Impact of COVID-19 on Talent Management in an Organization

This research aims to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organization, with a case study on Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD. It explores the concept of talent management, benefits, role of HR manager, and ways to overcome the crisis.

Research Project
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................5
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW:...................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................10
CHAPTER 4 FINDING AND ANALYSIS.............................................................................................12
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................17
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................19
Appendix..................................................................................................................................................20
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TITLE: "To analyse the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation. A case study
on Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD"
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
In recent times, COVID-19 has highly impacted on entire global market. Due to that there are
many companies and business that is been affected in negative way. The world economy has been
collapsed and so many of the people have lost their job because of the lock down implemented by so
many countries. It has also been analysed that mostly small and medium size business has been affected
by the global pandemic situation (Emon Dastidar, 2019). The world economy has been fallen down and
whole of the world is in situation of crisis.
Background of the study
Moreover, it is found that due to COVID-19 hospitality industry is been adversely affected.
This is because countries have stopped movement of people from one place to another. Also, due to
lock down hotels, pubs, restaurants, etc are closed. Thus, tourism industry growth has gone in negative
way. There are new ways of performing operations and tasks due to which quality of services has
declined. In addition, there is change in people needs as well. They prefer to stay at home and become
more health conscious. So, there is major challenge in front of companies to recover from it. As there
are various restrictions been imposed as well so it has impacted on operations of organisation. in study
conducted it is found that 50% of individual do not want to dine in restaurants. They feel unsafe and not
comfortable as well. In many countries there is ban on cinemas, malls, etc due to which stores sales is
declined. The main sector which is adversely affected in hospitality industry is tourism. The growth of
companies operating in it has declined (Christina Pavlou, 2020). It is because of hault on their
operations such as airlines, etc. all the strategies and plans developed by firms are failed. The goals are
not being attained in it. Moreover, people needs are changed so that is not buying products and services
as well. Various companies have also implicated cuts in employees’ salaries and so many of them have
to even fire their employees. The incident management plan so that they can firmly handle the situation
of crisis.
Besides that, it is found in Mckinsey report (Economic conditions snapshot, June 2020) that
world economies are struggling to recover from pandemic. It is expected that this is worse than
recession of 2008. In China 45 % people said economy condition is worse. Moreover, 12% said that
business operations are affected due to COVID 19. This has resulted in difficulty in future growth and
expansion of hospitality firms. Along with that, there is high decline in sales and revenue of firms. The
hospitality sector is expected to take long time to recover from COVID 19. Due to it, companies are
highly using and adopting technology in order to continue their operations (Brian Westfall, 2019).
Rational of the research
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Main rational behind the selection of this topic is to identifying the issues of COVID-19 in
talent management. In report of UNWTO (International tourist number could fall 60- 80% in 2020,
UNWTO reports. 2020) there is decline in 60- 80% tourist in 2020. Also, there is loss of US$ 80 billion
in exports as well. In report it is also said that there was 22% fall in tourist in first quarter of 2020.
Thus, there is risk of millions of job loss in hospitality sector. In many countries the arrivals dropped
down to 57%. In Asia and Pacific impact is high that is 33 million arrivals as compared to Europe 22
million. The international borders are closed and there are many restrictions as well. Furthermore, it is
said that in international travel with decrease in loss of demand the overall loss is up to 850 million to
1.1 billion. Alongside, there may be loss of US$ 910 to US$ 1.2 trillion in export revenue and about
100-120 million jobs at risk.
Scope and Limitation of the research
This research has wide scope because talent management at workplace playing an essential role
in development of an organisation. Into this project used qualitative research that result in attainment of
research objectives successfully. There are few limitations exists such as lack of time, inappropriate
amount of capital and ethical issues.
Research Aim:
The aim of this research is "To analyse the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an
organisation. A case study on Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD"
Research Objectives:
In relation to this research, the objectives of study are as follows:
 To understand the concept of talent management.
 To determine the benefits of talent management within organisation.
 To analyze the role of human resource manager in talent management.
 To assess the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation.
 To determine the ways that company can employ to overcome the crisis and manage talent
within organisation during COVID-19.
Research Questions:
The questions of research in context of this study are mentioned below:
 What is the concept of talent management?
 What are the benefits of talent management within organisation?
 What is the role of human resource manager in talent management?
 How COVID-19 has impacting on talent management within an organisation?
 Which are the different ways that company can employ to overcome the crisis and manage
talent within organisation during COVID-19?
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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW:
Introduction-
This chapter will describe about secondary data that is been gathered from different sources
such as journals, articles, books, etc. it will help in giving insight about what overall topic is and what
are views and opinions of another researcher on it. Thus, here in depth analysis will be done on topic by
forming various themes.
Concept of talent management:
As per the view point of Brian Westfall, (2019), talent management is referred as a strategy of
an organisation related to attract, recruit, retain and develop people in the organisation. It involves
practices of company pertaining to some critical facets of human resource including recruitment, on
boarding, compensation planning, performance management, succession planning, workforce planning
and learning and development. Effective talent management within an organisation helps in improving
the performance of business and also enable company to stay competitive in the market. Apart from
this, it helps in driving innovation within the organisation and developing productive teams that work
more effectively towards accomplishment of goals and objectives. The concept of talent management is
not limited to recruiting right candidate, but it extends to explore hidden qualities of workforce and
nurturing and developing them to get desired outcome.
Health issues
As said by Nurhuda Syed, (2020), due to COVID 19 there is impact on health issues as well.
This is because in hospitality sector employees deal directly with customers. So, there is high risk of
getting affected by COVID 19 while working. Moreover, there are various health issues occurred as
well due to which talent management practice is affected. The HR is not able to provide effective
training to staff. Besides that, with new guidelines formed by government firm have to follow strict
rules and regulations. Along with that, there is change in way of working and team is not performed.
Besides, if health issues are not addressed properly than it leads to high risk of spreading of COVID 19.
Thus, changes are made in health and safety norms and business have to focus more on employee’s
health and safety. It is said by Seetharaman., (2020), COVID 19 has impacted on employee mental as
well as physical health. It is because they are not able to work in team and communicate with each
other. Thus, they feel depressed and it impact on their mental health in negative way. They are not able
to maintain work life balance as they work in stress. It has lowered their job satisfaction as well. It has
also been evaluated because of working from home and that too alone employee’s mental and physical
well being has also affected. It has also been analysed that because of the lost job opportunities, the rate
of crime has been increased. It has also been analysed that people have become miserable and they have
been depressed. This virus has affected lives of people severely
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Pestle analysis
In the view of Christina Pavlou, (2020) there is impact of COVID 19 on social, culture,
economic as well as environmental. Thus, for that pestle model can be applied which is as follows
