HRM Practices and Employee Engagement

The assignment discusses the significance of HRM for organizational success and growth. It emphasizes the importance of HRM functions and their purpose in achieving set targets. The report also explores different recruitment and selection methods, as well as employee relations, which are crucial in building a positive work environment. These factors contribute to making workers and the company productive at the market place.

Human resource
management

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report is based on two reputed firm named as Chocola Fantastica and Microsoft.
Microsoft realise applicability of different HRM practices such as interns, training and other
practice programme that creates value for this leading tech giant. Also, report work has
suggested Chocola Fantastica to pay attention toward HR functions to empower accountability
and work diversification within the organisation. Furthermore, report has made some valuable
realisation to profound flexible working arrangement to empower people within tech giant to
work more. Lastly, Chocola has given their positive judgement for newspaper for the job advert.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
SECTION 1 .....................................................................................................................................4
LO1..................................................................................................................................................4
a) Purpose and functions of the HRM, applicable to a workforce planning and resourcing..4
b) Explain strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection..6
c). Evaluation of two potential Improvements.......................................................................6
SECTION 2......................................................................................................................................7
LO4..................................................................................................................................................7
a) Create person specification for the job role........................................................................7
b) Current method of job advertising and its advantage & disadvantage...............................8
c) Recommendation of the job advert ...................................................................................9
SECTION 3......................................................................................................................................9
LO2..................................................................................................................................................9
a) Benefits of different HRM practices within organisation for both the employer and
employee.................................................................................................................................9
b) Evaluate effectiveness of different HRM practices for organisational profit and productivity
..............................................................................................................................................10
c) How employer motivates its employee through job role design......................................11
SECTION 4....................................................................................................................................12
LO3................................................................................................................................................12
a) Analyse importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision making
..............................................................................................................................................12
b) Key approaches discussed in the summit and how these are important for workplace...13
c) Key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM decision making
..............................................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is one of the necessary phase of management started with
an intention to strategic approach to accomplishes effective utilization of resources such as
material, human being etc., and plan workforce, so that they would be help to accomplishes
business aims properly (Jennings and Stadler, 2015). This report will be carried on Microsoft
company is the American tech giant specialised to assists its customer with hardware, software
along with other IT sustainability solution. The second firm is Chocola Fantastica which is a
rapidly expanding organisation based in South Wales, which provides
tailor-made chocolate-based greetings cards and presents across the UK. This report will put
light on different purposes and function of a human resource along with emphasis onto the
strength and weaknesses of different methods of recruitment and selection.
Also, report will try to put down light on effectiveness of different HR practices, light on
the discussion regarding employment legislation and how its impact on HR decision making
along with performance of the HR practices.
SECTION 1
LO1
a) Purpose and functions of the HRM, applicable to a workforce planning and resourcing
Human resource management is defined as managerial area linked to human development
& based on accomplishing resource capacity to any business firm. It is defined as process of the
recruiting, selecting, providing orientation, imparting training & development with aim to give
appraise workforce and link them to organisational goals with ethnicity. Mainly, HRM is merely
associated to workforce of a firm and develop long term plan to gain respective goals or targets
in lesser time (Taris, 2014). For Chocola Fantastica, firm has saw that staff turnover has been
raised due to less experience to be applicable in work related context.
With aim to avoid heavy workforce turnover, its being important to realise function of
human resource and how their purpose is being related to business efficiency increments. HR
function is consists of training & development and recruitment & selection of the people to fill
that gap of decreased ability of a firm. In regards to Chocola Fantastica, human resource function
and its purpose are given as under:

Function of the HR: It is mainly linked to actual profiling of the activities to be done by a
HR officer. Brief analysis is as given under:
Training & development: T&D is one of the formal activity plan designed to pursue skill
development & enrichment for the employee's so that they would perform assigned task with rise
in performance durability and resistance (Bloom and et. al., 2012). This is a current problem for
every organisation along with also in case of Chocola Fantastica. The purpose of this HR
function is to build skills and competencies of internal people, so that they would work with
higher accuracy. Chocola Fantastica management must link T&D with purpose to build accuracy
for conduct training and prosperous learning for its employees, so that they must develops their
performance to work along with strategic position of the firm. With intention to improves, future
plan such as evaluation of an existing process and adapting relevant changes to T&D process
such as e-learning to brings about long term efficiency into the business.
Recruitment & selection: It is one of the core function of human resource focus at a right
people for right job at right time to maintain business decorum. The purpose of recruitment is to
locate right candidate and links it to the actual business prospects. Along with, intention is to hire
employee's with right skills and competencies and then link them to strategic goal of the firm.
Right now, recruitment has comes out current problem for Chocola Fantastica to overcome and
pursues future action such as short down bulk recruitment to brings out efficiency to get right
candidates.
Problem solving: It is an another essential function of human resource management, in
which problem of employees is addressed. If any conflict happens in organisation, role of HR
comes into action and initiates with root cause of problem. Due to rise in the problems, staff
turnover has also increased and even employees are leaving in their period of beginning due to
negative influence. Problem solving function will helps to brings equality and brotherhood
among people to work as collectivism. This will improve employee satisfaction as they will not
feel that their problem is being ignored by management.
Importance of the HRM function:
Growth orientation: HR personnel of any firm is making linked to its task to led business
for a longer duration (Wood and et, al., 2012). With support of T&D and R&S, Chocola
Fantastica has set their long term intention to ensure sustainability to their performance and
develops standards to enrich strategy to achieves operational aim or goals efficiently. Purpose of

