In a tourist entity, accommodation is the so-called “constitutional operation,” since it comprises structurally and functionally the reception services, attention during the stay and farewell to the guest. Motivated among other factors by the need to efficiently manage the accommodation area of a tourist entity, the design of a Human Capital Management System (SGCH) has been promoted to serve as a dynamic instrument, given its ability to integrate and manage services of excellence, effective and efficient that, as a tourism product, are developed in hospitality activities.
Introduction
In recent years, efforts to achieve an increasingly efficient management of tourist accommodation entities have intensified, with the purpose of a more adequate orientation towards customer satisfaction and optimal use of the benefits provided by its development, which are becoming more and more evident every day. In Cuba, the tourism sector is identified as the locomotive of the economy, due to its effect on the rest of the sectors. In this sense, it is necessary to establish a management approach and / or mechanism that consciously and stable ensures high levels of quality in the management of accommodation in hotel entities in correspondence with the values and principles that make up the organizational culture and the guidance in Decree - Law 252/2007. Therefore, a practical SGCH is needed, which allows to diagnose, evaluate and explain, in a comprehensive way, the procedures,methods and organization of the work of the accommodation area and in turn make pertinent decisions for the gradual improvement of the results in terms of internal and external clients with the need to obtain a gradual improvement, which contributes to the positive increase of the indicators of the accommodation area.
Development
The SGCH: definition and description.
The objective of the Cuban business improvement process is to guarantee the implementation of a Direction and Management System in Cuban state companies that achieves a significant organizational change within them and comprehensively manage the systems that compose it. (Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba 2007).
The Integrated Human Capital Management System is the set of policies, objectives, goals, responsibilities, regulations, functions, procedures, tools, and techniques that allow the internal integration of the external and human capital management processes with the strategy of the company, through job skills, superior job performance and increased work productivity. (Morales 2006)
The actual value of an SGCH.
With the design of a SGCH, the accommodation area will be able to fully manage the activities related to managers, technicians and workers. (Martínez and Herrera, 2000). This purpose has to be achieved as a result of a systemic approach and in coordination with all the factors that intervene in ensuring a true human capital management (HCM). The SGCH makes possible the organizational bases for the improvement of the administration in the hotel, provided that it responds to the realities and needs of the specific entity and constitutes the methodological basis for the improvement of the labor policy and the HCG that every organization that aspires to to be competitive.
The SGCH, which is proposed in this research, concentrates what is traditionally managed separately (in areas such as personnel, training, personnel controls, salary administration, hygiene and occupational safety, etc.), in a system where the center It is the man and where the plans and actions interact with each other and with the rest of the company's management systems.
Description of a specific Design for the management of human capital in the accommodation area of a tourist entity.
SGCH objectives in the accommodation area of a tourist entity.
1. Guarantee excellence in the service process as an essential factor in the development of business activity, through the employment of suitable and qualified administrators and workers.
2. Guarantee the development and implementation of human capital policies in the area.
3. Diagnose the organizational and structural changes that are required in the area and contribute to perfecting the management methods and styles in order to promote greater participation, commitment, creative spirit and motivation of all workers for the formation of their own organizational culture from the hotel accommodation area.
4. Prepare the accommodation area so that it is able to react quickly and efficiently to changes in the environment and the quantitative and qualitative demands of human capital.
5. Execute in a comprehensive and orderly manner all the work of entry, permanence and exit of the workers of the area on normative, organizational bases and scientifically based procedures.
Processes and sub-processes that make up the SGCH proposed for the accommodation area of a tourist entity.
The proposed SGCH is made up of the processes of the activity that do not correspond to organizational units or areas, but rather represent spheres of action that must be developed and that are closely interrelated. The processes and sub-processes are defined as shown in table 1.
Table 1: Processes and sub-processes that make up the SGCH (Source: Own elaboration)
I. Personnel entry process to the hotel accommodation area.
Ensures, with the required transparency, the incorporation of suitable personnel to the hotel's accommodation area based on the defined employment policy, based on the strategic planning of human capital, ensuring a transparent recruitment and selection process, based on the job design and socio-psychological techniques, as well as the hiring and induction processes of workers.
Importance: It projects the satisfaction of human resources needs of the accommodation area in correspondence with its development strategy, establishing the entire process of recruitment, selection and induction on scientifically founded normative and organizational bases.