Political- The factor consists of political stability, trade laws, etc. that affect on hospitality
industry. Due to COVID 19 government has made new laws due to which they have banned entry of
people from specific country. Also, in tourism new laws are formed that is to be adhered by all
companies. Hence, COVID 19 has resulted in new laws and regulations.
Economic- - As stated by Caligiuri and et.al., (2020), they are the factors such as GDP
currency rate inflation etc. any change in this factor affect on business growth. COVID 19 has created
an adverse impact on entire global economy. It has resulted in declining economic growth at global
level. All nation GDP has declined to great extent. Furthermore, hospitality industry economic growth
has declined as well. Moreover, there operations are affected in negative way.
Social - The factors are related to change in taste and preference needs etc of people. Due to
COVID-19 now people have become more health conscious and are considering organic products. They
prefer to stay at home and not dining at restaurants, going to pub, bars, etc. this has changed their needs
and wants. Thus, it has highly impacted on hospitality industry growth and expansion.
Technological- On contrary Pandita, and Ray, (2018) said that the factor is related to
advancement in technology. This factor highly effects on business operations. Due to COVID 19 now
there has been high use of technology by people as well as by companies. So, it has also lead to
developing of new software and applications. In hospitality sector as well the technology is used to
deliver services to people.
Environmental- In this it refers to factor that are CSR practices, environment laws, etc.
however, COVID 19 has forced business to contribute towards society. But due to lack of funds
companies are not able to contribute (Christina Pavlou, 2020).
Legal- these are the factors related to employment law health and safety law minimum wage act
etc which needs to be followed by company in nation in which they operate. Due to COVID 19 there is
change in health and safety law as government has issued new norms and guidelines. This has affected
way of working in hospitality sector and operations. The employee performance has declined and goals
and objectives are not attained.
Cultural impact – Due to COVID 19 there is cultural impact as well. The cultural events and
festivals are celebrated in new way by following new norms and guidelines. Besides that, in weddings
and other events only limited people are allowed to participate. So, it has changed way of living.
Benefits of talent management within organisation:
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As per the view point of Emon Dastidar, (2019), talent management is a procedure through
which employees are maintained and developed by companies. There are several benefits of talent
management including better hiring methodologies, improve the growth of employee, retention of best
employees, developing more trust in company, develop consistent performers etc. which ultimately
help the company in accomplish its goals. A strong and effective talent management strategy in an
organisation would help in bringing about more participative workforce and recruit and hire the best
candidate for the suitable job position. Apart from this, talent management strategy also helps in
minimising the attrition rate which leads to reduce hiring cost of company.
Role of human resource manager in talent management:
As per the view point of Christina Pavlou, (2020), Human resource manager work with talent
management team to train employees and develop them. the role of HR department is to design and
execute policies that helps in training and internal promotions of employees so that appropriate
development plans can be develop in order to manage talent within the workplace. Human resource
manager compiles the data that assist in informing talent management. The main foundation of
managing talent within the organisation is hiring right people which is the main responsibility of human
resource manager. The recruit and hire talented employees within the organisation by analysing the
need of personal within the firm. They also manage performance of employees by tracking productivity
and performance.
Impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation:
As per the view point of Nurhuda Syed, (2020), in the COVID-19 survey, it has been found that
one in three organisations have executed hiring freezes across all the roles. While new recruiters are on
boarded utilising tools online, above half of the engaging employers are delaying joining dates of their
employees. For the existing workforce, the plans of work are being altered wherever necessary as well
as written connections between human resource teams, managers and employees is being developed to
system manage work as well as understand anxieties and motivations. Talent management within the
organisation is highly impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.
Ways that firm can employ to overcome the crisis and manage talent in organisation during COVID-
19:
Developing inspired and resilient employees by emphasizing on employee participation and trusted
communications in order to ensure that employees are informed as well as prepared to work effectively
during COVID-19. Developing open communication and trust within the teams helps the managers in
managing talent as this helps in improving motivation of employees and encourage them towards work
effectively in challenging situations. Apart from this, adopting appropriate leadership style will also
help the management in guiding employees and inspiring them to work effectively towards
accomplishment of organisational goals.
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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology is refereed as the different methods that supports in performing the study
systematically. Different methods of research can be better understand by research onion framework
that consist of six layers’ description of which are as follows:
Research Philosophy: Interpretivism research philosophy integrates human interest into
investigation and positivism is based on factual knowledge based on observations. Among the two
research philosophies, positivism and interpretivism; Interpretivism research philosophy is use by
investigator in relation to this research as it has conception of understanding human social roles related
to the area of study.
Research Approach: Inductive approach is related to development of new theory based on data
and deductive approach is based on testing of theory. Inductive and deductive are 2 approaches among
which Inductive research approach is utilize by investigator in study. The reason of using this approach
is that it enables researcher to ripen suitable outcome evolving from the data or information gathered.
Research strategy: It refers to overall plan for performing investigation that guides researcher to
perform study effectively. Different research strategies include case study, survey, systematic literature
review, experimental study etc. Among these, survey research strategy is use by researcher to collect
adequate information on topic or study area. It helps investigator in gaining information or data from
the predefined group of respondents.
Research Design: Quantitative research design is concerned with collection of quantifiable
information and qualitative is related to gather non numerical information. Among the research designs
like quantitative and qualitative, this research will make use of qualitative research design as it supports
the investigator in gathering qualitative data on study area and draw accurate results. Through this,
researcher will also ensure accuracy of data.
Time Horizon: Longitudinal and cross sectional are the two time horizons among which the
cross sectional time horizon is utilize in investigation as this study snapshot a specific group of
individuals at single point of time.
Data Collection method: It can be done in two ways which includes primary and secondary data
collection method. The primary data is acquired through using interview which fresh data is collect by
researcher. On the other hand, secondary information is gather through books, online articles, journals
etc. which are published previously. Both the methods are used by investigator to gather appropriate
amount of information relevant to the topic.
Primary research: In this type of research, fresh data is collected by the researcher. Different
methods are utilized for collecting first hand information on the topic including survey, questionnaire,
interview, experiment, observation etc. The selection of method is done on the basis of need for
collecting data. This method of data collection helps in gathering data which is never used before, even
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though it is expensive but help in gathering more accurate data on the topic. It takes a lot of time by the
researcher together adequate amount of information on the topic by using primary method.
Advantages-
 It helps in gathering fresh data and up to date info.
 The data is interpreted in better and effective way as researcher know what type of data is
gathered.
 The primary data is more accurate and precise as data collected is useful
 Disadvantages
 There is high cost required in order to collect primary data
 It is time consuming process
 There is inaccurate feedback given by respondents in it.
Secondary research: In this method of research, the data which is already used before is
collected on the topic. this type of data is collected by using different sources including articles,
journals, books, previously published literatures, newspapers etc. The information collected through
this method sometimes may not provide relevant information regarding the topic. However, it will help
