Align Management News Digest

May 2005

Tourism sector promotes HR to improve reputation

THE tourism sector, famous plans to improve the treatment of its employees and escape from a reputation for long working hours, poor pay and conditions and casual employment.

Failte Ireland, the domestic tourism agency, has launched a human resource strategy aimed at getting hotel and hospital managers to adopt modern personnel practices and treat their workers properly.

Chief executive, Shaun Quinn warned the sector firms that they will need to hire an additional 30,000 workers over the next four years. He said that the Irish tourism industry is dominated by smaller family-run businesses where pressures of work and rigid training structures hinder staff and management development.

The intention is, with Government and EU funds, to train 5,000 owners and managers in how to treat their staff and improve the skills of a targeted 10,000 employees in smaller firms. Mr Quinn added that 44,000 of the full and part-time workers in the tourism sector are now from outside Ireland accounting for over one-fifth of the total workers.

Recent cases at the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Equality Tribunal have highlighted some incidences of exploitation in the sector. The report indicates that even in those companies prepared to invest in staff training they often lack skills in managing and motivating their human resources.

Studies for the National Centre for Partnership and Performance highlighted the gaps in management competencies in the tourism sector despite its heavy reliance on people interacting with visitors. Hospitality business were found to have high stress levels and low staff commitment compared with other sectors and employments.

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