the given HR function is to takes out support of the right employee who have all possible skills
& ability to do business work.
Maintain long term business relation: The focal purpose of R&S is to maintain flow of a
right people with every firm and which may have perfect skills & competencies to maintain long
run relationship with employer's of the firm. With R&S, firm may give right skill & ability to its
employee's such as ability to communicates, interact along with develops logical communication
with other people of the Chocola Fantastica.
b) Explain strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection
Selection: It is a process of selecting applications of candidates for an organisation.
Selection and recruitment both terms are used in case of hiring an employee but both are
different. It is a process of selecting the profile of candidates, screening and scrutinizing them.
Chocola Fantastica follows two methods of selection: Assessment Test: Chocola Fantastica takes usage of an assessment test to assess the
candidate's knowledge and skills. Such test contains two subjects English and Maths and
also decided a fixed passing marks which is 50% in both subjects. Strengths are company
saves its lot of time and money as this test brings out the best from the crowd and also
company does not require any specialist for hiring. Weakness is this test is considered as
irrelevant in the eyes of few people as some people think that skills cannot be measure on
the basis of pen and paper.
 Informal chat: Chocola uses informal chat as their final selection method to judge and
measure candidate, before passing offering letter. They uses coffee and beverages at the
time of talking as it help candidate in getting familiar with organisation and their culture.
The intention is to make employees familiar with entire business process or activities.
c). Evaluation of two potential Improvements
Improvement 1
It is being recommendable for Chocola Fantastica to brief their assessment test and starts
giving importance to self-evaluation test. Its perfect to go with self-evaluation test as it realise
candidates potential and the extent of benefits which they can offer to organisation. Self
evaluation test's pros is actual realisation of the person talent and performance to be judges in
pre-time basis. The negative issue with self assessment test is that technical skills may not be
evaluated appropriately under this method. Ignoring few cons, it can be said that self-evalution

test is appropriate improvements in case of Chocola Fantastica as it will help them in
understanding mindset and personal needs of potential employees.
improvement 2
Formal Personal interview is another recommendation as it assist in measuring
candidate's abilities. Personal interview pros are employer observes the personality of employee
and few other interpersonal skills like conflict management, pressure handling. One of the major
issue with personal interview is that someone candidates get nervous and fail to answer questions
whose answer they already know. It results is eliminating potentially good candidate. Overall,
personal interview is better method because it bring seriousness in selection procedure.
SECTION 2
LO4
a) Create person specification for the job role
Person specification:
Person Specification
Category Essential Job
Requirements
Desirable Job
Requirements
Method of Testing
Skills and
Knowledge:
 Should have
effective
communication
skills.
 Ability to
manage people
and customers
 Must be a clear
and complete
multitasker to
do number of
task at one
time.
 Communicatio
n must be
effective
Interview and
application form.
Experience  Minimum one
year
experience as a
junior
 Experience is
required to
maintain line
of the people at
Self interview

receptionist
and data
recording
one time along
with informing
to the
department
over this.
Education /
Qualifications:
 Have minimum
working exp as
the junior
receptionist
 Have training
officer exp to
train new and
emerging
receptionist,
before working
 Qualification
in an effective
management
and data
recording is
also required.
Initial screening form
and assessment.
b) Current method of job advertising and its advantage & disadvantage
Currently, firm is using two methods such as internal and external way of job advertising.
In internal method, Chocola has informed internal part of a firm i.e., existing staff and their
family people with reference to get known and skilled person for higher job purpose. With such
method, employee who is being aware of business compliance will be informed to take over
further job position. In external method, job notice is used to be put on noticeboard of main
entrance site, so that it would be comes into eyes of other potential people to apply for given
position. This method is being unique to recruit higher talent with unknown but great value.
Advantage & disadvantage:
Internal method: Advantage of internal job advertising is to gather better option who
have better knowledge and understanding of firm compliance to work with certain desired vision
and disadvantage is that internal pressure to recruit existing person whether fit for job role or not.

