Journal of Hotel and Business Management
Open Access

Employees Motivation and Financial Performance of Hotel Business projects in Rwanda A case Study of Hill-Top Hotel and Country Club

Mudahemuka William^1* and Ibrahim Osman Sesay^{2 *}Correspondence: Mudahemuka William, Department of Business Management, University of Tourism, Rwanda, Liberia, Email:

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Introduction

Job stress is an increasing problem for employees in western industrialized societies particularly the US. Workplace stress can lead to increased health/medical costs, high rates of absenteeism and turnover, more accidents and worse performance. He insisted that the stress of employees can cause worse performance. In the study of factors that affect hotel employees motivation in Turkey, states that employee performance and efficiency are among the factors that affect the success of these hotel businesses. Motivation of employees can be classified into two groups external and internal factors. External factors are motivation based on working conditions, wages, company image, job guarantee, promotion, social environment and status. Internal factors can be defined as providing employee satisfaction over business responsibility, ensuring opportunities for career shows that it has employee’s job satisfaction. Titled motivation and job performance among state government employees in Malaysia, the study aims to investigate the relationship between motivations towards state government employees. Power motivation may be viewed either negatively or positively. For the success of any organization, motivation plays an important role. State that all organization encounters the matter of motivation whether they are in the public or private sector. Motivation word is derived from motive. The meaning of motive is the needs, wants and desires of the person. For them, employees motivation means the process in which an organization inspires employees with the shape of rewards, recompenses, bonuses, etc., for achieving an organizational goals. A review has been made at the African level with a study from south Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania. Therefore, when workers are satisfied, they tend to be motivated to work. In Rwanda, this study of the impact of employee motivation on financial performance of the hotel business projects in Rwanda he stipulated that excellent services provided by the employees can create a positive perception and ever lasting image of the customers. However, the motivation of employees plays a major role in achieving a high level of satisfaction among its customers and increasing its financial target. Given that many authors state that people who are motivated exert a greater effort to perform than those who are not motivated and that employees join organizations with aim of satisfying their daily needs such as food, safety, health care, accommodation, belonging and love, esteem, self realization, etc. This study helps to identify the role played by employees motivation in insuring the performance of hotel business projects in Rwanda [1].

Problem statement

Many employers attempted several different incentive programs to motivate their employees, yet they have not worked for everyone in the organization. This is a major problem faced by employers these days, because each employer’s organization is founded on the strength of its employee’s performance. It is revealed also by employees who left the job for another part time job during ordinary service hours, to satisfy some needs not satisfied by a permanent job. Employees also increase the duration of authorized leaves presenting different pretexts and excuses because nothing encourages them to return to work.

Those are among the different factors of employees demotivation. Considering the information from 2018 to 2020, this research was guided by the following objectives: To identify the different types of employee motivation used by hill-top hotel and country club, to find out the contribution of employee motivation to the financial performance of hill-top hotel and country club and to determine the challenges facing employee motivation at hill-top hotel and country club [2].

Case Presentation

The different types of employee motivation used in hotel business projects

Employee health facilities: Health and safety procedures at the workplace are a must for the well being of both employees and employers. Workers must feel safe at the workplace whereas employers should facilitate the workplace with necessary safety arrangements. It is significant for employers to shield workers from the health and safety anxieties. Health care expenditures are projected to reach $4 trillion in 2015 or a 20 percent share of the GDP. Such escalating costs reduce companies’ profits and inflate the prices of goods and services. Government regulations have also influenced health in the workplace. Many companies have organized voluntary first aid squads from within the ranks of their employees. Some employers offer classes in first aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification [3].

Employee training: Training is the willingness to do something and cautioned by these actions ability to satisfy some needs of an individual. Research on training has recognized early on that training can only be one of the many causes of behaviour and this extends to the causation of effect and cognition as well as motivation and employee which helps them to perform well. As technology advances and work methods and strategies improve, there comes a need for employers and employees to align with these changes in terms of knowledge, skills, values and abilities. One of the best ways to enhance knowledge and skills is through training. Getting employees exposed to relevant and consistent training can help companies improve performance and increase results in the workplace. In this article, we explain the importance of training employees and provide a list of potential benefits [4].

