Human Resource Management Practices and Performance

This assignment delves into the crucial relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) practices and organizational effectiveness. It examines various HRM strategies, their impact on employee engagement, productivity, and ultimately, organizational success. Students are encouraged to analyze real-world examples and scholarly research to understand how effective HRM practices contribute to a thriving work environment and improved organizational performance. The assignment also investigates the role of organizational innovation as a mediating factor in this relationship.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Page 1 of 18

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1) Function of HRM in workforce planning of Zara.................................................................3
P3) Benefits of different HRM practices in Zara.........................................................................9
P4) Effectiveness of HRM practices in raising the profit on productivity of Zara....................10
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................12
P5 Analysing the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making.......................................................................................................................................12
P6 Identifying the key elements of employment legislation and its impact on HRM decision
making.......................................................................................................................................12
P7 Illustrating the application of the HRM practices in Zara....................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17
Page 2 of 18

Introduction
Human Resource management is the backbone of the organisation which combines with
traditional administrative personnel function and develops the performance management in
relation to employee and the resource planning. The assignment will cover the detail study of
Human Resource Management and their function in the organisation. Zara is being chosen as an
organisation for this study to understand about the different approaches of recruitment and
selection and also which is applicable in the organisation. The workforce planning has been
explain briefly and the benefits of the HRM practices for the employer and the employee. The
evolution of the effectiveness of different HRM practices have helped in influencing the decision
making for Zara. It has also been noted that proper application of the HRM practices in the work
has helped to increase the efficiency and productivity of the organisation.
Task 1
P1) Function of HRM in workforce planning of Zara.
Zara is a retail store which was founded in 1975 for the brand of the Inditex group. It is one of
the world’s largest apparel retailers with brands such as Massimo dutti, pull and bear, Bershka,
Oysho etc. As of 2017 Zara has managed 20 clothing collections a year (Zarahome.com, 2018).
Zara has launched 15 fashion stores nationally and two separate Zara home outlet in the recent
month.
The human resource management has helped Zara to become one of the leading brand in UK by
improving their marketing plan and developing their administrative policies and programmes.
The department is quite concerned with the effective utilisation of the human resources in the
organisation for a specific outcome of establishment.
Figure 1: Logo of Zara
Page 3 of 18

(Source: Zarahome.com. 2018)
The organisation has taken action for maintaining a good relationship with the employee and the
employer for developing:
 Efficiency and effectiveness of the human resources.
 Ensuring positivity in the work and between the employees and the employees in the
organisation.
 Development of the individual in the retail marketing and also for the position in the
organisation.
The online retail marketing in UK has successfully extended the blow for bricks and Motors
brands. The UK retail with the backbone of the HRM in their works was planning has helped to
increase to profit by 2.1% true UK in January. The main motive of the organisation is now to
increase the efficiency among the employee to gain competitive advantage.
The organisation is adopting for a specific human resource function in their workforce planning
and resources:
HR planning: It is essential to have a good plan for the operations for the daily activity. The
effectiveness of HR planning has enabled the organisation to achieve the overall performance.
Identification of the nature of the job and helping with the desired candidates in the organisation
has increased the revenue (Lane et al. 2015).
Recruitment and selection: Zara is looking for creative and flexible employees who can have
enthusiasm and commitment to their passion for fashion. As the technology is changing day by
day so the organisation has focused on adapting to changes towards customer oriented and
teamwork.
Training and development: The organisation focus on the development training so that the
employees can have internal promotion by constant adoption of the business and evaluation of
the performance (Furnham, 2017). It also focus on the store, classroom, raw materials, corporate
social responsibility, and safety trainings etc.
Page 4 of 18

Figure 2: Training and development method of Zara
(Source: Bondarouk, 2014)
Compensation: HRM focus on the vacation package of four weeks in a year. It focus on the
commission, leave benefits, discounts, insurance plan etc.
Performance management: The organisation helps with the job satisfaction with different
activities in the workplace like exchanging of jobs to the different employees. It helps to broaden
the experience, knowledge and minimise the risk.
Employee relations: The fundamental value of the organisation used to motivate, innovate the
team work with humbleness and drive 1,71,000 customers with good product of quality and
service (Doherty et al. 2016). The strict code of conduct has helped to generate more revenue of
the organisation by focusing on the career opportunities of the employees.
P2) Strength and weakness of different approaches to recruitment and selection.
As a large retailer in UK Zara has adopted a good human resource department for achieving the
goals and objectives of the organisation which use internal and external source approach of
recruitment and selection for the employees.
Internal source approach recruitment and selection:
Page 5 of 18

