As CIPD Student, we’ve been there, squinting at CIPD frameworks, wondering whether your response sounds too vague or too technical. This piece doesn’t try to give you the “perfect” answer. Instead, it walks through what the task really wants from you, in simple, human terms. We’ll talk about the kind of things assessors seem to react well to, the traps we’ve seen others fall into, and where a bit of honest reflection actually helps more than trying to sound polished. Let’s get into it without overcomplicating things.
Inter Luxe Hotel Group is a multi-national hotel chain with 800 properties in 25 countries. The hotels are based in coastal resorts and cities. In coastal resorts, customers are mainly those on holiday. In cities, the customer base is more diverse and includes sightseers and business customers. Both groups of customers have high expectations. You work as a People Advisor in the People Function of a cluster of eight hotels. Inter Luxe Hotel Group employs graduate trainees who spend time in different functions to enable them to develop knowledge and understanding of the whole business. A graduate trainee will soon be starting their placement in your function, and you are responsible for their learning during this placement.
That’s it. Sounds straightforward, right? But let’s slow down and really think this through.
Ask yourself:
What do we mean when we say performance management?
Why do businesses like Inter Luxe, even bother with it?
What does it usually include ?
You’re not just listing things here. Go deeper than “it helps improve staff performance.” That’s too flat. Instead, think aloud in your writing. Something like,
“At Inter Luxe Hotel Group, managing staff performance isn’t just about annual appraisals. It’s more about making sure every staff member, whether they’re in the front office or behind the scenes in housekeeping, knows what’s expected of them, and has the support to actually meet those expectations.”
So, the purpose? It’s a blend of support, feedback, and accountability. In simpler words, helping people do their jobs better, grow over time, and make sure the hotels are running well.
But also remember, in hospitality, customer satisfaction is king. So if your staff aren’t performing well, it directly hits the customer experience. Think of a delayed room check-in or an unclean bathroom, that’s performance gone wrong.
Now ask: What does performance management involve? Not just the fancy words or corporate frameworks, what does it actually look like day to day?
You might go for these (but don’t just list, explain them as you go):
Objective setting – usually at the start of the year or role. At Inter Luxe, a front desk manager might be expected to reduce guest complaints by 15% over the next quarter.Regular check-ins – these might be monthly or quarterly. Think informal chats or short meetings. A supervisor at the Nairobi branch might sit with a team member to review shift punctuality.Appraisals or formal reviews – often once or twice a year. In Inter Luxe, HR might lead these alongside department heads. It’s not just a one-sided judgement, it’s meant to be two-way.Feedback – both positive and corrective – If someone went above and beyond to handle a guest’s last-minute request, that should be acknowledged. If someone missed three shifts last month, it needs a discussion too.Development planning – Say someone wants to move from kitchen staff to guest relations. That should be part of the conversation. A plan, even a basic one, gives direction.Reward and recognition – This can be pay-based (bonuses) or simple recognition like “Employee of the Month.” At Inter Luxe coastal resorts, recognition during peak tourist season can really boost morale.
You work as a People Advisor in a cluster of 8 hotels. So, put yourself there. Don’t float above like a theorist. Be grounded.
“In my current role overseeing eight properties within Inter Luxe, I’ve noticed that performance management often takes different shapes depending on the location. Our city hotels see a lot of business travellers, so speed and professionalism are often the priority. Coastal resorts deal more with families and tourists, here, friendliness and flexibility take centre stage. So the expectations we set, and the way we monitor performance, can’t be one-size-fits-all.”
This kind of comment grounds your answer. It shows you understand that managing performance isn’t about a perfect model, it’s about context .
Try not to treat performance management as just a system. It’s easy to say, “oh it involves appraisals, goals, feedback, and training.” Sure. But that sounds like a manual.
Think instead: what are the real-life problems we’re trying to fix with this? Poor communication. High turnover. Guests complaining. Unclear job roles. These are the everyday things that performance management aims to sort out.
Performance management, as I’ve come to see it in practice at Inter Luxe Hotel Group, serves more than just a functional HR role. It creates a shared understanding between staff and management about what success looks like, and how to get there. In our cluster of eight hotels, that might mean ensuring front desk teams greet guests within 30 seconds, or that housekeeping achieves a certain cleanliness score from guest surveys.