Economic welfare service: Employee welfare is a broad term which includes various services, benefits and facilities which are provided by employers to its staffs. Such schemes are the benefits which make life worth living for employees. Welfare is the facility that is provided to comfort and improve employee willingness to work and is provided over and above the wages. This helps in raising the intention and motivation to retain the employees for a longer period and reduce employee turnover. Welfare is a motivational factor for every staff. Regardless of the monetary kind, this can be in any form. This includes observing of the condition of work sites, providing industrial coherence by providing facilities for health and other benefits and insurance against mishaps for them and their families. Employee welfare involves all activities of an employer that are focused on easing the employees with certain facilities and services in addition to wages or salaries. The logic behind providing welfare arrangements is to create an efficient, healthy, honest and satisfied labor force for the organization. As part of the employee benefits program, organizations these days offer different forms of personal financial education which helps in promoting morale and productivity at the workplace and in the mean time reduce the level of stress [5].

Working environment: A conducive working environment helps to improve the efficiency of workers and includes proper lighting, temperature, ventilation, safety, sanitation, transportation, cleanliness, seating arrangement and canteen facilities. Workplace sanitation and cleanliness are very important for making the workplace helpful for workers to work [6].

Sanitary facilities: The workplace should have good sanitary facilities. In almost all countries, the provision of these facilities has been made obligatory through laws or regulations. It is necessary to provide a sufficient number of such facilities and to keep them clean. For example, in Indonesia, it is prescribed to have one toilet at a workplace with less than 15 workers; one toilet for every 15 workers in workplaces with less than 39 workers; six toilets in workplaces with more than 39 workers; 12 toilets in workplaces with more than 200 workers; and six more toilets for every extra 39 workers. Urinals may be provided for men. Toilets should be separate for men and women. In addition, one ish basin is needed for every 30 workers. These sanitary facilities are necessary for workers well being and to prevent disease [7].

Facilities for beverages and meals: Facilities for beverages and meals are necessities. No worker can remain productive without drinking clean water or beverages or taking an adequate meal. Drinking water is essential for all types of work. Especially when working in a hot environment, much water is lost in the form of sweat or evaporation from the skin. Water loss in a hot climate can easily amount to several literes per shift. Workers, if not provided with drinking facilities, will have to make arrangements themselves or leave the workplace quite often looking for water. When only unhygienic water is available, this can lead to frequent disease. If workers become dehydrated, they rapidly tire and become less productive. Facilities for meals can be provided in many ways. Enterprises employing more than 39-200 workers should have a canteen. Smaller enterprises can provide a simple canteen or make arrangements to provide meals with an outside agent. Meals with balanced, nutritious food help maintain health and productivity. Facilities for beverages and food can be made available at a relatively low cost. Examples in this section include the provision of cool drinking water, a tea corner, canteens using existing facilities or offering subsidized meals, delivery of packed lunches and arrangements for clean eating places [8].

Recreation, childcare and transport facilities: Enterprise based welfare services not only include directly work related services, but also those aimed at amenities for everyday life outside working hours. They include childcare facilities, recreational facilities and transport, what an enterprise can do in these respects may be limited, but these facilities, if available, can greatly help create the feeling that management is interested in the workers as people. Not only large enterprises but also many small and medium sized enterprises provide these facilities in various forms. As an example of such facilities available at very low cost, recreational facilities may be mentioned. Many workers enjoy spending their time in sports or other recreational activities during their lunch break or after work. This is healthy and increases the spirit of friendship. It helps workers feel that they are attached to the enterprise and have common interests as fellow workers. Recreational facilities are often very inexpensive. A basketball hoop or volleyball net in a courtyard, or board games, may be all that is necessary. Smaller enterprises can benefit perhaps even more from these facilities as a greater proportion of the workers can participate [9].

The contribution of employee motivation to the financial performance of hotel business projects

Good working environment: By improving the relationship with other employees, it is possible to improve overall performance and achieve the organizational goal collaboratively. To build relationships within the organizations, the managers need to arrange counseling and assistance where the employees can share their views. Thus, the relationship motivates the employees to work cooperatively in a team and improve overall performance. Generally, climate factors, the interaction between employees, relationships between employer and employees and individual perception towards employee job description will influence the degree to of employee perform their jobs. It is because employees will have more confidence if they have adequate information to support the tasks [10].

Improve employee efficiency: The level of a subordinate or an employee does not only depend upon his qualifications and abilities. For getting the best of his work performance, the gap between ability and willingness has to be filled which helps in improving the level of performance of subordinates. This will increase productivity, reducing cost of operations and improving overall efficiency [11].

