Responsibilities of Leaders and Line Managers in Development of Talented Workforce in the Business Place: A Study on Sainsbury

This research aims to identify the responsibilities of leaders and line managers in developing a talented workforce in the business place. The study is conducted on Sainsbury, one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK. The research questions focus on the relationship between leaders and line managers, their responsibilities in workforce development, and the issues they face while implementing talent strategies.

Responsibilities of leaders and line
managers in development of
talented workforce in the business
place” A study on Sainsbury

Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................5
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY........................................................................................7
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS.......................................................................................................8
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION..................................................................................................18
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR
FURTHER RESERACH...............................................................................................................20
Conclusion................................................................................................................................20
Recommendation......................................................................................................................20
Implications for further research...............................................................................................21
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................22
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................23
Questionnaire............................................................................................................................23

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the topic
Line manager and leader plays a different job role in an organisation and also they work
together in order to attain the vision and mission of business. The roles of line manager are to
develop, attract and retain top candidates who have potential to give productive output in
company (Wiblen and Marler, 2021). Line manager is the first layer of management and also
they focus on managing and evaluating the performance, contribution and development of
employees within organisation. Leaders are the one who provide guidance and vision to
individuals so that they can gain better career opportunities in future. There are several
responsibilities which are played by leaders such as they manage the performance, motivate team
and also solve the problems within business (Mey, Poisat and Stindt, 2021). The chosen
organisation for this research is Sainsbury, it is one of the largest chain of supermarkets in UK.
The brand was founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury.
Research Aim
Aim: “To identify the responsibilities of leaders and line managers in development of talented
workforce in the business place” A study on Sainsbury.
Research Questions
 What is the relationship between line managers and leaders within a business
environment?
 What are the responsibilities of line managers and leaders in development of talented
workforce in the working environment of Sainsbury?
 What are the issues faced by line managers and leaders at a time of implementing the
talent strategies within Sainsbury working culture?
Research Objectives
 To understand the relationship between line managers and leaders within a business
environment.
 To determine the responsibilities of line managers and leaders in development of talented
workforce in the working environment of Sainsbury.
 To examine the issues faced by line managers and leaders at a time of implementing the
talent strategies within Sainsbury working culture.
Significance of Research

The significance of this research is to determine the roles and responsibilities of line
manager and leaders within organisation (Clarke and Scurry, 2020). Nowadays people are
switching their job and focusing on better career opportunities due to which it is important to
develop the employees and also retain talented employees.
Rationale
Through conducting this research my individual and professional knowledge gets
improve as I have learned more about human resource management and also gain knowledge
how leaders and managers collectively work together in order to achieve the target.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction of Literature Review
It is a document which provides summary of literature on specific topic. The motive of
literature review is to survey the literature in chosen area of study and also synthesis the
information in that literature into summary.
Main Body
Relationship between leaders and line managers within a business environment?
As per the opinion of Kehoe and Han (2020), there is a strong relationship between line
manager and leader within business environment. Line manager and leader focuses on delegating
authority and responsibility and also they provide relevant resources and support their staff in
order to gain success. Line manager and leader work together for enhancing the productivity and
performance of employees. The line manager of company generally need to possess leadership
qualities for overseeing the employees and also run the operation activities of business in
effective and efficient manner. There are various activities which are conducted by line manager
within business such as they recruit the right talent, manage the resources within their control,
measure performance, evaluate employee performance, motivate other employees, etc. The
leader also focuses on motivating staff and ensure that they are committed towards the business
goals and objectives.
Responsibilities of leaders and line managers while developing talented workforce within
Sainsbury?
As per the viewpoint of Werner (2021), there are various responsibilities of line manager
and leaders in developing talented workforce within company. The line manager of organisation
is responsible for providing training and development opportunities to staff for improving their
skills and knowledge. They generally focuses on providing coaching and guidance due to which
the learning of team members gets stimulated. Line manager of Sainsbury is also responsible for
managing employees and also ensures that their team hits targets. Leaders plays an important
role in organisation as they supervise the daily activities, encourage subordinates and also
communicate clearly due to which employees give their productive efforts in attaining the goals
and objective of business. Thus, line manager and leader of Sainsbury mainly focuses on
developing the talented workforce within company.