This is an approach for recruiting the employees internally within the organisation. The
organisation focus on different strategy for recruiting and transferring the employees to fill the
desired position in the organisation (Clabburn et al. 2016). The organisation also focus to get the
applicants from the existing employees and use referrals for existing employees.
Figure 3: Internal sources of recruitment and selection
(Source: Brewster, 2017)
Strength Weakness
 HRM has contacted the recruitment
and selection process with the short
time.
 The interview is easy and will recruit
among the existing employees in the
organisation.
 The approach has an effectiveness in
the nature for hiring employees
(Brewster, 2017).
 It can demotivate the employees who
are not promoted in the organisation.
 It creates discrimination.
 It limits the opportunities for hiring
new and innovative employees.
 The applicants are limited
 No fresh talent enters the workforce of
the company
 Resentment among the colleagues
Page 6 of 18
Employee
ReferralsPromotionTransfer
Internal
Recruitment &
Selection

 There is no risk for hiring unqualified
employees.
 This process is cheaper and quicker
than that of the external recruitment
 The talent and capability of the
employee is already known
 The Strengths, weaknesses and the
business process of the organisation is
already known
 to the employee
 Promotional opportunities are
motivating for he employees
increasing the productivity
against the chosen employee may take
place as
 Decisions may be taken based on any
kind of bias.
 Creation of another vacancy takes
place (Zarahome.com. 2018)
External approach of recruitment and selection:
This approach deals with the employees from the external sources which are from advertisement
on different media, agencies or employee referrals. This recruitment and selection process is
quite time consuming and complex however brings a good outcome for the organisation.
Page 7 of 18

Figure 4: External sources of recruitment of Zara
(Source: Dumont et al. 2017)
Strength Weakness
 This sources has helped to recruit new,
young, creative and skilled employees.
 It has helped to promote the brand
externally.
 It has also help to increase the
productivity through various methods.
 New talents for the organisation
 Availability of talented, experienced
and widely skilled
 It is very time taking and costly.
 This has a high risk for unfit
employers hired for the organisation
(Dumont et al. 2017).
 Expensive process owing to
advertisements in print media and
online media like job
 portals
 This particular process is very long
Page 8 of 18

 Numerous options to choose from and
hire the best potential employee
than other recruitment processes
 The selection mat not prove to be
effective as expected
The recruitment and selection for approaches of Zara has also focused on the reliability of the
interviews. This are conducted by different taste like MCQs, aptitude test etc. It is a parallel or
alternative for method for the procedure of the recruitment which helps the organisation to
identify the desired candidate. The validation in composites like content validity, Criterion
validity and construct validity of the employee to join the organisation after this election.
Third Party Recruitment:
Strength Weakness
 Fair staffing based only on talent is
possible
 long term target in building
relationship
 Best utilisation of the talent of the
candidates
 Extra fees for the services offered by
the recruitment agency is required to
be provided incurring costs on the
organisation
 Lack of control over of the hiring
process is seen as the HR manager has
no direct control over the agencies
(Farouk et al. 2016).
 Assessment of the individual
employee by the HRM of the company
is not possible.
 Communication issues regarding the
exact requirement of the organisation
is witnessed
Page 9 of 18

P3) Benefits of different HRM practices in Zara
The effective practice of the human resources has benefited the employee and the employer of
Zara in different ways.
The hiring and training policy of the workplace has become more responsible and depending on
the reading strategies so that the right kind of people can be allocated in the organisation. Zara
has appointed the desired candidates for the weekend shop with their hard work with other
companies for the experience and for fresher they have based on their education level. The
organisation also focused on the induction and orientation process so that the employees can get
a clear picture about the work before they go for the training (Ahlvik, and Björkman, 2015).
The main aim of HRM in the organisation is to maintain the effective resources at the workplace
so Zara has applied the practices like test evolution and different rounds of face to face
interviews. This has helped the organisation to increase the efficiency of the Human Resource
Department as well as to identify the desired candidate for the different departments of Zara.
Zara has also opted for providing flexibilities to the Employees with different leave policies,
insurance policies, good pay scale and so on such that organisation can get help from the
employees for retaining with loyalty (Dumont et al. 2017).
The utmost product of the organisation is to focus on the employee satisfaction so the Human
Resource Department has satisfy the workplace with different bonus and incentives for the extra
sales. Also getting a discount of more than 25% in a particular product has motivated the
employees to be in a longer run in the company. This has also benefit in the employed as
retaining the employees (Doherty et al. 2016). The improved performance has helped to provide
with more knowledgeable training and development programs to the employee. This scheme has
focused on the loyalty and the motivation of the employee so that the employees can be better in
the performance. Zara works for the development of the customer satisfaction as well as for the
employee satisfaction and morale with proper commitment to their employees.
The organisation has a very basic rule for performing the work of the employees through
performance management and appraisal method. Zara always opt for 360 appraisal method so
that the feedback can be genuine from the top level managers, medium and senior level managers
(Furnham, 2017). For ensuring an effective Human Resource Management in all the department
of Zara implementing the external strategy of hiring innovative and creative employees has
Page 10 of 18