Greater employee satisfaction: Worker satisfaction is important for every company, as this one factor can lead towards progress or regress. In the absence of an incentive plan, employees will not fill ready to fulfill their objectives. Thus, managers should seek to empower them through promotion opportunities, monetary and non monetary rewards, or disincentives in case of inefficient employees [12].

Increasing employee performance: Factors that motivate hotel employees to perform at high standard levels are discussed in the literature in this section. From this viewpoint, an individual can be affected by many different drivers such as a desire for an object, or basic needs such as food and water. Motivation also refers to the intrinsic and extrinsic elements that influence an individual to act in certain ways or take certain actions. This can help the organization minimize its operational cost and its labour cost and in turn, increase its profitability. The third reason is that the level of staff turnover may to some extent be reduced if the staff is motivated to perform their tasks. Another reason why the organization puts more efforts into motivating employees is that an organization with a motivated workforce introduces change earlier than an organization where its employees are demotivated. From a general perspective, each individual can be motivated. However, each individual is not motivated or influenced by the same things, at the same time, for the same reasons, or with the same intensity [13].

The challenges facing employee motivation in the hotels industry

Keeping employees motivated and engaged can help boost morale, reduce turnover and create a more dynamic and profitable operations. While different things motivate different people, there are several demotivating practices can negatively impact your business. Recognizing and correcting these issues can help improve your organization on numerous fronts [14].

Poor leadership structure: When no one appears to be in charge, or worse, everyone thinks they're in charge, it can be hard to perform at peak levels. A lack of hierarchy or direct reporting structure leads to confusion, resentment and an overall lack of direction. Employees are demotivated because their objectives are unclear and therefore, difficult to work toward. The employee motivation problem can be solved by writing detailed job descriptions, creating an internal organizational chart and setting clear organizational goals, both individually and by the department.

Lack of challenging work: Bored employee are typically unmotivated. They may not take an interest in tasks they consider mundane or may perform poorly at the work they do attempt. This issue can be addressed on several fronts, including the interviewing stage, when you should strive to ensure the person you hire is a good match for the job. Once someone is in their position, provide proper training and the tools the individual needs to do their job impassively. If they appear to master tasks quickly or don't show an interest, consider cross training, mentoring, job shadowing or even a different position that better utilizes their talents.

Workplace conflict: When employees are at odds with one another, or with management, it's not only demotivating, but it's also unproductive and could lead to a toxic work environment. Resolve workplace conflict by setting clear directives about the types of behavior that will not be tolerated and taking action accordingly. Address conflict as it arises and set in place a mediation approach to ensure employees can work out their differences in a professional setting.

Lack of confidence in the company: If employees don't feel the company is going anywhere, or perceive the business is mismanaged to the point of potential job loss, this feeling of insecurity can manifest as poor motivation. This issue can be addressed by sharing corporate objectives with staffers. Develop a strategic long term business plan and solicit employee feedback. Demonstrate how their roles will be augmented with teamwork and growth to get buy in about the company's future. If gossip develops about closure, mergers or other altering factors, communicate sooner rather than later so staffers feel you are being upfront about the company's future.

No one-on-one attention: Regardless of the company's size, employees need regular feedback to be motivated to do their jobs properly and well. Resolve this potential motivation issue by regularly scheduling brief private appointments with staffers to touch base on both work and professional development issues. Hold regular employee performance reviews, annually or bi annually and in these discussions, set specific goals and objectives. Employee motivation is directly tied to productivity and operational success. If you are concerned about whether your staffers are motivated, invite them to share their feelings on the subject via a focus group, employee committee or survey. You will generate a lot of feedback you can use to your advantage, as well as reassure employees their input is valued.

