Employee attrition is the major cause of worry for any HR professional. The HCM software streamlines all processes and provides an IT backbone to the organisation, says Sapna Kulshrestha
Efficient human resources management can make all the difference between a well run and a poorly run hotel. Recruitment, training, compensation, and motivation, all form varied parts of the HR department functions; the common objective remains one that is to derive the greatest value from the human capital of the organisation.
Ankur Arora, vice president sales, Saigun Technologoies, says: “Hotels are moving away from administrative human resource processes, and embracing progressive approaches that can better understand the development needs of an individual on a collective basis.”
The Human Capital Management (HCM) specialised software now offers an outstanding option irrespective of company size, to effectively aid in the handling of many different areas that a corporate human resource department is generally in charge of.
This includes responsibilities like new hire processing, employee benefits, payroll and employee development, and cost management, in addition to managing personnel legal matters and staff development programmes to ensure all employees have fair opportunities for advancement through learning.
In addition, as the legacy HR systems are mostly manual processes containing standard operating procedures that consume a lot of full-time equivalent in getting approvals and physical verification, the process is prone to errors resulting in lack of coordination, under utilisation of employee skills, and pay inequality across properties.
Thus, HR automation today is being recognised as a source of performance enhancement by hospitality businesses around the world. For instance, The Park Hotels use SAP- Human Capital Management that currently runs live at many of its properties in India.
Vijay Dewan, managing director, The Park Kolkata, says: “Having an integrated HR system can add value to the company, reduce mistakes, and increase productivity, thus translating into a reduction in costs.”
Tools of HCM software are distinct from HR applications that simply automate repetitive processes such as payroll.
Contributing directly to the company’s performance, it is an instrument for not only helping manage the people aspect of a hospitality business, but can also organise the various components of human resource department for the betterment of the company and the employees that work there.
Though the contents of the system such as the goals of the organisation and required skill sets have to be determined by the HR department, HCM software helps provide a framework to define these strategic objectives and identify the availability of those skills in the existing workforce.
The new solutions allow a hotel to enhance its ability to identify, nurture, and retain talents within the organisation, while attracting new ones.
Anil Sehgal, head HR, Radisson MBD, Noida, says: “Personally, as an HR professional, I feel the advanced HCM software is highly useful especially for large hotel chains. It can be a strategic device to align investments in human capital with overall objectives of the company.”
Additionally, HCM software minimises the transactional time for processing all employee related functions, allowing HR managers to gain time to focus on their operational and strategic goals, thus improving the company’s top line.
Rajan Vishwanathan, director HR, Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai says: “We use HRIS software by Shawman Inc. for roster, attendance recording, employee database, start date, personal profile, career growth, and leave records. Its advantage is all leave applications and approval can be generated on line, while all transactions and information can be exported to the excel format and presented as required, thus reducing paper usage.”
Another module of the HCM software, Employee Self Service (ESS), automates a time consuming and repetitive mode of personnel administration such as employee leave requests and queries related to pay and allowances that results in greater efficiency, lower costs, and increase service quality.
Shyaam Sunder K, head, human capital management practice, Ramco Systems, says: “ESS facilitates quick access to information. Employees may apply for leave, make claims, or even fill in their self-appraisals and declare tax related investments through the portal.”
As most of HCM software is a web-based administrator tool, it can manage employee information of multiple hotel properties across the globe and provide instant access to data and a variety of management reports, including a CEO’s dash board which can be an invaluable decision support system for the management.
Agrees Vishwanathan: “The software can streamline integration of processes at various properties of the hotel at different locations. We are also looking at creating a company-wide database for cross movement of human capital.”
Moreover, HCM software can be used to create new employee cross-learning programmes where qualified employees can be identified on the basis of competency and utilised as trainers, as well as identifying training needs.
In fact, with the rising demand for highly trained hospitality talents, it is critical for hospitality businesses to strategically manage their talent pool to stay ahead of their competition, for which HCM solutions allow hotels to sync employee data across HR, talent management, and e-recruitment systems in real time.
The software further empowers HR managers to analyse and compare the various team metrics like performance profiles, attendance records, qualifications, and experience profiles, bringing in more objectivity and speed in their decisions.
Besides, in today’s world of cut-throat market competition, employee attrition is the major cause of worry for any company’s HR.