become one of the important method for the organisation. Thus, the strategies adopted by the
organisation has helped to maintain a good relationship with the employees and the employer by
measuring our overall performance of the company.
P4) Effectiveness of HRM practices in raising the profit on productivity of Zara
The human resource management of Zara has am to maintain a good relationship with the
employees at the workplace. This is because the productivity and the profit of the business is
through the employees. So, maintaining a good balance can increase the efficiency and decrease
the conflicts in the organisation (Doherty et al. 2016). This will lead to more dedication towards
their work and will increase the productivity which will help in the revenue of the organisation.
Zara has focused on benefits of employees so that they can get motivated easily to work and also
to give the best performances.
The effective human resource management practice has helped the organisation to enable the
employer for reducing employee turnover. The employee turnover can hamper the organisational
performance and can increase in the cost of human resource department. Zara has produced
around 450 million items in a year which has shared the volume through the supply chain and
has insured a better Logistic competitive counterparts in the UK market. Thus, to maintain the
employee turnover ratio the recruiter of Zara has focused on the fashion sense of the right
candidate by having a special aptitude test which is related to fashion and Retail Management
(Van et al. 2015). The human resource department has also focus on the right compensation and
benefits which is according to the industry package and improve the flexibility of the employees
in working schedule and bonus structure.
In each and every month, the HR Department conduct a meeting with the employees to
understand about the needs and more flexibility which can be switchable in the organisation for
the individual. However, they also keep in mind about the organisational profit. The employees
of Zara has recently increase the sale with profits in the UK stores by launching different
products of shoes and clothes which got a competition with the High Street rivals in the UK
stores. The sales at UK subsidiary of the Spanish form has raised to 8% to £535 m till the year
2017 (Brewster, 2017). This has made a pre-tax profit of £58.3m which is from £49.2m better
than 2016. The team practice has also helped in benefiting the short-term employee productivity
and turnover on the long term financial performance. The employee satisfaction has helped the
Page 11 of 18

organisation with less number of chunks policy and has also increased the profits with the
competitors like Marks and Spencer etc.
Page 12 of 18

Task 2
P5) Analysing the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM
decision-making
As mentioned earlier, the HRM connects the employer and the employee by enhancing the
employee relationship through mutual benefits. This is done by the organisation through the
different practises that are carried by the HR manager which no longer bothers the general
manager of the company. The communication gap that used to be issue between the employer
and the employee is mitigated through the Human Resource Management. The benefits and the
requirements of the employees are well to the HRM of the company which is communicated to
the employer through systematic written communication. The evaluation of the requirements and
its benefits are done by the HRM then it is initiated to the employer with evidence and support
(Schuler and Jackson, 2014).
This makes the employee satisfied and the employee relation with the employer is enhanced as
well. There are often conflicts among the employees and the employers that affect the production
or the performance or the execution of the operational activities of the company. This is
minimised and often mitigated by the HRM through effective solution to the cause of the conflict
among the duo. Therefore situation within the workplace is handled by the HRM which makes
the employee as well as the employer stay away from the conflicting situations which is evident
to make to be loss of both of them. Therefore, it is evident, that a vice versa contribution and
benefit relationship exists among the duo that is tempered by the Human Resource Management
of the organisation.
P6) Identifying the key elements of employment legislation and its impact on HRM decision
making
The human resource management of any organisation plays a crucial for the organisation in
staffing the best potential employees for the employers. The HRM actually plays the role of
bridging between the organisation that is seeking productive and skilled employees and it also
looks after the benefits, remunerations of the employees as well. The aim of the HRM of any
organisation is to provide best talent and in return provide good working conditions, frame
organisational policies that are not biased towards the organisation as in the case of ZARA as
Page 13 of 18

