory for all employees Understanding of main competition in Prague, selling and marketing techniques used within Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel as well as in whole company; mandatory for all employees Trainings about the right behavior in case of fire, evacuation or how to use fire extinguishers; obligatory for all employees, mandatory for all supervisors and managers Program for kitchen and service staff chosen by executive chef and F&B manager; certain form of motivation and reward 4.3 Management satisfaction with training methods and employees performance and its influence on service quality According to information gained by the interviews with the management (see appendix 2 and 3) all interviewees agreed that the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is extremely service- oriented and that the hotel has a top position in its category not only in Prague but in the whole country. Moreover, the idea is to not be that uniform type of hotel as for example Four Seasons hotels are, but Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is trying to keep each personality of its employees and with ongoing trainings and courses just to tune the rest. Basically, management agree that all employees are familiar with the aim and ideas of the company and they understand what their role in the customer satisfaction process is. Employees must be familiar with the Internal Code (see appendix 5) which is a document where all duties and responsibilities of Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel s employees are presented and they need to be followed and respected by everyone working in the company. Internal code also describes duties of both employees and organization including the organization s promise to train and lead employees to meet company s goals or employee promise to participate in OHS trainings or any other mandatory trainings. Ethical Code (see appendix 6) is another important document where aims, goals and rules that need to be respected by everyone working under CRHG are introduced. Moreover, 32

43 employees must be familiar with a current vision and mission statement of the company as well as values and strategy that need to be followed all the time (see appendix 7).On the other hand, according to F&B manager, Mr. Pátek, service trainings given by the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel itself are managed by the training manager (Ms. Varmužová) together with the Head of Department (HOD). When some training is prepared for the employees, it is firstly tested on management (F&B manager and supervisors, other HOD) so these competent people are able to identify if the training content is appropriate and developed enough to teach staff something new or practice already acquired knowledge. The content of the trainings is mostly focused on areas such as problem-solving, communication with guests, the WOW effect. Mr. Pátek stated that the high ranking of the hotel is definitely thanks to the sustainable trainings of hotel employees. Research showed that Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is not using competitiveness as a motivational factor for improving employee s performance. The idea is to have one team that always cooperates together and there must be 100% teamwork. There is one goal set out for all employees together and according to Ms. Varmužová, competitiveness has no place in this hotel. Results showed that it works very successfully because on the one hand numbers go up and on the other hand, employees are supporting each other. According to Mr. Pátek, the area which needs to be improved is definitely knowledge about the products, including wines, ingredients in food, food and wine pairing, allergens, types of meat, etc. He mentioned that it is very good that employees are trained in service and communication with guests but it is necessary to combine these abilities with excellent knowledge about the products sold to customers. The hotel often hires people with low skills or no previous education in this field but if they have a desire to learn and appropriate attitude, they are in the right place. According to this fact, the author points out that it is often easier to teach someone many new things then to correct previous bad habits and to direct employees to the goals and aim of the particular hotel. Interviewed supervisors answered that they consider trainings for supervisors extremely valuable. Ms. Kodešová is in charge of supervising FOH employees in the restaurant La Rotonde for only the last four months. She said that the most valuable part of trainings for supervisors was the process of learning how to be fair to all subordinates, how to equally divide duties to all employees so the restaurant is operating at the highest 33

44 standards. Mr. Kameništiak, who is working as a restaurant supervisor for the last 2 and half years, stated that being a supervisor is quite a difficult position because you need to be able to work between the F&B manager and employees themselves. As Mr. Kameništiak stated, the best training in any supervision or managerial position is time. It is important to find a balance between what management want and how to deliver this information to employees. According to Mr. Kameništiak, the most difficult part in the training process for supervisors is the difference in how to solve problems or complaints from the position of waiter and supervisor. As a supervisor you need to be more matured in decision making processes, be able to quickly decide what to do to in stressful situations and manage the responsibility for the whole team. Probably the most difficult part of being a supervisor is to learn how to change the approach to colleagues who were on the same line and now they are subordinates and need to be lead. Supervisors agreed that strengths of FOH employees are found in the individuality of each team member and friendly approach to guests. When it comes to their weaknesses, the area that needs to be improved is employee s knowledge of products and sustainable investment into team work. According to all interviewees, there is no particular weakness when it comes to service delivery. When it comes to differences between performance and response to trainings of males and females, management mostly agreed that females are often more studious and accept trainings better than males. Sometimes management experienced that males have problems to admit that they are doing something wrong even when their colleagues confront them with their opinions and suggestions. Usually, there is a problem with their egos. Ms. Varmužová mentioned that the hotel is systematically accepting international employees which helps to destroy language barriers and also because the more diverse workforce the hotel has, the better. Every country has its specifics, so every foreign team member brings some specifics into the hotel operations. Currently the team is enriched by representatives of Turkey, Moldavia, Russia, France, England, and Costa Rica. As Ms. Varmužová said that foreigners in comparison with locals are sometimes more willing to learn and they appreciate the chance to develop their skills more. It is very important to encourage and motivate employees to trainings and ongoing development of their performance. According to interviews, trainings are also developed 34

45 compared with a few years ago. Nowadays, trainings are more interesting, managers do not want to use any methods or approaches that employees do not like. As was mentioned in chapter 2.7 of this work, every employee has a specific learning process during training and development programs depending on their condition for effective learning. It is very important to take into account that every employee has a different process of absorbing new information. The aim of the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is to make employees feel comfortable during all trainings and results showed that also employees feedback on new trainings is very positive. One of the most positive things on this new trainings is the fact that there is a mix of employees from different departments who never met or talked before. During trainings, they get to know each other, becoming friends, trainings are more interesting for them and after that communication on a daily work basis is much easier between people who actually know each other. When interviewees were asked about the right motivation for the employees they had diverse but mostly similar opinions. According to management, one of the biggest motivation is definitely the name Alcron, Michelin Star restaurant and the overall prestige of the hotel. Many people also perceive working for the big corporation as one of the biggest advantages. One of the biggest motivational factors is possibility of career growth within the company. 99% of vacancies are firstly offered for internal interviews, except the top management positions within the hotel. Nevertheless, last two positions in top management were occupied by internal recruitment. Another change is also in speed by which it is possible to go higher. For example, an employee who started on a bar is now a head waiter on The Alcron restaurant so all these rules are also slightly changing within the last few months. Additionally, there are many other forms of motivation or bonuses for employees, including discount vouchers to CRHG hotels and resorts, massages, taxi, etc. However, this is not the most important factor for employees. Rewards or appropriate bonuses is a very difficult concept because every employee has different wants and desires. On the one hand, internships and wine tasting tours are perfect for young career-oriented people but on the other hand, older employees who have kids and taking care of their families prioritize financial bonuses. Interviewed management agreed that employees are mostly willing to learn and practice new skills. Most employees supposedly understand that it is also for their own benefit. 35

