Competencies In Hospitality Industry | Rabindra Nath & Rajat Raheja |

In the given business scenario it is becoming imperative that each of players in the hotel industry consciously work towards achieving and maintaining differential positioning based on service standards. However any process improvements or innovative ideas set by the leaders are constantly copied by the ?me-too? players thus providing only diminishing returns to them. This puts considerable pressure on the leaders to constantly upgrade service standards in the organization. Hence the key question remains how to continuously drive the desired behavior in the organization where service standard is the key to survival. One important factor in driving the desired behaviours in the organization is how the changed strategy, processes and innovative ideas are implemented and communicated down the line. This is of critical importance as change in the job role due to changed processes needs a different competency requirement on part of the job incumbents leading to different skill sets and performance measurement standards. Here arises the need for a common thread that would run across all HR systems, and can help to drive and measure behaviour of an employee. Competency based approach focuses on how an employee creates value and what is actually accomplished and has thus provided a much needed lynch-pin to link all HR systems in the organization that will help drive and reinforce desired behaviour. However the key here is how the competencies are mapped and implemented. The success really depends on the time, effort and commitment on the part of the top management to drive such an initiative. Hence before taking a plunge, it is important for the top management to deliberate on the reasons for opting for competency-based approach and tools to be used for competency mapping.