Practices of HR in Change Management and Employee Engagement

This research project aims to analyze the practices of human resource management in the context of change management and their impact on employee engagement and retention. It includes a case study on Sainsbury's in the United Kingdom, exploring the role of HR in change management process and training and development of employees for their engagement towards achieving end goals.

Business Research Project
[ Research Title- To analyse the practices of human resource management in context of change
management and their impact on employees engagement and retention. A case study on
Sainsbury’s in the United Kingdom]
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Human resource manager is responsible for selecting and recruiting the right individuals
in the right place so that various operations can be easily completed, and the company can retain
its market share. External environment is dynamic in nature, so it forces Human resource
manager to change its strategies accordingly for a better outcome. The business research project
aim to understand the role of HR manager in change management process and retention and
engagement of employees. It has included crucial information related to role played HR manager
in change management process and training and development of employees for their engagement
towards the achievement of end goals. Furthermore it has covered key information related to
methods or theories used by HR to enhance employees engagement and their retention within
firm.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER -1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................4
Background..................................................................................................................................4
Aim..............................................................................................................................................4
Objective......................................................................................................................................4
Research question........................................................................................................................5
Rationale......................................................................................................................................5
Scope ...........................................................................................................................................5
CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................6
Theme 1: Recent practices of HR related to change management process.................................6
Theme 2: Different methods or theories and framework that are used by HR to motivate
employees to adapt external changes for growth and success of company.................................6
Theme 3: Issue faced by Human resource management in managing change and retaining
employee’s...................................................................................................................................8
Theme 4: HR practices and the way they impact on employee’s engagement and retention.....8
CHAPTER-3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES.........................................................................10
CHAPTER -4 RESEARCH AND FINDING................................................................................13
CHAPTER 5- CONCLUSION......................................................................................................16
........................................................................................................................................................16
CHAPTER 6- RECOMMENDATION.........................................................................................17
RM limitation.................................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................19
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Topic- To analyse the practices of human resource management in context of change
management and their impact on employees engagement and retention. A case study on
Sainsbury’s in the United Kingdom.
·CHAPTER -1 INTRODUCTION
·Background
Human resource management is responsible for hiring, selecting, recruiting and retaining
highly talented, skilled and knowledgeable employees within organisation for a longer time
frame so that qualitative services can be delivered to end customers. There are numerous
changes within the external environment so companies, in order to grow and sustain its business
operation, need to adapt with external changes (Azeez, 2017). Therefore, Human resources
management of Sainsbury’s is facing challenges related to the change of management that has
created a barrier in the effective operation of business. Sainsbury’s is second largest chain of
supermarket in United Kingdom that delivered varieties of products and services like clothing,
food, electronics and financial services to customers. This research is related to key issues that
are faced by Human resource management in influencing employees to adapt external changes
so that the firm can gain competitive advantages.
l壱Aim
To understand role of human resources in change management process of Sainsbury’s and their
impact on employees retention and engagement in the retail sector of the United Kingdom.
l壱Objective
l壱To understand and analysis the recent practices of HR related to change management process.
l壱To identify different methods or theories and framework that are used by HR to motivate
employees to adapt external changes so that company can attain its objective.
l壱To analyse the issues or challenges that are faced by Human resource management while
motivating employees to accept external changes for their engagement and retention within firm.
l壱To suggest various steps that can be taken by enterprise to make employees motivated to
change their procedure of work as per situation or circumstances.