External method: Advantage of an external job advertising is to attract high talent of the
greater value and positive response of the potential candidate and disadvantage is a waiting time
and cost on the print media to advertise the job.
c) Recommendation of the job advert
Company is looks out for role of receptionist in which use of job advertisement is purely
necessary. After release of person specification, its important to draft advertisement and that will
be done with help of newspaper. One of the major reason behind choosing newspaper is larger
reader base and ease of reach (Brewster, 2017). Advantage of newspaper advertisement is
gathering large no. of the candidate base and ease to track large base of candidate for job role of
receptionist. Negative about having newspaper as option is high cost of printing and expensive
circulation.
SECTION 3
LO2
a) Benefits of different HRM practices within organisation for both the employer and employee
HRM practices are mainly consists of giving periodical training, development & interns
program to its employees with intention to build their ability and competencies to work within
Microsoft. Practices can be training & intern program such as commercial intern program to help
out people to learn while on the job or be sustained at the top position such as manager, senior
executive to work along with performing of role specific training (Intern Program, 2018). They
provides commercial intern program of 12 months, during which 70 percent learning is based
on the job, 20 percent from manager, peers etc. and rest 10 percent by structured courses. Such
internship program has helped employee's to learn actual working condition scenario and helps
out Microsoft to achieves right people.
Apart from, Microsoft used to provides with 12 weeks summer engineering internship
program with flexible dates to start with (The Engineering Internship, 2019). During that period
of 12 weeks, senior people of the Microsoft uses to give training on aspects of basic level
engineering, software design along with learning of the programming language. People within
Microsoft has benefits to learn basic of the software engineering and its application. Also,
Microsoft gives training to its existing employees for building sense of thinking and inspiration
to work in this firm (Marchington and et. al., 2016). These all are their schemes instead of

program, as they mainly do this with intention to grow skills & competencies of their employees
to contributes to set goals of the Microsoft.
Apart from this, Microsoft provides one most important program namely Aspire program
is mainly designed for top performing graduates across of broad range of roles (Aspire Program,
2018). In this program, a successful candidate mainly provided with structured program of real
life experiences, focuses on the training & getting well information out of the online resources
while doing job at premise.
Moreover, benefits of such schemes would be helpful on two side i.e., organisation and
employees. Benefits to employees and employee will be make understood with help of tabulation
presentation is as follows:
Employee Organisation
 With the help of Commercial and
engineering internship programs the
staff members at Microsoft will be able
to develop their knowledge regarding
software and different application
which will help them to fulfil
requirement of their job role.
 Furthermore, such internship programs
benefit employees of Microsoft to
experience actual working conditions
so that they get prepared for future
consequences (Mosakowski, 2017).
 Programs such as Aspire are conducted
within the organisation in order to train
the staff members so that their
productivity could be enhanced which
may contribute in the attainment of long
term organisational goals.
 Another main benefit of training and
internship programs for Microsoft is
that it helps to place skilled employees
on vacant posts so that all the
operational activities could be
performed in systematic manner.
b) Evaluate effectiveness of different HRM practices for organisational profit and productivity
Flexible working is the situation, where people used to be work with providing relief and
good condition, so that less involvement of stress and tension be released for long. Microsoft is
well known for flexibility towards working and relief to its employees, in case they feeling stress
and condition of the stress (Lu, Zhu and Bao, 2015). There are provides relief to maintain
employees to retain with Microsoft such as maternity leaves to pregnant people, environmental

working, relax breaks and motivational seminars for their employee's so that they would feel bit
motivated to work more. Moreover, Microsoft is used to give motivation to its employees by
offering them all basic needs to live. Flexible working arrangements which are being offered by
the Microsoft is flexible working time, life and professional schedules and work life balance
which manages employees work load and their personal time as well. Also, Microsoft has
priority to telecommuting and work from home as two options to enhance flexible working into
practices. They also provides 43 percent of the remote working to maintain flexibility at time of
professional work (Remote work, 2019).
In survey, its proved that giving all possible basic needs to the employees automatically
develop motivation for employees to work with open heart and sense of dedication. Also, the
major aim of offering flexible working to maintain confidence of the people to work against of
their disliking to contributes firm in an effective way or manner. Benefits of HRM practices such
as flexible working hours and telecommunication could be understood with the help of following
discussion:
 When employees are allowed by the organisation to work with flexible working hours
then it can result in increased motivation level of them which helps to develop their
engagement level in their jobs.
 Sometimes it is very important for the employees to get direction from the managers to
perform specific tasks and if they are not available at workplace then it may create issues
such as wrong execution of plans. If HRM practices such as telecommunication is used
within the organisation then possibility of workplace issues could be reduced as guidance
from managers could be taken when required.
c) How employer motivates its employee through job role design
Microsoft motivates their employees by positive influences of job design or structure.
Microsoft uses job characteristics model with three different factors given in the diagram:

