CASE STUDY: Creating Client-Centric HR: HR at Your Service
Saying “we serve our clients” is one thing, but benchmark hospitality and service organizations make this commitment real in everything they say, write, and do. Service-oriented HR departments have learned what makes them valuable in the eyes of managers and their employees. They learn what their clients need, want, and expect from and then demonstrate that the HR solutions they produce are cost-effective, making HR’s service meaningful and memorable. Knowing the behavior and actions that make a service encounter with HR a memorable experience is what differentiates the HR department that has influence in crucial decisions from one that is merely “there” in the organization. You will learn how you can apply the lessons learned from these benchmark companies to better serve your employees and customers and how HR can enhance its influence on an organization’s mission and business goals through client-centric actions and activities.
Gary P. Latham
Gary Latham teaches courses in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour. His research includes employee motivation, performance appraisal and training. Latham currently has a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant to investigate the use of goal setting theory as a basis for enhancing transfer of training. Latham is also examining ways of increasing organizational justice and organizational citizenship in the workplace.
Robert C. Ford
Robert C. Ford (Ph.D.-Arizona State University) is Professor of Management at the University of Central Florida's College of Business Administration (CBA). He joined UCF in 1993 as Chair of the Department of Hospitality Management after serving on the faculty of the University of North Florida and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also served the College for five years as Associate Dean for Graduate and External Programs. As a productive scholar, Bob has authored or co-authored 150 articles, chapters, and presentations and ten books on organizational issues, human resources, and services management especially as they apply to health care and hospitality. His books include texts on Principles of Management, Organization Theory, Managing Quality Service in Hospitality, and Achieving Service Excellence as well as practitioner focused books, The Fun Minute Manager and HR at Your Service. Dr. Ford has also been an active professional serving the Academy of Management as its Director of Placement, Editor of the Academy of Management Executive, and Chair for both the Management History and the Management Education and Management Development Divisions. In addition, he has been the chair of the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration, board member of Destination Management Accreditation Program, and President of the Southern Management Association. He is a Fellow of the Southern Management Association and the recipient of its Distinguished Service Award.