Human Resource Management and Employee Engagement

This assignment delves into the realm of Human Resource Management (HRM) and employee engagement within a business organization, specifically focusing on Microsoft. It examines various essential aspects, including employee relations, conflict resolution, risk analysis, and employee training programs. The document also touches upon employment legislation in the UK, such as the Employment Rights Act 1996, Employee Protection Act 1975, Contract of Employment Act 1963, and Wages Act 1985. These laws are crucial for maintaining a healthy work environment and ensuring employees' rights are protected.

Human Resource
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
a) Purpose of HR functions and its importance for an organization .....................................1
b) Role and responsibilities as a Human Resource Officer....................................................2
c) Advantages and disadvantages of current selection methods used by organization..........3
d) Suggest certain potential improvements that could be made to the current selection
methods...................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
a) Person specification for the role of receptionist.................................................................5
b) Give out a detailed with placing appropriate advertisement..............................................6
c) Advantages and disadvantages of the previous methods of advertising............................7
d) Interview questionnaire for the Receptionist, to improve selection of decision-making
process....................................................................................................................................8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
a) Bnefits to both the organisation and employees of such schemes.....................................9
b) Developmental opportunities for a permanent job role....................................................10
c) Benefits of approach Microsoft which taken in respect of flexible working practices....10
d) Microsoft motivates its workers through its job design and systems of reward..............11
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
a) What doe you meant by the term employee engagement? ..............................................11
b) Why is employee engagement an integral strategy of employee relations?....................11
c) Key approaches to engaging workers discussed in the summit.......................................12
d) Mmain pieces of employment legislation in the UK and explain how they influence human
resource decision making.....................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
The management of human resource within an organisation plays a very vital and crucial
role that will help in improving quality of functioning an organisation performs. The proper
assessment of different tools and techniques are been taken in consideration by a business
organisation that will help in increasing quality of an organisation's product and services
(Wehrmeyer, 2017). For the report, Say it with chocolate and Microsoft is been taken in
consideration. Both are private business enterprises working in chocolate manufacturing and IT
services sector, respectively. The report will lay emphasis on purpose of a HR function and their
importance within an organisation. Different roles and responsibilities of a Human resource
officer and advantages and disadvantages of current selection process is been taken in
consideration. Also, potential improvement measures related to current selection methods are
been discussed. A personal specification for role of HR officer and rationale is been provided
with advantages and disadvantages of advertising jobs within an entity. Also, a questionnaire
related to job of receptionist will be developed. The benefits of measures like apprenticeship for
an individual and organisation are been analysed with developmental opportunities is been
analysed with benefits of Microsoft's approach. Other than this, concept of employee
engagement and its impact on employee relationship is been evaluated. Different strategies
related to it are been taken in consideration and importance of communication within it is been
analysed with reference to various legal obligations related to employment.
TASK 1
a) Purpose of HR functions and its importance for an organization
The human resource management plays a very deep and crucial role in handling of
different business related functions that will lead to rise in capability of an organisation (Tyson,
2014). The SME like Say it with Chocolate will take in consideration different types of
functionalities within the business entity that will help in increasing the performance level of an
organisation. The HR department within an organisation will not only look after employee
selection and recruitment process but will also look after proper rectification of different
conflicts that can occur on departmental as well as interpersonal level.
The HR department or team within cited chocolate firm has to look after proper selection
of various employees and work force for the organisation to improve their work and product
quality. They will develop a proper recruitment and screening process will be drafted by the HR
1

team of chocolate maker firm. The officers within firm will look after the proper maintenance of
various business activities too along with recruitment procedures. The post recruitment processes
like providing of training for knowledge and skill improvement, mitigating the different conflicts
related to management and on interpersonal level.
In the present scenario, the HR team of Say it with Chocolate will look after proper
handling of various organisation level operations in an effective way (Kramar, 2014). They will
provide recruit employee within firm with a proper training and brief insight about their roles
and responsibilities, in order to ensure their effective and proper work processing. This will not
only give new employees with a confidence level to perform their work with efficiency but will
also improve their customer satisfaction level.
They will also look after proper assessment of different functionalities within business
organisation to develop a proper future business strategy and operational plan. This will help in
increasing the quality of different chocolate making operations and actions.
b) Role and responsibilities as a Human Resource Officer.
As a HR officer within the cited chocolate firm, Say it with Chocolate, I will look after
the proper management of business operations that will be taken in consideration. I will see
through the adoption of effective measures which will help in superior growth of organisation
that will help in superior rise in capability of organisation (Paillé and et.al., 2014). As a HR
officer I will have following roles and responsibilities that are required to be inherited within a
business organisation:
Roles of a HR officer:
 Carrying out of proper planning and thus will see through the proper rise in capability
and meeting of targeted goals and operations in an effective way.
 Drafting a suitable and significant recruitment process within the organisation that will
help the chocolate firm to get proper and skilled employees.
 Conducting effective selection procedure that will include proper screening of skilled
work force, assessing their knowledge and skill set. It will help in developing the
effective rise in capabilities and actions which will support an accessibility to good
employees.
2