l壱Research question
l壱What are recent practices of HR related to change management process?
l壱What are the different methods or theories and framework that are used by HR t influencing
employees to accept external changes of environment and work for organisation?
l壱What are several challenges that are bear by HRM while completing their respective task or in
engagement and retention of employees?
l壱What are the crucial steps that could be taken by human resource manager to inspired
employees to change their method or behaviour to complete a task?
l壱Rationale
The change of management issues faced by HRM is an important topic for study because
external business environment is dynamic or ever changing in nature therefore HR management
needs to motivate employees to adapt them so that firm can grow and succeed in its operation. In
context of recent scenario, many human resource managements of organisations in the retail
sector industry are facing challenges in effective management of change that has created a hurdle
in growth and success of business (Koster and Benda, 2020). So, this study is crucial because it
helps in identifying key issues and the way that they can be resolved so that the end objectives of
the firm can be achieved. This research is valuable for the employer, human resource
management and top executive that are working in the retail industry within the United
Kingdom.
l壱Scope
The scope of research is limited to some extent as it is related to a particular organisation
named Sainsbury’s that is performing its operation across United Kingdom to deliver its best
services to a range of customers. Therefore, the research has covered information, facts and
figures relating to the issue of Human resource management in a particular firm of UK.
·
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·CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review is a survey of scholarly source on specific topics that helps in gathering
information related to current knowledge, identifying relevant theories, gaps and method
involved in existing research. It involves finding appropriate, relevant publication from various
sources like books, journals and articles. Critically analysing them and identifying information
which is related to the topic which can be fruitful in making research in context of key issues
faced by Human resource management in brining changes within firm.
l壱Theme 1: Recent practices of HR related to change management process
As noted by Figueiredo and et.al., (2016), change management is a concept or process
that specific methods that are used by human resource managers to manage diverse individuals
to accept changes so that desired outcomes or goals can be achieved in a limited time frame. It
includes information related to manners in which a company have brought change or
implemented changes like providing guidance, support to employees, preparation of new
strategies or procedure regarding the way employees needs to complete several tasks so that end
goals can be attained. The main reason for change is when to failure within an organisation is
high resistance from employees so it is the responsibility of Human resources management to
influence them so that they are motivated to give their best for growth and success of the firm.
While as per view of Cooke, Dickmann and Parry, (2020), Ineffective management or
high resistance from employees can adversely impact on growth and sustainability of enterprise
in the retail sector. So, HR management needs to find different techniques that could be useful in
inspiring them to make use of new methods or procedures to complete several task in best
possible manner.
l壱 Theme 2: Different methods or theories and framework that are used by HR to motivate
employees to adapt external changes for growth and success of company
As illustrated by Browne and et.al., (2016) there are several methods or techniques used
by human resources management to inspire individuals like employees to bring changes within a
firm so that customers requirements can be fulfilled in a better manner. Resistance from
employees is a natural reaction so it is duty and responsibility of the human resource manager to
find an appropriate method that could be useful to motivate employees to accept change.
Managing by clearly communicating to employees about long term vision and mission of the
firm is a way to influence employees to give their best for the success of the firm. Engaging

employees is another method that could be used by the HR manager to motivate individuals in
the organisation as it encourages employees to share their view, idea and opinion or actively take
part in several operations. Proper organisation structure, open communication and better social
relationships among employees contribute to the HR manager to easily bring changes or remove
various resistances. As it is able to motivate diverse individuals to work in team for common
goals so that the company can ear huge profitability and market share. Another method that is
used by the human resource manager is implementing changes in phases like at the first stage it
prepares employees about particular change that a company is planning to bring in the near
future. Thus, it is at a stage which the HR manager should clearly define roles, responsibilities
that need to be performed by specific individuals then it make use of different strategies to
manage changes. Another method used by HR management is feedback from employees to
understand key challenges that they are facing in adapting changes so that corrective action can
be taken, and end goals can be achieved. Therefore, all different methods or strategies that are
being used by HRM to inspire individuals to adopt changes so that company can gain and
retained its market positioning.
According to Szabla and et.al., (2017), there are more methods which are used by
managers of companies in order to motivate employees to accept external changes such as
deciding appropriate strategies that could be helpful in overcoming resistance. Managing by
clearly communicating to employees about various changes, roles and responsibilities that needs
to be completed by each individual has motivated them to get ready so that it can retain its
market positioning in long run. It has also focused on more engagement of employees or active
participation in changes by encouraging them to share their feedback, view and innovative ideas.
All these have contributed in generating a feeling of belonging and effective adaptation of
change for growth and success of the organisation. Moreover, efforts have been made by
managers to implement change in phase so that individuals can easily adapt changes and
contribute in the development of a firm. Likewise, at first it has prepared people by informing
them about change that the company will bring in the near future so that it can retain its
competitive advantages. Through clear communication and effective management strategies,
companies effectively manage changes, thereby helps companies in achieving its end goals in the
best possible manner. In recent trends, most of the managers are also making use of methods of
emotional intelligence in order to effectively understand the emotion of people and find
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alternative methods the way that they can be motivated to give their best which can help the
company in enjoying maximum benefits.
l壱Theme 3: Issue faced by Human resource management in managing change and retaining
employee’s
From the point of view of Baltaci and Balc? (2017), human resource management face
several issues related to the change management that acts as a barrier in effective implementation
of new changes for growth of an organisation. Like one of the biggest issues faced by HRM of a
company is managing multiple teams or individuals, as there are various individuals with
different perspectives and views. So, it become difficult for managers to coordinate them all to
work as a team to adapt changes so that the company can retain its market position for the long
run. High resistance from individuals or employees that are working in an organisation is also
one of the key challenges or issues faced by Human resources of an organisation. As there are
many individuals that are not interested in adapting to changes happening in an external
environment because of habit which results in a barrier in gaining a maximum outcome.
Moreover, lack of communication and coordination between team members is also challenged
which is suffered by the human resource manager while influencing employees to adapt to
changes so that company can gain competitive advantages. Limited amount of resource and
incapability from the manger to motivate employees to adapt external changes also acts as a
challenge for human resource. Lack of confidence or fear among employees that they will able
to adapt to change or not, results in issues for the HR manager to inspire them to accept change.
Therefore, from the perspective of the author, all of these challenges needs to be removed so that
best outcome can be gained and the company can earn huge profitability and market share.
l壱Theme 4: HR practices and the way they impact on employee’s engagement and
retention
As illustrated by Petrou Demerouti and Schaufeli, (2018), human resource make use of
different practices in order to engage employee’s and retained them within organization for
longer time frame. Likewise, it trained and developed employees about the way particular task
can be completed thus it helps in gaining maximum outcome. Training and development
process contribute in developing confidence level among employees to easily adapt to change so
that company can retained its market share to maximum extend. Moreover, another practices that
has been used by HR is higher compensation and pay to employee’s that has motivated them to

