Vikrant Kaushal, Alka Lalhall, Savita Sharma, and Sidharth Srivastava

Abstract: The onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic has remained punitive for the global industries. Attempts to comprehend, adapt and act have become increasingly gruelling in light of this undesirably prolonged epidemiological event. Earnings in numerous sectors have been reduced to the bones and the mechanisms and procedures of handling human resources have been challenged beyond expectations. The current research builds on the extant studies on COVID-19 crisis and a qualitative inquiry was conducted from the perspective of human resource management (HRM) issues. Responses from 17 personnel in key HR positions from high-end hotel properties in India were collected and examined. The identified issues facing HRM include role ambiguity, employee anxiety, demoralised employee spirit, organisations’ inability and inadequacy to provide support, lack of control, job insecurity, downsizing and several more. The study further outlines latent solutions synthesised from the open-ended survey responses. These include the need for resilience, health and safety protocols, vaccinations, multiskilling, positive work environment, and flexible working hours, to cite a few. The paper discusses the responses in the backdrop of evolving related scholarship to enrich the considered research perspective. Further, the study reflects upon the potential implications for theory and practice as well as outlines future scope of investigation.

Keywords: Hotel, COVID-19, qualitative study, human resource management issues, India