Importance of Employee Relations in HRM Decision-Making

This article discusses the significance of employee relations in influencing HRM decision-making and its impact on organizational success. It also explores key elements of employment legislation and their role in protecting employee rights. Case study: Burberry.

Human Resource
Management project

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
P1: Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organisation...........................................................................................................3
P2: Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection.
.....................................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3: Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the
employer and employee...............................................................................................................6
P4: Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational
profit and productivity.................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P5 Analyse the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making.........................................................................................................................................7
P6: Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision-making...........................................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
P7: Illustrate the application of HRM practices in a work-related context, using specific
examples......................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is a strategic approach for employing people, developing
policies, compensating them, and training them. It is a process of effective management of
people in an organisation. Human resource department of a company is responsible for
recruiting, training and development of the employees. The overall purpose of it is to ensure the
success of organisation through people employed in organisation. In context with Burberry a
luxury fashion brand this report covers the purpose of human resource management, workforce
planning, resourcing of organisation, strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to
recruitment and selection process, benefits of different human resource management for both
employee and employer, effectiveness of HRM in terms of organisational profits and
productivity, importance of employee and employer relationship, key elements of employment
legislation, application of HRM practices in work-related context along with conclusion.
Task 1
P1: Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organisation.
Human resource management is a process concerned with maintaining workforce,
motivating, hiring, communicating and administering on an organisation in a competent manner.
Every organisation has its human resource management department which is responsible for
employee's benefits, reward management, performance appraisal and many other functions. In
context with a luxury fashion brand Burberry Human resource department plays a crucial role.
Every department in an organisation has a purpose behind its working. (Baqi and et. al., 2020).
The purpose of human resource department of Burberry is to ensure that process involved to
nurture human and support employee welfare shall lead to business growth. It is the function as
well as responsibility of HR department in a business enterprise to find highly skilled people,
increase employee's productivity, planning for workforce and facilitate communication between
employer and employee. Human resource management is helpful for employees as well as
employers as it helps employees and managers to improve effectiveness of organisation.
In relation with Burberry a fashion house industry Human resource department of the
company concerned with managing the employees and there are many functions of the
department they are:

 Recruiting and selection process: Recruitment and selection procedure of a company is
an important part of organisation. It involves screening, captivating and selecting
potential and deserving candidates for the job required of the company. Before starting
the process of recruitment Burberry execute a staffing plan which is helpful in selecting
qualified employees.
 Orientation programmes: Employee orientation includes how employees can help to
achieve the goals and objectives. It is helpful to know about exact role and duties that
employee has to perform in a organisation such as Burberry. It clarifies the active role in
company (Latukha and et.al., 2020)
 Good working conditions: It is the duty of Burberry's human resource department to
maintain good working conditions in the company to motivate the employees by which
employees get more dedicated to their work.
 Managing employee relation: Management of Burberry should organise activities to
maintain employer and employee relationship in the organisation. It is the key of success
for every organisation.
 Training and development of employees: Burberry can improve the current
performance by training the employees through educating them and managing
development programmes for the employees.
P2: Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection.
Recruitment: It is a process which is used by organisations to attract the suitable
candidates for the jobs. Various types of methods are used by the companies for recruitment
according to needs and demand of the company. There are mainly two types of approaches
which are used for recruiting the candidates they are:
Internal recruitment: It is a process which is fast and less time consuming as in this
type of approach existing employees of the company are referred and taken into consideration for
the vacant post. (Baqi and et. al., 2020). There are strength and weakness of internal approach of
the recruitment.
Employees referrals: most companies such as Burberry adopt this internal approach of
recruitment as it is cost effective and person already employed in the organisation is assigned
more responsibilities in case of vacant post they are taken into consideration by the company.