The purpose, essentially, is to help staff perform at their best, contribute towards hotel goals, and feel recognised in the process. It’s not about micromanaging or waiting until someone slips up. It’s about setting clear goals from the outset, reviewing progress regularly, and having open conversations, both when things go well, and when they don’t.
Typical components usually include setting objectives early on, we do this during induction for new hires. We then hold regular one-to-ones between staff and line managers. In my experience, these are where issues come up naturally, lateness, communication gaps, or even ideas for improvement. We also carry out mid-year and end-year appraisals, usually with forms and ratings, but we try to keep it conversational too.
Feedback is ongoing. One of our senior hotel managers prefers brief verbal praise over formal emails, and staff really respond to it. Development planning is also key, especially since Inter Luxe takes on graduate trainees who often move across departments. We build learning goals into their performance reviews, so it’s not just about meeting targets but also growing.
Rewards matter too, we run quarterly recognition schemes, and some teams receive performance-linked bonuses. Even a simple “well done” in the staff meeting can lift morale.
Performance management, at its best, helps build stronger teams and better guest experiences. But it works only when it’s consistent, fair, and grounded in real working life, not just forms and metrics.
As a student, take your time when writing your answer. Explain things the way you’d want them explained to you if you were just starting out. Be realistic. Don’t aim for “perfect” answers, go for ones that make sense, reflect your understanding, and sound like a person. CIPD is more of Human Resource, be practical with your answers. Remember, performance management isn’t just HR lingo. It’s about people. How they work. How they grow. How we help them when they’re stuck. And yes, how we hold them accountable, too.
Really AskingYou’re not being asked to list or name two factors. You’re being asked to explain them and to show that you understand what they look like in context . That word “considered” is key here. It’s telling you to think about what matters when managing performance and why .
So what does “managing performance” really mean in your role?
At Inter Luxe, you’re a People Advisor supporting a cluster of hotels. This isn’t about paperwork, it’s about making sure employees are able to work in ways that meet the hotel’s standards and guest expectations. Performance isn’t only about catching someone when they fall short. It’s about setting people up to succeed . And maintaining that over time.
Now, two factors that affect how you do this. That could be internal things like line manager capability or external ones like customer expectations, technology, or working conditions.
Let’s pull this back into Inter Luxe.
Clarity of Performance Expectations In your context, working across coastal and city hotels, your staff aren’t working in a one-size-fits-all setting. Guests in the coastal resorts are mostly on holiday. They expect warmth, attentiveness, and relaxed experiences. In contrast, city hotels are dealing with business guests, tight timelines, and maybe a completely different pace of service.
Now think, if you’re managing performance across both, how do you help employees understand what good looks like when it changes depending on where they work?
One of the most overlooked challenges is that employees may not always know what’s expected. If expectations are vague or shift without explanation, performance dips, not because of laziness or unwillingness, but because people can’t meet standards they don’t clearly understand.
So as a People Advisor, one thing you’d need to consider is how expectations are communicated. Are there clear service benchmarks in each setting? Do managers know how to translate these into daily tasks?
Maybe you’ve seen hotel staff confused when transferred from a city branch to a coastal resort, unsure of how to adjust their tone or pace. That’s performance being affected by unclear or inconsistent expectations.
Line Manager Capability and Support Let’s be real. A strong or weak line manager can make or break performance on the floor.
At Inter Luxe, you’re dealing with graduate trainees, diverse customer bases, and probably, high turnover in some regions. A capable line manager doesn’t just monitor work; they guide, encourage, and correct in ways that staff respond to.
But not all managers naturally do this well.
Let’s say a new graduate is supervising the front desk in a busy city hotel. They’ve had training, yes, but they might not yet feel confident giving difficult feedback or supporting a staff member struggling with communication. That gap in their confidence? It affects team performance.
So as a People Advisor, you’d need to consider how much support these managers need themselves. Are they equipped to manage performance fairly? Do they know how to recognise problems early, not after complaints pile up?
Assessors don’t want you to just name these two factors. They’re looking to see:
That you understand what managing performance involves.
That you can tie your ideas to real-world situations —like Inter Luxe.
That you’re thinking through the people experience , not just HR policy.
That you show cause-and-effect. Why does this factor matter?
They want to see you engage in applied thinking . Not theory floating in space.