well. Through the fulfilment of these basic purposes the human resource management is evident
to benefit both the employer and the employee as well. The employer is benefitted in term sof
high level of productivity and the employees are benefitted by good working conditions,
appraisals, establishing safe and secured workplace, career development of the employees and
the like (Van et al. 2015).
The major functions of the Human Resource Management that is evident in the HRM of Zara as
well includes the following:
Equal Pay Act (1963): This act plays the most significant role in paying talent as per the talent
and requirements of the organisation. The HRM along with its team or often the HR manager
only is found to analyse the designation and job roles as responsibilities as per which the criteria
for the vacancy is fulfilled form different types of recruitment. The act focuses on paying every
individual employed under the organisation equally without discriminating among them with
respect to gender, caste, sex, religion and race. These include the operations like that of
screening of the candidates, selection of the candidates, placement of the employees, induction
and the like. The required financial resource for carrying out the recruitment processes varies as
per the type which is impacts the budget. Therefore, it is the efficiency of the HRM that how it is
able to attract and recruit employees within the given financial resource within the scheduled
time.
Civil Rights Act (1991): This act enable women to file against any harassment caused at the
office premises or outside by any employee of the organisation. Also, evaluation of the
performance of the employees is yet another function of this act that is done by Zara as well. The
legislation eventually performs the task of claiming rights and deserving elements of the
employees within the organisations. Hence, recognising skills and capabilities of the existing
employees to evaluate the potentialities of improvement or increase in productivity. Thus, the
HRM frames training sessions within the organisation in intervals for the productivity of existing
employees. Often employees are sent outside the organisation for specialised training (Whysall,
2018).
Occupational safety and health act (1970):
Page 14 of 18

The management of the productivity of the employees and the profit of the organisation is
dependent on the execution of the functional operations that needs to be structured within the
company. This act is critically related to the safety and security provided to employees.
Therefore, as per the type and size of the company, the policies are framed and the workplace
force that is scattered in different division is interconnected. Every equipment and appliances
used in offices on a regular basis must be checked twice so that they cannot harm the employees.
Therefore, the maintenance and the monitoring of the employees are performed by the
organisation (Zarahome.com. 2018).
P7) Illustrating the application of the HRM practices in Zara
The different practises includes the following:
Workplace management: The safety and the security of the employees as mandated by the
legislation of any country is monitored by the HRM of any organisation. The organisation looks
after the resolution of the conflict that is obvious to occur within any organisation. Moreover, the
HRM frames organisational policies aligned with the employment act and other legislation in
order to go ensure the benefits of the employee in terms of safety, wages, compensations and
other benefits (Wilhelm et al. 2016). Guidelines, standards and procedures are framed that is
crucial for workplace environment. Through this the loyalty of the employees towards the
organisation is established and the employees are motivated to perform with high productivity.
This is how the employers are benefitted through high performance that is crucial for achieving
the organisational objectives and gain competitive advantage over the competitors within the
market. Through this practise, Zara has been benefitted owing to good salary package and other
facilities that have given the company competitive edge (Kim et al. 2015).
The training and development of the employees is looked at by the HRM. This is yet another
practise that makes the employees perform as per the requirements in relation to planned
strategies for performing better within the market. The training not only makes the employees
more developed on the personal level but it is witnessed as professional development that is
revealed through their enhanced performance. The more the employees are productive the more
will be performance of the organisation will be enhanced. Moreover, the loyalty of the
employees is achieved towards the employees which helps in building long-term relationship.
Page 15 of 18