Strength: It is a quick process which is cheaper to recruit. As it involves recruitment of
employees within organisation by which there is less chances of selecting a wrong candidate. As
they already have previous experience by which they are more capable to achieve the targets set
by the companies.
Weakness: Measure weakness of the internal approach is that it limits the choice of the company,
promotes unfair practices and external talents are deprived of working.
External recruitment: It is a process of filling vacant posts of the company by recruiting
new candidates other than existing ones. It is generally carried out by job advertisement, external
job websites, newspapers and magazines. There are strength and weaknesses of the external
recruitment they are:
Advertising through social media: In this type of method jobs are advertised on career sites,
social media, job boards and industry publications. The purpose behind external recruiting is to
attract suitable and fresh talent (Yong and et. al., 2019).
Strength: Companies recruit externally to provide opportunities to fresh ideas and talents into
business. External recruitment creates a pool of best qualified can be chosen easily as it provides
greater choices. This ensures quality of human resources in organisation.
Weaknesses: In external recruitment risks is included. It may take new employees to settle down
in the environment of the company. They can take more time then internal recruitment and more
expensive.
Selection: It is a process concerned with picking up the right candidates with required
qualifications and competency to the vacant position. In reference with Burberry different types
of selection procedures are adopted by the company according to the needs and requirement of
the vacant post. Method used by Burberry for selection is:
Test job Knowledge: Job knowledge is tested by the company through skill assessment. A task is
given to candidate which should be completed within specified time. Accordingly, candidates are
shortlisted for the job.
Strength: Tests are useful in finding out suitable person for the job. Test of knowledge provide a
uniform bases for comparing performance of candidates which is a helpful measure to select the
right candidate.

Weakness: Testing knowledge of candidates sometimes may not be correct in certain cases in
which candidates are assigned variety of tasks. Some people are competent for job but have fear
of exposure which can become disadvantages for the company.
TASK 2
P3: Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the employer
and employee.
Effective practices of human resource management are applied by the companies which
gives benefits to both employee and employer. It increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the
employees as well as employers of the company. It is a way to accelerate the profits and
productivity of the company. The main aim to implement HRM practices is to maintain human
resources at workplace (Murphy and et.al., 2017)
Both employee and employer is benefited through using an effective human resource
management practices in an organisation. There are different factors which explains the benefits
of HRM in a company. In context with Burberry it is explained below:
 Training and development: It is an important and essential practice of HRM. Training
includes instructing or giving information to the employees to develop their knowledge
and skills. Development includes inserting new skills and knowledge in the employees
which results in better results and profitability.
Benefits of employee Benefits of employer
Burberry a fashion brand company provides
training and development programmes for the
employees. They get benefit by the training
which strengthen the knowledge and skills of
the employees by which they can face
challenges and perform better for the
organisation (Baqi and et. al., 2020)
Trained employees of Burberry they are
capable to perform and contribute for the
organisation in a better way. It also give
benefit to employer by generating more profits
for the company.

Reward management: The system of reward management motivates employees to
perform at its best but HRM helps to ensure more productivity and achieve organisation goals
and objectives more effectively and efficiently.
P4: Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational
profit and productivity.
HRM practices are designed to maintain good relationship between employer and
employees at workplace. Effective HRM practices of an organisation is essential to increase the
profit and productivity of a company (Ramadani and et.al., 2020.) It can support and assist an
organisation to work in a direction which can increase the profits of a company in a seamless
manner. In context with Burberry effective HRM practices are taken into consideration they are
as follows:
 Training and development: It is an important program which is taken into consideration
by Burberry. Through this an employee can get more knowledge about the work and can
extend the performance to maximum level. It is an effective factor of the company which
can accelerate their production and profits as well.
 Flexibility in organisation: It is also a crucial factor which fetches the productivity of
the firms. In context with Burberry they have flexibility in their company. The staffs have
become more comfortable and performs better in flexible environment which is adopted
by the company. In this type of environment employees are free to work according to
their comfort by which they feel more freely and productivity of the company is
increased (Damanik and et. al., 2018)
 Reward system: This system is also adopted by Burberry in order to keep the employees
motivated throughout the workplace. Motivated employees are able to perform and
contribute better by which profits and productivity of the company is enhanced.
TASK 3
P5 Analyse the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making
The process of managing relationships in any organisation is known as Employee
Relationship Management (ERM). Relation between employees and management plays an

important role at workplace. Providing training to employees, meet their needs are some actions
which management take to establishing relations between various employees or employees and
management. Fostering employees’ creativity, Motivating employees, Increase productivity,
Employees Collaboration, improving work culture are some reasons why employee relation is
important for the organisation. Only a positive relationship at workforce result in more
productivity, less conflicts, more efficiency and low turnover. Employees relation in any
organisation influence the decision making power of HRM a lot. Below mentioned are some
points which state the same:
Organisational Culture- If employees’ relation is positive in any organisation, HRM take
decisions by taking in mind about the values, beliefs, attitudes and feelings of the members
of organisation (Oluwatayo and et.al., 2020)
Relief from work burden- Healthy relation among employees gives result in positive strategies
in organisation which can provide some relief to work burden of employees. They make feel
easy or stress free to employees so that they can work well with stress free mind.
Other benefit- Employees relation influence HRM decisions in various ways. Health and
positive relation between them always result in the benefits of whole organisation. It can be
financial relief or physical relief to employees. Sometimes, HRM make strategies of
incentives on the performance of extra work.
Employees of Burberry has developed a healthy and positive relation among employees, it can
be a reason behind the continuous development of company. As employee relation is directly
proportional to the work done in any organisation. As it helps to create a good environment at
workplace so that employees can do well.
P6: Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision-making.
The employment laws are implemented to all areas where there is need to protect the
rights of the employees. There are various important norms, rules, legislations and policies which
are included in employment, company and business laws. The aim behind implementation of the
legislation is to safeguard the employees and protect them from unethical activities. There are
certain acts which are implemented to protect the rights of every single person working in an
organisation they are as follows:

