Human Resource Management Strategies of ZARA

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Examining the changes in HR strategies by the firm..................................................................3
Analysing the job design strategies of the firm...........................................................................4
Analysing the impact of environmental factors on culture and HR plan of the firm..................5
Using a HR model to state how value was created by the firm...................................................6
Analysing what is being practised by the firm by using Storey’s 27 points of difference
between HRM and personnel management.................................................................................7
Stating the hiring and firing strategies of the firm.......................................................................9
Using corporate examples of firms using good HR practices and literature to justify our stand
...................................................................................................................................................10
Recommendations to employers regarding HRM practices to ensure that the organisational
performance is high...................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
This report is based on ZARA, which is an apparel retail company founded in 1957 in Spain.
The company focuses on fast fashion products like clothing, shoes, perfumes, swimwear,
accessories, etc. The brand has around 2000 stores across the world. In this report, various
strategies of the firm will be examined. The changes in several HR strategies by the firm will
be analysed using the concepts of SHRM. Then, the job design strategy used by the firm will
be analysed. Further, an analysis of the environmental factors and their impacts on the culture
and HR plan of the firm will be conducted. The report will then outline a HR model and its use
in value creation in the firm. Then an identification of what is being used by the company in
terms of HRM and Personnel Management will be done using the storey’s 27 points of
difference between both these concepts. The hiring strategies and the firing strategies of the
firm will also be outlines. Some corporate examples that use good HR practices will be
highlighted in the report. Lastly, some recommendations and suggestions of HRM practices
will be given to ensure high performance of the organisation.
MAIN BODY
Examining the changes in HR strategies by the firm
Human Resource Strategies are the plans that businesses make to manage its workforce and
human capital to work in alignment with the business activities and also the workforce
practices that should be used or improved to achieve outcomes that will help the organisation
achieve its business goals and objectives(HR strategies, 2022). SHRM is the alignment of the
workforce and its activities with the strategic business goals to encourage innovation,
productivity, satisfaction, efficiency(Lopez-Cabrales and Valle-Cabrera, 2020). The main
Human Resource strategies are generally related to the assessing the current capacity of the
HR, forecasting of human resource demand and requirements, effective policies for purposeful
hiring and talent acquisition, employee retention by providing them with competitive salaries,
benefits and bonuses, ensuring frequent and transparent communication within the
organisation, fulfilling social responsibilities, etc. Forecasting the future requirements of HR is
necessary to timely recruit the employees as and when the need arises or even beforehand to

avoid shortage of manpower that could disrupt the company’s operations. Strategies related to
effective recruitment are necessary to ensure that the employees recruited are suitable for the
job and strategies related to job advertisements, designing of job descriptions, interviews, etc.
are a part of recruitment strategy(Strategic HRM, 2022). Also, strategies for effective
orientation and onboarding experience of the employees help to avoid dissatisfaction among
the new employees. Strategies related to the competitive salaries and benefits of the employees
help to keep the employees satisfied so they remain in the company and not shift to other
competitor companies. HR also has strategies to ensure effective communication in the
organisation to ensure that all the necessary information and decisions are conveyed to the
employees(Karman, 2020). The strategies of HR have undergone drastic changes in the last
few years due to the new generation of workers and technological advancements, this lead to
the workplace being more individualised and employee-focused. The HR strategies are moving
towards making the employees feel more valued in the organisation and also to fulfil the
company’s CSR. Thus, the strategies are on the path of Sustainable HRM that is beneficial in
the long run for the company, the employees as well as the society and environment(ZARA’s
strategies, 2022).
Analysing the job design strategies of the firm
Job design is the process of outlining all the aspects of a job including all the roles, tasks,
responsibilities and duties that an employee has to fulfil along with the systems, methods and
procedures to be undertaken and the qualifications required in an employee to take on the job
profile. The needs and desires of the employees should be analysed along with the needs of the
organisation to develop an effective job design strategy(Hamidi, 2020). A single strategy may
not always be effective in various situations, hence, there are a set of strategies adopted by the
company which can be adjusted according to the requirement of the situation. Some of these
strategies are – Job enrichment that focuses on creating opportunities for employees to improve
their satisfaction with their current jobs. Job enrichment is linked to all other job strategies of
the company as the main aim of the company is to keep the employees satisfied and motivated
for them to perform efficiently and in the best interests of the company(Job enrichment, 2022).
Another strategy is Job enlargement that focuses on adding more responsibilities to the
employee’s existing job role with a motive for employees to learn new skills and perform more
tasks related to their existing jobs which keeps them engaged longer(Job enlargement, 2022).