researcher in collecting a lot of information on the topic in less period of time. This method is also
inexpensive and consumes less time of researcher for collecting data.
In relation to this research, both the methods are used by investigator to collect relevant and
adequate amount of information on the topic in order to ensure that valid outcomes can be drawn which
is accurate and reliable.
Advantages
 It is cheap as compared to primary data
 It saves time as data is easily available on journals, articles, etc.
 It provides a basis for scholar to understand and compare data that is gathered
 Disadvantages
 The data gathered may be outdated
 The accuracy and reliability of data is not known in it.
Sampling Method: Probability and non-probability are the two sampling methods among which
simple random sampling is use in this study as by this researcher can ensure that no biasness will occur
at the time of selecting observers from large population. In this particular study, the sample size is 5
employees of firm and are selected for interview.
Data analysis: Data is analysed through qualitative analysis technique by making use of
interview. This helps researcher in analysing numerical information effectively and drawing valid and
reliable outcome of research.
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CHAPTER 4 FINDING AND ANALYSIS
Interview questions
Q-1 What is impact on COVID 19 on talent management on employees?
Q-2 How management is able to tackle this crisis?
Q-3 How TM is related to employee performance?
Q-4 Do you think that adopting of leadership style will be useful in minimising impact on TM?
Q-5 What are ways through which TM can be improved in Merrie England Coffee Shop?
Theme 1- What is impact on COVID 19 on talent management on employees?
By undertaking interview, it is found that out of 5 employees 3 said that coivd 19 has highly
impacted on their performance. They said that they are not able to work in effective way. also, team
working is not been practiced by them due to which goals and objectives are not attained on time.
besides that, they said that talent management is also highly impacted due to COVID 19. It is evaluated
that there is lack of skills possess by them as they are not getting training and development in regular
time period.
Besides that, only 1 employee said that due to COVID 19 there is need to advance skills in
talent management. But they do not possess advance skills of working in such harsh times. Thus, due to
that their efficiency is decreased. The complex tasks are not being completed in effective way and this
has hindered their ability to do work. In addition, 1 staff said that HR is not able to perform effective
TM practices. This is because of new way of working in company. Therefore, it has also decreased
morale of them. they have to work individually and this is taking more time to complete task.
Theme 2 - How management is able to tackle this crisis?
From the interview it is analysed that out of 5 staff 2 said that company management is trying to
tackle problem of talent management by taking some actions. They said that HR is hiring talented staff
who possess high and advance skills. This will help in doing complex task easily and reducing burden
on them. in addition, new staff is giving new ideas and suggestions to work in creative way.
Furthermore, 2 staff said that by giving training and development in new ways Merrie England
Coffee Shop management is tackle this issue. They said that training is given through video
conferencing and individually. Now, more videos sessions are conducted to show to work. This has
resulted in making it difficult for them to learn as the concept is new. Therefore, they are taking time to
get train. Moreover, 1 staff said that there is effective monitoring of staff done in it. The HR manager
are observing performance and working of each staff. Thus, they are able to find out who is feeling sick
or not capable of doing task. Therefore, TM practices are then followed accordingly. So, Merrie
England Coffee Shop management is not effectively able to tackle this issue but are making efforts to
do so.
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Theme 3 How TM is related to employee performance?
Here, after taking interview of 5 employees it is found that all 5 said that TM is related to
enhancing staff skills, increasing productivity and increasing competency. This is because TM consists
of several practices that are involved in improving employee performance. So, for that they are given
training and weak areas are improved. Moreover, their skills and capabilities increases which directly
impact on their efficiency in positive way. With reward management practice staff are given rewards on
basis of their performance. This leads to motivating them and they are able to put more efforts in
attaining goals and objectives.
Besides that, TM also hires new and talented staff which brings in new knowledge. This is then
shared by others in doing tasks. So, they are able to learn and gain new knowledge as well. thus, when
training is given to them their skills and abilities increases. This allows in working in team and in
effective way. this results in enhancing their performance. Hence, it is found that TM enable staff to
become competent in their relevant field. Employees become more efficient in doing tasks and attaining
goals and objectives. Along with it, staff efficiency is increased it leads to enhances overall
organisation productivity. Hence, TM is directly related to employee performance.
Theme 4 Do you think that adopting of leadership style will be useful in minimising impact on
TM?
From interview conducted it is stated that out of 5 staff, only 2 said that adopting of leadership
style will minimise negative impact of COVID 19 on TM. In this they said that Merrie England Coffee
Shop leader must adopt participative leadership style. It will be highly effective. It is because here
leader will be able to engage with employees and work with them. besides that, decisions can be taken
by listening to staff suggestions and opinions. However, some others theories can be applied in as well
which will help in changing overall situation of company and TM. But 2 said that leadership style will
not be useful in minimising impact on TM. It is because here leader will only focus on improving
employee performance. So, there require other measures and action need to be taken along with some
other TM practices such as reward, hiring, promotion, etc. with that it will be easy to make TM
effective.
At last 1 employee said that Merrie England Coffee Shop should make new laws and guidelines
of working. They should not focus on TM rather than on maintaining employee progress so that their
performance is maintained. Along with that, company need to focus on health and safety of staff and try
to maintain positive culture as well. So, staff knows that leadership style will enable in providing
direction and training as well to employees. There are several style which can be followed according to
situation. Thus, leader will gain insight on staff capability and on basis of that skills is improved.
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Theme 5 What are ways through which TM can be improved in Merrie England Coffee Shop?
By interpreting the interview taken it is found that 3 staff said that TM can be improved by
providing flexibility. This means that shift timings can be initiated so that there is less staff which
comes but they perform all tasks in alternate days. this new way of working can be adopted in Merrie
England Coffee Shop. it will maintain their efficiency as well as health and safety.
Besides that, 2 said leadership can have initiated by which TM can be improved. It will help in
working with leader in effective way and taking decision with them. furthermore, 1 said that all roles
program can be implemented in which T&D, reward management, PM, etc. are included. This all will
be useful in maintaining progress of employee and maintain productivity as well. The management of
Merrie England Coffee Shop adjust role of staff and assign more responsibilities. They can provide
flexible working to them. moreover, focus can be on capability building in which staff is capable of
doing varied tasks. Employee skill will automatically enhance. They will become compatible to do all
tasks in effective way and achieve goals easily. Alongside, flexibility will allow them to focus on
different areas and learn from it.
By above analysis it is found that COVID 19 has affected on almost all practices of TM in
coffee shop. It has resulted in affected on staff performance as well. Besides that, new ways of
providing training is implemented. The staff is not able to gain skills and knowledge in effective way.
hence, they are not able to do not work in effective way and goals are not completed on time.
Furthermore, staff motivation is affected to a great extent. This is because as their competency is not
developed in it. There is no proper training given to them and they are assigned new roles. The overall
system and process of TM is affected. It has been found that HR plays significant role in TM. They
form and execute policies that helps in training and internal promotions of employees so that
appropriate development plans can be develop in order to manage talent within the workplace. Human
resource manager compiles the data that assist in informing talent management. The main foundation of
managing talent within the organisation is hiring right people which is the main responsibility of HRM.
Also, team working is not been practiced by them due to which goals and objectives are not attained on
time. besides that, they said that talent management is also highly impacted due to COVID 19. It is
evaluated that there is lack of skills possess by them as they are not getting training and development in