Sources: Job characteristics model, 2018
Company design Job profiles is such a way that employees get changes to work on
different profiles. Job rotation motivate employees to learn more, it is directly connected with
more financial benefits. By empowering employees, Microsoft pour new energy in workers.
Keeping a balance between responsibility and power motivate employees to deliver better
results. Moreover, Microsoft gives its preference to job rotation and provide opportunity to all
the staff members to perform multiple jobs. It helps to develop their interest in the tasks which
are allocated to them. The main benefit of it for the organisation is that it helps to enhance
employee engagement which lead the business toward success. In most cumulative manner,
Microsoft try to lead all its employees to work under their designed job profile. Job rotation may
also result negatively because continuous changes in jobs can result in confusion for employees.
Sometimes they may not have knowledge of the new role which is assigned to them under job
rotation it will affect their work quality and organisation's productivity.
SECTION 4
LO3
a) Analyse importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision making
Employee relation is refer to as the company’s efforts to maintain the relationship
between an employee and employer for accomplishment of common goals. Maintaining healthy
and well-motivated employee relation is essential for every organisational success. Favourable
employee relationship is required for higher productivity and employee satisfaction. It is taken
into the consideration for removal of issues and problems relating to the people management in
an organisation. Workers are considered as one of the most important asset for organisation and
Illustration 1: Job characteristics model

good relationship with them in essential for smoothing functioning. Pay & benefits, work life
balance, safe working conditions are few aspects which are covered under the concept of
employee relation.
Employee engagement is an approach where organisation try to develop right conditions
so every member give their contribution in attaining set targets. It concentrate on developing a
sense of belonging and own well-being.
Importance of Employee engagement
Attracting and retaining premium quality of human resource is not possible with
engaging workers in decision making process. Employee engagement play key role in
developing pool of highly skilled workers. This approach is required for improving culture of the
company.
Benefit of Employee engagement
Enhanced productivity can be considered as the main benefit of employee relation. It
motivate workers to perform better and deliver expected results. Increased customer satisfaction
is another advantage of this approach. If workers are satisfied with their job then they will put
extra efforts in resolving problems of employees.
Importance of employee engagement for Microsoft
Employee engagement is effective in building long term employee relation among many
employees and employers of the Microsoft. With support of an employee engagement, top
management of the Microsoft has focused on building competencies and improving behaviour of
each person in case of shortage. Training & effective learning are two techniques on a basis of
which competencies & behaviour can be solves. Last year, Microsoft has been comes up with
employees summit, in which other 6 more business venture has taken part in that event to
promote employment engagement. During that summit, director officer of the Microsoft has told
that employee engagement is being pioneer not only for Microsoft, but also for other firm such
as KFC, Accenture etc. with this summit, focus is tried to built communication and high level
performance of the employee. Also, they led down focus to start giving importance to long
durable employee relation to give results to the corporate sector. With employee relationship,
Microsoft will bring positive influences in its environment, enables collectivism and ability to
achieving targets by understanding each and every ability to contributes to the firm.

b) Key approaches discussed in the summit and how these are important for workplace
Sources: Approaches to employee engagement, 2018
In that seminar, Anton Andrews has pushed down to build culture engagement, bringing
motivation, developing of the strategic alignment along with managing execution as full settle
strategic process to develop employee relation and achieves employee engagement. During that
seminar, Anton Andrews has point out whether firm is having culture to motivates, empower etc.
, how they are being proved best to motivates their people by giving training and is really use of
communication is being survived in the Microsoft. During that seminar, focus is also put down to
develop approach for effective development of the communication:
Culture engagement approach has been suggested to focus to build culture that actually
motivates, encourage along with brings respect for employees to pursue pure communication. If
that culture would not exits, its critical impact may be seen on profitability on Microsoft. This
approach will improve coordination among employees as they will be aware about each other's
mindset, background and working style. The problem with engaging culture is that sometime
workers remove their concentration from key activities and start focusing on secondary activities
like upgrading own skills.
I
llustration 2: Approaches to employee engagement