adapt to external changes for growth and expansion of business. So as per view of author,
financial increment is one of the motivating factors has inspired individuals to make themselves
ready to accept the change so that company can earn maximum sales volume and profitability.
·
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·CHAPTER-3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
Research methodology
It is described as a systematic method to settle a research issue via gathering data
utilising several techniques, delivering an interpretation of gathered data and drawing
conclusions about the data which is researched. Essentially, research methodology is a sketch of
study or research.
Research type
These are the specific processes for gathering and analysing data. Research types are the
plans or techniques used in the gathering evidence or research analysis to uncover the latest
developments. Growing methods of research is an integral division of research design. There are
two methods of research, methods that are qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative types of research aim to describe and define which things are observed within the
research. This research type is geared towards building detail and complete description of the
researcher's observation, analysed in the study instead of delivering casual explanations or
predictions (Mohajan, 2018).
Quantitative is a type of research which is used when a researcher follows paradigm of science.
This type seeks to quantify collected data and generalise outcomes from target population
sample. This quantitative type of research follows structured processes of collecting data output
in numbers and observation of analysis to objectify utilising statistical means. Quantitative
research type acquired a big portion in the market research globally.
Researchers utilise qualitative research because it offers interpretation and conceptualisation of
the gathered data. Qualitative research is subjective and needs a small amount of respondents
that are chosen carefully.
Research approach
This is a strategy and process which consists steps of wide assumptions to brief methods
of collecting data, interpretation and analysis. This strategy involves various decisions and are
required not to be applied in the order in that those approaches make some sense in personal and
presentation. Inductive and deductive are the two research approaches (Worthington and Bodie,
2017).
Inductive approaches begin with the theories and observations that are towards the ending of the
procedures and the final results of the search outcomes. It involves a search for pattern from the

growth and observations of explanations for designs of research via hypothesis series. This
approach supports in developing in empirical generalisations and recognise relationships and
links that are preliminary (Aithal, 2017).
Deductive approaches in research is solely responsible in which persons typically associated with
the investigation are scientific. These studies involve theories of whatever phenomenon is
researched and examines hypothesis which is emerged from the obtained theory.
The scholar uses inductive approaches of research to acquire full knowledge (Shahar and et.al,
2019).
Research philosophy
It is a belief related the ways in which the specific data and phenomenon should be
gathered, analysed and used. Although the scheme of knowledge building come forward and
appear as profound and engage in creating knowledge as a division of finishing the dissertation
of a researcher. Interpretivism and positivism are the philosophies of a research (Kumar, 2018).
Interpretivism integrates interests of humans into the research and these philosophies are
assumed by researchers and scholars which access reality like consciousness of language and
shared meanings. Growth of interpretivist is based on the positivism critique in social sciences. It
is associated with idealism's philosophical position and is used to put together the approaches
which are diverse.
Positivism approaches adheres to view which is only factual, and the knowledge is
earned via observation involving measurement that are trustworthy. In this research, the
researchers role is limited to data gathering and interpretation done in a way of objective.
Researchers use positivism to research philosophy in their studies as it claim that
social world can be easily understand in objective way. Moreover, this philosophy state
that all information, facts and figure gathered from observation experience are positive in
manner that contribute in making research more fruitful and reliable.
Data collection
This is the process of collecting and making measurements of information and
knowledge on interest variables in systematic ways which enables an individual or researcher to
answer the stated and asked questions and examine hypothesis and calculate results. Data can be
collected in two ways that are primary and secondary.
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Primary data collection is the original source of data which is collected first-hand solely by the
researcher for a specific project or purpose. This data can be collected in various ways and is
quite time-consuming and expensive when compared to the secondary data collection.
Secondary data collection is the method or sources of gathering data which already exists.
Current data collection summarises and collates to maximize the effectiveness of the research. It
also involves the research material that is published in similar documents and research reports.
Researcher applies primary data collection in studying and gaining knowledge.
Data analysis
It is the process of implementing and applying logical and statistical techniques
systematically to define and illustrate, recap, condense and evaluate the data. An important
component of assuring integrity of data is the appropriate and accurate analysis of the studies
findings. Data can be analysed in two ways mentioned below:
Thematic data analysis is a type of qualitative data analysing which is usually applied to a bunch
of texts like interview transcripts.
SPSS is the analysis method used for analysing statistical data and is utilised by top research
agencies to survey data.
Researchers use thematic data analyse because it is applied when the software is not present in
the company.
Ethical consideration
The researcher adhered ethical terms to assure accountability, trust, fair information with respect
and the given data is available which can be reported by any reader and the total information is
actual and right.