regular time period. They said that training is given through video conferencing and individually. Now,
more videos sessions are conducted to show to work. This has resulted in making it difficult for them to
learn as the concept is new. Merrie England Coffee Shop need to focus on health and safety of staff and
try to maintain positive culture as well. So, staff knows that leadership style will enable in providing
direction and training as well to employees
Findings
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Research was carried out with aim of identifying and analysing impact of COVID-19 on talent
management in an organisation. Outcome of the research outlined that COVID-19 like all other sectors
and areas of function have had significant impact of the talent management (Claus, 2019). Research
involved different practices to meet these objectives and outlined that it is very important for strategic
organisation to practice talent management as it involves long-term consideration regarding employees
of organisation. Practicing talent management enables organisations to recruit, hire, develop and retain
best candidates available in job. In relation with an organisation it was both positive as well as negative.
This means that impact of COVID-19 organisation has to lose some of employees as some of them
were laid off because of financial impact that COVID-19 has made on the organisation and some of
employees resigned because of their inability to be present at organisation. Positive impact that
organisation experienced was that because of COVID-19 many of other firms have laid off employees
and because of this reason there was effective and attractive pool of qualified and competent candidates
who were ready to join organisation. Moreover, impact of COVID-19 crisis is also visible on
motivation of the employees as they are dealing with several types of anxieties and along with this fear
of spreading diseases also cause stress in employees. Specifically, while working at an organisation like
coffee shop employee has to be more careful as this can be considered as a public place (Baum and
et.al., 2020). Additionally, requirement of following new guidelines while working also cause difficulty
for employees.
But there are different ways in which organisations can overcome the crisis of COVID-19 as
well as talent management. This involves identifying right kind of talent or employees who are resilient
and inspired. Additionally, working on developing morale of employees can also make effective
contribution in improving performance of employees. It is also important that organisation undertake
training and development session, to ensure that employees are able to work with changing processes.
Research also outlined that open communication and supporting employees by senior management can
also help in overcoming crisis and manage talent in COVID-19.
Research objectives were to understand talent management, its benefits, role of HR in talent
management (Pandita and Ray, 2018). Further research objectives also involved analyzing impact of
COVID-19 on talent management and different ways company can employ to overcome crisis and
talent management within organisation. Because of COVID-19 organisations have faced several
difficulties and their talent management have also been affected because of this. Organisations lay off
employees and this way they had to lose employees and talent that they have worked on developing.
This also affected talent management practices as after COVID-19 crisis several things changed and
because of this organisation as well as employees faced several difficulties and their motivation also
negatively affected. However, practicing right ways can help in overcoming this crisis and manage
talent. Research outlined that new focus of organisation in talent management should be based on post-
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pandemic growth of organisation. Hospitality industry and coffee shop might take little longer in
getting at their normal growth again but with help of right talent within organisation they can reduce
this time and facilitate post-pandemic growth of the organisation. Organisations also need to have
strong focus on motivation and morale of the employees and ensure that they are getting adequate
support to work in changed situations (LoGiudice, Liebhaber and Schöder, 2020). Because post
pandemic work processes have changed and it is important that employees are having right knowledge
of them and also have equipment and resources to perform. These are certain practices and ways with
help of which organisations will be able to overcome crisis and manage talent.
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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Talent management is a process that involves identifying, attracting, developing and retaining
high quality employees who can effectively contribute in achieving organisational objectives. The
element that differentiates it from general HR processes is that talent management involve strategic
approach of organisation. In recent times COVID-19 pandemic has affected every industry and sector
but hospitality sector is one of the worst affected sectors. To makes the research successful on topic on
impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organization. Researcher has use primary research
methods to collect the information (Caligiuri and et.al., 2020). Another research method that can be
used by researcher is Secondary research methods which is also a one of the most effective research
method to make the research successfully. Both the methods can be used together to create result better
and more accurate for researcher, and they can make the research successful. Primary data is gathered
by different people taken as respondents to participate in questionnaires, surveys to analyse their views
which can be considered as views of the whole population. This type of data is the first-hand data
which is collected in raw form. The secondary data is collected by going through research papers,
books and journals published by well-known authors in order to identify their views regarding topic of
research secondary methods will provide better accuracy and it will save time of researcher. Similarly,
researcher of this study has used Interpretivism research philosophy, but they can also use Positivism
Physiology that states that the genuine knowledge of anything and it is exclusively derived from the
experiences of natural phenomena and their prospective and relationships. This can be usefully in the
future research to collect information in better. There are two approaches of the research that is
inductive and another is deductive (Seetharaman., 2020). To make this research successfully
investigator used inductive methods, but they can also use deductive methods in this methods research
use theories given by other authors and then collecting and analysing data to test those hypotheses.
Inductive and deductive approaches to research can be employed together for a more complete
understanding of the topic that a researcher is studying. Another changes can be done by scholar is in
research is sampling. There are two methods of the sampling and research has used probability
methods, but they can also use non probability methods to make their research successful and more
informative Non-probability sampling is a sampling method in which not all members of the population
have an equal chance of participating in study, unlike probability sampling. Each member of population
has a known chance of being selected.
The researcher can be more accurate and better in the future if researcher uses proper method
for their research and collect information with more detail. Some of the data research methods and
methodologies tools selection can also improve their research. Research should concentrate on data
collection and sampling methods because sampling participants around 10-20 can provide better result
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to researcher because it will reduce the bigness, and they can also increase time within the research
project.
This research was mainly based on talent management and in order to undertake research both
primary as well as secondary research was applied and after application of these research methods it
can be said that research was highly effectively and helped me in understanding concepts and practices
effectively. This is because primary research helped me in understanding and gathering detailed
information and data ad secondary research enables me to develop basic understanding of the concepts
along with understanding right ways in which I should undertake primary research. Secondary research
helped me in primary research and also made it easier to carry out complete research within time and
effectively. By applying these researches get advantages of both primary as well as secondary research
together. These advantages involve detailed knowledge and accurate information through primary
research. Secondary research was useful in saving time and efforts. This way research was easier,
completed on time as well as effective and accurate. The objectives regarding this hospitality research
project and after completion of the research project it can be said that research helped me in effectively
achieving objectives of the research. Objectives were partially achieved by application of secondary
research and partially by primary research. This is because concerned with talent management adequate
research has been made earlier but regarding COVID-19 research is limited and this is why primary
research was undertaken for analysing its impact and possible solutions for overcoming the crisis and
managing talent in hospitality industry.
19