Goals:
1- Guarantee transparency and quality in the process of entering the area through the application of appropriate techniques.
2- Project the supply and demand needs of the workforce based on the development strategy of the area and the characteristics of the environment.
3- Define the design of positions and jobs in correspondence with the specific characteristics of the accommodation area.
4- Guarantee the incorporation to the area of the best and most prepared workers, based on compliance with the defined employment policy and the procedures defined in the recruitment, selection, hiring and induction processes of personnel.
1.1. Strategic planning sub-process of the human resources necessary for the area:
Process of determining in advance the needs of human resources in correspondence with the development strategy and the objectives established for the fulfillment of the mission of the accommodation area, based on studies carried out by specialized institutions and specialists of the entity.
Importance: It projects the satisfaction of the rational needs of personnel in the area by combining internal factors; including the characteristics of the job, with external ones linked to the organization's environment.
Goals:
1- Determine the personnel needs of the accommodation area based on the strategic objectives established for the fulfillment of the mission and the defined vision.
2- Elaborate and efficiently execute the policy of substitutions, replacements, promotions in the short, medium and long term, based on studies of the flow or movement of personnel, existing potentials as well as the results of the performance evaluation.
1.2. Job design and analysis sub-process.
Design of positions: It includes the analysis, description and profiles of positions which will be determined by the specific environment in which the area under study is carried out.
Job analysis: Process for determining and communicating information regarding the functions, activities and conditions of these, as well as the skills, knowledge, capacities and responsibilities required of the people who perform it.
Importance: It constitutes the organizational base of the work processes of production and services through which compliance with the requirements for admission and the performance evaluation of all personnel is measured.
Goals:
1. Determine the best recruiting sources and methods.
2. Provide specifications for the selection process.
3. Establish personnel induction programs.
4. Help and compose better working relationships.
5. Orient training in its two aspects (training and development)
6. Evaluate the performance of workers with the permanent updating required by the new technology.
7. Create the bases for future studies to improve stimulation.
1.3 Sub-process of recruitment, selection, hiring, and induction of workers in the accommodation area.
Recruitment or recruitment: Process that integrates the informative, attraction and attention-seeking activities that allow increasing the possibilities of choosing and attracting better qualified personnel and with greater possibilities of integrating the area under study.
Selection Sub-process: Decision of the committees of specialists and administrators to choose among the recruited personnel, those who are in better conditions in relation to the design of the job (profesiogram), depending on the interests of the area in question.
Hiring Sub-process : Regulates the procedure between the worker and the administration, both committing to fulfill the duties and rights contained in the legislation, in the collective bargaining agreement or in the worker's contract.
Induction or familiarization sub-process: Tasks that guarantee the assimilation by the worker of the mission, the values and the particular characteristics of each area and their adequate adaptation to the job.
Importance: Covers source localization activities; recruitment of candidates; the entry into the company, area and job position, as a result of a process of analyzing the correspondence between the characteristics of the candidates and the demands of the position.
Goals:
1. Guarantee the entry into the company of the best workers from the integral point of view in relation to the design of the job.
2. Establish employment contracts in the interests of the employer and the workers.
3. Guarantee a process of induction or familiarization for a better adaptation of the worker in his company, area and job.
II. Process of permanence and promotion of personnel:
It is responsible for the maintenance, permanence, development and promotion of human resources with a view to achieving excellent performance based on a high qualification and professionalism with an individual and collective compensation system according to the results, through rational working methods and management, as well as safety, health, discipline, working conditions in an adequate work environment.
Importance: It is made up of all those procedures that make individualities grow within and for the body, its entities and facilities.
Goals:
1- Develop the knowledge, techniques and attitudes that guarantee the improvement of the work methods and systems towards a greater professionalism of the personnel in the area and the quality of the service.
2- Provide continuous improvement of performance from the evaluation of work results and the fulfillment of individual and collective objectives with the participation and involvement of staff at all levels.
3- Provide the personnel with the necessary means and resources to guarantee the safety, hygiene and performance of the work effectively and efficiently, in accordance with compliance with the rules and principles established by the labor regime and discipline for each entity, in a climate oriented to the fulfillment of the objectives defined in the short, medium and long term.
2.1 Sub-process of organization of work and administration of the accommodation area.
Process of establishing the forms, methods and systems of work for the workers, as well as the structures and templates of positions of the accommodation area.
