HRM strategies and labour turnover in the hotel industry

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 9:1 February 1998

HRM strategies and labour turnover in the hotel industry: A comparative study of Australia and Singapore

Angeline Cheng and Alan Brown
Abstract This study explores the perceptions of HR managers on the strategic management of labour tumover in a selection of large hotels in Australia and Singapore,
The main argument is that the effects of labour tumover can be mitigated with strategically managed human resources through the four key HR activities. The hotel industries in both Singapore and Australia revealed a comparable range of HR policies and practices being adopted, with an explicit recognition of the contribution an organization 's human resources have on the bottom-line. There was a clear convergence towards minimizing tumover primarily through the recruitment, selection and induction processes. This was despite fundamental social, economic and labour differences between
Singapore and Australia,
Keywords

Human resources, HR functions, labour tumover, hotel industry

Introduction
In recent years, there has been widening recognition that human resource management
(HRM) strategies impact on an organization 's perfomiance and bottom-line results, contributing to overall effectiveness (Nankervis and Debrah, 1995). Particularly in the service industry, the effective utilization of human resources can give an organization its competitive edge (Schneider and Bowen, 1993). This has led to an increased interdependency of corporate strategy with human resource management (HRM), By effectively linking HRM with organizational objectives and needs, human resources can be recruited, developed, motivated and retained towards gaining a competitive advantage, i.e. strategic HRM.
In this unique industry, that essentially comprises both a production and a service aspect, both the creation and the rendering of services from the hotel to the customer are primarily achieved

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