This is again very crucial for the company in aiming at expansion or long term growth plans for
the organisation (Caven and Nachmias, 2017).
Performance appraisal is yet another HRM practise which is practised by Zara as well.
Through this system, the performance of the employees evaluated over a period of time and the
employees are rewarded in terms of bonus, rewards or any other. This is how the employees are
benefited. In return a healthy competition among the employees persists enhancing the
productivity level of the company (Wilhelm et al. 2016). A brainstorming of new ideas and
creation of the employees is evident among the employees owing to the extra benefits they
expect to get from their employer. Competitive advantage is very important to establish the
brand image within market for the growth as well as sustainability of the company.
Maintaining Information resource:
The HRM is responsible for keeping track record of the employees in order to ensure the safety
and the security of the customers when they are the using the particular services or products.
This is information management. This particular practise makes the internal environment of the
company more intact and positive which is crucial for high level of productivity thereby
achieving the profit. This includes the record keeping of absence of the employees,
compensation benefits and others (Bondarouk, 2014).
Conclusion
From the above study of human practice in Zara it is stated that the human resource management
has help the organization with desired candidates and also help to motivate the employees by
different Strategies and methods. The external recruitment strategy and the internal recruitment
strategy has been applied to understand about the position and requirement of the best
candidates. HRM of Zara has also contributed in the effective brand development in the world. It
was also increased the profit by reducing the employee turnover and churn policy. HRM has also
maintain the good relationship between the employer and the employees in the organisation and
the development of the relationship has helped to achieve the overall performance of the
company.
Page 16 of 18

References
Ahlvik, C. and Björkman, I., 2015. Towards explaining subsidiary implementation, integration,
and internalization of MNC headquarters HRM practices. International Business Review, 24(3),
pp.497-505.
Anon, (2018). [online] Available at: https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/strategy/the-secret-
of-zaras-success-a-culture-of-customer-co-creation/ [Accessed 23 May 2018].
Bondarouk, T.V., 2014. Orchestrating the e-HRM symphony. Universiteit Twente.
Brewster, C., 2017. The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy.
In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Caven, V. and Nachmias, S. eds., 2017. Hidden inequalities in the workplace: a guide to the
current challenges, issues and business solutions. Springer.
Clabburn, O., O'Brien, M., Jack, B. and Knighting, K., 2016. Online and Offline Methods of
Recruitment for Hard to Reach Populations [Best Oral Presentation-Peer Reviewed].
Doherty, M., King, E., Lux, R. and Stoykov, M.E., 2016. Examining the Feasibility of
Recruitment, Adherence, and Acceptability in an Arm Intervention Study for Older
Adults. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70(4_Supplement_1), pp.7011515254p1-
7011515254p1.
Dumont, J., Shen, J. and Deng, X., 2017. Effects of green HRM practices on employee
workplace green behavior: The role of psychological green climate and employee green
values. Human Resource Management, 56(4), pp.613-627.
Farouk, S., Abu Elanain, H.M., Obeidat, S.M. and Al-Nahyan, M., 2016. HRM practices and
organizational performance in the UAE banking sector: The mediating role of organizational
innovation. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 65(6), pp.773-
791.
Furnham, A., 2017. Methods in Recruitment and Selection. The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of
the Psychology of Recruitment, Selection and Employee Retention, p.202.
Kim, B., Ma, S., Jhong, H.R.M. and Kenis, P.J., 2015. Influence of dilute feed and pH on
electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to CO on Ag in a continuous flow
electrolyzer. Electrochimica Acta, 166, pp.271-276.
Page 17 of 18

Lane, T.S., Armin, J. and Gordon, J.S., 2015. Online recruitment methods for web-based and
mobile health studies: a review of the literature. Journal of medical Internet research, 17(7).
Schuler, R. and E. Jackson, S., 2014. Human resource management and organizational
effectiveness: yesterday and today. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and
Performance, 1(1), pp.35-55.
Van den Heijkant, T.C., Costes, L.M.M., Van der Lee, D.G.C., Aerts, B., Osinga‐de Jong, M.,
Rutten, H.R.M., Hulsewé, K.W.E., de Jonge, W.J., Buurman, W.A. and Luyer, M.D.P., 2015.
Randomized clinical trial of the effect of gum chewing on postoperative ileus and inflammation
in colorectal surgery. British Journal of Surgery, 102(3), pp.202-211.
Whysall, Z., 2018. Cognitive biases in recruitment, selection, and promotion: the risk of
subconscious discrimination. In Hidden Inequalities in the Workplace (pp. 215-243). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Wilhelm, M., Blome, C., Wieck, E. and Xiao, C.Y., 2016. Implementing sustainability in multi-
tier supply chains: strategies and contingencies in managing sub-suppliers. International Journal
of Production Economics, 182, pp.196-212.
Zarahome.com. (2018). Zara Home United Kingdom |Official Site. [online] Available at:
https://www.zarahome.com/gb/ [Accessed 23 May 2018].
Page 18 of 18