Barclays Bank

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

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Executive Summary
Analysis in the report is about the challenges that are faced by the Barclays bank which is one
of the biggest banks from UK. It was found that the issues such as Diversity issue,
Regulations, Technology, Risk, Client needs, Political risks and Human resource risks are
some of the primary problems issues that are confronting the business of Barclays. This
report also discusses the best SHRM strategies and practices that are from all across the
globe. By the analysis of the SHRM, it was found that Encouraging creativity, Coaching,
Optimise focus, Open communication, Leadership development strategy, Strategy based
recruitment and selection, Rewarding, Skill development program and Performance
management strategy are some of the best practices and strategies used by different
industries. This report also illustrates the fact that it is critical to have good strategic planning
tool for the management of SHRM. Here the tool that can be used by Barclays bank is “The
standard causal model”. In the later section of the report there is illustration of the training
strategies that can be used by Barclays bank where Analyse the need, Identify skill gaps,
Prioritise, Training Methodology, Resource requirements, Actual training and Evaluation
methodology are some of the strategies used by the by the company. In order to be successful
the HR plan is essential and hence it is provided in the last section of the report. The HR
planning for Barclays includes steps such as HR needs, selecting employees, developing
training, Determine compensation, Recruitment strategy and Appraise performance.

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Content
s
Executive Summary............................................................................................... 1
Introduction............................................................................................................... 3
Discussion.............................................................................................................. 4
Strategic Issues.................................................................................................. 4
Various SHRM development practices and strategies........................................7
Strategies of training that develops high performance organisation................10
Strategic HR implementation plan....................................................................13
Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 16
References.............................................................................................................. 18

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Introduction
In today’s time an organisation needs to understand the training needs in order to ensure their
competitiveness within the industry. There are many multi-national firms that are facing
many types of challenges in their business operations. HRM has an essential role in this and
hence it is critical for the management to ensure that they have adopted the best HR practices
so as to contest more efficiently in the industry (Noe, et al. 2017). HR development strategies
and adoption of best practices allows the companies to improve the performance of the
overall organisation. Since there are people from different parts of the working within the
same organisation and has different skill requirements hence companies need to make the HR
plans and policies according to this only. Higher performance staffs automatically leads to
development of high performance organisation. Banking sector employees a wide range of
employees in their operations and this even gets bigger in the case of multi-national
organisation (Wright and McMahan, 2011). In UK where the pay scale in the banking sector
is high, companies are demanding for the employees that are skilled and are adaptable at the
international levels. Barclays plc. is an British multinational investment bank and financial
services firm. The other four areas of operations of this bank are investment management,
personal banking, wealth management and corporate banking. This bank was established in
the year 1690 as a goldsmith banking business. Over its expansion in a next decade this bank
becomes the nation-wide bank. Barclays is primarily listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is also a part of FTSE 100 Index. With more than 79,000 employees working in the
bank, the part of HRM becomes very much critical for the organisation. Within the report
there is discussion on the theories of SHRM and the role of SHRM in generating high
performance organisation. Various SHRM improvement strategies and practices have also
been illustrated in this report. It also provides strategic HR implementation plan to generate
highly performing organisation that has higher competitiveness in the market.

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Discussion
Strategic Issues
For ensuring that there is organisational development, it is critical that organisation
understands the strategic issues that have been faced by them as well as the issues that are
faced by the individuals. The way in which an organisation deals with the strategic issues
faced by the firms plays a critical role in giving any organisation a competitive advantage
over the rivals (Blackburn, 2012). The better an organisation is able to deal with the
challenges the better is their chance that they remain on the top of the organisation. In this the
role of senior management staffs is more significant. The board of directors had to ensure that
they look at different features of the strategic HRM. While addressing the issues Board of
Directors also needs to communicate the relevant changes that are required within the
organisation. Some of the strategic issues faced by the Barclays bank are:
 Diversity issue: There are people from different backgrounds working in the
organisation within the Barclays. People from different cultural backgrounds work
within the firm hence they face challenges in maintaining the diversity within the
organisation (Schermerhorn Jr, et al. 2019). This is also in terms of gender diversity
which again has a critical issue of the firm. The issue also becomes critical since the
customers that come for banking within the organisation also belongs to different
cultural background hence for dealing with this strategic issue the cross-cultural
training is highly required. The board of directors have to improve the ways in which
they are dealing with the diversity as they will have to take efforts to improve the
diversity policy (Olum, 2010). This is also true in terms of gender equality especially
at the top levels of management. Board of Directors have to ensure that they remove
the practices such as glass ceiling.
 Regulations: Banking regulations in different parts of the world is changing at higher
speed and it has become essential for the Barclays bank to make sure that they comply
with all the regulatory norms. This is not only essential for achieving the strategic
benefits but it is also necessary for improving the customer satisfaction and reducing
the legal compliances faced by the company in different parts of the world.
Regulations also ensure that company do not fail in coping with the issues faced by
the cited firm. Since political environment in different parts of the world is changing
hence the regulatory norms are also changing (Lengnick-Hall, Beck and Lengnick-
Hall, 2011).

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 Technology: International banking has become highly dependent on the technology
and the technological advancements that are going on in the organisation. This
advancement in technology that is being used in the industry is very fast and meeting
the requirements might be a difficult process for the company. Since technology has
bigger roles to play in improving the customer satisfaction hence managing the
quality of the technology that is being used within the firm is necessary (Choi, 2011).
Technological advancements such as IoT and data management technologies have
become highly crucial for improving the banking experience but at the same time,
higher use of technology builds a situation where data privacy and security remains at
stake. There are individuals from all across the globe hence it is critical for the
management to make sure that they have equal skills so that there is smoothness in the
work process. In the last decade many of the banks are facing the challenges related to
the cyber-attacks. This might lead to loss of data which can cause long term strategic
failure for the organisation (Rose and Sesia, 2013).
 Risk: The non-performing assets of Barclays are increasing day by day. This has
made financial operations difficult for the Barclays bank. On the other hand the
economic environment in the world is degrading especially in the European region.
This downfall in the economy will have negative impact on the operations of the
bank. The risks also lie because of the increasing cyber-attacks as the data of the
company is under the threat. Risks also lie in the management of resources. This is
because there is huge scarcity of resources especially the financial resources hence the
investment made by the organisation must be done wisely (Murega, 2011). Risks also
lie in the areas such as image of the bank. Barclays is having a big brand image in the
market. Any failure from the side of employees and also in terms of organisational
policies can create larger risks for the management of image. The central banks within
the countries are not providing as much support as required by the private banks. The
risks are also higher in terms of corporate governance issues (Waller and Fawcett,
2013). This is because modern day business has to face a lot of legal and ethical
issues.
 Client needs: The client needs are becoming dynamic and are changing at faster rate.
Clients want that their requirements are fulfilled and want innovative solutions to their
problems and hence companies have to be ready with the solution. In case they fail to
address these needs there is highly likely risk of losing the market (Mello, 2014).