Human Resource Management: A Comprehensive Study of HRM Practices in Sainsbury's

This study delves into the crucial role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in Sainsbury's, a leading supermarket chain. It examines the purpose and functions of HRM, focusing on workforce planning and resourcing. The strengths and weaknesses of different recruitment and selection approaches, including competency and contingency models, are critically evaluated. The study explores the benefits of various HRM practices for both employers and employees, assessing their effectiveness in raising organizational profit and productivity. It also analyzes the importance of employee relations in influencing HRM decision-making and identifies key elements of employment legislation and their impact on HRM practices. Through specific examples and a comprehensive analysis, this study provides valuable insights into the application of HRM principles within a real-world organizational context.

Human Resource Management
1

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
L01:.............................................................................................................................................................4
P1: Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and resourcing an
organisation.............................................................................................................................................4
P2: Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection.............6
M1: Assess how the functions of HRM can provide talent and skills appropriate to fulfil business
objectives.................................................................................................................................................8
M2: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection........10
D1: Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection, supported by specific examples.............................................................................................11
L02:...........................................................................................................................................................12
P3: Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the employer and
employee...............................................................................................................................................12
P4: Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational profit and
productivity...........................................................................................................................................13
M3: Explore the different methods used in HRM practices, providing specific examples to support
evaluation within an organisational context...........................................................................................14
D2: Critically evaluate HRM practices and application within an organisational context, using a range
of specific examples..............................................................................................................................15
LO3:..........................................................................................................................................................16
P5: Analyse the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-making....16
P6: Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM decision-
making...................................................................................................................................................17
M4: Evaluate the key aspects of employee relations management and employment legislation that
affect HRM decision-making in an organisational context....................................................................18
D3: Critically evaluate employee relations and the application of HRM practices that inform and
influence decision-making in an organisational context........................................................................19
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................20
References.................................................................................................................................................21
2

Introduction
In this study, the role of HR in workforce planning in Sainsbury’s has been evaluated along with
the strengths and weaknesses of competency and contingency modes of recruitment and
selection. The various activities performed by the HR which helps to achieve the overall
objectives of Sainsbury’s have also been evaluated. Also, the benefits of the activities performed
by the HR to employees and the management have also been evaluated. The methods used by
Sainsbury’s to evaluate the performance of the employees have also been discussed and the
importance of employee relations and implementing the policies considering the employment
legislation of UK has also been evaluated in the last part of this study.
3

L01:
P1: Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organisation.
Workforce Planning
It can be defined as the systematic process that enables the organisation to allocate the
appropriate number of manpower required to perform the task effectively and economically. By
performing workforce planning, the management ensures that the appropriate numbers of
employees are assigned for the tasks such that the input costs of products and services are
reduced and also, the quality of the output can be maintained (Dialoke and Ifeanyichukwu,
2017).
Figure 1: Workforce Planning
Source: (Australian Public Service Commission, 2017).
Role of HR in Sainsbury’s
Demand Forecasting: The HR should evaluate the current employees and staff working in the
company and the future requirements should be assessed. This enables the company to recruit
only the required number of employees which reduces the recruitment costs.
4

Identifying talents: The current expertise of the employees and staffs of performing the tasks
has to be assessed in order to ascertain the gaps. This enables to develop effective training and
development modules in order to enhance the productivity of the employees.
Manpower budgeting: The HR should plan and implement techniques which help the firm to
forecast, manage and monitor the workforce in the organisation.
5