 The Equality act 2010: It is considered as one of the important legislations that are
implemented with aim of providing benefits and facilities to the employees. According to
this act all employees must be treated equally and in same manner. This act prohibits
favouritism, partiality and other unethical activities in the organisation. The HRM
department of Burberry must ensures about the equality at workplace.
 National minimum wages Act, 1998: This legislation ensures to provide the employees
at least minimum wages prescribed by respective government for their jobs. According to
this act it is the obligation of employer to provide minimum wages to the employees
working in an organisation (Taksa, 2019). The HRM department of Burberry must
ensures minimum wages to their employees.
 Health and safety at workplace, 1974: This act ensures protection of employees to
protect the employees from any hazardous or risky activity involved at workplace. It is
obligation of employer to ensure the safety of the employees. This act also says about
necessary steps should be taken to provide healthy environment. The HRM department of
Burberry also ensures about health and safety at workplace.
TASK 4
P7: Illustrate the application of HRM practices in a work-related context, using specific
examples
Main function of HRM is to deal with human resource in any organisation and
recruitment plays an important role in it. Recruitment is a long and time consuming process
including various documents. Following are some documents:
Job Specification
 Title: Senior HR Manager
 Location: London, United Kingdom
 Department: HR Department
 Working Hours: 8.5 hours (Monday to Friday)
 Key Accountability:
Making and developing organisational strategies
To ensure recruitment of staff on time
Maintain relation between management and employees

Making records of employees’ performance, benefits programs, induction, reward and recognition
 Person Specifications:
Excellent communication skills
Perform good while solving problems
Team player
Candidate should be pro active
 Qualification & Experience:
Minimum 4 years of experience in the relevant field
Postgraduate in Human Resource
Good IT skills (outlook, Excel etc.)
Creation of structured interview- HR of Burberry post advertisement of vacant position of
HR through various platforms i.e. newspapers, web portals etc. Below mentioned are the
questions that HR has asked:
 How will a HR be going to drive result in organisation?
 Which type of HR system is good for such organisation?
 Explain the skills that a HR should have?
Curriculum vitae
Name- ABC
Address- ABC street, XYZ, London
DOB- xx-xx-xxxx
Summary-
Having ability to manage complete staff of organisation and motivate them to achieve the desired
results or targets having 5 years of experience as Senior HR Manager.
Skills-
 Excellent Communication
 Creative thinking
 Flexibility

Experience-
From June 2018 to Current Senior HR Manager at Alexander McQueen
From March 2016 to May 2018 Junior HR at Lulu Guinness
Education-
2015 MBA from London University in Human Resource
2012 BBA from London University
Hobbies and Interest- Travelling, reading books, cooking etc.
Declaration
Above mentioned information is true as per my knowledge.
Date- XX-XX-XXXX

Job Offer Letter
Mr./Ms. ABC,
Address
Dear Name,
Greetings from Burberry!
We are glad to offer you profile of Senior HR manager at Burberry. It is a full time opportunity in
which you have to work for 8.5 hours in a day and company is going to pay a sum of £87,000 per
year.
Along with this pay, you will get many other benefits as well. You will have to join the
organization from 20th March, 2021. Please bring your documents for completing joining
formalities.
If you are agreeing with this offer letter, kindly revert us back with your acceptance. If you find
any difficulty, feel free to contact us.
Thanks & Regards
First and last name of Director,
Human Resource
Burberry

CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that, human resource department of an organisation
ensures towards successful working of an organisation. The employer must ensure about safety
and comfort of the employer at workplace. There are also many legislations which are made to
ensure safety, equality and eradicate unethical practices in the company. Burberry ensures that
HRM department ensures that decisions taken by the company keeping in mind about safety of
employees, internal and external approaches so that employees are always motivated and must
show that they are valued by the company. In last it is summarised about legislation which are
implemented by the organisations.

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