HRM Report: Recruitment, Talent Management, and HR Systems at Marks and Spencer

This HRM report focuses on the recruitment and selection strategies, talent management approaches, and HR systems and procedures at Marks and Spencer. It provides an overview of the company, discusses the literature on HR practices, and analyzes the discussion and analysis of these practices. The report also highlights the importance of employee development and talent management in the retail sector.

HRM report.

Table of Content
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
1.1 Company overview................................................................................................................3
2.0 Literature Review...................................................................................................................4
3.0 Discussion and analysis.........................................................................................................6
Development of employees and talent management...................................................................7
HR systems and procedures.........................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is a process defined as managing the needs and
requirements related to human resources part of the organization. Operations related to human

resource management involve controlling the needs of the organization in respect to human
resources so that employees at different designated positions can be appointed. All such
techniques and approaches department follow to meet the human needs of company are called as
recruitment and selection approaches of organization. This report is based on the case study of
Marks and Spencer Company in respect to its human resource practices. The report will give a
brief overview over different human resource management approaches company follow to fulfil
its human resource requirements. Precise overview about the company will be projected in the
beginning of the project. Literature review will project in this report that will demonstrate about
the recruitment and selection strategies company will follow to meet the requirement related to
human resources. Literature review will also project different talent management approaches
human resource department follow in company (Kianto,Sáenz and Aramburu, 2017).
Talent management is all about managing the designated requirements of the positions
hold by human resources in an organization. With the support of literature review descriptive
projection will be done over talent management. Human resource system and procedures will
also project in this report. Furthermore, report will emphasis on the evaluation related to different
strategies use for recruitment and selection. With the support of employment law recruitment and
selection strategies will be discussed in this report. Descriptive analysis will also conduct in
respect to talent management approach company follow to enhance the potential capabilities of
its employee. Critical analysis will also conduct over the HRM system in an organization.
Human resource management is among the primary functions part of the organization hierarchy
and this report will project different sides of the human resource management in an organization
(Blom, Kruyen and Van Thiel, 2020).
1.1 Company overview
Marks and Spencer Company initiated its business functions in the year 1884 by the
founders Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. Company conducts its business operations in
retail sector at global level. Currently company is serving its retail outlets at more than 1400
locations all across the globe. Headquarter of the Marks and Spencer Company is located in
London, England, United Kingdom. Company is listed in London Stock Exchange and currently
is a part of FTSE 250 Index (Analoui, 2018). Marks and Spencer Company was also among the
first retail sector brand in United Kingdom who has made a pre-tax profits of over £ 1 billion.
Company offers high quality clothing, food products and home products that allows consumers

of company to gain an effective revenue out of the functional activity of company. Brands like
Per Una, Autograph, Limited, Rosie, Blue Harbour, M&S Collection and M&S Energy. The
company was founded initially due to the partnership of Michael Marks and Thomas who both
were migrated to England for searching of better jobs and employment opportunity. Company
initiated its international expansion in the year 1973 by opening a retail store in Canada in the
year 1973.
2.0 Literature Review
As per the views of Ahammad, Glaister and Gomes, (2020) approaches apply for
recruitment and selection in company are segregated into different stages like aptitude test at
initial level, group discussion round, personal interview round and final selection round. All the
four stages involve in recruitment and selection process allows company to recruit the best
candidate fit for the specific designated position in company. All the approaches used for
recruiting employees allows human resource department to assess the skill, knowledge and
experience of employees. In order to meet the needs of different designated positions it becomes
essential for company to analysis all different aspects of the employees based on the needs of the
designated position role.
As illustrated by Moore and Jennings, (2017) companies follow two kinds of recruitment
and selection strategies one is in form of internal recruitment and the other one is external
recruitment strategy. In case of internal recruitment strategy company fill the designated
positions in company by promoting productive employees to higher designated role. This is an
effective strategy company used to fill designations in company. Internal recr4uitment allows
company to promote employees at higher positions which further resulted into growth and better
employment benefits in form of salary, incentives and other benefits. This also resulted into long
term employee sustainability in organization. Internal recruitment also resulted into employee
motivation as it motivate employees to perform more productive operations as a part of the
designated role in company in order to get promoted at higher positional role in organization.
Recruitment and selection strategies also involve external recruitments. Domsch, (2017)
has projected that in case of external recruitment process company do no t promote its existing
employees rather it channelizes recruitment drives to meet the designated role in company. This
strategy allows company to recruit fresh talents and graduates at the designated position in
company. This method allows company to recruit experienced and skilful professionals not part