Issues faced by leaders and line managers while implementing talent strategies within
Sainsbury working culture?
As per the opinion of Jooss, Burbach and Ruël (2021), there are various issues which are
faced by line managers and leaders while implementing talent strategies within company's
working culture. Line manager and leaders generally face challenges related to poor hiring
strategies, technology, leadership, employee turnover and many others. They generally face
difficulty in developing hiring strategies due to which it becomes challenging to attract and retain
top performers. The poor hiring strategies can influence the performance and productivity of
business. Communication is another issue which is faced by line manager and leaders while
implementing talent management strategies. It is important for organisation to focus on
communicating effectively with employees so that they can know their roles and responsibilities
within Sainsbury.
Conclusion of Literature Review
It is being concluded from the above information that leaders and line manager are
responsible for managing overall performance and productivity of organisation. They both
manage the overall life-cycle of business and also evaluate the employee development,
performance and contribution.

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is a technique or process which is used to collect the data on the
basis of analysis.
Research Approach: Research approach generally include two types of research method
such as inductive and deductive approach (Eisend and Kuss, 2019). Both the method helps in
achieving the goals and objective of research. In this research, the chosen approach is deductive
approach as it helps in developing the research aim and also provide detailed information about
the specific topic.
Research Strategy: There are various types of research strategies which helps in availing
valid information such as action research, interview, survey, case study, experimental research,
etc. In this research, the researcher is choosing survey and literature review in order to collect
relevant data (Deb, Dey and Balas, 2019).
Research Methodology: Research methodology is a tool which helps in evaluating and
analysing the data in effective and smooth manner (Säfsten and Gustavsson, 2020). There are
mainly two forms of research methodology such as qualitative and quantitative. Within this
research, quantitative method is used for analysing the information.
Research tools: The tool which is used by researcher is questionnaire as it helps in
gaining relevant information in effective and significant manner (Snyder, 2019).
Sampling: Sampling is a process of selecting few samples from large number of
population. There are mainly two types of sampling such as probability and non-probability
(Pandey and Pandey, 2021).
Identifying population and research site: 50 employees of Sainsbury are selected
randomly (Al-Ababneh, 2020). Current research is conducted in UK for collecting information
from the employees of Sainsbury.
Sampling Strategy: Probability sampling is used for selecting 50 employees of
Sainsbury on random basis.

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
Question: 1 Relationship between leaders and line mangers
Q1 Are you aware about the relationship between leaders and line
mangers?
Frequency
a) Yes 40
b) No 10
a) Yes b) No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
40
10
Interpretation: From the above information it is being identified that out of 50 respondents 40
thinks that they are aware about the relationship between leaders and line managers whereas 10
are not aware about their relationship.
Question: 2 Major roles of line managers and leaders in workforce development
Q2 What are the major roles of line managers and leaders in
workforce development?
Frequency
a) Employee supervision 20
b) Workforce development 10

c) Increasing employee motivation 10
d) Coaching and mentoring 10
a) Employee supervision
b) Workforce development
c) Increasing employee motivation
d) Coaching and mentoring
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
20
10 10 10
Interpretation: It is being analysed from the above information that out of 50 respondents, 20
thinks that the major role of line manager and leaders in workforce development is employee
supervision. 10 employees have opinion that workforce development is major role of line
manager and leaders in workforce development. The other 10 respondent have opinion that
increasing employee motivation is a role of line manager and leaders in workforce development
whereas remaining 10 thinks that coaching and mentoring is the role of line manager and leaders
in workforce development.
Question: 3 Collaboration between leaders and line managers support talent development
Q3 According to you, does the collaboration between leaders and line
managers support talent development?
Frequency
a) Yes 30
b) No 20