Importance: The processes, methods and techniques used to organize the services, work and administration of the area, taking into account its own characteristics and the prevailing organizational culture, have special relevance.
Goals:
1- Evaluate the organizational structure and position templates of the area, adapting them to the demands of the mission, vision and defined strategies.
2- Perfect the organization of workers' work based on the organization and quality of the service processes that are carried out in the accommodation area.
3- Establish the objectives to be achieved by each group and each worker in the different stages of work in correspondence with the specific objectives of the area.
4- Strengthen teamwork as a way to achieve the participation and involvement of all staff in fulfilling the mission and objectives of the area.
5- Distribute functions to groups and individuals considering their complexity and importance and the requirements of job design.
2.2 Sub-process of discipline and labor relations in the area.
Set of actions aimed at achieving an adequate work environment, in safe working conditions and discipline, where workers fully participate in the fulfillment of the mission and vision of the area through effective communication and the correct role of managers and middle managers.
Importance: It establishes the disciplinary rules to be fulfilled, both by the administrative part and by the workers through adequate communication and labor relations of respect, mutual help and trust between both.
Goals:
1- Develop an organizational culture based on the participation and involvement of human resources in key processes and activities, which through techniques and work styles allow a creative spirit to contribute, do and strengthen the sense of responsibility, commitment, permanence and loyalty to the accommodation area.
2- Regulate the norms and principles that determine the behavior of workers.
2.3 Sub-process of safety, health and working conditions:
Set of means and resources necessary to guarantee the safety, hygiene and working conditions required in each job in the area.
Importance: The working conditions in which managers, technicians and workers carry out their functions, as well as their health, contribute greatly to the fulfillment of the mission and objectives of the area with effectiveness, efficiency and quality.
Goals:
1. Establish the necessary measures and standards to meet the objectives and perform the tasks within the corresponding occupational health and safety standards, preserving the health of the personnel.
2- Guarantee the necessary means and resources, according to availability, to achieve the objective or fulfill the task with effectiveness, efficiency and quality in each position and job in the area.
2.4. Sub-process of training and development of human resources in the hotel accommodation area.
Process that allows the training and theoretical-practical improvement of human resources, enabling the development of skills, knowledge and attitudes in order to make the most of the potential of the staff and the satisfaction of the workers.
Importance: It addresses the process of training, career development, updating and recycling of all personnel, in correspondence with the general needs arising from the strategic objectives, the projection and renewal of the managers, the determination of deficiencies and insufficiencies in business and individual performance and interests.
Goals:
1- Provide the accommodation area with highly qualified human resources in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors that express and reflect the values of the organization, to raise the level of competitiveness of the area and turn it into the main competitive advantage.
2- Guarantee the training and development of personnel, based on a comprehensive system that raises the level of quality, effectiveness and efficiency of the final results and the level of professionalism of the workers.
3- Maintain the preparation and updating of managers and workers in general on the basis of scientific, technological and organizational changes that occur.
4- Achieve changes in human behavior to develop in workers a feeling of belonging towards the area and the company in general, improve interpersonal relationships and develop their own culture that characterizes and distinguishes the staff who work in accommodation.
2.5. Sub-process of evaluation of the performance of the personnel of the area:
Process of measuring the degree to which each worker maintains his suitability and meets the objectives of the position or job he performs (effectiveness), as well as the way in which he uses his resources to achieve those objectives (efficiency).
Importance: It allows to objectively determine how the evaluated person has fulfilled the objectives of the stage, the responsibilities and functions of the job, helping to satisfy the needs of the area and individualities.
Goals:
1- Contribute to the fulfillment of the objectives of the group in its relationship with those of the company and provide an evaluation on the fulfillment of them and of the functions of the design of the position.
2- Periodically assess the importance and significance of the contributions and results of each worker and the groups, jointly analyzing the necessary corrective actions for their own benefit and that of the area.
3- Estimate the performance of the evaluated and precisely determine the effective benefits for the evaluated and for the area.
2.6 Sub-process of remuneration and stimulation of workers in the area.
Process through which administrators and workers receive tangible and intangible assets in correspondence with the results achieved in individual and collective work.
Importance: It helps to guarantee the satisfaction of the workers and has a direct impact on the productivity and efficiency levels of the workforce.
Goals:
1- Stimulate a satisfactory performance both individually and collectively.
