Job redesign and workplace rewards

Speaking about the redesigning and workplace rewards in recruiting area the hotel’s job structure is a good shot for discussion as hotel is a widely developed and complex system of employees’ relationships. A great quantity of positions, each of them crossing in some point one with another, a great deal of workers who form the staff of the company – how to make all this complex structure to accomplish with their obligations efficiently? What is the best motivation for them?
There is a plenty of similar questions and the answers are ambiguous as each position in hotel job system has its own particularities of performance. Airline staff is the department which must be present in every respectable hotel. In our airline staff department the perspectives of considerable career growth are not too bright as in some other management department. Though the task seems to be rather simple the airline staff of the hotel is rather a big department with its small management structure.
But this structure is simple. For example, we have only one head manager on this department and a plenty of subordinates while other departments are staffed with managers who as L. Starkey states (2002) “…may have assistant managers to help with these services or may be solely responsible for them” (p. 3) The simple structure of the airline department is the main negative trait regarding the motivating of its staff.

The main task of the airline segment is to accomplish with airline booking for the hotel’s inhabitants. So, it’s not the place where some important and profitable tasks of the company are being carried out. Of course, there is certain difference between being a simple operator and the general manager of this department. Nevertheless, the employees from airline department rarely get better job outside this department (if leaving for other hotel only). So, the career motivation is not so strong here.
It is well known that the most important points when estimating the company by an employee are the following: reputation of the company, its name in the market, positioning and the size, a country of origin, a level of responsibility – an opportunity of decision-making, complexity problem / individual projects, an opportunity of purchase of skills, an opportunity of career growth, access to qualitative training, an opportunity of use of modern technologies, the status (it is sometimes estimated by candidates by such formal criteria as presence or absence of the corporate automobile).
Regarding the existing rewards and other motivation means in the airline department it is necessary to say that the authorities of the hotel enter all new motivational stimulus for deduction of the employees and put means in development of the personnel. However specificity of the market is those, that is possible to predict the further increase of a problem of shortage of the staff. Moreover, it is not necessary to get some specific and expensive education for getting the position of airline department operator.
So, the hotel can involve actively people on airline department subordinate positions from allied industries, and also to invest efforts and the finance in creation of favorable corporate culture and development of the brand as the attractive employer. As it is known, the system of motivation develops of two mainframes: material and non-material stimulation which are present in every job structure. Under non-material such encouragements which are not given out to the employee as available or non-cash means are understood, however can demand investments on the part of the company.
The main effect achievable with the help of non-material stimulation is an increase of a level of loyalty of the personnel. To non-material stimulus developed in out airline department concern: -system of adaptation of the new personnel (it gives employees representation about the company, criteria of successful passage of a trial period and as consequence, raises at them feeling of security, helps to form their loyalty to the company); -a praise (oral on general meetings and holidays or written as memorandums, a board of the best employees)
The negative factors influencing on the motivating of our department’s workers are as follows: -an absence of designated both registered criteria and stages of career growth (for example, a chain of categories within the framework of one post); -non-inclusion of employees in decision-making process (interrogations, questioning, discussion with employees of strategic plans) Material stimulus “work” on improvement of quality of a life of the personnel and demand from the company of direct financial investments. It – granting of the medical insurance (for all employees of the department), the corporate automobile –for head manager only (for high executors, catering services due to the company and other privileges).
Also some efforts of the enterprise on the organization of intra-firm training and corporate holidays have been made recently. Here is how the set of the privileges most popular in our airline department looks. Our employers count monetary investments in training the personnel. At the comparative analysis of all social packages it becomes clear, that the hotel pay the greater attention to privileges which can be named « investments into health of employees and members of their families ». Those are, first of all, the medical insurances or life insurances.
Also granting of loans and credits, both discounts for the goods and services (for long-terms workers) take place. It testifies that the authorities of our hotel make the greater accent on granting of short-term material privileges. Clearly, that the forming of compensatory package for the employees, the company is guided both by the current situation in the market, and on internal resources. Also frequently, if the question is the global corporation, the similar policy is dictated by head office which precisely designates, for what employees from our department what privileges are stipulated.