·CHAPTER -4 RESEARCH AND FINDING
Research and finding is a chapter that includes data or important information which has
been found out by conducting research on particular topics so that necessary information can be
derived. In another words, principle outcome of the research which has been gathered after
collection of data from different sources like books and journals, internet, articles and many
more. Therefore, all these sources have been used to collect and analyse information related to
issues faced by the human resources management while motivating employees to accept changes
so that company can enjoy huge profitability. So, this chapter has included important
information that has been founded by conducting research. Such as:
From the above analysis it can be understood that the Sainsbury’s manager has put their
best efforts in order to accept and manage change so that company can enjoy huge market share.
Change management is a process that is used to motivate employees to accept new procedures in
order to complete specific tasks so that better services can be yield to customers. External
environment is dynamic in nature, as there are numerous changes in policies, economic
condition, social factors and technology that adversely affects business operation. Organisation
by adapting to external changes can meet customers expectancy in the best possible manner
thereby retaining its market positioning. Managers of Sainsbury’s has given more importance to
the change management process which has helped the company in easily formulating strategies
to accept changes. It has conducted consistence in market surveys and analysis in order to
understand key trends and take decisions regarding strategies that could be used to achieve the
end goals of the organisation. Secondary research has also helped in finding out that manager of
the company has make use of different methods or strategies to influence employees to adapt
changes (Frisk and Bannister, 2017). Likewise, it has been identified that the manager has make
use of different leadership styles and motivation theories in order to inspire individuals to
influence them to accept changes. It has made use of reward or incentive as motivation
techniques in order to inspire employees of Sainsbury’s to take steps to adopt changes.
The company has also focused on its organisational culture where managers respect,
recognise and reward each of the employees that are ready to learn new skills and capabilities or
innovative things which can help the company in retaining its market positioning. So, a friendly
and supportive environment of the organisation has helped employees in easily learning new
ways of doing particular tasks so that the needs of customers are satisfied beyond their
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expectancy level. Managers of Sainsbury’s also value transparency which helped in maintaining
clarity and honesty about the change process that company wants to bring in near future like
introduction of new products or a better organisation structure. Thus, the manager of this
organisation through openly sharing information to employees about the change it is planning to
bring in near future has motivated them to develop several skills and talent. It has also
contributed in maintaining loyalty among employees and delivering services to customers that
are beyond their expectancy level. Furthermore, it has been identified that the manager of
Sainsbury’s has organised training and development in order to give confidence to employees to
accept change. Training and development programs have contributed in training employees
about the way new tasks can be performed or change that company wants to bring so that it can
sustain in the competitive market for a longer time frame (Carnall, 2018). Sainsbury’s manager
has also made use of several other methods in order to influence individuals to accept new
methods or recent changes like it has taken continuous feedback in order to know their relative
problem and find possible solutions. It by understanding employee’s problem or key issues that
they are facing while adapting to changes is able to formulate strategies that could help in
gaining maximum outcome. Sainsbury’s is a large organisation that has operated worldwide,
having a number of employees with diverse beliefs, value and preferences. So, managers in
order to coordinate diverse individuals to work together to new changes has made use of
emotional intelligence which helps in understanding the feelings of employees. Emotional
intelligence contributes in effective change management in a different manner so that individuals
are ready to accept change rather than resistance. Therefore, it can be stated that these
techniques have helped in understanding emotions of individuals and the way they can be
motivated to take active part in the change process for growth and sustainability of Sainsbury’s.
It can also be illustrated that there are several issues which have been faced by the human
resource management of Sainsbury’s while implementing change management for the
achievement of end goals of the organisation. The biggest challenge which HR of Sainsbury’s
has faced is high resistance from individuals as most of the employees are not ready to accept
change due to fear or lack of confidence. So, managers in order to remove key challenges of
resistance has provided a better atmosphere, training and guidance to employees about the way
task can be completed so that the end goals can be achieved. Furthermore, it has been identified
that lack of communication is also one of the challenges which has been a problem for the HR

