HRM: PLANS AND POLICIES - An OverView

Running head: HRM: PLANS AND POLICIES
HRM: PLANS AND POLICIES
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HRM: PLANS AND POLICIES1
Introduction
The respective paper is a combination of two tasks, which are report of strategic human
resource planning of the company Woolworths Australia where the report has to assess the
definition, scope of strategic human resource planning, overview of the company Woolworths,
examination and evaluation of the strategic human resource practices of the respective company.
The Task 1 consists of certain recommendations for the gaps in the strategic human resource
practices in the respective company. Task 2 consists of a Human Resource Management Plan
(Action plan) of the company Woolworths in order to meet the gaps in their HRM practices.
TASK 1
Introduction: Woolworths Australia
Woolworths Australia is considered to be one of the biggest and largest retail stores in
Australia. The retail store was established in Australia in the year 1924 by Percy Christmas,
Chatterton, Williams and Creed and since the year 1924, the company has gained recognition
and become the largest functional retail store in Australia. The main focus of Woolworths is
catering to the retail customers and providing household and domiciliary goods and products to
the consumers. The Woolworths Australia has been speculating to expand its business in the
international market. For successfully launching and streamlining their business in the
international market, it is important for the respective brand to streamline the human resource
policies and plans of the respective company in order to ensure the fact that the respective
organization acquires and retains the best staff which would greatly influence the business
expansion through their individual and collective capabilities. In order to become one of the
topmost retail business all over the world, Woolworths has taken up certain human resource

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management plans, policies and programs in order to make their business, one of the best
business in terms of employment, trade and productivity (Woolworths.com.au.2020).
Woolworths: Strategic HRM plans
Strategic human resource planning can be broadly defined as the process that identifies
the current and future needs of human resources for an organization in order to achieve its
business goals. Human resource planning is usually speculated to form a link between human
resource management and overall strategic plan of an organization. Strategic human resource
planning can be managerially defined as “the process for ensuring that the requirements of the
human resources of a business are identified and plans are made to satisfy such kinds of
requirements” (Jackson, Schuler & Jiang, 2014). The process of strategic human resource
planning includes several stages and methodologies, such as, employee engagement and
retention strategy, employee absenteeism management strategy, talent management strategy,
employee flexibility strategy, recruitment and selection strategy. However, the most important
strategy that every human resource department is bound to take while formulating strategic
human resource planning is “Gap Analysis”. The term Gap Analysis can be defined as the gap
between what the organization wants to achieve and how the organization has been planning and
framing its human resource department to achieve the respective goal. The gap that is calculated
in between the two determinants would provide the respective department with ideas and
approaches of making the strategic human resource planning more precise, accurate and efficient
(Kramar, 2014).
The strategic human resource planning of Woolworths is not only efficient, but also effective in
its own way. Woolworths, which is considered to be one of the most renowned and famous retail

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stores of Australia, has an efficient and dedicated human resource department which focuses on
effective employee management within as well as outside the organization. The company
Woolworths Australia has been successful in designing their human resource department by
utilizing certain remarkable and capable human resource strategies and approaches. Activities
such as talent management, staff management, training and retaining employees, employee
engagement and downsizing are some of the significant approaches adopted by Woolworths
Limited.
There are three major levels at which the line managers as well as the practitioners operate
separately or together are the functional, operational and strategic level. The practitioners, along
with the line managers, together develop the different action plans for meeting the present needs
of labor. As far as strategic actions are concerned, the human resource personnel and
practitioners are involved in the human resource and corporate planning. Certain customary
activities at the functional level are carried out by the line managers that ensure that the
employees are being appointed at the correct time, cost, occasion and place (Bailey et al., 2018).
In the case of Woolworths Australia, the company operates their human resource functions at the
strategic and functional level.
HRM System
Recruitment and Selection procedure
The recruitment and selection procedure carried out by the human resource department of
the company Woolworths Australia is premium, efficient and effective in nature. Human
resource management of an organization is highly responsible and accountable for the proper
selection of the employees and candidates with quality, which also depends upon the effective