Strategic HR Challenges in Tesco

The Strategic HR Professional
Work-based Report
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Executive Summary
The aim of this report is to analyse the business strategy of Tesco and identify key HR and
people challenges which are faced by the company that resulted in hindering its ability to
achieve strategic objectives. The business strategy of Tesco is directional which focuses on
expanding its operations overseas, reducing operating costs and creating a positive impact
on society. Key HR challenges in Tesco include high employee turnover rate, difficulty in
meeting seasonal demands, long shift hours and lack of effective diversity management.
This report identified various changes that HR of Tesco should adopt to become more
strategic and effective in achieving its corporate objectives such as adopting strategic
planning process, Mintzberg’s 5P’s for strategy and HR Value Proposition.
Recommendations are given in this report and challenges are identified which executive
team of Tesco might face while implementing those recommendations such as using
strategic human resource management principles to link HR strategies with desired goals
and prioritising the interest of employees to address the issue of high turnover and job
dissatisfaction.

Table of Contents
1. Introduction...................................................................................................................... 3
2. Tesco PLC.......................................................................................................................... 4
3. Business Strategy of Tesco PLC.........................................................................................4
4. HR and people challenges in Tesco...................................................................................5
5. Changes for HR to become more strategic.......................................................................8
6. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................12
7. Recommendations..........................................................................................................12
8. References...................................................................................................................... 14

1. Introduction
In today’s competitive business world, corporations are facing fierce competition in their
respective industries, and they are struggling to generate and maintain a competitive
advantage to stay ahead of their competition. One of the key areas through which
companies generate a competitive advantage is the effective management of human capital
in the organisation (Noe et al., 2017). The demand for a talented and skilled workforce has
increased across the globe which requires companies to adopt policies that enable them to
build and retain a talented workforce that dedicatedly works towards the achievement of
organisational goals. In order to achieve this goal, companies implement strategic human
resource management (SHRM) policies while aligning them with the business strategy to
ensure that they address key HR issues in the workplace to effectively achieve their strategic
objectives. Strategic HRM is defined as all activities which are implemented by companies to
formulate the behaviour of individuals and implementing strategic needs to achieve
corporate objectives. It focuses on clear long-term goals, creating linkages with strategic
plans and organisational performance (Kramar, 2014).
The objective of this report is to evaluate key HR challenges faced by Tesco PLC and
understand how the company can align its HR objectives with strategic policies to generate
a competitive advantage in the market. This report will begin by providing an introduction of
Tesco PLC along with its business strategy. The key HR and people challenges faced by the
company will be evaluated in this report to understand how they make it difficult for Tesco
to achieve its strategic objectives. This report will analyse the changes which Tesco must
make its HR practices more strategic and effective in supporting the business to achieve its
goals. Lastly, a conclusion will be drawn, and recommendations will be given for the
executive team of Tesco and challenges will be identified which they might face while
implementing these recommendations.