Motivational approach is link for development of the cohesive team capable to work
with longer affection. Main intention behind such approach is to gain working response of each
and every people of the company. Manager should go for motivational seminar by other business
leaders for their employees to burn their boost again for business benefits. If motivational would
led to wrong direction, this may led to decreasing of an employee performance instead of rising
of true communication into the firm. But if managers get success in motivating employees then
workers can leave their comfort zone and try deliver exceptional results. Motivating employees
regularly is important for continuous improvement, it also increases organisational and
individual productivity.
Strategic alignment to realise long term goals along with managing execution to build
accountability of the employee's. If in case, these approaches would failed, its impact would
directly led to deficiency to the process of communication. Hence, with purpose to gain good
outcomes, seminar has suggested that unique skills of an employee must be linked to strategic
implementation. It is necessary of employees to understand that company is moving in which
direction. Microsoft is working on many projects but their long term goals does not vary. If
employees will not understand goals/direction, then they will not be able to give any significant
contribution in attaining set targets.
Managing execution is the last approach, managers of the Microsoft is required to
support and build employee accountability and focus on better & effective results and outcomes.
It might be failed if in case manager of the Microsoft would not be respond in an effective
manner. Execution is most important part of any plan as it is directly related to results. Microsoft
always concentrate on right and timely execution of plans and this work is done by fixing
responsibility of workers. Keeping focus only on execution is also not a correct approach as
executing with any planning results in chaos as workers does not have any idea about their
responsibilities and targets.
Lastly, all such approaches has combined proved essential for Microsoft to empower
communication in complete hierarchy of this tech giant. Positive culture has focused to bring
communication that would helps to break down barrier for company to grow and with motivation
to build sense of positive communication to transact operational proceedings. Strategic alignment
has contributed to employee for communicates wisely to perform their best and executive plan to
led employees be accountable and loyal to the Microsoft.

c) Key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM decision making
Employment legislation is defined as necessary law that has been initiated to protect job
of the people and being protect for longer period of time (Pollock, Jefferson and Wick, 2015).
The major purpose of employment legislation is to promote equality, diversity along with healthy
consideration at the workplace. In context of the Microsoft, use of employment legislation has
led into role of effective working with support to compliance to held protection to the jobs of the
people. In regards with Microsoft UK, key elements of employment legislations in context to HR
decision making are as follows:
Health & Safety Act 1974: Its an essential act to ensure about health of the worker &
safety, while at workplace and appropriate task activities. As per this act, its essential for director
of Microsoft to render safe & positive performance environment so as to ensure that worker's
would do their activities into right manner (Albrecht and et. al., 2015). With support of this act,
business director gives priority to build flourishing space that may not be harmful for workers
into the business premises . Also, decision-making process of manager is also affected because
all the decision are taken as per the health and safety act that may in making them productive at
workplace. This law assists employer's of the Microsoft to takes out decision making in favour of
health and also safety of the people.
Anti-Discrimination Act 2010: This act is being based on manager to check out that
employees are being treated equally at the workplace and also not discriminated on the basis of
colour, status, religion along with nationality. It will be helpful for workers for being act as
productive so as to makes ensure that organisation is working on its goals or activities at
workplace. This would be helpful to develops pure relation among employee's, manager and
other employee's as well. So, its essential for director of the Microsoft to pursue decision making
in favour of an employee's to avoid illegal practices of discrimination crime to avoid any bad
misshapenness (Bratton and Gold, 2017). This act would helps by making decisions on basis of
past happenings and with purpose to enhance common and equality into an environment.
Employment act, 1997: This act was brought in UK parliament to protect employment of
organisation people. It involves recruitment & selection of people to recruit candidates with
support to employee effectiveness. This act states right of worker which are related to minimum
wages, working hours and other benefits. Decision taken by HR team and manager may change
because of the provisions that are present in this law. For example, managers may not want to

provide health and safety training to employees as it put extra burden of cost but because of law
manual they have to provide then essential trainings.
CONCLUSION
This report identified the importance of HRM for success and growth of an organisation.
In this manager also help in regulating own task based activities at the place to aim for attaining
all the desired targets and objectives. Along with this, HRM function and its purpose is also
benefited for the company to accomplishing their set target. Different recruitment and selection
method is also help in hiring best candidate at workplace so that they perform their best to
enhance the positive performance. Furthermore, employee relation is also important for company
to build positive work environment in which organization make their performance more
competitive. All these are directly contribute in making workers and company productive at
market place.

REFERENCES
Aspire Program, 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/earlycareers/aspire-program>

Remote work, 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RWs770>