Outsourcing on the other hand makes it easier for staff to be moved around,
especially if the outsourced service provided is situated in many different hotels in
the area. If the work is reduced in all areas due to economic issues then the
responsibility of lay-offs is transferred to the outside service provider, thus not
involving the hotel itself, which is free to continue doing its job without the burden
of lay-off procedures. Of course the costs of outsourcing for any company or hotel
are measured a little differently as the cost could be measured in non-monetary
form such as in loss of control, reporting or accounting problems, employee
resentment and bad morale. When outsourcing takes place the staff of the
housekeeping department is transferred to the take -over company, this may cause
some types of upset amongst the staff and even resentment towards the previous
employer as they are not primarily responsible for the staff anymore. According to
Kakabadse & Kakabadse (2000) in Jones & Pizam (2008, p.197) this problem
depends crucially on how well the outsourcing is planned, implemented and
communicated to the employees within the organization This can all be avoided by
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close communication with the staff during the outsourcing process, so that all
concerns are addressed and talked through before, during and even after the
transfer.
By bringing in an outside company, the way things were done before are changed
and this in itself can bring problems for the hotel. The loss of control can be
controlled by having a good working relationship between the hotel staff and the
outsourcing company. This means the hotel will still have a say on what is done
and how it is done. We must always remember that the hotel is still the paying
customer of the outsourced company and has rights to say how they want their
hotel cleaned.
The possible benefits of insourcing are that the workforce feel proud in their job
and feel like they are a part of a team, this brings loyalty to their company and is
possibly more important than any monetary costs. Of course the possible benefits
of outsourcing are the reduced costs of activities that the hotel gains straight away
once the outsourcing has taken place, this means salary payments to the
housekeeping department will be taken over by the outsourced company. Probably
one of the most important benefits is that the hotel is able to focus its expertise on
doing what they do best and let the outsourced service provider focus on what they
do best.