Hotel Human Resource Management and Knowledge Transfer

Perhaps I should have titled this article Human Resources Management, Knowledge Management, and how to enhance Knowledge Transfer. Let us imagine two hotels in the same destination, identical, with the same facilities, the same location, the same number of employees, the same processes and the same services. Ultimately, both are identical. Statistically, it is impossible for both hotels to achieve the same results. Let us suppose that Hotel A achieves better results than Hotel B. How can they differ? Clearly, the only thing that differentiates them is the people who make them up and deliver the service, and therefore the only factor influencing whether their results are better or worse. Naturally, a hotel is a service business and people deliver the service, so they are the only differentiating elements between the respective hotels. It is clear, then, that Hotel A has a competitive advantage over B, mainly because of its HR. In other words, HR are Intangible Assets. Does this mean that Hotel A has a better human resources policy than B? Juan would say yes, Javier would say no. I would say it depends. Let us continue imagining, and suppose that Hotel B decides to gradually hire away, by throwing money at them, the entire team from Hotel A. To do so, it has created an attractive salary policy, incentive schemes, pleasant working environments, career plans, and all those things consultants like, but which, if done properly, work. In the end, Hotel B has the team it previously had at Hotel B, and now it has the competitive advantages and the intangible assets are its own. A shame, because Hotel A had invested time and effort in training and motivating that team, who, traitors that they are, have gone to work for the competition. What has happened here? What Hotel A had invested in intangible assets is no longer theirs and, worse still, those assets now belong to the competition. In short: Intangible Assets are, at the same time, part of Intangible Liabilities. To what extent? To the extent that the hotel does not have strategic HR planning, and to the extent that the hotel is unable to retain and build loyalty among its team. Perhaps we simply need to find the right balance. Perhaps the key is not to invest in the entire team, or try to retain the entire team, but only those we strategically want to be part of our assets. As I said at the beginning, Knowledge Management, so that it flows throughout our team, and the enhancement of this knowledge transfer through our internal leaders, incentive policies, and so on, will help replicate and dilute the impact of those Intangible Liabilities, even when the person leaves for the hotel across the street, because the philosophy, knowledge and know-how remain and endure within our establishment.