of the position at different designated positions in organization. External recruitment always
improves the work culture of organization. It also caters an opportunity for the organization
gaining more productive work efficiencies.
Haddock-Millar, Sanyal and Müller-Camen, (2016) has defined that talent management is
a process that include managing the needs of the employees associated with different designated
positions in company. Talent management involve opening up with the expectations of
employees. Talent management involves both managing the expectations of the employees part
of the organization and also the requirements associated with different designated positions in
company. This involves allocate resources to employees so that all responsibilities part of the
designated role can fulfil. Talent management approach also involve recruiting and selecting
employees asst different positional role in company.
As per the views of Macke and Genari, (2019) talent management is among the key
functional role part of the human resource department in company. Companies use different
approaches like developing job description, provide development opportunities to employees,
performance assessment, selection process and effective compensation. All such approaches are
among the primary techniques apply to manage the talent in company. The role of talent
management compile both managing the existing employees of company along with hiring new
employees in company. The views of author is very clear that talent management play a huge
role behind sustaining employees for the long time in organization. Developing job description
involve advertising for the positional role in company. This allows company to attract fresh
talent at different designated positions in company. Human resource department project all
requirements associated with the designated position chosen to hire employees. Development
opportunities is also a key approach of talent management. This involves promoting employees
against to the productive performance. This approach used to manage the existing employees
part of the organization. Performance assessment involve analysing the performance of all
employees part of the company. This involves assessing how much the employee has been
productive in company. On the basis of the performance assessment productive employees get
rewards and other incentive benefits against the good performance in organization. Selection
process also involve multiple stages like aptitude test, group discussion round, personal interview
round and final selection round. All these stages allows company to analyse the capabilities of
employees on the basis of the requirements attached with the designated role in company.

Effective compensation is also a key approach part of talent management in company. This
involves motivating employees to perform productively in the company. All employees that are
productive and efficient get compensation benefits in against to the good performance they have
shown in organization.
According to the views of Budhwar, (2016) human resource management system is a
process which involves managing different aspects of the human resource management in
organization. This involves allocating equal growth and development opportunities to all
employees in company. Growth and development is among one of the most significant needs of
the employees part of the organization. All such companies not able to serve effective growth
and development opportunities to its human resources face the issue of high employee turnover
rate. Health and safety of employees in company is also a key tool part of the human resource
management system. Providing hygienic work place to employees and also cater effective work
culture to employees play huge role in sustaining human resources in organization.
As per the views of García-Lillo, Úbeda-García and Marco-Lajara, (2017) human
resource system involve strategic human resource management. This is also an important
concept part of the human resource management in company. Company also use the practice of
solving employees issues on a timely basis. This allows company to improve the employee well-
being in organization. Strategic human resource management is a professional approach to deal
with the human resources in company. This strategic tool drives company to keep the employee
number in such a way tat company can meet all its functional role with the support of such
human resources. Strategic human resource management serves benefits like productivity of
employees, sustainability of employees, low employee turnover rate, high employee well-being
and other benefits. This also resulted into more growth opportunities to employees along with the
organization.
3.0 Discussion and analysis
M&S is one of the biggest retailer brand known for high quality fashionable products and
strong customer satisfaction services which are delivered by trained and high skilled employees
within the business scenario recruited and selected by HRM as per their expertise. Recruitment
and selection strategies as formulated by HR department at M&S are highly functional and
developed with the latest competitive paradigms to bring on long term effective working strength
within employees. External recruitment is focused for bringing on fresh new talent and

developed strength among working parameters within employees where high focus is given onto
developing wider scale services and to attain keen focus within wider scale services among
customer market share. The company laws and targets to attain within standards are highly
important to achieve within set paradigms for bringing on new developed working strengths and
expertise while selecting employees within company (Tzabbar, Tzafrir and Baruch, 2017). M&S
has been highly focusing to bring on best developed talent and outsourcing recruitment among
employees to develop the best commitment and employees strength for gaining their bet skills
and potential targets. Selection strategies by HRM are focused to choose the best skilled, talented
and ethical performative employees who hold dynamic working skills onto diverse working
patterns which are not only potentially strong but also highly demanded within retail business
companies. The employment laws within M&S are strongly followed by supervisors, employers
and employees to maintain high ethical functional pattern within all working standards which
keeps on building higher commitment within company business framework.
The M&S develops stringent employment laws where the best infrastructure facilities are
provided to employees working within departments to keenly upgrade their working functions
and also training, development opportunities are given to all employees. HR strategies within
M&S are framed based on employment laws developed to bring on innovation and advancement
within their expertise developed employees who work with high advanced training paradigms by
employers to leverage onto more technical working platforms. For example: if any new
employee is joining the M&S company supervisors and managers are deployed into training ,
proper official orientation and functional operations which make an important component of HR
policies. The employment contract laws are known to bring on best workforce practises,
dynamically bringing on new paradigms for pertaining onto best working standards and to
actively bring high strength within workforce. Employment laws enable in framing strong
communication patterns within employees and employers to bring on expertise and strong
functionality among work ethics and performance standards (Hassan, 2016)
Development of employees and talent management
The development of employees is considered to be one of the most important business
segment onto which employer employee relationships are harnessed with changing developed
functional strength onto which higher strength is focused to bring on keen positive synergy into
management. Employees are given training and development avenues for pertaining onto larger