46 Pursuant to information gained from Ms. Varmužová, management is usually not participating in trainings provided by the hotel except the corporate trainings which are given by the Rezidor Group. One of the reasons should be that is not mandatory for them and therefore they are not pushed to participate. Some of them are sometimes present at the beginning but it is rarely happening. The only exception is the F&B manager who is also training staff. 4.4 Employee satisfaction with training methods and professional development and how it is influence a service quality Employee s perception of training methods and sustainable development of workforce was examined by questionnaire (see appendix 4). The aim and structure of this questionnaire was explained in detail in Chapter 3-Methodology. The method of questionnaire was used to anonymously get information from FOH employees to analyze their point of view on current systems of training and investing into them by the hotel. There was a lot of information gained from the interviews with the Training & Development manager and F&B management. In this section, the information about the respondents are given as well as the results of the questionnaire being introduced. The number of respondents was 30 and there were both females and males. Figure 8 shows the percentage of females and males who participated in this questionnaire. According to this graph, from the total number of 30 respondents, 57% consist of female and 43% of respondents were males, which means that there were 17 females and 13 males. Figure 9 depicts the age range of respondents. The results showed that most respondents are in the age range (16 respondents) which was more that 50% of all respondents, after that there were employees in age range represented 27% of all respondents (8 employees) followed by 20% of employees between years (6 respondents). There were no respondents in the 42 and more age range. This questionnaire was designed for FOH employees only but it does not include restaurant employees only. Figure 10 shows the various job positions of respondents. Questions were responded to by waiting staff represented by 16 employees of which 11 were females and 5 males, 7 front desk employees including 5 males and 2 females, 2 bartenders of which 1 was female and 1 was male, 1 doorman, obviously represented by 36

47 male only, 2 guest relations including 1 male and 1 female employees and at finally 2 female concierge representatives. Sex of respondents Age of respondents 42-more 0% female 57% males 43% % % % males female more Figure 8 (left): Sex of respondents on questionnaire (author s own illustration) Figure 9 (right): Age of respondents (author s own illustration) Job positions of respondents males females concierge guest relations doorman bartender front desk waiting staff Figure 10: Job positions of respondents (author s own illustration) Results showed various opinions between females and males and that is why each graph is divided into 2 categories depicting answers of females and males separately. According to Training & Development manager Ms. Varmužová, female staff members mostly take trainings more seriously and respond better to practicing their skills. That was another reason to show answers of males and females separately and compare the opinion of management with the results from questionnaires. Results showed that 12 respondents strongly agree with the opinion that they are participating in all mandatory trainings related to their positions (see figure 11). Other 9 37

48 employees answered that they agree and 5 of them somewhat agree. However, 1 respondent said that he somewhat disagree with this statement and other 3 respondents stated that they strongly disagree. According to Ms. Varmužová who stated that all employees must participate in mandatory trainings related to their position, these negative answers are surprising. Second question was checking the employee s opinion about the value of trainings and its use in practice (see figure 12). Results showed that more females then males are actually very satisfied with trainings and males mostly somewhat agree with a statement. Only 3 respondents express some kind of disagreement including 2 females and 1 male respondents. With the third question (see figure 13) respondents were asked if trainings motivate them to improve their work performance. According to results, most answers were positive or very positive. Nevertheless, respondents provided 6 somewhat agree and 5 somewhat disagree answers. Additionally, there was one strongly disagree answer from female respondent. Employee s satisfaction with the training methods and content of training programs was analyzed in question No. 4 (see figure 14). 50% of respondents stated that they are satisfied with training methods and the content of training programs given by the hotel. Surprisingly, three females respond that they somewhat disagree with a statement given in this question. The next question analyzed if the company culture and reputation of the hotel influence work performance and satisfaction at the workplace (see figure 15). 60% of respondents stated that they agree with a statement given in this question and 17% strongly agree. Surprisingly, there was 1 female respondent who stated that she somewhat disagrees with this statement. Question No. 6 (see figure 16) shows employees perception about the management s systematic care of their professional development and investing into professional growth of personnel. On this question, answers from both males and females were almost identical. 7 males and 7 females answered that they agree with a statement used in this question and 3 male and 3 female answers represented strong agreement. 38

49 Moreover, 2 men and 2 women stated that they somewhat disagree with a statement stated in this question. The only difference appeared because of a higher number of female respondents. The questionnaire also showed the employees opinion about their empowerment in the decision making process (see figure 17). Answers showed that employees mostly agree or are very close to agreement with a 5 male and 5 female respondents. Additionally, there were also 3 female respondents who stated that they somewhat disagree with this statement. Employees were also asked if they think that the quality of service in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is excellent (see figure 18). Again, this question showed exactly the same answers from both females and males. Despite of 1 female and 1 male respondents the rest of the opinions showed that employees really think that the quality of service in the hotel is excellent. Question No. 9 (see figure 19) asked employees if they think that the systematic training and developing of new skills influence customer satisfaction. In this question, almost all respondents answered positively. 11 respondents stated that they strongly agree, 13 respondents agree and additionally, 5 females somewhat agree. Remarkably, one female respondent stated that she strongly disagreed with the opinion given in this question. The last question in the questionnaire was about the ideas and thoughts of employees for further possible changes or improvements in training methods or areas offered by the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel (see figure 20). 9 answers were not specified, 4 respondents stated that they are satisfied with the current system within the hotel and want no changes, 2 answers point out on the great meaning of trainings about the cultural differences that should be taught in the hotel, 3 employees would welcome more wine tastings and degustations, 1 respondent would like to focus more on handling stress situations, 2 employees would welcome special barista courses for restaurant and bar employees, 2 respondents stated that is necessary to improve the quality of ongoing professional development offered to employees, 5 respondents said that practicing communication skills would be a great idea to work on and finally 2 employees stated that they would like to work on their foreign language skills. 39

50 1. I am participating in all mandatory trainings related to my position males females 2. I think that trainings provided by the hotel are valuable for my job position and it find use in practice males females Figure 11: Results from question No. 1 Figure 12: Results from question No.2 3. Trainings motivate me to improve my work performance males females I am satisfied with the training methods and the content of the training programs. males females Figure 13: Results from question No.3 Figure 14: Results from question No. 4 40

51 5. I believe that the company culture and reputation of the hotel influence my satisfaction in a workplace and therefore influence my performance males females 6. I agree that the management is systematically taking care of employee s development and investing into our professional growth males females Figure 14: Results from question No. 5 Figure 15: Results from question No I feel empowered in decision making process. males females 8. I think that the quality of service in our hotel is excellent males females Figure 16: Results from question No. 7 Figure 17: Results from question No Systematic training and development of new skills influence the customer satisfaction males females Figure 18: Results from question No. 9 41