 Providing the new recruits and potential employees of firm with a brief detailing of
company in order to improve their work experience and enhance the work process in an
effective way.
 I will also impart proper training and skill improvement measures within cited firm in
order to meet operational requirements in suitable manner (Taylor, Doherty and
McGraw, 2015).
Responsibilities of a HR Officer: As a HR officer at Say it with Chocolate, I will also possess
certain responsibilities to be followed at cited firm such as:
 To provide proper training to newly recruits and existing work force in order to enhance
their operational capability.
 Managing their wages, salaries, appraisals etc.
 Maintaining their accounts and other personal information which will help in suitable
rise in meeting of various business operations and activities.
 Eradicating any sort of conflict that takes place at the chocolate manufacturing business
entity and can impact the company's performance on a wider scale.
c) Advantages and disadvantages of current selection methods used by organization
In the present scenario of the selection and recruitment process at Say it with Chocolate,
the HR team of the organisation had followed the pre assessment and screening process (Wilton,
2016). This process involves asking of suitable queries and doubts regarding job profile or
description provided by the HR department of organisation to the candidates or potential
employees. These will help them to increase their knowledge and idea about the work process
that is been followed within cited chocolate business entity.
Following it, the aptitude test involving the suitable assessment of English
comprehension and reasoning is been carried out by the HR department. This will help in
effective assessment of their knowledge, processing and communication skills which will
support them to function effectively within the firm. To pass out the test, candidates are required
to have at least 70% marks. This stage helps in filtering out the maximum number of candidates.
The remaining individuals, passing out the test are forwarded for interview. It is an informal and
casual communication that will help the HR department of the organisation to have an effective
idea about behaviour and skill set of the potential candidate applying for the job within the
company.
3

This process will be a beneficial approach and will support a good rise in compatibilities
of a business organisation (Purce, 2014). However, this is not a reliable method to have a proper
skills and knowledge of the candidates applying for the job. This system has certain advantages
and disadvantages such as:
Advantages:
 This process helps in increasing the quality of services and products that will help in
increasing the knowledge and accessibility of the business entity that will help in
suitability and thus will help in meeting the targeted operations and actions.
 This will also support the HR department within the firm to develop a suitable and
effective strategy that will help in increasing the quality of products and services that are
offered by Say it with chocolate.
 It will assist the organisation and its HR department to have a good idea about their
employee selection and recruitment activities, that will help in effective handling of
different needs and demands of their customers.
Disadvantage:
 The major disadvantage of this selection process is that it not provide a clear insight
about the core skills and knowledge of an individuals skills and knowledge about the
requirements of their job (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang, 2014).
 It is not a reliable process and there are chances of the data getting misinterpreted or
wrongly evaluated which will cause the organisation to carry out the recruiting and
proper selection process within the cited chocolate manufacturing firm.
As compared to other recruitment and employees selection process, this process is quite
short but cannot be trusted. The 3 tier selection process or validating the job after the
probationary phase will cause the organisation to carry out its business activities and processes
in an effective way. Also, it will help the firm to develop a good employee management strategy.
d) Suggest certain potential improvements that could be made to the current selection methods.
The current selection process that is followed within the organisation for the selection of
effective work force for the organisation. This will help in suitable rise in the proper manner of
Say it with Chocolate towards a good HR policies within its firm. Other than this, the suggestive
measures that are been followed by the organisation will cause the cited chocolate manufacturing
4