strengthened performance metrics where M&S works as brand to establish competitive edge
benchmarks with complete focus to bring on innovation and advancement within working
progression for gaining longer synergy of workings strength. The employers and employees
relationship at M&S is focused to bring on new working culture with advanced dynamic and
professionalism to work forward with changing business scenario within world, to technically
train them for gaining stronger outputs. Brainstorming sessions and group discussions are
focused to bring on synergy of innovation within business culture, leverage onto latests standards
of dynamics and to pertain onto higher quest for gaining productivity. Talent management is
highly effective for building on new advancement within performance standards, to develop
longer synergy if work progression with the best competencies and deployed innovation which
works as one of the biggest asset (Dumont,Shen and Deng, 2017).
Continuous professional development (CPD) popularly known as one of high
transformative paradigm to build on keen synergy of innovation and rational work development
which motivates employees to keep on progressing within new paradigms with higher
reattainment percentage and best technical advancement. Talent management is globally
recognized as one of the most important factors for programming on new skills within workforce
with changing business demands and to look upon new working parameters for higher
profitability. With changing global scenario of competitiveness within business companies' talent
management is recognized as one of the most important business aspect highly crucial to develop
customer services and higher goodwill attainment for longer business framework and higher
viable position metrics with employees working strength. With innovation demands and
competitive expertise demanded within employees it becomes highly important for retail
companies to invest in HR policies and train employees with new determinants for technical
progression and best customer satisfaction delivery within working levels. M &S aims to be
evaporative among employees training parameters and to develop long term synergy of
innovation among working strength of employees (Hom, Wang, Mesquita, and Seo, 2017).
HR systems and procedures
Organisation vision, leadership culture and teamwork has large role to build innovation in
company operational structure as the whole management force needs to bring in force and
innovative synergy together. M&S HR policies and procedures at M&S are highly innovative to
bring on work culture innovation and collaborative dynamic strength for gaining new

determinants for longer synergy of new probability within outputs and to proclaim onto higher
dynamics. M&S being one of the biggest retailer brand aims to be highly functional with
working objectives and restorative progression of advancement where leaders within teams
effectively communicate among employees for training them with new development avenues.
HR systems and policies within M&S have been known to be technically superior with the best
functionality, potentiality bringing on new advancement within employees where the
communication networks are strongly established, with the latest paradigms of gaining new
expertise and quest to work ethically more responsive to changing business demands within
company. The feedbacks and grievances of employees are listened by leaders with high force of
technical viable working patterns, keenly uplift their morale and motivation standards, to
promote evocative dynamic working culture within M&S. HR systems at M&S are known for
best functionality where all employee legislation laws are effectively followed with ethical
working governance by leaders and superiors to bring on new working parameters (Chiang,
Lemański and Birtch, 2017).
The CPW is also one of the biggest talent management approach followed by M&S to
bring on keen focus for technical advancement within employees where they are given wide
working opportunities, leveraging on new paradigms for gaining on new working progression.
HR systems at M&S have been evolving with higher dynamic working standards to keep on
building progression for new ethical standards of outputs and functional strengths among
employees. M&S overall vision to bring innovation technology in operational efficiency for
reaching high profitability margins and reach the set performance targets with positive impacts
on society and environment. Harnessing innovation in parameters of growth in M&S outputs
needs support and commitment of all organization as whole to establish best working standards
with higher competitive strengthened values and expertise. Culture has big role to increase the
revenue generation and profitability margins in company as whole brand value is enlarged on
global level and the employees of company are real face which works as one of the most
important determinant for productive leverage of goodwill within customer market share (Yildiz,
Fey and Zhou, 2018).
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
The report can be concluded with explanation of how M&S HR department works as one
of the biggest force of innovation and continuous working progression to build on longer