manager of this company while promoting change (Lewis and Sahay, 2019). Due to lack of
communication about tasks, roles and responsibilities that need to be performed by specific
individuals or why change needs to be brought into the organisation. Employees feel less
motivated to give their best as they are not aware about type of change that company wants to
bring so that it can enjoy high profit margin and market share.
Moreover it has been identified that the Human resource management of Sainsbury’s
faces different kinds of issues in motivating its employees towards change management. Such as
when HRM fails to engage with employees during the phase of planning in which the
management change process, discussion and input. It cannot involve staff in modifications which
affect them and give perfect suggestions. It cannot help employees to manage loss when they are
not familiar with their duties and roles and suffers from lack of confidence. They cannot help
them to select a diverse team in a project and stay concentrated on the reasons for modification
in change management. They are not able to identify attitudes of employees which become
barriers for their growth. HRM fails to build a culture in making continuous improvements in the
attitudes and behaviours of employees towards achieving the goals by making changes in the
management.
·
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·CHAPTER 5- CONCLUSION
From the above research it can be concluded that changes are necessary to be brought in
an organisation with respect to trends in external environment as it helps the company in
retaining its competitive edge. The study has helped in understanding that there are numerous
changes which influence companies to adapt, like change in taste and preference of people,
economic condition and development in technology. Sainsbury’s manager has come up with
several external changes by motivating and managing diverse individuals so that the best
outcome can be gained. From the analysis it is also learned that manager has made use of
different methods or strategies in order to motivate employees to accept changes for benefit of
organisation. It has been understood that there are numerous methods such as better
communication, rewards, a friendly environment and many more that helps in inspiring
individuals to accept change. The research has also included key issues suffered by HRM of
Sainsbury’s while managing change so that its end outcome can be achieved. Moreover, it has
contained analysis regarding the way managers have tried to overcome the challenges so that the
company can retain its market position and sustain for a longer time frame.
·

·CHAPTER 6- RECOMMENDATION
There are few suggestions which can be recommended from the above study related to
issues or challenges which has had a negative impact on the HR manager of Sainsbury’s while
implementing and managing change. Manager of Sainsbury by applying these recommendation
improving the performance of the organisation and contributing in its overall growth and success
in the retail industry of the United Kingdom. Therefore, key suggestions related to removing
challenges and to motivate employees of Sainsbury’s to adapt change can be explained as
follows:
·Firstly, the manager needs to focus on making employees happy and satisfied by giving them
equal responsibilities, opportunities or recognition to take active part in several operations of
business. It needs to understand view, beliefs and ideas of each individual thereby on the basis of
which particular course of action that could be useful in inspiring them to adapt change (Vidgen,
Shaw and Grant, 2017).
· Secondly, it can be suggested that the manager of Sainsbury’s needs to promote open and free
communication among employees. So that they are aware of the type of change the company
wants to bring, its benefits and the what it can bring so that firm can retain its market
positioning. It also needs to focus on organisational culture of the company which means it
needs to promote innovative, learning culture so that each individual is ready to learn and adapt.
·Thirdly, the manager of company needs to spend more time, effort and energy in order to
effectively plan the change that will be brought into the organisation so that end goals can be
achieved. It should clearly state to employees about their respective roles and responsibilities and
guide them at each step so that they can remove their fear or lack of confidence (Petrou,
Demerouti and Schaufeli, 2018). Thereby motivation to accept changes for growth and survival
of the company in the retail sector for many years.
·RM limitation
Researchers utilize limited time and limited resources in studying and collecting data but
try to provide their best of what was asked of them. Lack of previous study related to topic is
also one the research limitation of the project. Moreover there is limited access to the data like
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book and journals and internet to gathered necessary information related to the topic. All these
are major limitation related to the study.

·REFERENCES
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Kumar, R., 2018. Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage.
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Mohajan, H.K., 2018. Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related
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Petrou, P., Demerouti, E. and Schaufeli, W. B., 2018. Crafting the change: The role of employee
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Szabla, D. B and et.al., 2017. The Palgrave handbook of organizational change thinkers.
Palgrave Macmillan,.
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