Human Resource Management: Recruitment Process Analysis for Asda

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the recruitment process within Asda, a major grocery retailer. It begins with an introduction to Human Resource Management (HRM), emphasizing its role in recruiting and selecting efficient employees to enhance productivity and address employee grievances. The report focuses on the purpose and scope of HRM within Asda, including maximizing productivity and optimizing staff effectiveness. It then explores the functions of HRM, such as planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, and performance appraisal. The report examines the strengths and weaknesses of different recruitment approaches, including internal and external sources, and selection approaches like interviews and tests. The usefulness of HRM in fulfilling organizational objectives and the pros and cons of various recruitment and selection methods are also evaluated. The report critically assesses the merits and demerits of these approaches, concluding that external recruitment and interview-based selection are optimal for Asda. The second part of the report discusses the advantages of HRM practices for both employees and employers, such as improved relationships, individual development, organizational culture, and conflict management. It analyzes the effectiveness of these practices in terms of reducing turnover, improving performance, controlling budgets, and enhancing credibility. Various HR practices, including job security, team management, and regular training, are examined. The report concludes with a critical evaluation of these practices, suggesting methods for their application within Asda to improve overall efficiency and effectiveness.

Recruitment
Process

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is a strategic approach which deals with management of
people within a particular organization (Chams and García-Blandón, 2019). It helps the
managers to recruit and select efficient workers who can be extremely beneficial for the
company. They can increase the overall efficiency, effectiveness and the productivity level
easily. Also it deals with identifying the grievances and issues of employees and solving them
effectively and efficiently so that there is no problem faced by them while doing their various
tasks. It is the role of HR managers to oversee that the workers are allocated tasks according to
their various skills and capabilities. Also they need to ensure that they are working to achieve
their own goals and objectives as well as organization’s as their ideas are helpful for the firm.
For this report, Asda has been selected. It is a company dealing in groceries and other essential
consumer items. In this assignment, focus will be made on purpose and scope of HRM, its
effectiveness, different factors which affect it and the application of its practices in a work-
related context.
TASK 1
P1: Purpose and functions of HRM
The purpose of HRM in Asda is as follows-
 Maximization of productivity- HRM focuses on maximization of productivity within an
organization (Delery and Gupta, 2016). In the context of Asda, it makes its focus on
increasing it so that workforce planning and resourcing can be carried out without any
problems.
 Optimization of effectiveness- HRM also focuses on optimizing the overall
effectiveness of the staff of an organization. For Asda, it is important because it helps in
workforce planning and resourcing.
Functions of HRM-
 Planning- HR department needs to plan for the workforce within an organization. It
needs to make plans for the future course of action. In Asda, the HR department makes
plans for long-term future.
 Recruitment and Selection- HR department of any organization has to identify the
available vacancies within an organization and must facilitate recruitment and selection
on the posts so that talented people can be inducted in the company which can be useful
for its processes. This process is carried out in Asda also.
 Training and Development- It is the role of HR department of an enterprise to provide
the required training and development to the newly-recruited staff as well as old staff. In

Asda, regular training is provided to the staff so that their shortcomings can be analyzed
and improvements can be suggested to them.
 Performance Appraisal- The HR department needs to regularly evaluate the overall
performance of workers within an organization (Delery and Roumpi, 2017). The HR
department of Asda focuses on evaluating its workers’ performance and therefore takes
the necessary actions so that the performance can be rewarded as suitable according to
the metrics set. Rewards, incentives, bonuses and extra benefits can be given to those
workers who are better performers. For workers not performing to standards however
have to be given instructions to improve their working pattern so that the goals and
objectives set by the company for the future can be met and efficiency can be increased.
P2: Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection
There are different approaches which can be adopted for recruitment and selection. These
approaches are as follows-
Recruitment approaches-
 Internal sources- Using this approach, the HR department of a company can make its
focus on recruiting through internal sources (Gill and et.al., 2018). The HR department of
Asda can use this approach in order to recruit using the references of its existing staff. In
this way they can save on the costs of recruitment as well as can recruit efficient
candidates for the organization.
 External sources- Using this approach, the HR department of an organization can focus
on recruiting through the external sources (Guest, 2017). The HR department of Asda can
make use of it so that they can advertise for the right candidates who can be highly useful
in raising its overall efficiency and effectiveness level. Thus it is a good method for the
firm.
Selection approaches-
 Interview- This is the most common approach which is used for selection. Using it, the
HR managers can effectively identify the various characteristics of a candidate’s
personality quite easily. Therefore, the managers of Asda can adopt it so that they are
able to screen the candidates properly without any problems. It also evaluates a
candidate’s communication skills and helps in knowing more about the personality,
likes/dislikes, expectations, type of work which can be performed etc. which helps in
making the right decision.
 Taking tests- By taking tests, multiple aspects of personality of a candidate can be
identified easily without any problems. Asda’s HR managers can take tests to check the
IQ level and other personality parameters of a candidate to see the suitability. The one
who is most suitable can be selected by the company for the job vacancy which it has.

