Management of Operative Staff in a Labour-scarce Economy: The Views of Human Resource Managers in the Hotel Industry in Singapore

This article explores the views of HR managers on the management of operative staff in the hotel industry in Singapore at a period of acute labour shortage. Using a case-study qualitative methodology, it examines how externaland internal environmental factors affect the HRM of operative staff. In theview of the HR managers, the labour shortage has resulted in recruitment andretention problems, high labour turnover, decline in discipline at the workplace, along with other difficulties. The HR managers indicated that the external environment dictates how operative staff should be managed. The study reveals that the problems in the HRM of operative staff, as a resultof the labour shortage, have been compounded by the lack of coherent andsystematic HR practices and strategies in the hotels. The main argument, therefore, is that to mitigate the effects of the external environment successfully, HRmanagers should pay more attention to the development of internal HRM practices and strategies. It is suggested that one such strategy could be the development of an internal labour market in hotels.