Training & Employee Motivation increasing employee Productivity

Training is defined as “the process of developing a staff member’s knowledge, skills, and
attitudes necessary to perform tasks required for a position” (Hayes & Ninemeier, 2009, p. 172).
Training and development can influence organizational performance also in the hospitality
industry (Aksu, 2005; Boella & Goss-Turner, 2012). This study is examining the influence of
relevant training programmed that employees should receive in order to develop their capacity of
their work performance. If the organization does not have an effective training and development
programme, it will fall behind in terms of the skill sets and knowledge required for competitive
advantage. Hayes and Ninemeier (2009) point out that only by continually upgrading the skills of
employees it can help the organization to achieve and maintain its competitive advantage.
Training and development is a big challenge that every organization should address. Leadoff,
Erasmus, Van, Mda, and Nel (2013) are of the opinion that the rapid changes in advanced
technology in today’s workplace alter the way in which work is performed. Training is an
investment in the labor force which helps to position itself for achievement in the future in any
hospitality organization. The main purpose of training is to provide the workforce with the
necessary skills and knowledge required to perform a job effectively and job training is an
ongoing process that prevents obsolescent HR in the organization and increase organizational
productivity.

Factors that motivate hotel employees to perform at high standard levels are discussed in the

literature in this section. Employee motivation is not a new topic in HRM and it has been defined

by prominent scholars in various fields and many of them give different definitions to employee

motivation. However, many of these definitions have similar ideas and notions. From the studies

of the economy, psychology, and human resources, motivation refers to reasons or factors that

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encourage, or make people behave in a particular way (Bratton & Gold, 2012; Nelson & Quick,

2012).

From this viewpoint, an individual can be affected by many different drivers such as a desire for

an object, or basic needs such as food and water. Motivation also refers to the intrinsic and

extrinsic elements that influence an individual to act in certain ways or take certain actions

(Nahavandi, Denhardt, Denhardt, & Aristigueta, 2014; Pinder, 2014). Motivation is a force

(either intrinsic or extrinsic) that makes people do what they do. This means individual

motivation is influenced by both internal factors (including personal needs and expectations) and

external factors (organizational reward and compensation). In the context of HRM, motivation is

critical to the organizational performance. The organization can motivate their employees to

work harder and be involved in achieving organizational goals. Motivating employees is about

using different significant factors to influence them in the manner that makes them feel

motivated to perform their tasks with their best effort, boost their productivity levels, or carry

out their tasks at a high standard.

Prominent scholars in different fields have developed many motivation models, and all of those

motivation models aim to identify and explain forces and drives that can also be employed to

motivate people in the hospitality industry (Beardwell & Claydon, 2007). There are many

reasons why organizations continually focus on motivating employees. The first reason is

motivated employees tend to work with their best effort and do more than is required of them.

This can help the organization to increase its productivity. The second reason is motivated

employees are likely to work effectively, get work done on time to a high quality and within

budget. This can help the organization minimize its operational cost and its labor cost and in

turn increase its profitability. The third reason is that the level of staff turnover may to some

extent be reduced if the staff is motivated to perform their tasks. Another reason why the

organization puts more effort into motivating employees is that an organization with a motivated

workforce introduces change earlier than the organization where its employees are demotivated

(Ghuman, 2010; Nahavandi et al., 2014). From a general perspective, each individual can be

motivated. However, each individual is not motivated or influenced by “the same things, at the

same time, for the same reasons, or with the same intensity” (Nel et al., 2014).

Thus, it is important for every HR manager or hotel management to learn and understand the

various motivational theories and know how to apply them in different situations and conditions

In HRM terms, there are many different motivation models that the hospitality industry and HR

managers who work in the hotel industry should know, understand and apply, and for this paper

(due to length limitation) the researchers only mention the relevant motivation theories:

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, Theory X and Theory Y,

Alderfer’s ERG theory, McClelland’s three-need theory, and intrinsic and extrinsic of motivation

in order to able to motivate hotel employees to do their jobs and enjoy their work (Armstrong &

Taylor, 2014; Nahavandi et al., 2014). A better understanding of all forms of employee

motivation can help hotel managements enhance and implement motivation of employees more

effectively and then effective employee motivation will help to boost employee performance and

improve service quality directly and indirectly such as competitive advantage.

References

Aksu, A. A. (2005). Defining training needs of five-star hotel personnel: an application in the

antalya region of Turkey. Managerial auditing journal, 20(9), 945-953.

Armstrong, M. (2006). A handbook of human resource management practice (10th ed.).

Pennsylvania, PA: Kogan Page Limited.

Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management

practice (13th ed.). London, UK: Kogan Page.

Beardwell, J., & Claydon, T. (2007). Human resource management: A contemporary approach

(5th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice Hall/Financial Times.

Boella, M., & Goss-Turner, S. (2012). Human resource management in the hospitality industry.

Retrieved from http://unitec.eblib.com.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=270111

Boxall, P., & Purcell, J. (2011). Strategy and human resource management (3rd ed.). London,

UK: Palgrave Macmillan.