entity to adopt proper recruitment measures (Storey, 2014). Some improvement measures that
will be followed within the cited retail entity are as follows:
 The HR department should carry out the suitable and effective screening process that
will lead the chocolate firm to get proper and skilled work force.
 The assessment criteria of selection methods, should be made more precise and accurate
in order to have the deep and on the point knowledge related to the job activity.
 The work of selected candidates should be evaluated on regular basis under their
probation period and after the satisfactory results are been obtained they should be
forwarded and provided with actual roles and responsibilities. This will help the firm to
save the time, cost and effort that is invested by an organisation on its employees.
TASK 2
a) Person specification for the role of receptionist.
In order to fill the vacancy of the post of receptionist, proper recruitment process will be
carried out. The HR department of organisation will adopt certain measures and selection
criteria that is been carried within a business entity (Brewster and et.al., 2016.). The HR officer
working within the business enterprise will look after the proper management of skills
requirements for the job of receptionist within the firm. The person specification for the role of
receptionist are as follows:
Person specification
In Say it with Chocolate, person specification for receptionist determines in following
way:
Skills Essentials Requirements
Core competencies
Customer focus ✓
Self motivation ✓
Communication ✓
Experience
Experience of greeting guest
and visitors
✓
5

Good standard of personal
presentation
✓
Ability to promote positive
image
✓
Excellent time keeping skills ✓
They will help the firm to increase its capabilities and have a good insight about needs
and demands of their clients and stake holders and thus will help in increasing the capability of a
business firm in a suitable manner. Besides this, they will work with the HR department of
organisation to place an advertisement about any opening or job vacancy within the business
enterprise (Albrecht And et.al., 2015)
b) Give out a detailed with placing appropriate advertisement
As the business organisation, Say it with Chocolate will need various mediums and that
will help the business operations and actions which will support the cited chocolate
manufacturing firm. As a HR officer, I will look after for a proper advertisement medium that
will help me to improve my knowledge and skills to analyse the job requirements within the
firm. Also, various measures of placing a proper advertisement will be carried out by HR
department of organisation. The proper placing of an advertisement will help the potential
candidates with a proper placing of business operations that will help the firm to have a good
accessibility of good candidates and work force. Various measures or methods are to be taken in
consideration by Say it with Chocolate to place the proper advertisements. Some of them are:
 Print media: This is the most basic, accessible and economical method of advertising. It
involves the use of magazines, newspaper and other print media mediums that help in
good rise in meeting of targeted goals and actions in an effective way ( Reiche and et.al.,
2016). This will help the cited chocolate firm to have an easy accessibility towards the
placing of a job advertisement.
 Social media platform: It will have multiple benefits to Say it with Chocolate. First of
all it will help the firm to promote its products. Second, this will have an easy, faster and
interactive access to its customer base and finally, it will support the firm to provide the
details related to any vacancy or job within the cited chocolate firm.
6

 Digital broadcasting: this approach uses the digital tools and techniques that will help in
suitable rise in accessibility of candidates for the firm. The use of radio and TV
broadcasting will help in easy and wide promotion of jobs or vacancies within the firm.
However, this is a costly and less economical approach.
 Word of mouth medium: As the firm is located within a vicinity of high unemployment
and population, the firm will use oral publicity or advertisement for the job availability.
This will help in increasing company's accessibility towards potential candidates within
the firm.
The proper usage of these approaches will help the organisation to have a good
accessibility and rise in the capability and meeting of cited business operations and activities
related to recruitment within the firm.
c) Advantages and disadvantages of the previous methods of advertising
With the passage of time, various methods are introduced within the organisation. It will
help the business entity to improve the core compatibility and meeting of targeted objectives
(Marchington and et.al., 2016). This will also assist in increasing the quality of products and
services that will help in suitable rise in accessibility of interested candidates towards the firm.
This has made the previous methods of advertising the jobs as less reliable and use worthy. Some
major advantages and disadvantages of traditional job advertising measures used buy Say it with
Chocolate are:
Print media: the print media marketing as following pros and cons.
Advantages:
 This helps to contact with the larger number of potential candidate within a geographical
area.
 The size of advertisement can be decided thus helps the company to provide a good
extent of details regarding jobs.
 It can be accessed multiple times by the user for reference.
 Can be copied and used multiple times.
Disadvantages:
 The ad space within a newspaper can be costly, making bigger advertisements quite
expensive.
7