52 10. What kind of improvements or changes would you welcome in employee training? (open question) satisfied and want no changes not specified cultural differences wine tasting 2 9 stress situation languages ongoing professional development communication skills barista training Figure 19: Results from the last open question of the questionnaire (author s own illustration) According to results from the questionnaire, employees are mostly satisfied with the current system of trainings and ongoing development possibilities used within the hotel. Results showed many differences between answers from females and males. However, there were 4 more females from the total number of 30 respondents so this fact needs to be considered as well. In the end, the author finds females more disagreeing at some points which shows that the reality might be slightly different from what the management think it is. According to the Training manager who stated that female s respond slightly better to trainings and are more willing to learn new things than male staff members who often respond either close to the very positive line or to the very negative line. Males answered mostly close to the positive line but often, their answers were close to the middle and showed that they repeatedly somewhat agreed to statements used in questions. However, despite the results from the questionnaire, there are much more FOH employees working in the hotel and their perception of training systems and satisfaction at the workplace cannot be unilaterally assessed. On the one hand, the questionnaire showed some gaps in employees perception of the trainings and current educational systems used within the hotel as well as the fact that not all employees strongly agreed that they are participating in all mandatory trainings. On the other hand, results showed that employees are predominantly content 42

53 working in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, mostly feel empowered in the decision-making process, agree that the hotel is systematically investing into the human factor and are motivated constantly to improve their work performance. Additionally, almost all respondents agreed that a systematic training and development of employees influence the customer satisfaction. 4.5 Effect of training and development of employees on service quality There are certain reasons why the appropriate training and development of employees has a positive impact on service quality. On the one hand, Ms. Varmužová said that it is not easy to determine what has changed after new service trainings are used and also it is hard to measure quality of employee s performance after some training is done. However, according to feedback from guests and ranking on Booking.com and TripAdvisor portals, the reputation of the hotel is constantly growing and a lot of positive feedback concerns the attitude of employees and quality of service provided for the guests. Once per week when the meeting for management is organized, one of the main topics is also the situation on all feedback channels such as TripAdvisor or Booking.com, etc. On the one hand, if there is some positive feedback on employees, management will express their praise to him and his performance is taken into further consideration in case he will want to be promoted, etc. The goal is not a financial reward for concrete service to avoid misuse of the system. On the other hand, if there is a negative comment about some technical problem, it is something that can happen and it is quite easy to fix it. However, if there appear some negative comment about service it is taken very seriously and the process of solving this problem involves many processes, such as personal confrontation with an employee or department and ensuring that it will not happen again. To increase employee s recognition of customers reviews, there are LCD screens installed everywhere in the back of house including kitchen, offices, canteen, dressing rooms, etc. Additionally, employees get financial bonuses when the ranking of the hotel achieves a desired level given by the management. Financial bonuses are given to the whole team, not just to the individuals. The reason is to support a collective spirit and put to the forefront that goals and objectives are common for all employees. A few years ago, evaluations were made personally by the Training manager but now it is a more individual process between four eyes. "It is all about the attitude. If there is someone who does not react positively on 43

54 appropriate service delivery, usually this person is not working in our hotel for a long time" said Ms. Varmužová. Referring back to chapter of this work, it is also very important to have the right person working in the right position. According to management in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, usually there are 4 stages of the recruiting process even for a waiter. Firstly, there is a HR manager, then HOD, supervisors and at the end also a managing director of the hotel. The reason why the system is so long is that it is very important to have the right workers in the right position for the highest service quality. The hotel has to make sure that a new applicant is suitable for a given job description and job specification. Moreover, it is also very important to fit into the existing team. According to management and results from the questionnaire service quality within the hotel is at a very high level. Additionally, customer reviews and feedback confirm the same. On the one hand, it is thanks to the systematic investment into trainings and development of employee s skills and knowledge but on the other hand it is also a desire and willingness of employees to continuously upgrade the reputation of the hotel. Without the positive responses of the employees, any training will not help to maintain or improve the quality of service. It is a process depending on agreement and investment into wants and needs of both sides. After all, service delivery is always dependent on employees themselves. Managers and supervisors can help them to do their job better but they cannot be present in every employee-customer confrontation all the time. If they are correctly motivated and feel empowered enough to make their own decisions in positive ways the result will mostly be a satisfied guest, satisfied employee and therefore satisfied management. The biggest advantage of effective training and development of employees is definitely a successful working team. Management agreed that to have a successful working team it is important to allure studious and aspiring people to work for the hotel, improve financial rewards including salary conditions, maintain the prestige of the hotel so that also employees can benefit from that and systematically take care of the work environment and relationships in the workplace which will again leads to the excellence in provided services. 44

55 4.6 Conclusion and recommendations In conclusion, the system of employee training and development in the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel was provided. With the possibility to interview the Training and Development manager, F&B manager and two restaurant supervisors, a lot of valuable information about the system within the hotel was provided. In the first section, management opinions about the system of training and attitude of employees were given. The second part focused on the employee s point of view and how they perceive the system of trainings, possibilities to develop their skills and atmosphere in the workplace. After that the impact of trainings and employee development on service quality was described. After evaluation of both sides, it is obvious that it is very important to achieve goals important to the company such as profit, high ranking of the hotel and its prestige. Moreover, it is equally important to achieve goals important for the employees, such as salary requirements, ongoing professional growth and appropriate working conditions. If both sides feel that they are on the right track to gain their goals, objectives become uniform. Basically, it means that employees would be interested in gaining goals that were firstly more important only for the organization and vice versa. Positive findings were that most of the employees are satisfied with the system of training and development given by the hotel as well as management agreeing that the overall quality of service thanks to the cooperation with the employees is at a very high level. Additionally, results also showed that the company culture and work environment are at a very high level. However, some negative findings showed that not all interviewed employees stated that they participated in mandatory trainings related to their position. Another problem is, that some obligatory trainings are during the free time of employees and mostly early in the morning so even if they are interested in the content of the training, they would prefer to stay at home because they are very tired and have just a little free time. Research also showed some discrepancies between opinions of management about the performance of females and males and the results from the questionnaire. Management perception was that females respond more positively to trainings and to correcting their mistakes compared to males. According to the questionnaire, results showed that 45