2- Contribute to the satisfaction of the material and spiritual needs of administrators, technicians and workers with their level of performance.
3- To achieve a balance between the forms of recognition and material and moral stimulation.
III. Process of discharge or termination of the employment relationship in the area:
Completion of the worker's employment relationship with the area, this may occur at the request of the administration or the worker in accordance with current labor legislation and the established contract terms.
Importance: It allows the departure of the company, of the personnel who have lost the suitability and aptitude to remain in it, or who prefer to do so voluntarily. Retirement is a special case in which links can be maintained, taking advantage of the experiences of these workers.
Goals:
1. Guarantee compliance with the rules, procedures and laws in force that establish the causes and reasons for the closing of the employment contract.
IV. Audit and control process of human capital management in the area:
Process in charge of evaluating the operation of the SGCH as a whole, each one of the processes and sub-processes allowing feedback and improvement of the entire administration process.
Importance: The audit verifies compliance by administrators with the legal norms and regulations established for work with personnel of all categories and the control verifies the operation of the processes and sub-processes that make up the SGCH, through the corresponding indicators.
Goals:
1- Diagnose the normative and technical state of human resources with a view to providing elements and corrective actions that allow improving work with staff.
2- Feedback the SGCH in such a way that it allows to have an advance vision of the needs for changes in the processes, sub-processes and procedures in accordance with the development of the company and its interaction with the environment.
3- Delimit the levels of responsibility for each activity and level in the achievement of the objectives, the application of the policies and work procedures with the staff and the development of the SGCH, to guide an action plan that allows correcting the deviations detected and project the maintenance of the system based on the changes generated by the environment.
4.1 Human capital audit sub-process.
Procedure by which compliance by administrators with the rules, established legal regulations and provisions for work with established managers, technicians and workers is verified.
Importance: Checks the degree to which administrators comply with the provisions for working with staff, allowing the necessary corrections to be made.
Goals:
1- Diagnose the degree of efficiency with which human resources are managed in the area and propose corrective measures in accordance with current legislation and the entity's disciplinary regulations.
4.2. SGCH control thread for the accommodation area:
Process through which it is verified to what extent the administrators comply with the objectives of each of the processes and sub-processes that make up the SGCH for the area, as well as the level of interrelation between them that guarantee the coherence and comprehensiveness of the system.
Importance: It allows the necessary feedback for the maintenance and improvement of the SGCHE as a whole as well as each of the processes and sub-processes that comprise it.
Goals:
1- Guarantee an integrating vision of the SGCH as a whole in the work at the different levels of the area.
2- Provide feedback to the system in such a way as to detect the needs for changes in policies, procedures and ways of acting in relation to human capital. For each of the processes and sub-processes that make up the SGCH for the entity's accommodation area, the corresponding methodological documents, their main characteristics, procedures and techniques for the correct application of the Capital Management System must be prepared by specialists. Proposed human.
Conclusions
1- The SGCH designed constitutes the cornerstone for the improvement of human capital and becomes an effective tool for management in the accommodation area.
2- The degree of contribution of the SGCH to improving the performance of human capital for the accommodation area of a tourist entity is evident.
3- The partial results of the research demonstrate the feasibility and real contribution of the SGCH to the development and management of human capital for the entity's accommodation area, in order to provide an excellent tourism product with the improvement of human capital that is the main responsible for offering it.
Bibliography
1. Council of State of the Republic of Cuba (2007) On the continuity and strengthening of the Cuban business management and management system. Decree - Law 252 of August 7, 2007. 8pp.
2. Davenport, Thomas O. (2000) Human Capital. Creating competitive advantages through people. Chapter 2. Spain. Edit. Gestión 2000 SA. P. 37-65.
3. De Miguel Guzmán, Margarita (2006) Technology for comprehensive planning of human resources. Application in hotel entities of the Holguín destination. Holguín University. Thesis of Scientific Degree of Doctor in Technical Sciences. 100pp.
4. Martínez Martínez, Carlos Cristóbal (2008) Human resources management system: characterization for its application in companies. Gestiopolis Electronic Magazine. Available at:
5. Martínez Martínez, Carlos Cristóbal and Herrera Lemus Katy C. (2000, February) Human resource management system: characterization for its application in companies. Cienega Studies Magazine No. I University of Guadalajara, Ocotlán, Jalisco, Mexico, pp. 129-152.
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