 They have higher accessibility and visibility, thus make the prices or perks offered by a
company visible to its rivals and competitors (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, 2016).
 Poor image and print quality may affect the imparting of information by a business entity
like say it with Chocolate.
Digital broadcasting: the digital broadcasting or advertisement has following benefits and
drawbacks:
Advantages:
 Digital advertising is a more interactive medium of advertising as compare to print
media.
 It helps in having the accessibility on regional as well as national level.
 This will provide better idea to potential candidates about work process and products
manufactured by a business organisation.
Disadvantage:
 The major disadvantage of this approach is that the exposure is temporary.
 Preferred time slots of running the advertisements can be sold out, reducing the chances
of their effectiveness.
 Relatively the most expensive platform of advertisement as compared to other mediums.
Thus, looking at these factors, the cited chocolate firm can opt for an effective medium of
social media advertising or online communication for placing the job descriptions (Brewster,
Chung and Sparrow, 2016). This will help more and more candidates to apply for jobs at Say it
with Chocolates.
d) Interview questionnaire for the Receptionist, to improve selection of decision-making process
Questionnire for receptionist:
1. What do you know about our company?
2. What motivates you to opt for the job of receptionist and administration work?
3. What measures you take or can take to cope up with fast paced work environment of our
company?
4. How do you know your daily schedule organised?
8

5. What messaging and scheduling measures do you know to use for this job?
6. What is your opinion on role of a receptionist for an organisation?
7. What value you added in your previous company's work?
8. Do you find yourself capable to deal with an angry or dissatisfied customer?
TASK 3
a) Bnefits to both the organisation and employees of such schemes.
Microsoft, being one of the major and largest firm working in IT sector will lay a very
deep and significant impact on the training and skill improvement measures. The apprenticeship
and graduate training measures offered by company to its candidates will help both, organisation
and employees to improve their knowledge and skills in an effective way. Such schemes will
help the organisation to handle the business operations and activities (Chelladurai and Kerwin,
2017). This is a two sided beneficial process that can be support both Microsoft and its
employees or trainees to have suitable growth and development of their qualifications.
The benefits of these apprenticeships and graduate training schemes for Microsoft is as
follows:
 As these trainings are been provided in 3 categories: sales, business consultancy and
project management and technical streams that will help the organisation to have a good
knowledge and idea about various measures and actions that will be taken within
organisation.
 The trainees or graduates can provide out with innovative ideas or solution to areal time
problem that is faced within the business organisation. It will support to increase their
innovation capacity.
 Such measures of providing apprenticeship and training for graduate level students will
help Microsoft to have a good connectivity with different colleges and universities. It
assists the cited IT firms to have a good accessibility to its potential or future employees.
On the other hand, for the students or employees it increases more benefits such as:
 They get chance to have a real time role playing within the firm, help in developing their
mindset and skills accordingly (Bailey and et.al., 2018).
 It provides them a chance to have practical knowledge about how things run within an
organisation and adjust as per their job role.
9

 Also, good performance during their training period or apprenticeship may lead them to
be a permanent employee of Microsoft.
b) Developmental opportunities for a permanent job role
Once a trainee or a graduate has been selected from the program, it is forwarded as a
permanent employee at Microsoft. This provides him with an effective opportunity to improve
his/her skills and knowledge. As the training measures will provide the candidate with a proper
exposure to job roles, on getting permanent, the individual can easily work in it. Also, they will
have certain other benefits such as:
 This approach will help in improving their calibre and skill set.
 It provides a proper utilization of their talent and knowledge acquired by them in their
college or university.
 The work exposure which they will receive during their apprenticeship or graduate
training program will help them to easily settle at work place.
c) Benefits of approach Microsoft which taken in respect of flexible working practices.
Microsoft has received many benefits that will help in improving its working practices
(Brewster and Hegewisch, 2017). It will cause the firm to improve its work process this will help
them to increase their business operations and actions or activities that will help in suitable rise
in business activities. Besides this, it will support a good development of flexibility and
communication between the newly recruits, existing employees and management of a business
organisation.
Flexible working gives employees flexibility to work in systematic manner. In this
regard, access of flexible working develop with human resource policies that is usually requires
on the basis of supervisory approval. It assists to increase employees effectiveness as per their
own work schedule. Furthermore, it also assists to enhance employee morale, engagement and
commitment. Consequently, it helps to reduce absenteeism and tardiness with recruitment of
outstanding employees. It diminishes turnover of valued staff in appropriate manner to develop
significant advantages. As a result, Microsoft contains benefits to employees and employer as
well. With this regard, work and life balance can assist to improve productivity and efficiencies
in the organisation.
10

