Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate factors that lead to poor employee performance. Most companies use a variety of strategies to improve employee performance, but excellent strategies are likely to fail if companies do not understand the actual factors that cause poor performance. Therefore, the performance improvement method must be personalized and ensured that it works for a particular individual.
This fact had placed Thailand seventh in the world in terms of job creation through the hotel industry (Chen, 2015). This is because when companies adopt best practices to improve employee performance, they fail to consider the actual factors behind their poor performance. The average performance score of all employees in 2015 was 56%, which is below the brand standard and benchmark.
The hotel was suggested by the corporate office that proper training should be done as soon as possible. This is why performance improvement in this firm is unsustainable because no study has been done to investigate the actual process that leads to poor performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that lead to poor performance of employees.
The study will discuss patterns of poor performance for further action in the performance improvement strategy adopted for future success.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition of job performance
It was explained that these eight components are not represented in all types of jobs; and three were essential for every profession, namely; competence for individual work, showing effort and maintaining personal discipline.
Determinants of poor performance
- Inability to manage stress and pressure
- Lack of knowledge and skill
- Lack of feedback
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of empowerment
- Low organizational commitment and culture fit
It was confirmed that work stress resulted in inappropriate emotional responses (Mani, Sritharan & . Gayatri, 2010). Possessing the right skills not only allowed employees to be productive, but also allowed them to eliminate backlog as well (Atan & Raghavan, 2015). However, they had no improvement due to the fact that they did not know how to adjust their action correctly.
It was found that once employees were informed of job improvement, without any feedback or direction, they generally focused on the wrong areas (Burke & Wilcox, 1969), leading to repeated incompetent job performance. It was believed that needs are directly related to human motivation (Tampu, 2015), which means that individuals are motivated because they need to achieve something. A certain behavior pattern did not appear without a reason, there must be supporting motives behind the active action (Tampu, 2015).
Motivator in the organization can be external factors like money, when employees felt that compensation received does not match their contribution, they started to perform poorly as they lost interest in putting efforts in their work. Without motivation, people did not see benefits to optimize good performance for the company (William, 2010). It was found that when employees had the ability to make their own decisions, and they were satisfied with their work, they then produced better productivity.
Another study by Mullins (2005) revealed that when employees had no empowerment, they did not have a sense of involvement which led to them seeing no goal and no reason to perform well to achieve the organization's goals. It was also confirmed that employees did not see their work as meaningful when they received a high level of supervision and did not have the power to make decisions. When employees felt that the goal of the organization did not match their personal preferences or value, they tended to deliver poor results as they had no interest in achieving the goal (Susanty, 2013).
For example, employees who aimed to gain knowledge from the organization, however, the company did not focus on knowledge enhancement. In addition, it was confirmed that employees' personality fit had a direct impact on their work efficiency. These aspects are the inability to handle stress and pressure, lack of job knowledge and skills, lack of feedback, lack of motivation, lack of empowerment and low organizational commitment and culture fit.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- Research design
- Population and sampling
- Data collection
- Data analysis
In-depth interviews will be conducted to explore their perceptions and experiences of various situations. The selected sample group consists of six different departments to ensure an adequate result and could represent the main behavioral patterns of the entire organization. The chosen sources of data for this qualitative research are interviews, as the aim of this research is to explore below the surface of the responses.
Moreover, the population's experiences, behaviour, attitudes of the respondents can be complex and require interpretation (Crinson, 2006). The semi-structured interview is applied to this study whereby large questions are used to focus on the areas of the subject. However, questions can be added or excluded during the interview session to obtain the best possible and necessary data (Gill, 2008).
In order to ensure that respondents feel comfortable providing information and expressing their thoughts, the interviewer must build a good relationship before the session begins so that both people can feel comfortable with each other (Crinson, 2006). The questions asked will be open-ended and will allow interviewees to express their ideas and encourage them to share underlying attitudes and beliefs (Crinson, 2006). In addition, it is important to make sure with the respondents that all information received will be kept confidential and used only for this study.
During the session, additional questions may be asked, depending on each person's answer and explanation. Most of the questions listed allow the interviewer to explore their inner thoughts and reasons behind their performance. Since the data collection uses interview approach and the questions are open, the result will be determined in content analysis approach.
The audio tape is used to ensure that information is not missed because most of the time when we process information from what we hear we may miss important points or some issues may go wrong. The first step to be done after information is obtained is to make a preliminary observation of the transcript to ensure that the information is ready for analysis. The responses received may be different, but make a list of similar patterns and reactions that the participants had from their experience, this method is known as coding (Gill, 2008).
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Demographics Profiles of the Respondents
Factors That Lead to Poor Performance of Hotel Employees
- Conflict of self-personality with colleagues
- Client’s complaint
- Manager’s unfairness
- Workload
- Lack of feedback
- Lack of empowerment
To be honest, I felt demotivated when I was experiencing this, I don't want to come to work.” (Male, 34, restaurant supervisor). A significant number of employees, 63% (10 out of 16 respondents), felt that customer complaints caused frustration and lowered their self-esteem. Although they have a good understanding of the nature of hospitality, the study shows that this is one of the reasons that lead to poor employee performance.
If they have different preferences, they should communicate to me, not just complain after I've done my job." (Male, 32 years old, waiter). I feel uncomfortable being blamed by guests, it would be nice if my boss would face guests himself instead of me. I usually put a lot of effort into my work, so when guests complain, I feel like they don't appreciate my effort.
It is the extent to which people like situations and outcomes to be predictable, and they fear making mistakes (Hofstede, 2011). The respondents felt that they were not paid equally even though they had the same level of work. This is my biggest challenge at work because I don't know what to do to make him happy.
Therefore, it was not worth it to put great effort into doing their work, causing the level of performance to drop accordingly. I've been spending a lot of time doing daily tasks and I'm starting to question if it's worth it. This made me unable to prioritize my work as I don't know where to start." (Female, 27, cook).
I have often wondered if the company's compensation merits this level of contribution. I think my manager's feedback is important because it is like advice about my work, which allows me to know more and to be able to correct things.” (Male. 39, technician). I usually prefer my manager to make the decision for me because I may not know all the details.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Practical Implications
Improving interpersonal skills to improve teamwork should be emphasized due to the fact that a negative attitude among team members is one of the main factors that demotivates them to perform well (Rhodes & Eisenberger, 2002). Employees' commitment had to be prioritized if they had to do a lot of work. With the passion and dedication they have for their work, workload can become less of a factor.
Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research The limitations and opportunities for future research are as follows. Firstly,
Profiles of organizational commitment and job satisfaction among Greek private and public sector employees, International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management. Misbehavior in groups: The influence of general justice climate and functional dependence on counterproductive work behavior in work units.
APPENDICES
Appendix A: The Interview Guide