M1: Usefulness of HRM in fulfilling objectives
The HRM is quite useful in fulfilling the various objectives which are set by the
management in an organization. If the goals set by the managers include raising the efficiency
and effectiveness level it can be done by recruiting the right employees. Also the aim of
achieving strategic advantage can be fulfilled by the department by selecting the right candidates
who can provide their ideas which can be useful for a company to secure competitive advantage
over the rivals easily without any problems. Thus it can be said that this function is very
beneficial to fulfill the targets.
M2: Pros and Cons of recruitment and selection approaches
Advantages of internal sources-
 Less costly
 Help in getting well-trained workers
Disadvantages of internal sources-
 Biasness and partiality is possible
 It is not possible to get very efficient workers
Advantages of external sources-
 Helps in getting the right candidates
 No bias and preference in selection
Disadvantages of external sources-
 More costs
 Training has to be provided to the new workers
Advantages of Interview-
 Face to Face interaction is possible
 Helps in knowing more about a candidate’s personality
Disadvantages of Interview-
 Time-consuming process
 Ignores certain aspects of a candidate’s personality
Advantages of tests-
 Identification of aptitude
 Facilitates selection of right candidate
Disadvantages of Tests-
 Lack of proper evaluation criteria can result in selection of wrong candidate
 Costly process

D1: Critical evaluation of merits and demerits
On the basis of merits and demerits of approaches of recruitment and selection it can be
said that external sources of recruitment are the best for Asda because it will help it in getting the
best talented workers which can be very useful for its process and operations. The selection
method of interview can be adopted by the organization which will help it in identifying the
multiple aspects of a candidate’s personality. Thus the right candidates can be selected for the
positions vacant according to the skills of the person.
TASK 2
P3: Advantages of practices of Human resource management
The advantages of practices of HRM are as follows-
For employees-
 Relationships- If good HR practices are adopted within an organization then the
employees become very motivated and work with renewed energy towards the
achievement of their tasks (Hosain and Rahman, 2016). If Asda’s managers display the
best HR practices then this will help in building of long-term relationships with the
employees.
 Individual development- Good HR practices can help the employees in developing their
own personality effectively without any problems. Asda’s managers have to oversee that
their practices facilitate the development of various individuals in their organization.
 Satisfaction- Adoption of right HR practices can help the employees as they will result in
higher satisfaction level of the workers (Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour, 2016). The
managers of Asda can adopt the right practices for human resources who can increase the
satisfaction of the workers helping in achievement of organizational goals and objectives.
For employers-
 Organizational culture- Good HR practices can result in development of an
organizational culture which is highly positive and motivates the employees effectively.
The managers of Asda need to adopt the right practices so that it can reflect on the
organizational culture resulting in greater efficiency as well as effectiveness of the
workers helping in achievement of goals and objectives.
 Change- Right HR practices can help the organization in dealing with those changes
which incur regularly in the dynamic business environment (Järlström, Saru and Vanhala,
2018). Thus the HR managers of Asda need to make their focus on adoption of right
practices.
 Managing conflicts- If the HR department of the company adopts the right practices then
it can help a lot in management of conflicts between the employees. Therefore, for the

