Hard Rock Cafe: Human Resource Strategies

Hard Rock Café Human Resource Strategy
Hard Rock Café (Hard Rock) manager of corporate training, Jim Knight knows that in order to be successful in the entertainment business, you may have to hire some freaks. Diversity and individuality are key to making this company stands out in a very competitive industry. Hard Rock Café employees, referred to as “Hard Rockers”, not only succeed in standing out, they continually provide an unforgettable and unique experience to every guest that comes through the doors. As stated on the Hard Rock employee website, “Hard Rock Employees are not just about meeting guests' expectations… they want to blow them away!” (Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc., 2016).
Another key point in the video that accompanies

this chapter is that, “companies can only achieve their operations strategies with competent motivated people and a good human resource strategy” (Couto, J., 2012). Making up this cultural icon are over 39,000 Hard Rockers, more than 200 venues in 68 countries (Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc., 2016). Hard rock proudly boasts about their low turnover rate of hourly people being half the industry norm (Heizer, J. & Render, B., 2011, p.413). Mr. Knight claims in the same video that this is due to hiring the right people in the first place. “We hire the best qualified not just best available”. Additionally in the video, Knight states that employee’s benefits are above average and uncommon for the restaurant industry. The companies careers website states, “We offer a broad range of benefits plans that vary by location, but focus on the emotional, physical, and financial needs of Hard Rocker’s around the globe (Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc., 2016). So it appears to be the overall human resource department philosophy and the company’s hiring strategy that helps Hard Rock lower employee turnover to half the industry average.

Could this same system be used in an automobile assembly line? Sure, to some degree, why not? If one is to consider the philosophy of Hackman and Oldham as suggested by the author of this exercise, any company can follow their idea that the task itself is key to employee motivation. In fact, Hackman and Oldham state that five specific characteristics such as skill variety, job identity, job significance, autonomy, and feedback should be included in every work position (Heizer, J. & Render, B. (2011). Specifically, boring and monotonous work stifles an employee’s motivation to perform well, whereas a challenging job enhances their motivation (Your Coach, 2016). Teams assembled for any business including a traditional assembly line could use these steps for success, and as you may have noticed, this sounds exactly like the philosophy of the Hard Rock.
Conclusion
As long as the Hard Rock Café continues to maintain their hiring philosophy of “hiring the best qualified not just best available“, offering an outstanding benefits package, and allowing employees to “be themselves”, they will maintain their global competitive advantage in restaurants and entertainment, for many years to come.