Reference no: EM132177512
Apply HR Management Principles
I guess there are advantages and disadvantages to being hired at the height of the busy season at a ski resort,” said Sergio as he sat in the employee lounge with Patty during a well-deserved break. “I like my job in the maintenance department, especially the gang I work with, and it’s great to have all of the tools and supplies needed for routine maintenance. That has not been the case in some of my previous positions, and it really caused me to stress out!”
“We’re all glad you’re here,” replied Patty, a housekeep- ingsupervisor. “I didn’t know what you would say now after I heard you talk earlier about your initial experiences with our resort that were less than perfect. I remember you telling me that you didn’t know the location of the work sites for many of the maintenance tasks because the property is so large. I also remember you telling me how silly you must have looked to your peers because you didn’t know specific maintenance tasks or the required tools for servicing some of our specialized equipment. In fact, you said you had been here two weeks before you even met the department head.
“You’re right,” said Sergio. “The initial orientation process could have been much more organized and better delivered. If it was, I wouldn’t have felt so awkward, and I could have better helped the resort by doing things right the first time without the need for lots of rework. I remember thinking a couple of times that they weren’t treating me very well, and the fact that every- one appeared to be so busy, and weren’t doing it intentionally, didn’t really soften my feelings.
“Since then, I guess I’ve become more ‘neutral,’ where I could ‘take the job or leave it,’ to my present attitude that it’s getting to be a better place to work.” “I don’t think things would be very different in my house- keeping department if you started in the middle of the season,” commented Patty. “I’ve always thought, incorrectly, that the excuse of ‘being busy’ was accepted by new staff members. But now I see that managers owe their staff members more than promises that ‘things will get better.’
“I’m going to make some changes and suggest to other department supervisors that they consider the need for changes in their departments as well. Thanks for the education, Sergio.”
Dimension: Employer-of-Choice Concerns
1. How do you think most potential job applicants would react to the resort’s reputation of “rough starts, but it gets better after you’ve been working there for a while”?
2. Many restaurant guests say almost nothing to friends if they have a good dining experience, but they say many things to contacts when they have a poor dining experience. Do you think the tendency to say a few nice things and many bad things is also true about one’s experience with an employer? Why or why not?
Dimension: HR Issues
1. Since the ski resort is large, it likely has an HR department. Is it possible that these specialists are not aware of their property’s problems with orientation programs? If they are, what are reasons they might not be more proactive in addressing issues? If they are not, what changes in the property’s communication network might be appropriate?
2. What, if any, role should HR personnel play in advising (improving) the orientation program? What should be the role, if any, of top-level managers?
Dimension: Employee Retention Issues
1. What impact, if any, do you think inadequate orientation programs have on employee retention rates?
2. How might you, as a department manager, better determine how the quality of new employee orientation affects the property’s turnover rates?
3. Assume you could prove a positive relationship between effective orientation programs and improved employee retention and that it was cost-effective to improve the orientation program. What are potential responses of higher-level officials at this resort to this information?