HR managers of Asda it is necessary that they manage these conflicts so that using the
right practices so that the efficiency and effectiveness level of the company is maintained.
P4: Effectiveness of practices
There is an effectiveness of HR practices in terms of increasing organizational profits and
productivity level. It can be analyzed as follows-
 Reduces turnover- Adoption of right HR practices can lead to a reduction in the overall
turnover of the employees (Kianto, Sáenz and Aramburu, 2017). Asda’s managers need
to adopt the right practices so that the turnover level can be reduced effectively without
any problems and issues. When the best employees are retained in the organization then it
will naturally lead to achievement of goals which will increase the profit as well as
productivity.
 Improvement in performance- Adopting the right HR practices can lead towards
improvement in the performance of the employees. Asda’s right practices can result in
boost-up of morale and performance of the employees and thus this will naturally lead to
more output resulting in increase in profit and productivity level.
 Budget control- The right practices for HR can result in controlling the budget of the
organization (Lee and et.al., 2019). Unnecessary expenditures and increased costs can be
identified easily by the department and the steps can be taken to remove them quickly so
that no problems are created because of increase in expenses. If Asda adopts the right
practices then it will lead to tight control on the budget and expenditures which will
naturally result in bringing of more effectiveness and increasing profits and productivity
level.
 Credibility- The right practices can facilitate increase the credibility level of the
organization. If Asda adopts the best HR methods then its credibility will increase and
thus when it will open any vacancy for recruitment many people will apply for it due to
the fact that the HR department of the company is efficient in dealing with the staff of the
organization. This will be useful in increasing the profits and the productivity level in the
firm.
M3: Methods of HR practices
There are different HR practices which can be adopted by the companies. Some of them
are providing job security, management of teams and provision of regular training. The managers
of Asda can provide security by ensuring workers that they will not be fired immediately,
management of teams can be done by allocating those functions and regular training can be
provided to improve the performance of workers. If these techniques are adopted by the HR
managers of Asda then it can be ensured that the motivation of the staff will always reaming high
and they will contribute to the achievement of goals and objectives of company.

D2: Critical evaluation
Job security can be applied in the context of Asda by providing the permanent workers
with a written contract about the employment. Teams can be given departments in company as
per the skills of team members like finance, HR, production, sales, marketing etc. Also, regular
training can be provided through the use of various methods and techniques which can be
traditional as well as modern resulting in more efficiency and effectiveness in the processes and
operations of the firm. Thus the HR department can adopt these practices in the right manner
without any problems and issues.
TASK 3
P5: Importance of relations with workers
` There is an importance of maintaining the relations with the workers. It has been
explained as follows-
 Employee engagement- When the HR department of a company is proactive and
maintains relationships with the employees it naturally helps in employee engagement
(What Are Employee Relations and Why Are They Important, 2019). The HR department
of Asda also needs to be very much proactive in this regard and should engage regularly
with the employees. This will ensure that the turnover rate reduces and the talented
workers remain within the company.
 Employee satisfaction- When the HR department of a company maintains the relations
with workers it works in increasing their satisfaction level (Lim, Wang and Lee, 2017).
Asda’s HR managers need to be active in this regard so that they can satisfy the
employees which will boost up their morale and motivation level ensuring high
productivity.
 Efficiency- HR department needs to regularly intermix with its employees so as to find
out what are the problems faced by them. Asda’s managers can do so and find out the
issues concerning the workers. Then they can work towards removing them so that the
efficiency level of workers remains high which not only helps in achievement of goals
and objectives but also ensures that profits of the company increase with a steady rate
which will ensure sustainable success.
 Empowerment- When the HR department of a firm maintains good relations with its
employees it automatically empowers them to achieve various goals and objectives
(Olson and et.al., 2018). The HR managers of Asda should empower the employees
which will help in maintain good relations with them. This can be done by allowing them
in meetings, delegating them the required authority to take certain decisions by
themselves, taking their views and ideas before taking an important decision for the
company etc. All of this builds long-term relationships with the workers helping in
achievement of success in the future time period.

P6: Employment legislation
The various key elements of employment legislation which can have an impact on the
decision-making in the HR department of an organization are as follows-
 Equal opportunities for all- The legislation of employment in many countries provides
that equal opportunities must be provided to all the people for employment ignoring the
various other factors. Therefore, the HR department of Asda needs to concentrate on
providing a fair chance to the candidates who have shown their interest in working in the
organization.
 No partiality- The employment legislation says that there should be no display of
partiality displayed by the HR managers in the process of recruitment (Ones,
Viswesvaran and Schmidt, 2017). If the HR department of Asda does not display any
kind of partiality or biasness in the recruitment process then it will lead towards effective
working in the organization.
 Prevention of harassment- The employment legislation prevents the use of various
tactics by the employers which result in harassment of the employees (Peccei and Van De
Voorde, 2019). Such kind of behavior is strongly discouraged in the legislation.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of HR department of Asda to be kind and humble
towards its approach towards the employees of company. This will ensure that there is no
harassment of workers in the firm thereby leading towards increased productivity level.
 Working time- Working time is fixed at 8 hours per day according to the laws of many
countries around the world (Ramadevi and et.al., 2016). Thus the HR department of Asda
also has to comply with the law and if the working hours increase then overtime needs to
be paid to the workers.
 Social security- Social security measures are important because the workers are required
to be assured that their needs and requirements will be taken care of even when they are
not able to work. The HR department of Asda has to work in this regard and provide
benefits like Provident fund, Medical facility etc. to the workers which will be counted as
social security benefits and will enhance the image and goodwill of the company as a
good employer. Therefore people will prefer to work in such an organization which cares
for its workers.
M4: Key aspects of managing relation with workers and employment legislation
For a big company like Asda which has so many employees it is important to engage with
the workers and maintain sound relations with them. This will facilitate better contribution from
them in organizational work and thus their maximum potential can be utilized optimally. Also,
the provisions of employment legislation are present in many countries and thus there is a
requirement that the HR department makes its focus on the necessary elements and adopts them
in the organization so as to provide the required security for workers.