56 females responded sometimes more negatively then males. In addition, results cannot be completely uniform as there were only 30 respondents and the hotel has many more FOH staff. Nevertheless, there were a few employees who stated in the questionnaire that they are satisfied with the training systems provided by the hotel and want no change plus some respondents did not give specific answers there were certain ideas about trainings that employees would welcome in the future. According to their answers, they would like to focus more on cultural differences, wine tastings and barista courses, handling stressful situations, language courses and communication skills with guests and improvements in ongoing professional development of employees. In comparison with employees, the F&B manager would like to see future trainings focused on knowledge gaps and not only the service techniques. The Training and Development manager mentioned that further trainings will be again focused on service delivery because that is the most important area to train and develop employees. New service trainings will be again given in quite a different way, mostly through personal experiences, role plays, etc. Supervisors advised having more trainings focused on wine and particular wine regions, body language of FOH employees, rhetoric and culture of language. As the management agreed, a successfully working team is very important for service delivery and overall service quality. Moreover, feedback from customers mostly shows that they are very satisfied with the service quality within the hotel and it is in the management s best interest to keep hotel guests satisfied and most importantly repeatedly coming back. 46

57 Chapter 5- Conclusion and Recommendations In this chapter, the final conclusion and recommendations of the author will be given. This chapter represents the last part of the entire thesis. In the first part of this chapter, the research questions set at the beginning of the writing process will be answered together with the evaluation of if the aim and purpose of the research was reached. The second part of this chapter will deal with the recommendations and suggestions of possible improvements given by the author. 5.1 Conclusion In conclusion, organizational and staffing characteristics of the hotel industry showed a significant number of differences between the hotel industry and any other industry. Requirements to work long and 'unsocial hours', no closing time and seasonable and unpredictable demands are some of the characteristics of working within the hospitality sector. However, there are 4 main and most important components that are present in any work institution such as people, objective, structure and management. After investigating the background of the industry workforce, there are some advantages and disadvantages that affect people's opinions about why to work and why not to work in this field. On the one hand, the vision of interesting work with people and career growth, possibility to travel, etc. represent the positive attitude of the industry s workforce. On the other hand, certain negative opinions point to the high employee turnover, low salaries and long and unpredictable working hours. Overall, the hospitality industry will always be a highly discussed field. There are certain pros and cons like in any other industry, but maybe some of them are more visible than in other types of job. It is obviously hard to work in the service industry itself because working with the various personalities of people on a daily basis could be stressful and exhausting and there is no place to escape when you are not in the mood. Nevertheless, in the author s opinion, if a person working within the hospitality sphere really loves to work with people and is passionate about the industry then work become a person s lifestyle, adventure and sometimes even shelter and most of the negative aspects cease to be that important. Thanks to the opportunity to closely investigate this topic, there was a chance to understand the role of the HRM in the hotel together with the individual duties 47

58 of the HRD. Based on the research, job analyzing and detailed job description is crucial for the effective functioning of a working team. Moreover, research showed that an inseparable part of the HRD is the training and development management. Additionally, strategic planning includes operations directly connected to organizational behavior and is integrated to gain a professional approach to managing people. Understanding the importance of systematic training, empowerment and development of the employees was a crucial finding of the research as it is directly linked to the service quality and effective service delivery. However, there are certain costs connected to investment into the mastering of employee s performance, benefits for the organization, management and also for the employees themselves far outweigh the costs. Employee training, development and empowerment require an experiential learning process which is subject to appropriate conditions for effective learning by employees. Research questions introduced in chapter 1 of this work are answered as follows: What are the types, methods and areas of employee training offered in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague? The Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague is a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Therefore the hotel uses 3 main corporate trainings set out by the Rezidor Company. These trainings include New Team Member Orientation training, Yes! I Can Delivering the Promise training and Living Responsible Business training. Along with these trainings are also provided modified versions of corporate trainings designed especially for supervisors plus new training called Program for Supervisor Development. All corporate trainings are mandatory for all employees. In addition to the corporate trainings, Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel provides a wide range of its own trainings designed by the Training and Development manager in cooperation with HODs. These trainings include: History of Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, 4-module Service trainings, Language courses, Sommelier, Bar and Barista courses, First Aid and Defibrillation, MS Excel for beginners and the advanced, Communication Skills training, Financial Shortcuts and Basic Financial Information, Sales and Marketing Techniques, OHS and Internships Abroad. Based on research, 4module service trainings are the most important trainings designed by the hotel itself because of the high service-oriented aim and goals of the organization. However, additional trainings provided by the hotel are mostly obligatory, though there are some exceptions when 48

59 particular training is mandatory for employees chosen by the management. Most of trainings evaluated in the research are designed especially for the FOH staff but many of them are available for all employees of the hotel. Additionally, the hotel uses methods such as role plays and training through own experiences as well as videotaping of employees during practicing their skills in order to identify mistakes in body language or other areas. Management agreed that the reputation and high ranking of the hotel is highly motivational for both management and employees. How do employee training and development influence the service quality from the perspective of management? Representatives of management were 4 people including the Training and Development manager, F&B manager and 2 restaurant supervisors. According to interviews with these representatives it is clear that the hotel is highly service-oriented and every staff member has to follow the objectives and goals given by the organization. Management feel it is important to lead and motivate employees to continuously improve the service excellence and understand the exceptional role of the human factor within this process. Based on the research, management perceive continual training and development of employees as one of the most important factors for successful operation of the hotel. Management agreed that employees are mostly willing to learn new things and develop their skills as they mostly understand that it is also for their own benefit. According to interviewees a new 4-module service training mentioned above is specifically designed to help employees to handle communication with a guest on a very high level and always give the hotel guest a WOW effect. In conclusion, management agreed that the service quality is highly dependent on the systematic training and development of the employee s ability to deliver the highest standards in any form on a daily basis. How do employee training and development influence the service quality from the perspective of employees? Questionnaire results showed that employees understand the importance of systematic training and deepening of their knowledge as well as its connection to customer satisfaction. Employees feel mostly satisfied in the workplace and also believe that the reputation of the hotel and company culture influence their work performance. 49

60 Respondents significantly agreed that the level of service in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is excellent. However, 2 answers were slightly negative. Employees are also satisfied with the content of the trainings provided by the hotel and mostly agreed that knowledge gained on trainings find its use in practice. Some employees responded that they are satisfied with the system of training provided by the hotel but some of them provided possible suggestions for further development of training programs. However, according to management, employees very often refuse to participate in additional trainings because of lack of their free time and heavy work schedules. Additionally, employees are highly motivated by opportunities given by the hotel such as fast career growth, internships abroad or financial bonuses as well as by the reputation and prestige of the hotel. This fact supports the author s idea that the prospering and highly prized hotel facility provide a higher quality of service because its employees are well motivated and satisfied at work. In conclusion, the aim of the research was to analyze how employee training and development influence the quality of customer service within the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel and to explain the importance of training and development in the chosen organization. The aim of this work was also focused on the determination of possible ways to improve the system of employee training and development in the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel. Thanks to the answered research questions, deep analysis of the topic and data collected from the interviews and questionnaires by the employees of the chosen organization, the aim and purpose of the research was achieved. 5.2 Recommendations Based on the information given by the management and employees more specific trainings should be organized in the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel. According to information and evaluation provided in chapter 4.6 of this work, the author s suggestions and recommendations are as follows: Because the service quality is one of the most important area to train and develop employees, to focus on service oriented trainings in the future is necessary as it was confirmed by the Training and Development manager. 50