Also, and this might sound picky, they want your explanation to feel grounded. Not copied. Not robotic. They’re trained to spot when you’re telling them what they want to hear versus thinking like a practitioner . Kindy note CIPD is a practical course meaning fit your thinking into real world of varied dimensions and HR decision vs Policies.
AC 4.2: Two Factors That Need to Be Considered When Managing Performance
When managing performance within Inter Luxe Hotel Group, two factors I’d give close attention to are: (1) clarity of expectations and (2) line manager capability.
To start with, staff across our hotels need to understand what “good” looks like in their specific context. Because our group operates both coastal and city hotels, the customer expectations can be quite different. A front desk agent in a city hotel may be focused on speed and professionalism, while someone in a coastal resort may need to provide more personal, relaxed interactions. If those differences aren’t clearly explained, if expectations aren’t adapted to each setting, then performance naturally becomes inconsistent. I’ve seen situations where employees transferred between locations struggled because they were unsure how to adapt, and no one had sat down to explain the shift. That confusion tends to show up in customer reviews before anyone notices internally.
The second factor is line manager capability. A large part of day-to-day performance depends on how well managers are supporting their teams. In our case, some of our hotels have newer or less experienced managers, including recent graduate trainees. They may not yet feel confident giving feedback, recognising underperformance early, or knowing when to escalate issues. If that support isn’t there or is patchy, employees may receive mixed messages or, worse, none at all. In one instance, a promising receptionist began making avoidable mistakes simply because their manager was reluctant to correct them. It wasn’t a failure of effort, it was a gap in managerial confidence.
In both cases, the issue isn’t motivation or attitude. It’s more about whether people are being set up with the right information, tools, and support. And that, I think, is where good performance management really starts.
Would I say that answer is finished? Not entirely. You could stretch it. Bring in more examples, reflect on policies if you like. But it already shows a clear, better understanding, and that’s what assessors are after. If you were my student, I’d ask you now can you think of a third factor from your own work experience? Something else that affects performance? That’s often the difference between a good answer and a really thoughtful one. Going one step further, not because the question asks you to, but because you’re curious.
Now let’s not rush to Google or textbooks just yet. Instead, take a moment to ask yourself: What is a performance review really about?
Forget any textbook definitions for now, think about the day-to-day at Inter Luxe Hotel Group. You’ve got hotel teams working in different countries, some at coastal resorts serving holidaymakers, others in busy city centres juggling business clients and tourists. Expectations are high always. So, how do managers in those hotels know if their teams are doing well? How do they talk to them about it?
That’s essentially what this question is about.
Step-by-step: How to Tackle the Question Step 1: Understand What the Assessor Wants They want to see that you know different ways people can be reviewed at work.
But not just theory. They’re also checking if you can show how each method might actually work in a real organisation in this case, Inter Luxe . That means applying each method to your role as a People Advisor in those eight hotels.
They’re also expecting more than one method, three or four is a good number to aim for.
Step 2: Break Down the Phrase “Performance Review” Let’s break it into something more practical: “Ways we talk to employees about how they’re doing.”
Now that sounds a bit more human. From there, think of the formal and informal chats managers have, the yearly appraisals, those quick feedback chats after a tough shift, even 360-degree reviews where colleagues share their thoughts. All of those are performance reviews, just different in structure and purpose.
Step 3: Choose 3–4 Methods Here are a few performance review types you can use (we’ll match them to Inter Luxe shortly):
Annual Appraisals Monthly/Quarterly One-to-One Reviews 360-Degree Feedback Real-time or On-the-Job Feedback Objective or KPI-Based Reviews Self-Assessments
Don’t list them like a bullet point exercise in the final answer. Your assessor wants to see your thinking, how these methods might play out across Inter Luxe, and where they fit in a realistic hotel setting.
Step 4: Apply the Case Study Here’s where it becomes more than just reciting theory.
Let’s pick Annual Appraisals , Real-Time Feedback , 360-Degree Feedback , and Monthly One-to-Ones for this session.
Now imagine:
You’re the People Advisor for eight hotels. These aren’t identical. Some are in tourist-heavy coastal towns, fast-paced, high turnover. Others are in cities where staff might stick around longer and work with business travellers. That matters, because performance review methods need to suit the setting.