REFERENCES
Books & Journal
Baum, T and et.al., 2020. COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality workforce–new crisis or amplification
of the norm?. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Caligiuri, P. and et.al., 2020. International HRM insights for navigating the COVID-19 pandemic:
Implications for future research and practice. Journal of International Business Studies. p.1.
Claus, L., 2019. HR disruption—Time already to reinvent talent management. BRQ Business Research
Quarterly. 22(3). pp.207-215.
LoGiudice, S.H., Liebhaber, A. and Schöder, H., 2020. OVERCOMING THE COVID-19 CRISIS
AND PLANING FOR THE FUTURE.
Pandita, D. and Ray, S., 2018. Talent management and employee engagement–a meta-analysis of their
impact on talent retention. Industrial and Commercial Training.
Seetharaman, P., 2020. Business models shifts: Impact of COVID-19. International Journal of
Information Management.54. p.102173.
Valtierra, K.M. and Siegel, L.N., 2020. Qualitative self-coding as reflection: empowering teacher
candidates with the tools of the researcher. Reflective Practice. 21(3). pp.415-428.
Online
What Is Talent Management, and How Is It Different From HR?, 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://blog.capterra.com/what-is-talent-management-and-how-is-it-different-from-hr/>
What are the benefits of talent management?, 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.saviom.com/blog/benefits-of-talent-management/>
What role does HR play in shaping a Talent Management strategy?, 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/faq-talent-acquisition#hr-talent-management-strategy>
Will COVID-19 drastically impact talent management?, 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.hcamag.com/asia/specialisation/payroll/will-COVID-19-drastically-impact-talent-
management/223045>
COVID-19: Managing talent in times of crisis, 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.peoplemattersglobal.com/article/employee-engagement/enhancing-employee-
experience-with-flexible-working-telstra-case-study-25355>
International tourist number could fall 60- 80% in 2020, UNWTO reports, 2020[Online]. Available
through: <https://www.unwto.org/news/COVID-19-international-tourist-numbers-could-fall-
60-80-in-2020>
Economic conditions snapshot, June 2020, McKinsey global survey results, 2020 [Online]. Available
through: <https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-
insights/economic-conditions-snapshot-june-2020-mckinsey-global-survey-results>
20