a) Yes b) No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
30
20
Interpretation: From the above information it is being identified that out of 50 respondents, 30
thinks that collaboration between leaders and line managers support talent development whereas
20 have opinion that collaboration between leaders and line managers doesn't support talent
development.
Question: 4 Collaboration between leaders and line mangers decrease employee turnover
Q4 Does collaboration between leaders and line mangers decrease
employee turnover?
Frequency
a) Yes 35
b) No 15

a) Yes b) No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
35
15
Interpretation: It is being analysed from the above graph that 35 respondents thinks that
collaboration between leaders and line mangers decrease employee turnover. The remaining have
different opinion as they think collaboration between leaders and line mangers doesn't decrease
employee turnover.
Question: 5 Major benefits of leaders and line mangers working together
Q5 What are the major benefits of leaders and line mangers working
together?
Frequency
a) Retain top talent 15
b) Improve employee satisfaction 15
c) Improve employee performance 20

a) Retain top talent
b) Improve employee satisfaction
c) Improve employee performance
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
15 15
20
Interpretation: From the above information it is being determined that 15 respondents thinks
that retaining top talents is one of the benefit of leaders and line managers while working
together whereas other 15 have different opinion as they think that improving employee
satisfaction is a benefit. The other 20 thinks that improving employee performance is a benefit of
leader and line manger.
Question: 6 Important role of leader in talent management
Q6 What is the most important role of leader in talent management? Frequency
a) Improving motivation and satisfaction of employees 20
b) Retaining staff for long term 20
c) Setting Objectives 10

a) Increase employee’s motivation and satisfaction
b) Retain employees for longer time
c) Setting Objectives
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
20 20
10
Interpretation: It is being analysed from the above graph that 20 respondent thinks increasing
employee motivation and satisfaction is important role of leader in talent management whereas
the other have different opinions.
Question: 7 Important role of line manager in talent management
Q7 What is the most important role of line manager in talent
management?
Frequency
a) Providing guidance to new employees 18
b) Decision making related to employee recruitment 12
c) Communicating with leaders and junior employees 20

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20 18
12
20
Interpretation: It is being identified from the above graph that most important role of line
manager in talent management is communicating with leaders an junior employees. From the 30
respondents, 18 thinks that providing guidance to new employees is important role of line
manager in talent management whereas 12 thinks that decision making related to employee
recruitment is important role.
Question: 8 Major challenges faced by leaders and line manager at a time of implementing
the talent strategies
Q8 What are the major challenges faced by leaders and line manager at
a time of implementing the talent strategies?
Frequency
a) Dealing with conflicts and employee resistance 15
b) Leading change 15
c) Increasing employee engagement and participation 10
d) Fostering culture of continuous learning 10

0
4
8
12
16
15 15
10 10
Interpretation: The above graph represents that 15 employees thinks major challenges faced by
leaders and line manager at a time of implementing talent strategies is dealing with conflicts and
employee resistance whereas other 15 have different opinion they thinks that leading change is a
issue. The remaining 20 respondents have different viewpoint as they thinks that increasing
employee engagement and participation and Fostering culture of continuous learning is challenge
for line manager and leader.
Question: 9 Methods which can be adopted by leaders and mangers for effective talent
management
Q9 What are the methods which can be adopted by leaders and mangers
for effective talent management?
Frequency
a) Providence of training and development 12
b) Selective hiring 15
c) Offering benefits to employees 18
d) Employer branding 5

0
4
8
12
16 12
15
18
5
Interpretation: From the above graph it is being analysed that offering benefits to employees is
a method which can be adopted by leaders and managers for effective talent management. The
remaining have different opinions and viewpoints related to methods.
Question: 10 Most effective way of improving communication between leaders and line
managers
Q10 What is the most effective way of improving communication
between leaders and line managers?
Frequency
a) Using ICT for continuous communication 15
b) Timely meeting between leaders and line managers 10
c) Creating feedback loop between leaders and line managers 10
d) Building free working environment 15

0
4
8
12
16
15
10 10
15
Interpretation: It is being determined that out of 50 respondents using ICT for continuous
communication is most effective way of improving communication between leaders and line
managers whereas 10 thinks that timely meeting between leaders and line manager is effective
way of improving communication between leaders and line mangers. The remaining have
opinion that creating feedback loop between leaders and line managers and building free
working environment is another way of improving communication.