61 In addition to service oriented trainings, there are other areas where the training, development and some changes are equally important and necessary. Trainings should be more focused on knowledge gaps about products such as wine and food recommendation, particular wine regions and barista skills based on the information gained from the F&B manager and the employees. Concentration on body language of employees and rhetoric together with a culture of language is necessary as it was proposed by the supervisor. Implementation of trainings oriented more on cultural differences, language courses and communication skills with guests based on the opinions of the employees. Raise awareness of trainings among management too. The context in which organization and employee development is to take place clearly requires involvement of the management. Obviously, it is not necessary for every managerial position but in the author s opinion management also need to be trained and especially when it comes to resolving particular situations. Rescheduling of additional trainings. Morning lessons are not satisfactory for most employees. The reason is mostly caused by late working hours and lack of free time. Even if they are interested in a particular training, they would prefer to stay at home. The rescheduling of several trainings could help to involve more employees and maybe some of the trainings could also be organized during the paid time of chosen employees. In fact, it will not cost the hotel more, it will be an investment into employees who may be more motivated and also lead to the improvement of service. Add more psychology oriented trainings focusing on behavior of individuals in various, mostly unpredictable situations. In author s opinion, the service industry is all about working as a team. However, individuals have to firstly know their own limits and capabilities and to understand how they can overcome this limits to successfully enrich the team and vice versa. Every person has their own unique personality, especially in such a multicultural team. Thanks to this fact, the service given to the customers can sometimes even overcome the limits given by the organization. 51

62 Pay more attention to attendance of employees on mandatory trainings. Finally, the employee training and development system in the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague was analyzed. Additionally, its direct connection with the service quality was researched. In the end, it is very important to continuously improve service quality because if the company do not take care of its customers, someone else will. Moreover, in today s time when the customer can choose from a countless number of hotel brands, restaurants, bars etc. this idea should be a well-intentioned advice not only for hoteliers and restaurateurs, but also for any other business. 52

63 Reference list Az Central, Role of Human Resource Department in Hospitality Organization. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 9 March 2015]. Bartram, S., Investing in people. [article] Vol. 49, Issue 11, p p. Available through: EBSCO < [Accessed 21 March 2015]. Boella, M. J., Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry. 5th ed. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes, Ltd.. Brotherton, B., Researching Hospitality and Tourism. A Student Guide.. London: Sage Publications Ltd.. Business Dictionary, n. d.. Definition of Employee development. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 19 March 2015]. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, S. A., n. d.. Ethical code for employees. [code]prague: Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel Center for Teaching and Learning, n. d.. Experiential Learning Defined. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 23 March 2015]. Cousins, J. and Lillicrap, D., Food and Beverage Service. 8th ed ed. London: Hodder Education. Forbes, Travel and Hospitality Trends for [online] Available at: < [Accessed 21 February 2015]. Go2HR, n. d.. Employee training is worth to investment. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 17 March 2015]. Hotel Marketing Strategies, Employee turnover is a hospitality industry problem. Here s 5 ways to fix it. [online ] Available at: III

64 < [Accessed 8 March 2015]. Hotel Online, Top Ten Issues in the Hospitality Industry for 2007: International Society of Hospitality Consultants. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 7 March 2015]. Jones, P. and Pizam, A., The International Hospitality Industry. Organizational and Operational Issues. London: Pitman Publishing. Kameništiak, M., Management perciption of employee training and development in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, Prague [interview] (25 March 2015). Kodešová, M., Management perciption of employee training and development in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, Prague [interview] (25 March 2015). Lashley, C., Empowerment HR strategies for service excellence. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann. Management Study Guide, n. d. Methods/Ways of Employee Development. [online] Available at: < > [Accessed 21 March 2015]. McBride, K., Winter 2012/2013. Is hospitality really a low-pay sector? [article] Issue 28, p p. Available through: EBSCO < Zl#db=hjh&AN= > [Accessed 8 March 2015]. Megginson, D. and Whitaker, V., Continuing Professional Development. London: The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Mullins, L. J., Hospitality Management. A Human Resources Approach. London: Pitman Publishing. Mullins, L., Hospitality Management and Organizational Behaviour. 4th ed ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Nickson, D., Human Resource Management for the Hospitality and Tourism Industries. Oxford: Elsevier, Ltd.. IV

65 Online Learning Centre, n. d.. The Nature of Staffing. [pdf] Available at: < ch01.pdf> [Accessed 8 March 2015]. Pátek, D., Management Perciption of employee training and development in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, Prague [interview] (25 March 2015). Pettinger, R. and Frith, R., Mastering Employee Development. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Quorvus Collection, Discover excellence. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 2 April 2015]. Radisson Blu, Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, Prague. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 2 April 2015]. Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague, Internal code for employees. [code]prague: Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague, n.d.. Vision, mission, strategy statements and values. [document]prague: Radission Blu Alcron Hotel Rezdor Hotel Group, Hotel brands. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 2 April 2015]. SimplyPsychology, Kolb - Learning Styles. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 March 2015]. Small Business, n. d.. What Are the Benefits of Employee Empowerment? [online] Available at: < html> [Accessed 23 March 2015]. Study.com, n. d.. Employee Empowerment: Definition, Advantages & Disadvantages. [online] Available at: < > [Accessed 23 March 2015]. Taylor, M. Finely, D., Strategic Human Resource Management in U.S. Luxury Resorts- A Case Study. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, [case study] 8: Available through: EBSCO host < > [Accessed 8 March 2015]. V

66 Teare, R. and Olsen, M., International Hospitality Management. Corporate Strategy in Practice. London: Pitman Publishing. Tisch, J. M. and Weber, K., Chocolates on the pillow aren t enough: Reinventing the customer experience. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Varmužová, Z., Employee Training and Development in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, Prague [interview] (11 March 2015). Walker, J., Introduction to Hospitality Management. London: Pearson Education. Woods, R. H., Managing Hospitality Human Resources. 4th ed. USA: Educational Institute of American Hotel and Motel Association. VI