P2: Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection.
The advantages and disadvantages of different modes of recruitment and selection can be
analysed as:
Recruitment and
Selection
Approaches
Strengths Weaknesses
Competency
Approach
 Interview guidelines are
provided to the HR and
ratings are provided as per
the guidelines (Bellingkrodt
and Wallenburg, 2013).
 The HR can easily select or
reject the candidate by using
the guidelines.
 The HR will be able to
select only suitable
candidates required for the
particular process.
 The selection process is
standardised across all the
departments.
 The selection process is lengthy
since candidates are assessed
only after asking all the
questions.
 The other skills of the
candidates such as
communication and
interpersonal skills may not be
considered.
Contingency
Approach
 There are no guidelines for
conducting interviews;
hence, it is a dynamic
approach.
 Managers will be able to
 Lack of standardisation related
to recruitment and selection
across the departments
(Bellingkrodt and Wallenburg,
6

assess other skills of the
candidates.
 Management will be able to
adapt to the changing
circumstances easily.
 It provides flexibility to the
managers while selecting the
candidates.
2013).
 Selection of inexperienced
candidates may increase the
training costs to the company.
7

M1: Assess how the functions of HRM can provide talent and skills appropriate to fulfil
business objectives.
The different tasks performed by the HR in Sainsbury’s can be evaluated as:
Recruitment and Selection: The HR ensures that only the suitable and eligible candidates are
selected for the various processes. This enables the management to hire the required talent which
contributes towards enhancing the production efficiency.
Training and Development: Preparation of appropriate training and development modules
increases the productivity of the employees. Also, the employees will be able to improve their
skills which help in their career development within and outside the company (Jamali, et. al.,
2015).
Retention: The HR device the retention policies in order to be retained in the organisation and
helps the management to reduce the recruitment costs. This helps the management to maintain
the quality and productivity of the process.
Figure 2: HRM Functions
Source: (Civil Service India, 2018).
8