Annual Appraisals
Real-Time Feedback
360-Degree Feedback
Monthly One-to-Ones
Step 5: Tie It Back to You and Your Role Don’t forget, you’re the People Advisor . That means you might be the one training managers on how to conduct these reviews, or developing the process for capturing feedback. Think about how you’d support these methods behind the scenes, creating review templates, setting up reminders, coaching managers on how to give better feedback.
Final Answer Example As People Advisor for Inter Luxe Hotel Group’s cluster of eight hotels, I support managers in reviewing employee performance across both coastal and city locations. The methods used can vary depending on staff turnover, role, and work setting.
One of the more structured methods is annual appraisals , which are particularly relevant in our city hotels. Here, staff tend to stay longer, making it practical to reflect on a full year’s goals and performance. For example, a front office supervisor in the Birmingham city hotel might meet with a receptionist to review targets set the previous year, discuss development progress, and set goals for the year ahead.
In contrast, real-time feedback is more relevant for the coastal properties. These sites rely heavily on seasonal staff, so performance conversations need to happen quickly and regularly. A restaurant manager in our Brighton hotel might offer on-the-spot feedback to a new waiter following a busy lunch service, helping them improve without delay. It’s less formal but vital in fast-paced environments.
We also use 360-degree feedback , especially for graduate trainees who rotate through departments. This method provides a broader view of performance by gathering comments from colleagues, supervisors, and even support staff. It’s especially useful for identifying how trainees are building relationships across functions — a key skill in hospitality.
Finally, monthly one-to-one meetings give managers an opportunity to check in with staff regularly. These are used across both city and resort hotels and can flag issues early. In one case, a housekeeping team leader in Manchester used these sessions to support a new cleaner who was struggling with shift patterns and equipment use, helping them settle into the role more confidently.
My role involves guiding managers on how to apply each of these methods appropriately. That might mean providing templates for one-to-one check-ins, coaching new managers on feedback techniques, or helping senior staff interpret 360 feedback constructively. Different settings call for different approaches, and our aim is to support high service standards while respecting the varying needs of our people.
Don’t try to sound perfect. A natural flow is better.
Always link theory back to your case study.
You don’t need every method under the sun, just enough to show variety and relevance.
Be specific. Mention actual hotel roles and scenarios.
Before you write a single word, pause and think, what is the core of this question? It’s not asking for a list of rewards. It’s not even asking for you to talk about pay alone. It wants you to explain what makes a total reward system work well, and not just in theory, but what makes it work effectively in a real-world setting like Inter Luxe Hotel Group.
They want:
Both financial and non-financial elements.A clear view of how these components link together to create something meaningful for employees.
Ideally, a bit of evaluation, not all rewards work equally in every context. What works in a hotel might not be right in a law firm, for instance.
Start with a brief explanation in your own words. Keep it simple. Something like:
“A total reward system includes everything an employee receives in exchange for their work. That covers salary and bonuses, but also non-cash benefits like flexible hours, recognition, development opportunities, and even the culture or sense of belonging they feel in the workplace.”
So already, you’ve moved beyond pay. Good. that’s where you want to go.
Now, this is the obvious bit, but you want to show you’ve thought it through. Go beyond ‘pay is important’ and ask, what types of financial rewards might actually help Inter Luxe retain or motivate staff? Tie it back to the case study.
In city hotels, you’ve got a mix of staff dealing with fast-paced, varied customers, tourists one moment, business execs the next. That environment can be draining. It might make performance bonuses appealing, especially if they’re tied to targets like guest satisfaction scores or upselling services.
At coastal resorts, many staff are supporting high-expectation holiday-goers. A different pressure, but still demanding. Overtime pay might matter more here during peak seasons summer, Christmas, bank holidays.
“At Inter Luxe, financial components might include base salary, overtime compensation, and performance-linked bonuses. For instance, staff in coastal hotels may benefit from seasonal bonuses during high-traffic periods, helping to retain talent when demand is highest.”
So, we’re not just listing. We’re connecting it back to the business and showing we understand its rhythm.
This is where the real thinking happens. What else do staff care about, especially in a service-based business like hospitality? Try putting yourself in their shoes. You’re on your feet ten hours a day. You probably work weekends. You deal with difficult guests. What would make that job feel worth sticking with, beyond pay?