67 Appendices Appendix 1 Permission for recording the interviews Appendix 2 Questions for the interview with the Training manager Appendix 3 Questions for the interview with the F&B manager and restaurant supervisors Appendix 4 Questionnaire for the FOH employees Appendix 5 Internal codex for the employees Appendix 6 Ethical codex for the employees Appendix 7 Current vision, mission, strategy statements and values of the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague VII

68 Appendix 1 Permission (sample) I am aware that this interview will be audio recorded and may be transcribed and that the information may be used in the Bachelor Thesis of the interviewer. I have been informed that the purpose of the study is to analyze and evaluate the importance of employee training and development in Alcron Radisson Blu Hotel in Prague and I hereby declare that my participation in this research is voluntary. I am aware that the Bachelor Thesis will be made available for the public, not just for the purpose of The Institute of Hospitality Management in Prague. Print Name Signature Date Natália Gécziová Interviewer VIII

69 Appendix 2 Questions for the interview with the Training and Development manager A: Background information about trainings used within the hotel 1. Describe the system that the Radisson Hotels & Resorts Group use to train front-of-house staff. Are there some practices you as a hotel can made by yourself or you have to follow only a standards given by Radisson Hotels & Resorts Group? How often you receive new materials or requests for training from the headquarters? Is there any form of monitoring or control from their side? 2. What are some specific forms of training you are using in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel? Are all trainings mandatory? 3. How often you preparing courses or trainings for employees? Is management also participating on this trainings? 4. What are you consider to be a most difficult area to teach people on trainings? (most difficult area to get the positive respond from them) What do you consider to be the most effective learning method? What do you consider to be the most difficult area in customerprovider relationship in which you have to train employees? (e. g. problem solving, unpredictable situations ) 5. Do you also provide some language trainings? What is the level of fluent English or other languages between your employees? B: Employees motivation for training and sustainable development 6. What the management does to encourage employees to participate in training? (Note: Many companies use training or some course as a form of reward for the employee. 7. For example, if an employee works hard and performs well, his reward is for example professional bar course with a certificate. Do you use this IX

70 form of reward in your hotel? If yes, how does it work and name some examples. If not, do you think this method would be met with a positive response from employees? Are you planning to use this method?) Competitiveness can be a motivating factor. Do you think that there is some form of rivalry or competitiveness between the employees? 8. What kind of motivational and reward system are you currently use for the employees? 9. How do you measure change or improvement after trainings? If there is the situation that some guest is complaining about the particular service/employee, what is the procedure from management then? 10. What about the career growth within the hotel? What is the procedure when there is a job vacancy in supervisor or management line? C: Employees response to trainings 11. How much improvement do you see in the employees' performances after trainings? 12. Do you see the difference between employees from other countries and employees from Czech Republic in the way how they respond to trainings? 13. Differences between males and females in the way how they respond to trainings? 14. How willing are employees to learn new things and develop their skills? 15. Can you see the improvement within last months since you are using your own service trainings? 16. Are employees from the same area working as one team? Are they showing a signs of solidarity? X

71 17. How do you measure the feedback from customers related to the employee performance? D: Future plans and visions 18. Are you planning some kind of improvements any time soon? Is there anything you are planning to implement? 19. What need to be done to have successful and efficient working team according to Radisson policies and philosophy? 20. Are there any sort of internal study and how it is connected to your future choice of training for employees? What is your vision regarding to the employee training and development in the next 5 years? Natália Gécziová Interviewer XI

72 Appendix 3 Questions for the interview with the F&B manager and restaurant supervisors 1. What do you think about the current training programs for the FOH employees? Can you see the improvement after some training program is done? (Note: examples of trainings according to my interview with the training manager- New team member orientation, Yes I can delivering the promise (focused on service), living responsible business (ecology, safety, security of employees, charity) 2. Except for a corporate trainings mentioned above, you are now for a last few months using a new service trainings for FOH employees (Note: 1, 5 hour training + 4 modules (bar, communication with a guest...) How does it influenced the service delivery and customer feedback? What has changed (what works and what doesn't)? 3. Questions for supervisors: How do you as a supervisor perceive the quality of training programs for supervisors? Did you feel prepared to lead some employees after this training? What do you consider to be most valuable experience from that training and what would you like to practice more in depth after some experience in practice? (Note: training programs for supervisors- Leading yes I can and leading responsible business) Questions for F&B manager: Are you participating on training programs for employees? Are you discussing the content of trainings with a training manager? How do you evaluate employees performance after some training is done? Are you testing their knowledge about products to identify the gaps in knowledge? 4. How do employees respond to trainings? Are they willing to learn new things and practice their skills? XII

73 5. What do you consider to be a most effective reward or motivation for the employee to be productive for the company and satisfied with his work at the same point? 6. Where do you see a strengths and weaknesses of the employees when it comes to service delivery? 7. How would you describe a company culture and reputation of the hotel? How do you think this affect a satisfied employee? 8. What kind of training or learning program you suggest for the FOH employees to improve the overall service quality within a hotel? Natália Gécziová Interviewer XIII

74 Appendix 4 Questionnaire for the front-of-house employees in Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel Questionnaire for the employees of Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague How do employee training and development influence the service quality from the perspective of employees? Please, read each sentence and circle what describe your perception most. There are no right or wrong answers. Your answers will be kept secret and will be used for the academic purpose only. Thank you for your time and willingness. Natália Gécziová Sex: MALE FEMALE Age: more 1- strongly disagree 2- disagree 3- somewhat disagree 4- somewhat agree 5- agree 6- strongly agree 1. What is your position in the hotel? 2. I am participating in all mandatory trainings related to my position. 1- strongly disagree strongly agree 3. I think that trainings provided by the hotel are valuable for my job position and it find use in practice. 1- strongly disagree strongly agree 4. Trainings motivate me to improve my work performance. 1- strongly disagree strongly agree 5. I am satisfied with the training methods and the content of the training programs 1- strongly disagree strongly agree XIV

75 6. I believe that the company culture and reputation of the hotel influence my satisfaction in a workplace and therefore influence my performance. 1- strongly disagree strongly agree 7. I agree that the management is systematically taking care of employee s development and investing into our professional growth. 1- strongly disagree strongly agree 8. I feel empowered in decision making process. 1- strongly disagree strongly agree 9. I think that the quality of service in our hotel is excellent. 1- strongly disagree strongly agree 10. Systematic training and development of new skills influence the customer satisfaction. 1- strongly disagree strongly agree 11. What kind of improvements or changes would you welcome in employee training? Please, specify your opinion. XV