Rewards and Recognition: The HR monitors the performance of the employees by taking the
feedback from the managers and suitable rewards are provided for the exceptional work done by
the employees. The HR provides both monetary and non-monetary rewards such as providing
bonus, incentives, promoting the employees, etc.
Payroll Activities: This involves maintaining and updating the records such as attendance
reports, leave reports, monthly working days, etc. This helps the finance department to calculate
the salaries accurately and provide the leave benefits to the employees such as sick leave, paid
leave, etc. (Jamali, et. al., 2015).
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M2: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection.
Competency approach
Strength:
 The selection procedure is designed to ascertain the level of knowledge of the candidates
to perform the tasks related to a job role.
 It enables the management to select the experienced candidates or the candidates from
similar fields which reduces the training costs (Bellingkrodt and Wallenburg, 2013).
Weaknesses:
 The selection process is time-consuming since each and every question is asked the
candidates to assess their overall knowledge related to the job.
 Knowledge about the other process and the task may not be considered while providing
the ratings and hence, the candidates with multi-tasking skills may get rejected.
Contingency Approach
Strength:
 This approach provides flexibility to the HR while selecting the candidates and hence,
interview questions are designed to understand the candidates perspective related to the
job.
 The HR will be able to adapt to the changing circumstances since there is no rigidity
while selecting the candidates (Bellingkrodt and Wallenburg, 2013).
Weaknesses:
 The inexperienced candidates may get selected which increases the training costs.
 There will be no uniformity in the company for selecting the candidates within the
company and it may create confusion while designing the person specification for a
particular process.
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D1: Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to
recruitment and selection, supported by specific examples.
The strengths of competency approach can be evaluated as this approach helps the management
to hire talented and experienced candidates since the selection criteria is pre-defined. The
interview process enables the HR to accurately ascertain the knowledge and expertise of the
candidates. The weakness of this approach is that the other skills such as interpersonal skills may
not be considered while rating the candidates’ performance in the interview, which may result in
rejecting the talented candidates (Bellingkrodt and Wallenburg, 2013).
The strength of contingency approach is that it provides the flexibility to the HR while selecting
the candidates and hence, the HR will be able to adapt the interview process as per the changing
circumstances. The weakness of this approach is that since there are no pre-defined criteria of
selection, the HR may select unsuitable candidates which may result in increasing the training
costs.
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L02:
P3: Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the
employer and employee.
The HR performs various tasks in Sainsbury’s which benefits both the employees and the
company and these functions can be evaluated as:
HR Functions Benefits to Management Benefit to Employees
Recruitment and
Selection
 The selection process is
developed to ascertain the actual
knowledge of the candidates.
 Selection of appropriate
candidates reduces training costs
(Long, et. al., 2012).
 There is no bias in the
selection and candidates are
provided opportunities to work and
grow in the company.
Training and
Development
 Enhances the productivity of
the employees.
 Minimises wastages and
reduced input costs.
 Employees understand the
job requirements and perform the
tasks accordingly.
Performance
Management
 The management will be able
to identify the available talents.
 Effectively manage the
employees by the way of promotions
and transfers.
 Ensures employees career
development within and outside the
company.
Rewards and
Recognition
 Enables the management to
motivate the employees to improve
 Employees will be able to
improve their career and financial
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their performance. prospects (Long, et. al., 2012).
P4: Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational
profit and productivity
The different activities performed by the HR enable Sainsbury’s to enhance the quality and
efficiency of the output. These activities can be analysed as:
 Hiring new candidates: The HR recruits and selects the candidates according to the
requirement specified by the departments. This ensures selection of the most suitable
candidates which enhances the quality of the output (Jaskiene, 2015).
 Talent Management: This enables the management to identify the talents within the
process and the suitable employees can be promoted and transferred as per the
requirements. Hence, the management will be able to utilise the existing manpower to the
maximum extent.
 Performance Evaluation: This is necessary since the effective performance evaluation
helps to ascertain the level of progress made by the employees and the ways in which the
knowledge can be enhanced in order to improve their performance.
 Employee Retention: The HR devices the ways in which the experienced employees can
be retained in the company by providing suitable career prospects. This helps the
management to maintain the productivity of a particular process.
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M3: Explore the different methods used in HRM practices, providing specific examples to
support evaluation within an organisational context.
The different techniques used by HR in Sainsbury’s to evaluate the performance of the
employees are:
 Peer review: This method is used to evaluate the performances by taking the feedback
from concerned line managers and other team members. It enables the management to
ascertain not only the capabilities of performing the task but other skills possessed by the
employees such as presentation and interpersonal skills.
 Self-evaluation: In this method, the employees rate their own performances as per the
pre-defined criteria. These ratings are finalised after discussion with the concerned
managers and hence, it provides an opportunity for the employees to provide their view
on the various tasks performed by them.
 Management by Objectives: There are three steps in this process; object formulation,
execution process, and feedback. The targets that are to be achieved are compared with
the achieved targets. The suitable feedback is provided by the managers regarding the
ratings provided to the employees (Aggarwal and Thakur, 2013).
 360-degree Feedback: This system involves taking performance ratings from managers,
senior team members, and subordinates. The questionnaire is drafted in order to ascertain
the overall aspects of the process such as adaptability, leadership skills, teamwork, and
adherence to the company policies. Hence, the overall performance of the employees is
ascertained and feedback is provided to the employees which enables them to enhance
their performance (Aggarwal and Thakur, 2013).
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D2: Critically evaluate HRM practices and application within an organisational context,
using a range of specific examples.
The advantages of using the performance evaluation process in Sainsbury’s are, it helps the
management to ascertain the actual targets achieved by the employees and identify the gaps in
the performance. Hence, appropriate feedback can be provided to the employees which aim at
improving their performance and also, to enhance their productivity (Aggarwal and Thakur,
2013). For example, the sales manager will be able to provide suggestion to the employee
regarding the methods which can be used to increase the sales. The disadvantage of using this
method is that the process is lengthy and the evaluation process fails if the genuine feedback is
not received. For instance, the sales team may not provide the genuine feedback related to one of
the team members and hence, it may result in providing inaccurate ratings.
15