Research methodology

Defines the research design as a plan and structure of investigation to obtain answers to the research questions. The researcher used a case study approach to get in depth information on the research topic. In addition, the researcher also used both qualitative and quantitative methods. At hill-top hotel and country club is located in Kigali city, Kicukiro district, Kanombe sector, hill-top hotel and country club has located 1.5 km from Kigali international airport and this research covered a period from 2018 to 2020 to have clear and needed information and it was covered in a period of 6 months. Furthermore, the study mostly relied on a quantitative approach but was as well complemented and supplemented by the qualitative approach. According to population refers to the totality of persons or objects with which a study is concerned. The researcher choose the 60 junior employees of hill-top hotel and country club and 4 managers and supervisors who may provide better information regarding how they feel satisfied with the impact of motivation on performance at hill-top hotel and country club. During this study, the target population is 64 respondents. Purposive sampling is about selecting information rich cases for studying in depth the issue being researched. In this study, the researcher used a simple random sampling method. Therefore, the sample size was 39 of the total population of 64. In conducting this research, both primary and secondary sources of data were considered. Also, the researcher used questionnaires and interviews for gathering information from the field as the primary data and the secondary data were collected from documentation. After the researcher edited, coded and tabulated the data through excel to import them into SPSS for further analysis, the researchers presented the results in form of tables, frequencies and percentages. In this regard, the researcher carrying out this research considered the ethics, so that the selected respondents participated in the research willingly and with a sense of security (Table 1).

Table 1: The different types of employee motivation used by hill-top hotel and country club.

Results and Discussion

This table shows the different types of employee motivation used by hill-top hotel and country club. The results indicated that 18% of facilities for beverages and meals; 26% of the working environment 12, 5 of sanitary facilities, 5% of economic welfare facilities, 18% of employees training and 20.5% of employee health facilities, those different types of employee motivation used by hill-top hotel and country club. According to the above explanation, employee motivation is considered a keyword for hotel success and the financial performance of the hotel industry (Table 2).

Table 2: The contributions of employee motivation to the financial performance of hill-top hotel and country club.

This table shows the contributions of employee motivation to the financial performance of hill-top hotel and country club. The findings indicated that 23% of good relationships within an organization, 26% of improvement in employee efficiency, 15% of great employee satisfaction and 36% of employee motivation increasing employee performance. This implies that hill-top hotel and country club maintain employee motivation increasing employee performance as the contributions of employee motivation to the financial performance (Table 3).

Table 3: The challenges facing employee motivation at hill-top hotel and country club.

This table shows the challenges facing employee motivation at hill-top hotel and country club. The findings from the respondents indicated that 33.3% of employees committed, 22.2% of assurance quality service of employee, 27.8% of reliability quality service of employee and 16.7% of responsiveness and quality service of the employee, therefore, the study implies that hill-top hotel and country club have full knowledge for the services it offered and willing for satisfying the employees.

Findings from interviews by manager at hill-top hotel and country club

The researcher interviewed the managers of hill-top hotel and country club, the researcher asked the interviewees about effectiveness of Standards Operating Procedures (SOPs) followed in service delivery at hill-top hotel and country club and manager reported some of the effectiveness followed in delivering services such as employee training, legal and financial. This implies that hill-top hotel and country club prepare the training for its employees for helping them to increase their knowledge and skills about the services offered in hotel and hence increase customers satisfaction and hill-top hotel and country club follows the terms and conditions of delivering the services and pay all government’s obligations. Another effectiveness was financial whereby, hill-top hotel and country club need financial budget to provide the quality services which meet to customer satisfaction. Further researchers sought to find out the effectiveness of SOPs used at hill-top hotel and country club. The manager of hill-top hotel and country club said that initial framework, working practices and services delivery are major effectiveness used in hill-top hotel and country club and using for this led to customer commitment and customer satisfaction. Finally, the researcher asked the interviewee about the relationship between Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and customer satisfaction at hill-top hotel and country club. The manager reported that customer commitment, assurance quality service, reliability quality service and responsiveness quality service a relationship between SOPs and customer satisfaction; all of these increase the customer satisfaction as a result of using of effectiveness standard operating procedures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the study findings showed that employee motivation is a key element of delivering quality services and maintaining customer satisfaction at hill-top hotel and country club. In the other hand, assurance of quality service was a result of the employees knowledge which helps them to meet the customers commitment. In addition, the findings showed the effectiveness used in hill-top hotel whereby services delivery is applied in hill-top hotel and had a major effect on customer satisfaction.

Recommendations

The study recommends the hill-top hotel and country club respect the customer by providing quality services and using qualified employees and applying the effectiveness of SOPs. The hotel should keep in mind employee motivation and make sure that all services delivered were at an optimum level of standardization which meets the customer’s needs. Managers should build a strong relationship with employees to enhance the employees commitment and teamwork because all of those are required for making the satisfaction of the customers. In addition, manager emphasizes on the using the effectiveness of SOPs within the hill-top hotel and country club which makes the customers happy.

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