You might say:
Recognition – simple ‘thank yous’, employee of the month schemes, team shoutouts.Career development – crucial for ambitious staff, especially those in the graduate programme.Flexible working – might be tricky in hospitality, but even predictable rotas count.Wellbeing support – emotional health in high-pressure environments matters.Workplace culture – how people treat each other day-to-day. Is it supportive? Inclusive?
Tie this into Inter Luxe again:
“For graduate trainees at Inter Luxe, non-financial rewards might include structured development placements across departments, giving them broader exposure and a clearer path to promotion. Meanwhile, front-of-house staff might value public recognition or small tokens of appreciation, especially in high-pressure city hotels.”
Can you feel how this is becoming a story , not just bullet points?
Here’s where you show assessors that you get how total reward works. You understand that different people are motivated by different things.
Try saying something like:
“An effective reward system doesn’t rely solely on salary or perks. In a diverse organisation like Inter Luxe, where teams range from housekeeping to hotel managers to graduate trainees, the reward package needs to speak to each group differently. Some may be more engaged by pay progression, while others value job security, training, or a strong team environment.”
That sentence shows maturity in your thinking. You’re not pretending there’s one right answer, you’re recognising that people vary.
A total reward system is more than a salary, it includes the full mix of what employees receive in return for their contribution. To be effective, especially in a hospitality business like Inter Luxe Hotel Group, this system needs to balance both financial and non-financial elements.
Financial components might include base pay, overtime, seasonal bonuses, and performance-based incentives. For example, during summer peaks in coastal resorts, extra pay for overtime can help motivate and retain staff when pressure is highest. In contrast, in busy city hotels, linking part of compensation to guest satisfaction scores might be more meaningful, especially for front-of-house staff who directly influence the guest experience.
Non-financial elements carry just as much weight. These include recognition, structured development, career pathways, flexible scheduling, and the general work environment. Inter Luxe’s graduate trainees benefit from rotating placements, allowing them to learn different parts of the business. This helps them feel invested in and more likely to stay long-term.
For permanent staff, consistent recognition both informal and formal, helps reinforce value. In high-pressure environments, a supportive culture can be just as motivating as a raise.
Ultimately, an effective total reward system at Inter Luxe considers the different needs of its workforce. By offering a thoughtful combination of both financial and non-financial rewards, the organisation can improve retention, motivation, and overall job satisfaction, even if not every element is valued equally by every employee.
There. Not too formal, not too stiff. You’ve explained the concepts, shown real understanding of how they play out in a business like Inter Luxe.
Use your own voice, don’t feel like you need to sound overly clever. Clarity beats complexity.
Always connect your points to the case study, that’s what your assessors are really looking for.
Show you’re thinking about real people , not just HR terms on a screen.
Don’t be afraid to include small examples, even invented ones, if they feel believable.
Avoid long perfect paragraphs, keep your pacing varied and natural.
Context : Inter Luxe Hotel Group. You’re a People Advisor supporting a graduate trainee.
Now, take a breath and pause there. The question isn’t asking what rewards are. It’s asking about how they motivate . So, the assessor isn’t after a shopping list of different types of rewards. They want to see your understanding of how reward ties to employee performance.
So, let’s say this again, what happens when people are rewarded? Why do they care? What changes in behaviour can we expect? And just as importantly, how do we see this happening in real organisations? That’s where our case study comes in.
You work in HR for a cluster of 8 hotels. That’s important. You’re not speaking in broad corporate theory, you’re in a specific context. Let’s also bring in the graduate trainee, because you’re not just answering for the sake of theory, you’re helping someone else understand this.
Let’s break it down.
1. Begin with Purpose Open by explaining what reward is in your own words . Don’t quote a textbook.
Try something like:
“Reward, as we use it here, is really about how the organisation says ‘we value your work’. That could be through pay, recognition, chances to grow, or just a simple thank you from the right person.”
Let it sound a little human, then tie it to motivation. This doesn’t have to be polished. Just clear. You might say:
“When someone feels like their effort matters, and that it’s noticed, they’re more likely to want to do it again. That’s the basic idea behind reward driving performance.”
2. Link Motivation Theories Briefly Now, don’t turn this into a lecture on Maslow or Herzberg. Just enough to show you understand the mechanics.
