Effective HRM Practices: A Case Study of Barclays Bank's HR Strategies

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes HRM practices at Barclays Bank.

Human Resources Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Task 1 (LO1)....................................................................................................................................3
Task 2 (LO2)....................................................................................................................................7
Task 3 (LO3)..................................................................................................................................11
Task 4 (LO4)..................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................21
Reference List................................................................................................................................22
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Introduction
With the increased competition in the market, it has become necessary for the business entities to
manage the performance of their employees in order to gain the targeted objectives. It will help
the organisation to gain a competitive edge in the industry. Management of human resources
deals with the issues associated with performance management compensation, organisational
development, employment benefits, safety motivation and training. The study is going to shed
light on the functions and purpose of the HR department in managing human resources. It is
going to evaluate the different approaches associated with selection and recruitment of
employees. Barclays Bank will be considered for preparation of the study. Additionally, the
study will provide relevant information regarding the benefits of various HRM practices over
organisational development as well as the employees. It will highlight the significance of
employee relations over decision making related to management of human resource as well as
the impact of implementing the different employee legislations over decision-making concerned
with managing human resources.
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Task 1 (LO1)
P1: In your report explain to the HR Director the purpose and the functions of HRM,
applicable to workforce planning and resourcing an organisation.
The human resource management is the functioning body of an organisation that selects and
recruits employees. They also provide orientation and training to the employees after the
recruitment process (Tzabbar et al., 2016). It is also their duty to maintain good relations with
the employees and their trade unions; they also have the responsibility to ensure the health and
safety of the employees. The functions of the human resource management are described below:
Maintaining good conditions for working:
It is the duty of the human resource management to maintain good working conditions so that the
employees enjoy working in the organisation. A good working condition can be maintained by
motivating the employees, so that they can contribute to the organisational goals (Sarvaiya et al.,
2018).
Managing employee relation:
The human resource management must manage the relationship of the employees, as they are the
pillars of the organisation. The HR management should organise different activities that will help
the employees to interact with each other and know each other well in personal as well as
professional level.
Training and development:
The training and development programmes are vital part of human resource management
function. This will help in improving the present and future performance of the employees. It
helps in increasing the ability of the employees by educating them and enhancing their skills and
knowledge about a specific field.
The ‘best fit’ and ‘best practice’ is terms used in the human resource management and is applied
to the parts of reward system. The difference between ‘best fit’ and ‘best practice’ are explained
in the table below:
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Best fit Best practice
 Best-fit strategy states that the reward
system of an organisation should be
linked with the business strategy of an
organisation.
 The best-fit policies are contingent.
 The best-fit strategy helps in achieving
competitive advantage (Boon, 2016).
 The best practice states that there
should be numerous HR policies, which
includes the reward systems that are
motivating factor for the employees
who are the key to competitive
advantage for the organisation.
 The best practice policies are referred
to as universal.
 The best practice helps in motivating
the employees (Abdmouleh et al.,
2015).
Table 1: Difference between Best fit and Best practice approach in HRM
Approaching the management of HR can be done on numerous ways, which includes Hard HR
and Soft HR. These two approaches are academic by nature. The features of the hard and soft
approaches to HR management are explained below:
Hard approach of HRM:
The employees are treated as a business resource
They have strong link with corporate business planning
There are only short-term changes in the number of employees
The payments made will help in recruiting and retaining the staffs
The appraisal systems focus on making appropriate decisions
The organisation structures are comparatively taller.
Soft approach to HRM:
The employees are treated as an important resource of the business and its competitive advantage
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Strategic focus on longer-term workforce planning
The pay structure is competitive
The employees are empowered to take responsibilities
The appraisal system is followed by addressing the training and other development needs
The organisation structure is comparatively flatter (Cook et al., 2016).
Workforce planning
A workforce planning is referred to as an outcome of a strong partnership between the human
resource management and the finance department of the organisation. This happens in term of
the size, type, experience and knowledge. A strategic workforce planning covers the business
needs and outcomes. It helps in focusing on the implication of workforce.
The types of labour market that influences the HRM practices are as follows:
Internal labour market:
The internal labour market exists within an organisation, it establishes the way the wages are set
and the way they are allocated. With the help of the internal labour market the Human resource
management team to decide the daily wages of the selected employees.
External labour market:
The external labour market provides competition in a wider choice for senior appointments. The
existing labour market will bring new ideas to the organisation. This helps the Human resource
management team to recruit the known employees to the higher position. This is beneficial for
the HRM as they already know the efficiency of the employees.