This software help streamline the appraisal process by providing a robust web-based platform to HR managers, heads of departments, and CEO’s, to conduct the appraisals accurately, effectively, and quickly, thereby increasing employee satisfaction levels by ensuring objectivity and transparency in the process.
As Delhi-based HR analyst Subhash Chandra of HR Plus says: “The HCM system is becoming a long-term solution for organisations to address perennial staffing and productivity problems.”
While it is no replacement for good management, HCM can nonetheless contribute directly to a company’s performance.
Prominent service provider Ramco systems HCM software allows hotels to assimilate all of their HR systems relating to employee lifecycle, relationships, and transaction management, onto one platform. The solution enables the company to operate more effectively and use its resources in a strategic manner.
Radisson Edwardian (UK), EIH (India), and ITC Hotels (India), are some hotels using Ramco’s HCM and Payroll Solution. Similarly, Bharat Hotels manage their massive workforce and ensure employee efficiency and productivity levels by utilising Adrenalin eSystems Human Capital Alignment Software.
A hotel’s success depends on acquiring loyal guests and efficiently managing talented staff to exceed guest expectations. Without an effective IT backbone, costly inefficiencies can impact profitability and eventually impact the quality of guest services.
HCM implementation acts as a bridge between IT and HR, aiding the organisation to make the most of its technological investments and help boost company performance beyond the delivery of information.
For example, features like ESS provide staff broad access to their data through which they can update their information, thus becoming stewards of their own personal information.
This also enables HR to document the measureable achievements of employees and compensate them fairly, allowing employees to take charge of their own achievements – increasing morale and overall productivity thus leading to higher retention.
Evidently, in the contemporary role, HR is not only responsible to communicate effectively and transparently within and outside the organisation, but also provide on-demand reports and analytics.
HR departments are now automating key strategic and administrative processes while at the same time decentralising employee services and practices. With companies web-enabling HR functions to get rid of complexities and boost productivity, the HCM technology is further assisting HR in making a paradigm shift from being simply processes managers to strategic partners.
“Communication, a key to improving engagement in hotels, should be secure and constant, leading to role clarity and performance expectations setting. This is where 360-degree assessments can bring out issues in workplace cooperation,” says Sunder.
Human resource management is now more about a more proactive approach that blends traditional HR practices with technical measurements and financial disciplines. The hotel industry is showing a cautious response to adapting advanced HCM software.
In fact, organisations who have not invested in HR software so far, may find a reason to wait as it has mostly intangible ROI associated with it. Sehgal concurs: “As hotels see no imminent need for advanced software, they may overlook the long-term advantages attached with it. However, I think the industry is slowly recognising its value and the demand will increase.”
Another hurdle for HR professionals is the implementation of HCM. Also, as HR practices vary from company to company, the software needs to be versatile enough to adapt to an organisation’s style of functioning without requiring extensive customisation and cost escalation.
Organisations need to continually look at their priorities and thus HCM application would continue to require active HR engagement.
Managing hotels is complex as it involves shifts, the patterns of work scheduling, specific skills sets, tracking of employees, and people management and coordination with several departments.
Traditional HR systems fail to address such requirements and that is one of the reasons some hospitality groups are adopting HCM as part of their overall ERP implementation, while others prefer to choose specific modules aligned to their specific needs.
As Debasmita Majumder, manager, international media, public relations and corporate communications, The Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts says: “As of now, the Leela uses only payroll software, however we are working towards installing similar software shortly. The Indian market for HCM software is gradually picking up, with companies used to MS Excel-based HR systems moving to adopt end-to-end HR Systems.
As the hotel industry is forced to recognise the importance of standardised HR systems – albeit with localised features – even hotels with small employee counts would be compelled to consider HCM software, though they may look at hosted HCM solutions that charge on a pay-per-use basis.
Arun Prasad, assistant manager, marketing, Adrenalin says: “A good HCM approach can achieve increased revenue and profit margins, as also prepare the organisation for a new economic and cultural shift.”
In fact, with fast emerging cutting-edge communication systems and information enriched processes HR departments are shifting focus from traditional functions to expanding their outlook where they can tap the potential of every employee, and ensure their performance is aligned with the company’s goals. Chandra opines: “In future, we can see a more aggressive adoption of strategic HCM processes that would be linked to a company’s business plan.”