As it can be seen from the mentioned above there is rather a considerable number of motivational means. But the case is that all these means are rather typical ones and are proper of the most of existing job places. Besides, the material praises as the practices show are not always the most important factor. People are looking not for good salary only but for the realizing of their skills and ambitions as well. So, the material praise which is given to our department (15% from the salary amount twice a year) can not be considered to be a powerful motivating factor for airline department.
In order to redesign and motivate the personnel with stronger effect it is necessary to redesign not only the rewarding structure in case but the very structure of the department. First of all it is necessary to point out that airline staff doesn’t offer to its employees some interesting tasks demanding deep knowledge and special skills. As it was already told it’s just performance of airport –hotel relationships (booking tickets, supplying flight schedule to the hotel customers, etc. )
Meanwhile most of employees are usually attracted by the necessity to solve difficult, interesting and new tasks as the successful performance of such tasks promises the fast professional growth. So, it is necessary to widen the range of airline department’s obligations and tasks. It will be helpful to create some sub-department where employees would accomplish not only with their direct obligations but to develop the very structure of the department. For example, the marketing researches are not carried out in our airline department.
It would be helpful to create such department where the new and efficient ways of cooperation wit airline agents should be found. The hotel cooperates with already stabled airline partners but the airline market also changes all the time and it is necessary to watch its development in order to get the best offer. Besides, should such department be created the employees would get the better opportunity for career growth in marketing area and thus the airline department would become more attractive for potential employees.
Of course, it is not possible to convert the airline department into research center but it can be proposed to the subordinates to accomplish with some small part of work regarding the marketing researches of airline department activities. Such additional work (in case of its successful performance) can praised with some small payment rise (2-5% from total salary amount monthly) but what is the most important- it will give to the subordinates other status (some higher than a regular operator). Certainly, for our employees the material motivation has great value also.
And it is necessary to note, that our hotel, understanding it, offer employees quite competitive wages and indemnifications and actively develop individual criteria of an estimation of results of work and system of bonuses. However many employees leave as do not find the enough motivation in solving interesting problems (tasks). Complexity of stimulation of the personnel of airline department (operators) consists that this group of employees should perform the extremely routine work which uneasy to make interesting.
However the motivation of operators of an initial step is very important for maintenance of a high degree of service of hotel customers and prevention of the increased turnover of staff. Here again key stimulus for employees become good operating conditions, corporate culture, the valid attitude to them in the company, attention to their achievements and merits. For these people conditions in collective, participation in any general idea is very important. Therefore the main task in work with these personnel becomes formation of the uniform purposes, approaches to servicing and the quality standards.
Our hotels’ authorities must pay bigger attention to this point. The key role here frequently is played by the experienced head of group who directs and trains the subordinates. It is important, that at younger employees good contact with him. The question is basically such things as drawing up of an operating schedule in holidays and so on. The head of the airline department has to be closer to the subordinates (more attentive), thus the personnel would feel more comfortably.
So, the key factors which should be redesigned in the airline department of our hotel are the following: -the very structure of the department must be more wide-spread developed and engaged into performance of wider range of functions which will help to make the work more interesting. Also, the praising of these additional functions must present -the involvement of professional manager who would a good psychologist and would be able to create a favorable environment in the collective -the most common factor: increase of wages and side benefits (the medical insurance, vocational benefits and so on);
The combination of these three main factors while redesigning the employment and rewarding structure of the airline department of the hotel, will permit to make the employees motivation really efficient.
Bibliography
1. Smith, P. C. , Kendal, L. M. , and Hulin, C. I. , (1969). The Measurement of Satisfaction in Work and Retirement. Chicago: Rand McNally 2. Chowdhury, M. (1997), Motivating the Sales force: The Pygmalion Effect. UMI Dissertation Service. 3. Starkey, L. (2002). Hotel/Restaurant Management Career Starter. Learning Express, LLC.