Task 1: Know how human resources are managed

In this report, I will investigate ways in which a selected business manages its existing
human resources, relating to things such as targets, levels of formality and maintenance
of operation.

For this report, I have chosen The Boat Inn. The Boat Inn is a local pub and restaurant
with a small number of employees and various functions.

Staffing to meet changing business demands is a management strategy that may involve
hiring more to cope with growth, or to make redundancies. A business may want to hire
people with particular speciality or skill that will be beneficial to their job function, such
as knowledge in ICT. The Boat Inn pub/restaurant manages its existing human resources
by staffing to meet changing business demand. If there is a lot of business, they will have
to hire more staff in order to deal with the large amount of customers. They do this pro-
actively as they hire part-time before the Christmas season. They do this by putting ads in
the local paper and a sign up at the bar. As ICT equipment has changed, the employees
have required the training in order to use things such as electronic tills. The change to the
daily running of the business is limited but affects employees through training and
improved systems.

Co-ordination of team resources involves managing teams in order to be more

productive. This includes making sure there is a good manager to staff ratio, or making
sure orders go through without communications delays. Staff planning involves making
sure that there is a good spread of staff throughout locations and times; that there are
waiters reaching each table as soon as possible, and that there is a rota so an adequate
amount of staff on each day. At busy times such as Sunday lunch time and Fridays,
employees are managed so that more employees are working, and shifts are appropriate.
Team resources are co-ordinated in order to meet targets such as keeping customer
waiting time down and improving quality of service. This includes setting procedures for
number of table bookings. Food orders go straight through to the kitchen and meals are
then delivered to the tables. There are enough people trained in order to cover sickness
and holidays, so the business will not suffer serious consequences from shortness of staff.
Team performance is monitored by the Pub manager. New employees are monitored by
existing personnel until they are confident in their tasks.

Monitoring of human resources involves formal types, such as CRB checks, absence
levels and sickness levels. Businesses have a policy to deal with absenteeism etc. that
employees must be aware of. Informal monitoring involves the employer making subtle
judgements and trying to correct or improve a human problem before firing. It must be
done sensitively and is to achieve workforce optimisation. The Boat Inn manager will
make informal warnings on issues such as lateness before firing. A formal warning will
be given in the event of redundancy or sacking with good reason. Informal monitoring
involves the manager overseeing the work of employees. They may set team targets, ie
targets for each shift for no. of customers dealt with. They may have personal
development targets for new staff.
Liaison with other departments is the communication between areas of a business. Good
communication is vital to maintain a successful business. At The Boat Inn, liaison is all
done in person due to the size of the business. The kitchen liaison with the manager on
stock levels, for re-ordering on time. The kitchen and outside eating areas may need good
liaison to ensure meals get to the customer quickly and efficiently.

Establishment of professional culture involves levels of formality. This includes a purple

labelled t-shirt as uniform they manage lateness and punctuality. Separation of
professional from private activities is managing staff so that employees with relations
aren’t on the same team if it’s going to effect productivity. Provision of appropriate
incentives could include providing company breaks or events, or staff rewards. The Boat
Inn does not have any additional incentives or goals for the employees, although tips are
kept by the employee serving the customer. Separating professional from private
activities includes staff not socialising unprofessionally whilst at work and not on break.
The Boat Inn management does not allow socialising with customers whilst there is work
to be done.

Encouragement of creativity and initiative is management to increase employee

motivation and may help to decrease requirement for team managers by allowing
employees to solve problems and think things out for themselves. Problem solving can
involve kaizen principle. This involves everyone seeking to make improvements so that
the quality of the product or service can continually improve. Applying this method or
not depends on the culture and structure of the organisation. The Boat staff may be
encouraged to be creative in producing meals to give a better appearance to the dish to
improve sales.

Managing outsourcing is using external companies to perform functions, in order to

better reach an objective, such as cutting costs. This is achieved because internal workers
require costs such as retirement pay, sick pay or possibility of compensation. With
outsourcing, the external company pays for these things. With The Boat Inn, decisions
are made internally as outsourcing is more costly in this case. They may have considered
outsourcing cleaning as specialised cleaners could work faster and more efficiently than
general staff, and are less costly and risky than managing their own cleaners.
Maintenance of operation involves adequate resources to meet tasks.
The Boat Inn gets job adverts publicised and puts up a notice in order to re-hire when
there is an increased demand for staff, such as in a busy season or from an expansion.
They require food and ingredients in stock, as well as drinks and equipment. They are
ordered by management and assistant management. The kitchen has a budget for each
meal to keep profitable.

Some equipment is required by law, such as provisions in compliance with the Health
and Safety at Work ect. Act. Adequate safety equipment is required. Requirements for
new equipment arise from re-hiring and changes to law. The Boat Inn is managed in that
a new requirement is reported to the manager and an order is placed accordingly.
Rehiring includes the need for reordering the uniform t-shirt with company name. The
employees of The Boat Inn require safety equipment. There is a fire extinguisher in the
building and safety equipment in the kitchen. Other equipment is required for the
operation of the business, such as ovens, utensils and tables. These supplies are
maintained by management.

Working capitol is the budget available for the daily costs that may arise. It is calculated
by current assets minus current liabilities. Influences include the level of sales made,
payments made and inflation. The Boat Inn has a small working capitol for minor repairs
or replacements. Orders are made by the manager, with regular monitoring of kitchen
supplies. Management monitor the working capitol to make sure they have enough for
bills. They may arrange trade credit for supplies.

Facilities involve the entire physical infrastructure required to integrate, operate and
maintain equipment. In order to facilitate the chef’s job, there is adequate storage for
ingredients and equipment, as well as sinks and work area. These may be governed by
legal requirements such as in Health and Safety at Work act. Facilities may be for staff as
well as customers. The boat inn has toilet facilities for customers and staff. They have
hand washing facilities for staff.

Administration is a group of functions that provide performance information, monitor

functions, troubleshooting and problem solving. Problem-solving may be pro-active or
reactive. Kaizen is proactive. Fire fighting is reactive and involves solving problems as
they arise in order of urgency. With the Boat Inn, administration is maintained by the
manager and assistant manager. Problems with new employees may be solved by the
supervising employee or the manager personally.