Think of it like this:
“Some of this is grounded in theory. Herzberg, for example, talks about how people need both hygiene factors like pay, and motivators, like achievement. Reward can sit in both spaces.”
If you want to refer to Vroom, keep it light: “Vroom’s expectancy theory also helps. People will work harder if they believe the reward is worth it and reachable.” Again, don’t overdo it. Your focus isn’t the theory, it’s the application.
3. Use the Case Study, Real Examples Now this is where the marks are. Show how you , in your role, apply this.
Let’s say:
“At Inter Luxe, we see two main groups, resort-based staff and city-based staff. Their motivations differ. For example, in the resort hotels, many staff are on seasonal contracts. A cash bonus at the end of a busy season, tied to customer satisfaction scores, can drive performance. They know there’s a tangible reward for keeping standards high.”
Then bring it to city hotels:
“In our city hotels, especially where we’ve got more corporate guests, we see staff responding to different rewards. Public recognition in team briefings or opportunities to train for leadership roles can make a big difference.”
Don’t stop there, pull in your experience with graduate trainees:
“With graduate trainees, I’ve seen that giving them a project to own, where they can see real outcomes, motivates them more than any voucher scheme.”
4. Show Balance Now, you want to show you’re thoughtful. Not everything works perfectly. So:
“Of course, rewards don’t land the same way with everyone. One colleague might love a staff award, another might feel embarrassed. You have to understand the team.”
You can also lightly question your own assumptions:
“We trialled a reward points system last year. It looked good on paper. But take-up was low—possibly because it wasn’t well explained, or maybe people didn’t believe the points were valuable enough.”
Let your thought process show. Assessors are looking for reflection.
Motivation Don’t get lost in the weeds. Bring everything back to this:
What did the reward do?
How did it change behaviour or attitude?
What did that mean for performance?
How reward can motivate employees to perform
When we talk about reward in our hotels, I don’t just think about payslips. It’s broader. It’s about how we acknowledge effort, whether that’s bonuses, a thank-you email from the GM, or even letting someone lead a new initiative. In my experience at Inter Luxe, rewards work best when they feel personal and timely.
I’ve seen this especially in our resort hotels. Many of our housekeeping staff are seasonal. During peak periods, we tie their bonus to guest satisfaction scores. It’s simple, but it works. Teams start checking in with each other more, helping new starters settle faster, and trying to stay one step ahead of customer needs. They’re not just working harder, they’re working together. That’s the key difference I’ve noticed when a reward is tied to something tangible.
In city hotels, the picture shifts a bit. There’s a longer-term outlook. Staff are more likely to stay year-round, and we’ve found recognition plays a stronger role. We once introduced a peer-nominated “Service Star” each month, no money attached. One of our receptionists, Ravi, won it twice. It changed how he spoke up in meetings, like he believed we were listening now.
From a theory perspective, Herzberg’s motivators come to mind. For some, money is a baseline, but the real driver might be achievement or growth. With our graduate trainees, we give them mini-projects to lead. I had one trainee last year who really came out of their shell when asked to develop a feedback system for check-out staff. She later said it was the first time she felt like her opinion mattered. That motivation came from autonomy, not a reward in the usual sense.
Of course, not every reward works for everyone. We tried a digital points platform last year. Uptake was poor. Maybe the rewards weren’t attractive enough or maybe it just felt a bit impersonal. We learned that how you frame a reward is sometimes as important as the reward itself.
In the end, reward is just one piece of the puzzle. But when it lands well, when it’s fair, relevant, and linked to real effort, it can push people from just doing the job to doing it well, with pride. That’s when performance tends to lift.
The examiner isn’t just after what you think. They want to see why it matters, particularly in a setting like Inter Luxe, and they want to see you apply it.
Let’s break this apart slowly.
Understanding What the Question is Really Asking When they say “reasons,” don’t just list outcomes like “it motivates employees.” That’s too shallow. Think deeper. Think about what fair pay says about how the business values its people. Ask yourself, what happens when people feel underpaid? What does that do to the culture? To the brand? And, on the flip side, why might a business like Inter Luxe want to treat employees fairly when it comes to wages?
Then there’s that little word: “fairly.” That’s not the same as equally . Fairness could mean different pay for different jobs or different locations—but based on clear, justifiable criteria.