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
Theme 1: Relationship between leaders and line managers within a business environment?
It is being determined from the above information that there is an effective relationship
between line manager and leader within business environment. Line manager are responsible for
conducting various activities such as they schedule interview, select, train and manage the
performance of employees (Kane and et. al., 2019). The leaders of organisation generally focuses
on understanding staff and also believe in achieving vision and goals of business in significant
manner. Both of them work together for improving the performance and efficiency of business.
Line manager of Sainsbury ensures that business activities may be done in proper manner
whereas leader also lead the team for accomplishing the business goals. Line manager and leader
coordinates with each other for maximising the efficiency and productivity of employees so that
they can give their productive efforts in attaining target.
Theme 2: Responsibilities of leaders and line managers while developing talented
workforce within Sainsbury?
According to the above information it is being analysed that there are different
responsibilities of line manager and leader in developing the talented workforce within
Sainsbury. In order to develop and improve the performance of employees, line manager focuses
on providing training and development opportunities due to which Sainsbury can gain
competitive advantage in market. Line manager are responsible for overseeing the business
operation and also they managers the performance of employees by supervising them on daily
basis (Younas and Waseem Bari, 2020). They generally review the work of team members,
provide feedback, hire and train employees, communicate effectively, direct workflow, etc.
These responsibility of line manager helps in developing talented workforce in working
environment of Sainsbury. Leaders are also responsible for developing the talented workforce as
they manage the operation, encourage them to participate in business activities, solve issues,
manage performance, etc. Thus, leaders and manager are responsible for developing the
employees performance and productivity so that they can stay with company for long run.
Theme 3: Issues faced by leaders and line managers while implementing talent strategies
within Sainsbury working culture?
It is being identified from the above information that there are several challenges which
are faced by line manager and leader while implementing talent strategies within organisation's

working culture (Gallardo-Gallardo, Thunnissen and Scullion, 2020). The few issues are dealing
with conflicts and employee resistance, poor hiring strategies, communication in effective
manner, increasing employee engagement and participation, leading change and fostering culture
of continuous learning. Leaders and line manger generally faces issue related to conflicts as it
can influence the positivity of workplace and also distract the mind of employees due to which it
become difficult for them to implement talent management strategies in appropriate manner.

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION AND
IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESERACH
Conclusion
From the above information is is being concluded that line manager and leaders are
responsible for improving the performance and growth of organisation. Line manager and leader
plays a vital role in organisation as they focus on improving the productivity and efficiency of
business. There is a positive relationship between line manager and leader as they collectively
work together in order to achieve business goals and objective. Main motive of leader and line
manager is to provide opportunities to employees so that they can grow their career and improve
their knowledge, experience and decision making skills. In organisation, line manager and leader
generally responsible for managing the workforce and also improving the performance of
business.
Recommendation
 From the above information it is being recommended that Sainsbury must focus
on creating smart hiring strategies in order to attract top performers and expertise.
Through developing smart strategies, company can enhance the satisfaction level
of customers by hiring highly qualified candidates.
 Sainsbury must also focus on overcoming the issues related to employee turnover
by satisfying their need and requirements within workplace. It is the responsibility
of line manager and leader to hire the talent on the basis of their past experience
and performance.
 Sainsbury must focus on encouraging their staff to give creative and innovative
ideas in order to improve the performance and productivity of business. They
must focus on using effective method for improving the efficiency and
productivity of business.
 It is necessary for Sainsbury to offer benefits to staff as it helps in increasing the
motivation and morale level of employees due to which they can give their best
efforts in attaining the goals and objective of business.