d) Microsoft motivates its workers through its job design and systems of reward.
The effective work environment, suitable and on the mark training process and effective
training of business operations and actions will help Microsoft to motivate its employees in an
effective way. The precise job roles, allocation of duties and system of rewards or appraisal will
assist cited business firm to encourage its work force to perform well at organisation. Besides
this, it will provide them suitable satisfaction level.
In order to recognise appropriate reward, it can be stated that employees are more
important source to do correct business. Good employee recognition and reward system includes
fair return with efforts. Motivation also maintain to improve performance of employees as to
gain competitive advantages. Incentive is most suitable way to encourage staff members of
Microsoft. This is because, exchange of achievement can be successfully gain to increase
efficiency and reward distribution.
TASK 4
a) What doe you meant by the term employee engagement?
It is a workplace improvement approach that helps the employees or workforce within an
organisation to have a better functioning at the workplace. It helps to motivate the employees to
have a good functionalities and a job satisfaction within cited IT firms. Other than this, it will
help in setting up of proper goals and values to achieve the targeted goals and objectives.
b) Why is employee engagement an integral strategy of employee relations?
The proper and effective employee engagement will help the employees or workforce of
organisation. Its helps in developing a good code of conduct and making suitable business
planning (Bratton and Gold, 2017). Besides this, it will help in suitable rise in capabilities and
handling of trade operations. A good employee engagement at work place will help in increasing
the performance of employees and an organisation.
In Microsoft, employee engagement consist effective and productive employee relations.
This is because, employees are engaged to perform better companies who engaged in work.
Therefore, it is important to work harder to maintain relations with others. Maintain strong
relationship consist as the key role to make ultimate success in the organisation. Therefore,
strong relationship will be successful develop in more productive and efficient way. Fewer
conflicts will be occur with using this consideration at workplace. As a result, it can be stated
11

that employee relationship strengthen effectiveness with resolving workplace issues and
measuring satisfaction of them at workplace.
c) Key approaches to engaging workers discussed in the summit.
Various key approaches related to employee engagement are been taken in consideration
by Microsoft that will help the business organisation to improve its employees performance.
Some major approaches or measures that are been taken in consideration are:
 Providing proper appraisal or encouragement on their good working.
 Improving the quality of service that will help in increasing their satisfaction level.
 Imparting proper training and skill improvement approach which will provide them, with
proper confidence level. It will also encourage them to improve their skills.
 Analysing the risk factors and mitigating the conflicts that can impact functionality
within cited firm.
In respect to develop significant advantages in decision-making, maintaining employee
relations is successful perspective to make desired success. Strong employee relationship
increases productivity and satisfaction of employees to resolve conflicts that are concern wuth
individual. Following are certain importance of employee relations which influence HRM
decision-making:
 There are several people together can easily take decision to develop significant
advantages.
 Furthermore, work become easy which shared among all to make healthy relations to do
work in better manner. Hence, it assists to do work with responsibilities and maintain
effectiveness as well.
 The organisation become happy to do work together as a family. In Microsoft tends to
focus and concentration to learn several things. Therefore, it is better to respect others to
expect same for them.
 Healthy employee relations diminish problem of absenteeism in the business.
d) Mmain pieces of employment legislation in the UK and explain how they influence human
resource decision making.
Different sort of legal measures are been followed within an organisation to improve their
performance and ave a good control or management over their business entity in an effective
way. Some major legal obligations are:
12

 Employment Right Act, 1996: It is a legal frame work which binds an employer firm to
follow the rightful demands of its employees while working within organisation
(Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).
 Employee protection Act, 1975: It helps the employees to get proper safety and security
against any sort of threat at the workplace. It includes protection against fire, harassment,
discrimination etc.
 Contract of Employment Act, 1963: This leads to the development of a legal contract
between an employee and the employer firm that will help in increasing the wellness and
ethicalness at the workplace. Any sort of breaching of any terms of contract may leads to
its termination.
 Wages Act, 1985: this helps in proper management of wages or compensation that can
be undertaken within the organisation in case of any accident. It ensures the wellness of
employees at workplace.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of this analysis, this can be concluded that the HR department of an
organisation plays a very deep and crucial role in their management. On the basis of assessment
this can be said that the HR officer has to manage a wide variety of roles and responsibilities
while working at a firm. This will help in proper deciding of a selection process and placing of
proper advertisement related to job using suitable medium. Other than this, the assessment of
effectiveness of apprenticeship and training program of Microsoft is been carried out with
evaluation of different employee engagement measures and legislation elements.
13

REFERENCES
14

15