76 Appendix 5 Internal code for all Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel s employees (extract) PRACOVNÍ ŘÁD ZAMĚSTNANCŮ SPOLEČNOSTI CROWN-WSF, s. r. o. Společnost Crown-WSF, spol. s r.o. (dále jen zaměstnavatel), se sídlem Štěpánská 40, Praha 1, zastoupená panem Michalem Chourem, generálním ředitelem hotelu Radisson Blu Alcron, jednajícím na základě plné moci, vydává tímto na základě ustanovení 82 zák. č. 65/1965 Sb., ve znění pozdějších předpisů (Zákoník práce) tento: VSTUPNÍ POUČENÍ O bezpečnosti práce a ochraně zdraví Základní práva a povinnosti zaměstnanců v oblasti bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci jsou zakotveny v Zákoníku práce především v ustanovení části druhé, hlavy první v 35 a části druhé, hlavy páté v 135. pracovník je povinen podle pokynů organizace konat osobně práce podle pracovní smlouvy ve stanovené pracovní době a dodržovat pracovní kázeň. zaměstnanci mají právo na zajištění bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci, na informace o rizicích jejich práce a na informace o opatřeních na ochranu před jejich působením. zaměstnanci jsou oprávněni odmítnout výkon práce, o níž mají důvodně za to, že bezprostředně a závažným způsobem ohrožuje jejich život nebo zdraví, popřípadě život nebo zdraví jiných osob, takové odmítnutí nelze posuzovat jako nesplnění povinnosti zaměstnance. zaměstnanci mají právo a povinnost podílet se na vytváření zdravého a bezpečného pracovního prostředí, a to zejména uplatňováním stanovených a zaměstnavatelem přijatých opatření a svou účastí na řešení otázek bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci. každý zaměstnanec je povinen dbát podle svých možností o svou vlastní bezpečnost, o své zdraví i o zdraví osob, kterých se bezprostředně dotýká jeho jednání, popřípadě XVI

77 opomenutí při práci. Znalost předpisů a požadavků zaměstnavatele k zajištění bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci je nedílnou a trvalou součástí kvalifikačních předpokladů zaměstnance. Zaměstnanec je zejména povinen: účastnit se školení zajišťovaných zaměstnavatelem v zájmu bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci a podrobit se ověřením jejich znalostí podrobit se lékařským prohlídkám, očkování, vyšetření a diagnostickým zkouškám stanoveným zvláštními právními předpisy. Dodržovat právní a ostatní předpisy a pokyny zaměstnavatele k zajištění bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci, s nimiž byl řádně seznámen, a řídit se zásadami bezpečného chování na pracovišti a informacemi zaměstnavatele. Dodržovat při práci stanovené pracovní postupy, používat stanovené pracovní prostředky, dopravní prostředky, osobní ochranné pracovní prostředky a ochranná zařízení a tato svévolně neměnit a a nevyřazovat z provozu. Nepožívat alkoholické nápoje a nezneužívat jiné návykové látky na pracovištích zaměstnavatele a v pracovní době i mimo tato pracoviště, nevstupovat pod jejich vlivem na pracoviště zaměstnavatele a nekouřit na pracovištích, kde pracují také nekuřáci, nebo je to zakázáno. Zákaz požívání alkoholických nápojů se nevztahuje na zaměstnance v horkých provozech, pokud požívají pivo se sníženým obsahem alkoholu, a na zaměstnance, u nichž požívání těchto nápojů je součástí plnění pracovních úkolů, nebo je s plněním těchto úkolů obvykle spojeno. Oznamovat svému nadřízenému nedostatky a závady na pracovišti, které by mohly ohrozit bezpečnosti nebo zdraví při práci, a podle svých možností se účastnit na jejich odstraňování I bezodkladně oznamovat svému nadřízenému svůj pracovní úraz, pokud mu to jeho zdravotní stav dovolí, a pracovní úraz jiné osoby, jehož byl svědkem, a spolupracovat při vyšetřování jeho příčin Podrobit se na pokyn příslušného vedoucího zaměstnance stanoveného v pracovním řádu (nebo v jiném vnitřním předpisu organizace) zjištění, zda není pod vlivem alkoholu nebo jiných návykových látek. DALŠÍ PRÁVA A POVINNOSTI ZAMĚSTNAVATELE A ZAMĚSTNANCŮ Ust. 1 odst. 4 v pracovněprávních vztazích je zakázána jakákoliv diskriminace zaměstnanců z důvodu rasy, barvy pleti, pohlaví, sexuální orientace, jazyka, víry a náboženství, politického nebo jiného smýšlení, členství nebo činnosti v politických XVII

78 stranách nebo politických hnutích, odborových organizacích a jiných sdruženích, národnosti, etnického nebo sociálního původu, majetku, rodu, zdravotního stavu, věku, manželského a rodinného stavu nebo povinností k rodině. Je zakázáno I takové jednání zaměstnavatele, které diskriminuje nikoliv přímo, ale až ve svých důsledcích. Ust. 7 odst. 2 nikdo nesmí výkonu práv a povinností vyplývajících z pracovněprávních vztahů zneužívat na újmu jiného účastníka pracovněprávního vztahu nebo k ponižování jeho lidské důstojnosti. Za ponižování lidské důstojnosti se považuje I nežádoucí chování sexuální povahy na pracovišti, které je nevítané, nevhodné nebo urážlivé nebo které může být druhým účastníkem pracovně-právního vztahu oprávněně vnímáno jako podmínka pro rozhodnutí, která ovlivňují výkon práv a povinností vyplývajících z pracovně-právních vztahů. Ust. 141 a pracovník je povinen prohlubovat si soustavně kvalifikaci k výkonu práce sjednané v pracovní smlouvě (popisu práce), prohlubováním kvalifikace se rozumí též její udržování a obnovování. Organizace je oprávněna uložit pracovníku účast na školení k prohloubení kvalifikace. Ust. 142 odst. 2 organizace je rovněž povinna zaškolit nebo zaučit pracovníka, který přechází na nové pracoviště nebo na nový druh práce nebo způsob práce, pokud je to třeba zejména při změnách v organizaci práce nebo jiných racionálních opatřeních. Ust. 171 odst. 1 pracovník je povinen počínat si tak, aby nedocházelo ke škodám na zdraví a majetku ani k bezdůvodnému obohacení na úkor společnosti nebo jednotlivce. Hrozí-li škoda, je povinen na ni pracovník upozornit vedoucí pracovníky. Ust. 171 odst. 2 je-li k odvrácení škody hrozící organizaci neodkladně třeba zákroku, je zaměstnanec povinen zakročit, nemusí tak učinit, bráni-li mu v tom důležitá okolnost, nebo jestliže by tím vystavil vážnému ohrožení sebe nebo ostatní zaměstnance. Ust. 190 odst. 1 došlo-li u pracovníka při plnění pracovník úkolů nebo v přímé souvislosti s ním k poškození na zdraví nebo k jeho smrti úrazem (pracovní úraz), odpovídá za škodu tím vzniklou organizace, u níž byl pracovník v době úrazu v pracovním poměru Ust. 190 odst. 2 pracovním úrazem není úraz, který se pracovníkovi přihodil na cestě o zaměstnání a zpět Ust. 191 odst. 1 organizace se sprostí odpovědnosti za škodu zcela, prokáže-li, že škoda byla způsobena tím, že postižený pracovník svým zaviněním porušil právní nebo ostatní předpisy k zajištění bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci nebo ostatní předpisy k XVIII