Appendix
Research Proposal Form
Student Name: ______________________ Student ID:
______________________
Centre Name: _____________________
Tutor: ________________ Date:
___________________
Unit: ____________________
Proposed Title: "To analyse the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an
organisation. A case study on Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD"
_____________________________________________
Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities
Title or working title of the research project (in the form of a
question, objective or hypothesis)
Research Aim:
The aim of this study is "To analyse the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in
an organisation. A case study on Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD"
Research Objectives:
 To understand the concept of talent management.
 To determine the benefits of talent management within organisation.
 To analyse the role of human resource manager in talent management.
 To assess the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation.
21

 To determine the ways that company can employ to overcome the crisis and manage
talent within organisation during COVID-19.
Research Questions:
 What is the concept of talent management?
 What are the benefits of talent management within organisation?
 What is the role of human resource manager in talent management?
 How COVID-19 has impacting on talent management within an organisation?
 Which are the different ways that company can employ to overcome the crisis and
manage talent within organisation during COVID-19?
Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project
Reasons for choosing the project (e.g links to other subjects you
are studying, personal interest, future plans, knowledge/skills you
want to improve, why the topic is important):
This project is selected as this will help researcher in analysing the influence of
COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation. This will help in understanding the talent
management concept and its benefits to organisation. It also helps in identifying the role of
human resource manager in managing talent and impact that COVID 19 have on talent
management in organisation. Apart from this, the study will help in identifying different ways
through which company can overcome the crisis and manage talent within organisation during
COVID-19. In addition to this, it will help scholars in future when they conduct further study
on the topic. This research act as a base for them of performing research in an adequate and
effective manner.
Section Three: Literature sources searched
Use of key literature sources and precedents to support your research
question, objective/hypothesis:
22

