Impact of HRM practices on employee engagement and retention in UK retail industry: A study on ASDA

To analyse the practices of
human resource management
and its impact on employee
engagement and retention
within the UK retail industry

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Overview of the research............................................................................................................3
Background of the company.......................................................................................................3
Research aim, objectives and questions......................................................................................3
Research rationale.......................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................5
Basic understanding regarding the human resource management and employee engagement
and retention in context with the UK retail industry...................................................................5
Practices used by HRM for engaging and retaining employees within ASDA..........................5
Benefits that would be gained by ASDA while engaging and retaining employee for longer
time period..................................................................................................................................6
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................8
RESEARCH FINDINGS.................................................................................................................9
Data analysis...............................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .........................................................................24
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................24
Recommendation.......................................................................................................................24
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................26

INTRODUCTION
Overview of the research
Human resource management is defined as the practice of hiring, recruiting, managing
and deploying employees within an organisation. It is referred to as the strategic approach that
helps in managing the employees working within the company in an effective and efficient
manner in order to gain high competitive advantage over other competitor companies. It is
designed to increase performance of employees for achieving the predetermined goals and
objectives of the business (Macke and Genari, 2019). Human resources have the knowledge and
tools for creating the strategies that actually help in engaging employees and within organisation
so that they take part in the process of decision making. Human resource practices helps in
reducing the level of stress among employees so that they work in a more effective and
productive manner within an organisation. Highly engaged employees are more productive and
efficient in performing task of the business and also helps in achieving predefined aim and
objectives.
Background of the company
The chosen organisation in the current study is ASDA. ASDA is considered as a
supermarket chain in the British market which is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company
was founded in the year 1949 that focus on delivering quality goods to the customer in the highly
competitive business environment (Plaskoff, 2017). The main purpose of the business
organisation is to encourage every person to be honest and open about the product and service
that they deliver in the market for gaining high profitability. The company mainly focus on
working collaboratively and creatively with each other in order to gain sustained aim and
objectives of the business.
Research aim, objectives and questions
Research aim:
To analyse the practices of human resource management and its impact on employee
engagement and retention within the UK retail industry: A study on ASDA
Research objectives:
 To increase basic understanding regarding the human resource management
and employee engagement and retention in context with the UK retail industry

 To examine the practices used by HRM for engaging and retaining employees within
ASDA
 To determine the benefits that would be gained by ASDA while engaging and retaining
employee for longer time period
Research questions:
 To increase basic understanding regarding the human resource management
and employee engagement and retention in context with the UK retail industry?
 To examine the practices used by HRM for engaging and retaining employees within
ASDA?
 To determine the benefits that would be gained by ASDA while engaging and retaining
employee for longer time period?
Research rationale
The main purpose of carrying out the present research is to identify the basic
understanding about the concept of human resource management and employee engagement,
retention within the UK retail industry. Human resource management is the most effective
department within an organisation that handles all the important aspects of employees and has
different functions like human resource related planning (O’riordan, 2022). The researcher fulfils
dual objectives such as personal and professional. In terms of personal objectives, the researcher
will gain knowledge and skill related to the research topic and in gaining future growth as a
student. Whereas in terms of professional objective, the researcher will know about the concept
of human resource management and how it helps in managing the system of the organisation.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Basic understanding regarding the human resource management and employee engagement and
retention in context with the UK retail industry
As per the view of Kumah, (2022), human resource management is considered as the
function of an organisation that helps in managing all the business and employees related issues
in a more effective manner. That mainly includes providing compensation and rewards to
employees so that they work with high confidence and dedication for achieving the goals and
objectives of the business. Human resource management is also considered as a comprehensive
and strategic approach that helps in managing people and the culture of the workplace and
environment. It is mainly defined as the practice of managing and supporting employees by
every aspect related to their jobs, from hiring and recruitment to professional development of
employees and retirement benefits. Whereas employee engagement is defined as the level of
dedication and enthusiasm an employee feel towards their job role. Highly engaged employee is
more committed towards their work and also helps in achieving the predetermined objectives of
the business in an effective manner. It is important for the human resource management to retain
and engage employees working within an organisation by providing them better opportunities so
that they gain more growth and success in the business. Engaged employees are retained within
the business organisation because they are allowed to discuss their thoughts and perceptions at
the time of making decisions so that they work in an effective manner. Human resource
managers are responsible for hiring and recruiting talented employees within an organisation
because they help in attaining more number of customers in the business and also helps in
gaining more share in the market. It is the employees of the business that helps in creating a good
presence in the market and for gaining high profitability and productivity in the competitive UK
retail industry.
Practices used by HRM for engaging and retaining employees within ASDA
As per the view of Margherita and Bua, (2021), practices related to human resource
management helps in retaining and engaging employees for more period of time within the
business market. Employee retention matters within an organisation because it helps in reducing
the employee turnover and this results in gaining high profitability of the business. There are

different type of human resource management practices that help ASDA in retaining and
engaging their employees which are defined as under:
 Performance Management – Performance management is defined as a continuous
process of effective communication between an employee and a supervisor that works
throughout the year, in support of achieving the strategic goals of an organisation. It
mainly helps in ensuring the the activities of the business organisation so that they gain
goals and objectives.
 Recruitment and Selection – Recruitment and selection is the most important human
resource management practice that helps in brining talented employees within the
business organisation so that they achieve the predefined goals of the business in an
effective manner. Recruitment is defined as the process of finding the most suitable
candidate for the vacant job position within an organisation whereas selection is the
process of selecting the best employee from the pool of candidates for offering them the
particular job.
 Training and Development – Training and development helps in improving the
effectiveness of the company and the different number of persons and teams so that they
can work in an efficient manner. Training helps in increasing the knowledge and skills of
employees so that they achieve the goals and objectives of the business.
 Compensation & Rewards – Compensation and rewards is the most effective HRM
practice that helps in improving the morale and motivation of employees so that they can
work in a more efficient and productive manner.
Benefits that would be gained by ASDA while engaging and retaining employee for longer time
period
As per the view of Katou, (2017), there are different benefits that an organisation will
gain while retaining and engaging employees for longer period of time. It is important for the
business organisation to retain and engage employees within the business because it helps in
gaining high growth and profitability. The benefits gained by the business organisation are
defined as under:
 Increased productivity – When employees are engaged within the business, they tend to
more productive in achieving the predetermined goals and objectives of the business
market. Effective retention of employees helps the business in saving the organisation in