TASK 4
P7: Application of HRM practices
The application of HRM practices can be done in the work of an organization. It can be done
as follows-
 Fair compensation- Fair compensation needs to be provided according to the work
which has been done by an employee (Sekiguchi, Froese and Iguchi, 2016). In the
context of Asda, it is necessary that it provides the right compensation for its workers
without any biasness and favoritism.
 Accessibility- Accessibility of top managers in a company helps in making the problems
and issues of the workers reach them. For Asda, it is necessary that the top-level
managers stay accessible which will allow the employees to contact them whenever
necessary.
 Creating a hierarchical structure- Creation of hierarchical structure properly defines
roles within a company (Sundiman, 2017). In the context of Asda, it is important that this
structure is followed so that authority can be delegated and communication channel is
established between the top-level management and the workers.
 Rewards- Proper rewards need to be provided to well-performing employees. In the
context of Asda, it is necessary that its top performers are given rewards so that their
motivation level remains on the higher side.
Scenario- Asda is looking for cashiers at its vacant positions at its different stores. The
company looks to prepare an advertisement for the role and also provide job description.
The offer letter will be provided to the selected candidates.
Advertisement for job opening-
Cashiers required for stores-
Asda, a reputed multinational groceries and general merchandise
dealer is looking for cashiers at is different stores across London.
The details regarding the role are as follows-
 Number of vacancies- 10
 Requirements- Willing to work in different shifts, able to
cooperate and coordinate with the staff of the store and
must be able to maintain the record of cash dealings on a
daily basis.
 Remuneration- 25,000 pounds per month + Added
incentives for better performance
 Educational qualifications- A graduate in any discipline.
 Work experience- At least 1 year experience of handling
cash operations in a firm.
 Location- London, United Kingdom

Job description-
Offer Letter-
Cashier-
Reports to- Head of Accounts department
Job overview- Required to handle cash of the store on a
daily basis
Responsibilities and duties-
 Managing cash
 Daily record-maintaining
 Handling of cash
 Preparing reports
Qualifications-
 Education- Should be a graduate
 Experience- 1 years
 Skills- Handling of accounts and cash
 Personal characteristics- Smart personality and
willing to work in a competitive environment
Dear XYZ,
Asda is pleased to offer to you the post of Cashier at our Clapham
Junction Superstore.
By accepting this letter, you agree to the company’s terms and
conditions for employment and agree to work according to them.
Also you will abide by the policies declared by us from time to
time failing to which the company can also terminate your
employment at any time.
The starting salary which you will be paid will be 25000 pounds
per month and it will increase if you perform as per our
expectations. To accept this letter put your signature and mail it to
us at our postal address.
Sincerely,
HR Manager
Asda Clapham Junction Superstore

M5: Rationale of application of HRM practices
The reasons for applying of HRM practices in the work of an organization are that it
leads to higher efficiency and productivity among the employees. Thus, the HR managers of
Asda should implement these practices in order to ensure that the efficiency level of firm is
maintained.
D3: Critical evaluation
For Asda, it is highly necessary that it maintains good relations with employees and
implements the right practices. This is so because doing so will lead to more productivity at the
work which will increase the profits of the organization. Thus the managers will be in the right
position to take better decisions for the future of the company. It is duty and responsibility of the
HR department to work forward in this regard and ensure all this. This will add to the credibility
level of the firm which will convince many talented people to join it benefitting the business in
the long-run.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that human resource management is an
essential function in the organizations. Its various purposes and functions are helpful for the
company. The different approaches of recruitment and selection have their own strengths and
weaknesses, HRM practices are useful for both the employers as well as the workers, they can be
used effectively to raise profit and productivity. Also, there is an importance of maintaining
relations with the workers for taking better decisions, there are different rules and regulations in
many countries which the companies need to follow and the practices of HRM can be applied
easily in work of the firm.