Concept of talent management:
https://blog.capterra.com/what-is-talent-management-and-how-is-it-different-from-hr/
Benefits of talent management within organisation:
https://www.saviom.com/blog/benefits-of-talent-management/
Role of human resource manager in talent management:
https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/faq-talent-acquisition#hr-talent-management-strategy
Impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation:
https://www.hcamag.com/asia/specialisation/payroll/will-COVID-19-drastically-impact-talent-
management/223045
Ways that firm can employ to overcome the crisis and manage talent in organisation during
COVID-19:
https://www.peoplemattersglobal.com/article/employee-engagement/enhancing-employee-
experience-with-flexible-working-telstra-case-study-25355
Section Four: Activities and timescales
Activities to be carried out during the research
project (e.g research, development and analysis
of ideas, writing, data collection, numerical
analysis, tutor meetings, production of final
outcome, evaluation, writing the report)
Gannt chart
It is a graphical representation of activities of
research along with their time frame.
Aims and objective
Research methodology
Literature review
Data collection
Data analysis
Conclusion and recommendations
Final submission
How long this
will take:
5 days
11 days
4 days
13 days
6 days
19 days
25 days
23

Milestone one: _________________
Target date (set by tutor): ____________________
Milestone two: _______________________
Target date (set by tutor): ______________________
24

