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The Ultimate Resource Collection

So, what is Human Resource Management?

Human resource management is all about your employees. It covers their rights, their training, their use in your business and their well -being. The whole subject covers an almost endless amount of topics to discuss so we are going to cover the basics to give you a fair understanding of how to utilise and develop your employees effectively.

We are going to discuss the following points:

1. Employing People.

2. Training & Development.

3. Bonuses & Retention.

4. Employee Rights & The Law.

1. Employing People.

To say it in the simplest way you want to hire the right people for the job. This may sound obvious, but how many times have you taken somebody on, only to find out later that they are in fact no good and lack the qualities you require? It would be a lot easier and more cost effective if you hired suitable people first time-every time. The points we want to raise about hiring people are:

• Decide what your requirements are before advertising for, or hiring staff. (Evaluate your structure and the staff you already have, what do you actually need? What can you afford? Can you restructure instead of taking somebody new on?
• Be specific with your advertising. (inform prospective candidates of the duties included and the experience/qualifications required for the post you are offering).
• Interview first. (don't just hire the first applicant, arrange and interview first to check their suitability, and collect references).
• Whatever you do-DON'T DISCRIMINATE, its illegal. (if an applicant possesses the required qualities to fill the position you are advertising then you cannot reject them just because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation-BE CAREFUL!
• Regret and offer letters. (it is common decency to inform candidates if they have not been successful, send them a regret letter. Similarly send successful applicants an offer letter containing details such as salary, start date and a job description).
• Inductions. (once you have selected your candidate and they have accepted your offer it is time to conduct the induction. This is when you should inform them about your business goals, objectives, rules and go through the contract of employment and staff handbook).
• Contracts of employment. A contract of employment should contain the following:

                              Details of Pay             Holiday Entitlement        Breaks and Meals on Duty  

                              Grievance and disciplinary Procedures              Maternity Pay and Leave

(These are merely examples and are in no way exhaustive).

• Staff Handbooks. (it is good practice to give your employees a staff handbook, as these contain all the information they will need to know to carry out their employment in-line with the regulations, rules and laws covering their workplace).

2. Training & Development.

If you want an efficient restaurant/pub or hotel with high standards then you must train your employees and develop their skills in order to maximise their potential and increase the level of service your customers receive. The individual areas included in your training plan will differ with your business, although the list below outlines the areas we feel all catering and hospitality staff should be trained in:

• Customer Care.

• Health & safety.

• Fire Safety.

• Food Hygiene.

• First Aid.

• Service Style & Technique.

• Up-Selling Techniques.

• Professional Training & Qualifications (BIIAB, NVQ etc)

3. Bonuses & Retention.

So you hired the right person for the job, now you need to keep them! Keeping good staff is very important to your business and its continuing growth and success, because if your team are all well-trained your standards remain high and your customers will enjoy the high level of service they receive. Plus by keeping your employees long term you reduce the costs of replacing them. Below is a list of things you can do to keep your employees happy:

• Introduce a bonus or incentive scheme. (this can be through sales performance, attendance, level of training achieved etc. It is a good way of getting your employees involved in your business and rewarding them for their hard work and effort, which in turn is good for your profits too!).

• Offer pay increases with length of service in your business.

• Provide a meal for your employees while they are on duty.

• Offer discounts for them for when they are not on duty.

• Provide subsidised taxi fares for them for late night finishes.

• Offer the opportunity for promotion and progression.

• Provide your employees with the opportunity to gain industry recognised qualifications.

• Be supportive of your employees.

• Communicate with your employees.

4. Employee Rights and the Law.

This is an area where a lot of people lack knowledge and understanding, and it is a very important area of running your business successfully. You should make it a priority to have a basic understanding of your employees' rights and your responsibilities to them. The list below has been created to highlight the relevant legislation that has been introduced to protect your employees' rights:

• The Minimum Wage Act.

• The Data Protection Act !984.

• Equal Opportunities-Various Legislation:

1. The Equal Pay Act 1970

2. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975

3. The Employment Protection (consolidation) Act 1978

4. The Trade Union and Employment Rights Act 1978

5. The Social Security Act 1993

6. The Race Relations Act 1976

• The Disabled Discrimination Act 1995

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

• COSHH

Please note that these Acts are updated and revised and as such may become out of date. We have only listed the main and original Acts, variations may exist.   

Staff Handbook

Induction Programme

Human Resources Documents