working progression within advancement avenues and to pertain onto changing business world
demands for higher effective teams. The report has concluded M&S aim is to build on best
innovative working paradigm within production scenario and for gaining higher quality metrics
by working with the best skilled employees, recruiting higher talented strengths within
employees and to actively develop new regulations of dynamic enhancement within employees
skills. The report has further concluded that M&S follows the best innovation paradigms to
pertain onto higher strengthened position metrics, develop long term working motivation and to
pool on higher dynamics to work on best fundamentals for larger quality outputs. Report
concludes brainstorming sessions and group discussions play an integral role within HR policies
to transform larger metrics of work quality and to bring on new evocation within working
outputs (Chowhan, 2016).
Recruitment and selection strategies are focused to bring on advanced development
pertaining synergy of innovation, to ethically bring new quest among larger working paradigms
and build confident teams. Recommendations for more effective HRM policies and networking
practices can be understood with wide focus on regular group discussions within employees,
team-mates within various departments who actively look upon new working grounds for
gaining new skills. Use of innovative technology networking channels within company
departments such as MIS will enable to keep all employees connected with each other, leaders
for building new fundamentals of technical advancement through which not only effective
communication channels can be leveraged for gaining higher quality outputs and to keenly
promote higher diversity among work roles. The employees strengths can be more profoundly
developed with cultural advancement, inclusion of new ideas and higher effective performance
avenues (Guerci, Longoni and Luzzini, 2016).

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ahammad, M. F., Glaister, K. W. and Gomes, E., 2020. Strategic agility and human resource
management. Human Resource Management Review, 30(1). p.100700.
Analoui, F., 2018. Managerial perspectives, assumptions and development of the human
resource management. In Human resource management issues in developing
countries (pp. 1-20). Routledge.
Blom, R., Kruyen, P. M., and Van Thiel, S., 2020. One HRM fits all? A meta-analysis of the
effects of HRM practices in the public, semipublic, and private sector. Review of Public
Personnel Administration. 40(1). pp.3-35.
Budhwar, P. S., 2016. International human resource management. Edward Elgar Publishing
Limited.
Chiang, F.F., Lemański, M.K. and Birtch, T.A., 2017. The transfer and diffusion of HRM
practices within MNCs: lessons learned and future research directions. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management. 28(1). pp.234-258.
Chowhan, J., 2016. Unpacking the black box: understanding the relationship between strategy,
HRM practices, innovation and organizational performance. Human Resource
Management Journal. 26(2). pp.112-133.
Domsch, M. E., 2017. Human Resource Management in Russia. Routledge.
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)l. pp.613-627.
García-Lillo, F., Úbeda-García, M. and Marco-Lajara, B., 2017. The intellectual structure of
human resource management research: A bibliometric study of the International Journal
of Human Resource Management, 2000–2012. The International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 28(13). pp.1786-1815.
Guerci, M., Longoni, A. and Luzzini, D., 2016. Translating stakeholder pressures into
environmental performance–the mediating role of green HRM practices. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management. 27(2). pp.262-289.
Haddock-Millar, J., Sanyal, C. and Müller-Camen, M., 2016. Green human resource
management: a comparative qualitative case study of a United States multinational
corporation. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(2). pp.192-
211.
Hassan, S., 2016. Impact of HRM practices on employee’s performance. International Journal
of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences 6(1).
pp.15-22.
Hom, P., Wang, D., Mesquita, L. F., and Seo, J., 2017. Toward Dual-Concern HRM Systems In
Brazil: How HRM Practices Affect Collective Turnover. In Academy of
Management Proceedings (Vol. 2017, No. 1, p. 16539). Briarcliff Manor, NY
10510: Academy of Management.

Kianto, A., Sáenz, J. and Aramburu, N., 2017. Knowledge-based human resource management
practices, intellectual capital and innovation. Journal of Business Research. 81. pp.11-
20.
Macke, J. and Genari, D., 2019. Systematic literature rev iew on sustainable human resource
management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 208. pp.806-815.
Moore, L. F. and Jennings, P. D. eds., 2017. Human resource management on the Pacific Rim:
Institutions, practices, and attitudes (Vol. 60). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Tzabbar, D., Tzafrir, S. and Baruch, Y., 2017. A bridge over troubled water: Replication,
integration and extension of the relationship between HRM practices and
organizational performance using moderating meta-analysis. Human Resource
Management Review. 27(1)l. pp.134-148.
Vanhala, M. and Ritala, P., 2016. HRM practices, impersonal trust and organizational
innovativeness. Journal of Managerial Psychology.
Yildiz, H.E., Fey, C.F. and Zhou, A.J., 2018. Fostering integration through HRM practices: An
empirical examination of absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer in cross-border
M&As. Journal of world business (Print).

1

2