Section Five: Research approach and methodologies
What type of research approach and methodologies are you likely
to use and why? What your areas of research will cover:
Research Philosophy: Interpretivism research philosophy is considered
by investigator in context to this research as it supports in understanding
human behaviour related to study area.
Research Approach: Inductive research approach is taken into
consideration by investigator as it allows researcher to ripen right
outcome evolving from data gathered.
Research strategy: Interview will be taken by researcher to acquire
adequate information on study area.
Research Design: qualitative research design will use by investigator as
it supports in gathering qualitative information or data on topic and draw
accurate results.
Sampling Method: Probability sampling will use in which simple random
sampling is considered in this study as this will help investigator in
ensuring that no biasness takes place while selecting observers from
overall population.
Sampling size: 5 respondents will be select by investigator in the study
who are employees of company.
Data analysis: thematic analysis technique is appropriate to analyse data
by using interview
Comments and agreement from tutor
25

Comments (optional):
I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be
submitted for another qualification and is appropriate.
Agreed: ________________ (name)_______________ Date ______________
Comments and agreement form project proposal checker( IV
sampling)
Comments (Optional):
I confirm that the project is appropriate.
Agreed /Disagree: (Name of the IV)
Date
26

Research Ethics approval form
All students conducting research activity that involves human participants
or the use of data collected form human participants are required to gain
ethical approval before commencing their research. Please answer all
relevant questions and note that your form may be returned if incomplete.
For further support and guidance please see your respective Unit Tutor:
Before completing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed research fully with your
unit tutor. Please complete this form in good time before your research project is due to
commence.
Section 1: Basic details:
Project title: "To analyse the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an
organisation. A case study on Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD"
Student name:
Student ID number:
Programme:
College Name:
Intended research start date:
Intended research end date:
1

Section 2 Project summary
Please select all research methods that you plan to use as a part of your
project:
⮚ Interviews Yes No
⮚ Questionnaires Yes No
⮚ Observations Yes No
⮚ Use of personal records Yes No
⮚ Data Analysis Yes No
⮚ Action Research Yes No
⮚ Focus Groups Yes No
⮚ Others (Please specify) :
Section 3: Participants
Please answer the following questions, giving full details where
necessary.
Will your research involve human participants?
Yes
Who are the participants? Tick all that apply:
Ages 12-16: Young people aged: 17-18 Adults: 18>
2

How will participants be recruited (identified an approached)?
Participants will be recruited through using sampling technique in which random
probability sampling method will be use.
Describe the processes you will use to inform participants about what
you are doing:
In order to inform the participants, communication tools like emails and messages will
use.
How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written?
How will it be made clear to participants that they may withdraw
consent to participate at any time?
The consent of participants or observers will be obtaining through signing
consent form by them. This will be in written form. They will ask earlier that
they can withdraw consent to participate at any time.
Studies involving questionnaires: will participants be given the option of
omitting questions that do not wish to answer? Yes
No
If no please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical
issues arising from this
3

Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be
asked for their informed consent to be observed. Yes
No
Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e give
them a brief explanation of the study)? Yes
No
Will participants be given information about the findings of your study?
(This could be a brief summary of your findings in general) Yes
No
Section 4: Data Storage and Security
Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in
compliance with the Data Protection Act (1998) Yes
No
Who will have access to the data and personal information?
Researcher and other members of team
During the research:
4

Where will the data be stored?
Computers, mobile phones, pen drive
Will mobile devices such as USB storage and laptops be used
Yes No
If Yes, please provide further details:
After the research:
Where will the data be stored?
Laptop and pen drive
How long will the data and records be kept for and in what format?
The data will be kept for ten years in the format of soft copy.
Will data be kept for use by other researchers? Yes No
Section 5 : Ethical Issues
Are there any particular features of your proposed work, which may
raise ethical concerns? If so, please outline how you will deal with these:
It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks
that may arise because of your research. Please consider/address all
issues that may apply. Ethical concerns may include, but are not limited
to the following :
5

⮚ Informed consent.
⮚ Potentially vulnerable participants.
⮚ Sensitive topics
⮚ Risk to participants and /or researchers
⮚ Confidentiality/anonymity
⮚ Disclosures/ limits to confidentiality
⮚ Data storage and security, both during and after the research
(including transfer, sharing, encryption, protection).
⮚ Reporting
⮚ Dissemination and use of your findings.
Section 6: Declaration
I have read, understood and will abide by the institution’s
Research and Ethics Policy: Yes No
I have discussed the ethical issues relating to my research with
my Unit Tutor:
Yes No
I confirm that to the best of my knowledge:
The above information is correct, and this is a full description of
the ethical issues that may arise in the course of my research
Name: Date:
Please submit your completed form to the Cohort Leader and a
copy to your supervisor only
6