Implications for further research
The existing research is carried out primary and secondary information about the
responsibilities of leaders and line managers while developing the talented workforce within
organisation. In future this investigation can be used by other researchers for conducting
investigation on the same topic. In simpler words, this investigation will act as foundation for
conducting research on the chosen topic.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Al-Ababneh, M.M., 2020. Linking ontology, epistemology and research methodology. Science
& Philosophy. 8(1). pp.75-91.
Clarke, M. and Scurry, T., 2020. The role of the psychological contract in shaping graduate
experiences: a study of public sector talent management programmes in the UK and
Australia. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. 31(8). pp.965-
991.
Deb, D., Dey, R. and Balas, V.E., 2019. Engineering research methodology. Reino Unido:
Springer.
Eisend, M. and Kuss, A., 2019. Research methodology in marketing. Cham, Switzerland:
Springer International Publishing.
Gallardo-Gallardo, E., Thunnissen, M. and Scullion, H., 2020. Talent management: context
matters. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(4), pp.457-473.
Jooss, S., Burbach, R. and Ruël, H., 2021. Examining talent pools as a core talent management
practice in multinational corporations. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management. 32(11). pp.2321-2352.
Kane and et. al., 2019. How digital leadership is (n't) different. MIT Sloan Management
Review. 60(3). pp.34-39.
Kehoe, R.R. and Han, J.H., 2020. An expanded conceptualization of line managers’ involvement
in human resource management. Journal of Applied Psychology. 105(2). p.111.
Mey, M.R., Poisat, P. and Stindt, C., 2021. The influence of leadership behaviours on talent
retention: An empirical study. SA Journal of Human Resource Management. 19. p.9.
Pandey, P. and Pandey, M.M., 2021. Research methodology tools and techniques. Bridge Center.
Nayak, J.K. and Singh, P., 2021. Fundamentals of research methodology problems and
prospects. SSDN Publishers & Distributors.
Säfsten, K. and Gustavsson, M., 2020. Research methodology: for engineers and other problem-
solvers.
Snyder, H., 2019. Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and
guidelines. Journal of business research, 104, pp.333-339.
Werner, J.M., 2021. Human resource development: talent development. Cengage Learning.
Wiblen, S. and Marler, J.H., 2021. Digitalised talent management and automated talent
decisions: the implications for HR professionals. The International Journal of Human
Resource Management. 32(12). pp.2592-2621.
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APPENDIX
Questionnaire
Q1 Are you aware about the relationship between leaders and line mangers?
a) Yes
b) No
Q2 What are the major roles of line managers and leaders in workforce development?
a) Employee supervision
b) Workforce development
c) Increasing employee motivation
d) Coaching and mentoring
Q3 According to you, does the collaboration between leaders and li9ne managers upport
talent development?
a) Yes
b) No
Q4 Does collaboration between leaders and line mangers decrease employee turnover?
a) Yes
b) No
Q5 What are the major benefits of leaders and line mangers working together?
a) Retain top talent
b) Improve employee satisfaction
c) Improve employee performance
Q6 What is the most important role of leader in talent management?
a) Improving motivation and satisfaction of employees
b) Retaining staff for long term
c) Setting Objectives
Q7 What is the most important role of line manager in talent management?
a) Providing guidance to new employees
b) Decision making related to employee recruitment
c) Communicating with leaders and junior employees

Q8 What are the major challenges faced by leaders and line manager at a time of
implementing the talent strategies?
a) Dealing with conflicts and employee resistance
b) Leading change
c) Increasing employee engagement and participation
d) Fostering culture of continuous learning
Q9 What are the methods which can be adopted by leaders and mangers for effective
talent management?
a) Providence of training and development
b) Selective hiring
c) Offering benefits to employees
d) Employer branding
Q10 What is the most effective way of improving communication between leaders and line
managers?
a) Using ICT for continuous communication
b) Timely meeting between leaders and line managers
c) Creating feedback loop between leaders and line managers
d) Building free working environment