You’re not writing a textbook essay here. You’re showing that you understand people , business , and the real-life impact of decisions.
Case Study Lens: Inter Luxe Hotel Group Now let’s pull in our case study. You’re working in the People Function at a group of eight hotels. The staff here? Some might be long-time employees in coastal resorts, others might be newer recruits in city hotels. Each site could face different customer pressures. Think, high-end business travellers in cities, holidaymakers at beach resorts. That alone can lead to very different workloads, even in the same role.
And here’s another layer. Inter Luxe recruits graduate trainees. They move through departments, learning the ropes. So fairness in pay can’t just be about base salary. What about clarity in pay progression? How do we avoid a situation where trainees feel undervalued after moving from one hotel to another with different expectations?
Let’s Look at Two Strong Reasons To Support Employee Motivation and Retention Let’s say one of your housekeeping staff in the London property finds out they’re earning less than someone doing the same job in Brighton, despite working longer hours and dealing with stricter guest expectations. What does that do to motivation? Over time, resentment creeps in. Morale dips. They start to wonder if they’re being overlooked.
Now imagine the impact on turnover. You lose good people because they feel underpaid. Recruitment costs increase. You’re constantly training new staff who never quite get the hang of your standards before they leave again. Guests start to notice too. Cleanliness slips. Reviews drop. The business suffers.
Fair pay helps prevent this spiral. When people feel fairly rewarded, they’re more likely to stay. They trust the employer. And that trust is hard to rebuild once broken.
To Protect the Employer Brand and Legal Compliance Think about the UK context. There are legal frameworks you can’t ignore, Equal Pay Act, National Minimum Wage, and so on. Pay disparity, especially where there’s a gender or race divide, can land you in legal trouble fast.
Let’s imagine your trainee is shadowing you during an audit. You notice two receptionists, one male, one female, with similar experience and performance. Yet there’s a 15% pay difference. There’s no documented justification. That’s a risk. If that gets out? You’re not just dealing with tribunal costs. You’re also managing damage to Inter Luxe’s brand.
And Inter Luxe is a premium brand. High-end clients expect high standards, not just in service, but in ethics too. If word spreads that the company doesn’t treat its staff fairly, what happens to client loyalty? To recruitment appeal? You can lose more than just one lawsuit.
How to Lay It Out in Your Answer Keep it natural. Don’t force long, polished paragraphs. Show the thinking behind your points. Be specific. Use the Inter Luxe example to anchor your reasoning.
Fairness in pay isn’t just about numbers on a payslip, it shapes how employees feel about the company and their place in it. At Inter Luxe Hotel Group, where we manage a range of hotels with very different demands depending on the location, treating people fairly around pay becomes even more important.
One reason to treat employees fairly is to maintain motivation and reduce staff turnover. For example, in our city hotels, some teams handle high-pressure business guests with tight deadlines and longer hours. If those employees were to find out their pay didn’t reflect that, especially when compared to colleagues in quieter coastal resorts, it could lead to demotivation. We might start losing strong performers, and the cost of replacing them, both financially and in terms of guest satisfaction can be steep. Fair pay, then, isn’t just about being kind. It’s about keeping the business running smoothly.
Another reason is compliance and reputation. In the UK, employment law requires equal pay for equal work. If Inter Luxe had discrepancies between employees in the same role, let’s say, two front desk staff with similar experience but different pay rates, it could open the company up to legal action. But even beyond the law, there’s reputational risk. Inter Luxe trades on a high-end image. Any sign of unfair treatment could weaken our standing, especially if it’s made public. People talk. Reviews mention staff treatment. And potential recruits might think twice.
So fair pay, in a business like ours, is about more than ticking a legal box. It affects trust, performance, and how the public sees us.
Final Advice If you’re ever unsure what to say, return to the human angle. What would you want, if you were in that job? What would feel fair ? And what would you think if your friend told you they’d been underpaid for no clear reason?
Write with that in mind. Use the case study to make your thinking come alive. And let your answer feel, well, a little human.
We’re not machines. Neither are assessors. Show them that you get it, not just in theory, but in practice.
1. What is the main aim of Task Four in 3co04 Essentials of People Practice?
2. Do I have to include personal experience?
3. How detailed should the examples be?
4. What if I’ve never been in an HR role?
5. How formal should my writing be?
