People - The Fifth 'p'

8/7/2019 People - The Fifth 'p'

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PEOPLEPEOPLE -- THE FIFTH PTHE FIFTH P

The Objective of this Lesson is to have aninsight into

A. Importance of Employees in service

marketingB. Role of employees in service marketing

C. Staff selection and recruitment

D. Training and DevelopmentE. HRM Issues


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A.A. Importance of Employees in service marketingImportance of Employees in service marketing

y In todays competitive environment, organizations in all industries

have been forced to realize the importance of customer care andits key role in strategy. Nowhere is this more vital than in servicesmarketing.

y The inseparable nature of services means that the humanelement forms an intrinsic part of the service package.

y People as the fifth element in the services marketing mix applies

not only to service personnel, but also recognizes the role thatother people - the customers - play in service delivery. Sometimesthe role of the customer is an important part of the service itself,as in education,

y Management of people within the organization is a key task. Theorganizations staff are its prime resource, and human resources

management is the professional approach to finding anddeveloping the right people.

y Employees need to understand their role in the service exchange,and human resources management provides the programs andstrategies to ensure the highest standards of customer care


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B.B. The Role of the Employee in Services MarketingThe Role of the Employee in Services Marketing

y The role of the employee in services marketing varies according

to the situation and the level of interaction. It depends on thedegree of tangibility of a service. The level of contact can bedetermined by classifying the service according to whether it is alabor-intensive (people-based) service or an equipment-basedservice, as follows:

y High Contact

People-based services: Education, dental and medical care,restaurants

y LOW Contact

Equipment-based services: Automatic car wash, launderette,vending machine, cinema

y Additionally, people-based services can be further broken downin terms of the expertise and skills of the service provider:

y Professional: Medical and legal services, accountancy, tutoring

y Non-professional: Babysitting, care taking, casual labor

This illustrates the variety which exists in the roles of people in

service provision.


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These different roles may be grouped intothe following broad categories:

y Primary - where the service is actuallycarried out by the service provider, e.g.dentists, hairdressers.

y Facilitating - where employees facilitatethe service transaction and participate init, e.g. bank counter staff, waiters, hotel

porters.

y

Ancillary - where the employee helps tocreate the service exchange but then isnot part of it, e.g. travel agents, insurancebrokers, equipment hire.


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C.C. Staff selection and recruitmentStaff selection and recruitmenty Employees and potential employees are customers of the

organizations internal market and their needs and wants shouldbe considered in the same light as those of external clients.

Approaches and techniques for recruitment, the basic steps are as

follows:

Preliminary stage

y

Identification of vacancy (may be a new post or replacement0.y Develop job profile - review job description and person

specification. The person specification can be adapted to place

emphasis on customer and service orientation, a desirable or

even essential quality for all jobs.

y

Consider internal sourcesy Consider using specialist recruitment agency

y Advertise - internally and externally

y Process applications

y Screen applications for shortlist


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Selection stage

y Arranging interviews; venue, timing, date

y Determine process for selection; formal/informalinterviews use of pre-selection test,

presentations

y Conducting interviews

y Testingy Offer / Acceptance

y Formal appointment

y Follow-up stage

y Induction

y Training

y Ongoing staff development and appraisal.


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Requirements for the Job

y Service employees frequently have

significant personal contact with customersand responsibility for satisfactory servicedelivery lies on the individuals shoulders.

Basic requirements should be identified asa starting point and may include:

y Qualifications / technical knowledge

y

Ability, specialist skills and aptitudey Experience

y Personality and personal attributes

y Physical characteristics


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Recruitment issues in the service sector

y Certain services have special aspects, which may impact onrecruitment. The so-called caring professions are an

example. Many caring services operate in traditionally low-paid sectors so a sense of vocation and commitment maybe desirable personal attributes e.g. Charity Organizations

y Some services obviously require staff with certainqualifications, such as teachers and lawyers. The degree of

specialization required will govern the potentialmarketplace for recruits. In a situation where demand forcertain skills outstrips supply, which sometimes occurs, orin highly specialized areas, a different approach torecruitment may need to be found, such as in-servicetraining for potential applicants, to bring them to the

required standard.y The rate of legislative changes, for example, affecting

organizations in the public sector brought about bycompulsory competitive tendering, privatization and theintroduction of a quality culture geared to customer care

has led to different personnel requirements.


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Staff development takes training a stage further. It

should be ongoing, and form an integral part of the

employees progress, incorporating areas such as the

following:

y Functional training: specific job skills, technical

skills

y Personal development: assertiveness training,

study for formal qualifications Organizational

development (cross-functional): quality

initiatives, customer care programs, corporate

mission awareness

y Appraisal systems: incorporating both

employee and employer feedback


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E. HRM IssuesE. HRM Issuesy When the people in an organization represent its most valuable asset, then the

task of looking after those people is equally important as financial, operations ormarketing management.

y The responsibilities of human resources managers include the

following:

y Recruitment and selection

y

Training and developmenty Setting up new modes of operation, e.g. quality circles

y Management of change

y Team briefings, communications strategies

y Staff suggestion schemes

y Internal communications

y Administration (pensions, insurance)

y Appraisal schemes


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y Pay structures

y Staff development and support

y Trade Union liaison

y Conditions of service

y Discipline and grievance procedures

y Termination issues (redundancy, ill-health) Capability

y Additionally, human resources management plays a very

central role within an organization. If the human resource

task is to be handled effectively, managers need: A

thorough understanding of the needs of the directors,

managers and employees throughout the organization

y

Clear identification with organizational goals and objectivesy Understanding of the needs and wants of external

customers

y Close co-operation with other functional managers.


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y In practical terms, there are a number of ways in which

these wide-ranging aspects of human resources

management can be translated into effective

strategies for service organizations.

An action plan can be designed along the

following lines:

y

Organizational Objectivesy Recruitment

y Induction

y Appraisal and Review

y Training and Development

y Pay Structure and Benefits

y Quality

People - The Fifth 'p'

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