Question

In the hospitality industry, is it necessary to consider overstaffing and understaffing for an idea similar to the one you are developing? Explain.

Answer 1

Understaffing is a situation where the actual number of staffs present in an organization is less than the required number of staffs. At the same time when there is an excess presence of staffs in a firm, it is known as overstaffing. Forecasting the actual number of staffs required in an organization is one of the most important that is to be taken care of in the strategic planning of human resource management. Too many employees increases the cost to company as well as cause confusion and reduce the profitability of a company, whereas when the number of staff is less, the ability to serve the current customers reduces, thus again leading to the reduction of profitability.

                Hospitality industry is all about the services which are offered by an organization with the help of the employees working in that firm, Be it a restaurant, hotel, resort, theme parks, event planners, travel services like cruise line etc. The importance of trained staffs is very significant in this industry.

Some after effects of Overstaffing and understaffing in the hospitality industry is as discussed below:

1. When understaffing occurs, quality of service is compromised. With fewer employees, the work has to be handled fast and thus there are chances of increased errors. Poor quality time diminishes the quality of the service offered by the organization. In case of restaurant and all, floor coverage could not be maintained and also the time lag for offering service will increase.
2. Stress to the employees is increased with understaffing. Existing employees are to take up more responsibility. In order to meet the performance expectations, they will have to strive harder. This takes a toll on the mental and physical health of the employees.
3. There are chances of missing the opportunities for growth of the firm when the number of staffs is lesser than actually required. The reputation of the firm could also be lost in the hospitality industry and growth to new markets could also be hindered.
4. Ambiguous work profile for employees is a major issue in overstaffing. When there are more number of employees to do the same thing, staffs get confused as to what are they actually supposed to do.
5. Too many cook spoil the broth is a widespread proverb. This is applicable in case of firms in hospitality industry with overstaffing issues. When a staff does one thing, there are chances that another staff repeats the same thing if the work profile of the staffs is not clear.
6. Increased cost to the company for employing staffs that are is actually not required for the operations is another issue faced by firms with overstaffing. Paying them monthly increases the operating expenses of the company.