79 zajištění bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci nebo pokyny k zajištění bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci, ačkoliv s nimi byl řádně seznámen a jejich znalost a dodržování byly soustavně vyžadovány a kontrolovány škodu si přivodil postižený pracovník svou opilostí nebo v důsledku zneužití jiných návykových látek a organizace nemohla škodě zabránit a tyto skutečnosti byly jedinou příčinou škody Ust. 191 odst. 2 organizace se sprostí odpovědnosti zčásti, prokáže-li že postižený pracovník porušil svým zaviněním právní nebo ostatní předpisy nebo pokyny k zajištění bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci, ačkoliv s nimi byl řádně seznámen, a že toto porušení bylo jednou z příčin škody, jednou z příčin škody byla opilost postiženého zaměstnance nebo zneužití jiných návykových látek postiženým zaměstnancem, c) zaměstnanci vznikla škoda proto, že si počínal v rozporu s obvyklým způsobem chování tak, že je zřejmé, že ač neporušil právní nebo ostatní předpisy nebo pokyny k zajištění bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci, jednal lehkomyslně a musel si přitom být vzhledem ke své kvalifikaci a zkušenostem vědom, že si může přivodit újmu na zdraví. Podmínky obsažené v interním řádu jsou závazné pro všechny zaměstnance. Zaměstnavatel se zavazuje informovat zaměstnance o veškerých změnách informací uvedených v této příručce. Příručka by však neměla být považována za jediný zdroj informací poskytovaných zaměstnancům. Zaměstnanci jsou povinni se seznámit se všemi standardy a postupy zaměstnavatele a jednotlivých oddělení. Praha, XIX

80 Appendix 6 Ethical code for all employees of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group S. A. ETICKÝ KODEX ZAMĚSTNANCŮ SPOLEČNOSTI THE REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP S. A. Respekt je klíčový pro každou naši činnost. Respektujeme zákon. Respektujeme jeden druhého. Respektujeme své podřízené a respektujeme také své nadřízené. Respektujeme všechny své hosty a celé své okolí. Respektujeme životní prostředí. Respektujeme rozmanitost a všechny kultury. Respekt si musíme získat stejně jako důvěru. Abychom byli respektováni, musíme také respekt prokazovat. Proč musíme prokazovat respekt? Na celém světě mají všichni naši partneři právo očekávat, že skupina Rezidor Hotel Group a všichni její zaměstnanci budou v klíčových otázkách obchodní etiky jednat a vystupovat v jednotném duchu. Každý, kdo pracuje pro Rezidor, musí ve všech záležitostech, které se týkají Rezidor Hotel Group, uplatňovat zdravý úsudek určovaný nejvyššími osobními standardy čestnosti a bezúhonnosti. Je to věc odpovědnosti, přesvědčení a důvěry. Protože působíme v řadě zemí a kultur, považujeme rozmanitost za přednost. Zvyky a mravní zásady se samozřejmě na našich trzích poměrně významně liší. Někdy se liší také zákony a nařízení. Povinností je, aby všichni naši lidé dodržovali platnou místní i mezinárodní legislativu. Naše zásady obchodní etiky ukazují, jak chceme, aby byla naše společnost vnímána. Takový je prostě náš způsob práce. Dodržujeme zákon. Prokazujeme úctu všem lidem za všech okolností. Přemýšlíme eticky. Jednáme poctivě. XX

81 Z žádného důvodu nikoho nediskriminujeme. Jsme upřímní a transparentní. Jsme loajální vůči svému zaměstnavateli. Nezneužíváme podnikové zdroje. Vždy bereme ohled na bezpečnost. Staráme se o Zemi. Každý, kdo pracuje pro Rezidor, musí ve všech záležitostech, které se týkají skupiny Rezidor Hotel Group, uplatňovat zdravý úsudek určovaný nejvyššími osobními standardy čestnosti a bezúhonnosti. Složení našich zaměstnanců by mělo odrážet rozmanitost společnosti, ve které pracujeme. Proč musí být práce fair? Jsme hrdí na to, že jsme fair zaměstnavatel. Život nemusí být vždy fair, ale práce ano. Klademe velký důraz na rovné příležitosti a nediskriminaci. Při všech procesech, které se týkají lidí, např. při náboru, odměnách, výhodách, pracovním postupu, přístupu ke školení, ukončení pracovního poměru, odchodu do důchodu a dalších vztazích mezi zaměstnancem a zaměstnavatelem, se musí se všemi lidmi zacházet rovným způsobem. Nesouhlasíme s diskriminací z důvodu pohlaví, rasy, společenského postavení, náboženství, věku, stavu, postižení, sexuální orientace, členství v odborech, politické příslušnosti nebo sociálního či etnického původu. Se všemi zaměstnanci a uchazeči o zaměstnání budeme zacházet v souladu s formálními a objektivními kritérii. Složení našich zaměstnanců by mělo odrážet rozmanitost společnosti, ve které pracujeme. Věříme v rozmanitost rozmanitost je dobrá. Co se týče práv zaměstnanců a pracovního práva, je nutné dodržovat národní pravidla a nařízení. V případech, kdy je národní legislativa méně přísná než mezinárodní pracovní standardy, které stanovují úmluvy Mezinárodní organizace práce (ILO), budeme dodržovat mezinárodní standardy. Jako progresivní a starostlivý zaměstnavatel se skupina Rezidor Hotel Group snaží: 1. Zaměstnávat a rozvíjet nejlepší možné lidi. 2. Udržovat mzdy a výhody na úrovni přinejmenším srovnatelné s úrovní v podobných společnostech. 3. Udělat maximum pro to, aby na volná pracovní místa nastupovali interní uchazeči s odpovídající kvalifikací. 4. Jednat se svými zaměstnanci v souladu se zákonem. 5. Nabízet bezpečné a čisté pracovní prostředí, školit zaměstnance ve speciálních pracovních metodách a nástrojích. 6. Jednat se všemi zaměstnanci s respektem. XXI

82 Appendix 7 Current vision, mission, strategy statements and values of the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague XXII