LO3:
P5: Analyse the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making.
Employee Relations
This can be defined as the efforts made by the organisations to manage and develop the
relationship between the employees and the management (Krot and Lewicka, 2012).
Importance of Employee Relations for Sainsbury’s
The importance of a healthy employee-employer relation in Sainsbury’s can be evaluated as:
 Enhanced Productivity: Building a healthy relationship enables the management to
develop effective communication mechanisms within the company. The communication
mechanism enhances the coordination among the employees which results in increased
productivity of the employees.
 Reduction of Conflicts: The conflicts among the employees as well as between
employees and the management are minimised because of developing an effective
communication channel (Krot and Lewicka, 2012).
 Employee Loyalty: The management will be able to gain the loyalty and confidence of
the employees which helps the management to delegate the authority effectively. The
management will also have the complete cooperation of the employees while taking
various decisions.
 Motivation: The employees will be motivated to perform better since they will be able to
communicate with the management effectively. The various issues can be resolved
quickly and hence, employees will be able to focus more on achieving their targets.
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P6: Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision-making.
There are different employment legislation that is formulated to protect the rights of the
employees and it is mandatory for Sainsbury’s to implement and maintain the statutory
legislation. The important legislation can be evaluated as:
The Employment Rights Act, 1999 and 2003
The employees are entitled to the rights as provided under this act such as, they are entitled to get
the minimum wages as enumerated in the National Minimum Wages Act, 1998 and hence, HR
should design the pay scale considering the minimum wages that need to be paid to the
employees. Also, the HR should provide regular pay statements to the employees which should
contain all the information related to the salary such as net pay, deductions, joining date, number
of days of salary paid, etc.
The Equal Pay Act, 1970
The HR should ensure that there is no discrimination while paying the salaries and men and
women both are entitled for the remuneration which is provided in the National Minimum Wages
guidelines (Rubinstein, 2012).
The Employment Relations Act, 1999
As per this act, the management should recognise the trade unions if the majority of the
employees prefer to be a part of these unions. This ensures active participation of employees in
the managerial decision-making process (Rubinstein, 2012).
17

M4: Evaluate the key aspects of employee relations management and employment
legislation that affect HRM decision-making in an organisational context.
The key aspects of employee relations and employment legislation in Sainsbury’s can be
evaluated as:
 The company plans the remuneration policy as per the guidelines enumerated in National
Minimum Wages Act. The remuneration policies are regularly modified in order to
maintain the compliance as per the guidelines.
 The organisation also provides pay statements to its employees with all the necessary
information such as a number of paydays, deductions, etc.
 The management ensures that there is no discrimination between the employees while
devising the remuneration policies and men and women are equally paid without any
distinction as per the Equal Pay Act, 1970 (Rubinstein, 2012).
 The management recognises the trade union or employees representatives after taking the
majority votes. Hence, the management ensures active participation of employees in the
decision-making process.
 The conflicts are resolved by providing the opportunity for the employees to approach
trade unions so that a mutually-agreed decision can be taken.
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D3: Critically evaluate employee relations and the application of HRM practices that
inform and influence decision-making in an organisational context.
The employee relations policies of Sainsbury’s can be evaluated as the advantages of developing
the employee-friendly policies are that the management will be able to gain the loyalty of the
employees which enhances the productivity of the employees. The employees are motivated to
perform better and hence, a positive work environment is created. This also helps to enhance the
coordination among the employees and the management will be able to implement the policies
effectively (Krot and Lewicka, 2012).
The disadvantage of this policy is that the decision-making process becomes slow since the
welfare of the employees is also considered which may force the management to reconsider the
decisions. The management may also delay crucial decisions that are necessary to sustain in the
market which may result in company incurring losses.
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Conclusion
From this study, it can be concluded that HR performs the important activities which help
Sainsbury’s to manage the employees effectively. The HR ensures that right candidates are
selected so that the processes can be improved which enables to reduce the input costs and
maximise the productivity of the employees. HR also ensures that the mandatory compliances
are maintained and employees are provided various benefits which motivate them to perform
better. A healthy employee-employer relationship enables Sainsbury’s to enhance the
coordination among the different departments so that the operational efficiency can be achieved.
Sainsbury’s has been able to create a huge share in the market because of its employee-friendly
policies and employees feel confident while working with the company.
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