The role of HRM in employee retention is as follows:
 The HR should discuss various issues face to face
 The HR team must conduct motivational activities for the employees so that they feel
connected with the organisation
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 The HR must launch different schemes for rewards so that the employees are satisfied
with their job
The role of an HR for analysing employee turnover:
 To identify the reason for turnover
 Identifying the cost factor and total cost for replacement
 The compensation plan might not be attractive
 Analysing the seasonal departure
Impact of regulation framework on HRM practices:
The legal framework, which governs the human resource management in an organisation, is as
important as the human resource laws, but it can be seldom being reviewed in that way. This can
be reviewed as the factors that identify the domains of HRM in which the laws and regulations
can be applied. The tax laws and regulation also have impact on the human resource
development. The recruitment and selection is a vital part of any organisation, there will be much
legislation, which the organisation has included in. This will ensure that the organization can
work fairly and anyone can have equal access for job vacancies. The employment legislation will
help to deal with the issues that the employees are facing. The laws that are stated below have
huge impact on the human resource management team:
Equal pay act 1970:
The equal pay act of the 1970 states that no discrimination should be made among the
employment based on gender and financial terms. It is the responsibility of the HRM of the
organisation to exclude gender biasness form the organisation if any.
National minimum wage rate act 1998:
The national minimum wage act of 1998 states that all the employees must get minimum wage
on per hour basis; this influences the HRM to decide the accurate wage of the newly recruited
employees (Rodriguez, and Stewart, 2017).
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P2: Explain to the HR Director, the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches
to recruitment and selection.
Internal process for recruitment and
selection
This type of selection process recruits the
employees, which are present in the
organization in other departments. This
selection process helps the organization to
fulfil the hierarchical position of the
organization. This selection process includes
promotion and transfer.
External process of recruitment and
selection
In this type of selection process, the
organization recruits desirable candidates.
This selection process is mainly followed in
every organization. This also helps the
organization to provide scope for
employment in economy.
Strengths Weaknesses Strengths Weaknesses
 This type of
selection process
helps the
organization
allows to recruit
the known
employees, who
are loyal to the
business.
 It requires least
cost as the
employees are
chosen from the
members that are
 The employees
selected through
this process
might not be
desirable for the
position.
 This selection
process is limited
to business and
does not provide
opportunity to the
fresh talent from
the market.
 This type of
selection process
helps the
organization to
hire employees
from large variety.
 This selection
process helps the
organization to
hire fresh talents,
which are
available in the
market.
 This type of
selection process
involves many
stages. This
costs a lot and is
too lengthy
 This type of
selection process
might not
require some
skills of the
candidates and
can result in
financial losses.
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existing in the
organization
(Islam, 2018).
Table 1: Strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches to recruitment and selection
(Source: created by the learner)
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Task 2 (LO2)
P3: Explain to your HR Director the benefits of different HRM practices within the firm
for both the employer and employee
Training and development is considered as one of the most important framework applied by the
organisation in order to improve the skills of the employees and provide them with relevant
knowledge regarding the changes in the market (Hanaysha, 2016). It will help the employees to
cope up with the changes perform their work accordingly to provide positive performance
results. Employee training is defined as the program arranged by the HR department of the
organisation for improving employee skills and knowledge needed for job. On the other hand,
development is a self-assessment activity arranged by the organisation to encourage the
employees to learn and overcome their weaknesses. There are certain differences between
training and development.
Basis of distinction Training Development
Scope Short-term process Long-term process
Focus It focuses on present
activities
It focuses on activities to be
performed in future
Orientation Job-oriented Career-oriented
Motivation Trainer Self
Aim Improvement of employees’
performance
Preparation of employees for
potential challenges
Table 2: Differences between training and development
(Source: Rosenberg-Lee et al., 2018)
Needs for training
The needs of training provided by the organisation to the employees are as follows:
Technology update
Business environment is facing massive development in technology. Therefore, the employees
are required to be trained regarding the ways to adopt for working new technologies. It will help
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the organisation to improve the overall business performance and gain a competitive edge in the
industry (Rodriguez and Walters, 2017).
Decrease in staff turnover
Training is an effective process for boosting the self-confidence and motivation level of the
employees. It provides security to them on the workplace. This improves employees’
commitment towards their work and the organisation reduces the issues of staff turnover
(Cloutier et al., 2015).
Quality improvement
Customers have become very active towards the quality of the products and services provided by
the organisation. Effective training is very important for the organisation to enhance the skills of
employees so that they can provide quality services to the customers and achieve maximum
satisfaction of customers.
Types of training
On the job training
This type of training involves different methods such as, job rotation, coaching apprenticeships,
mentoring and others. Under this type of training, the supervisors provide relevant guidelines to
the employees for performing the job effectively. It helps the organisation to improve efficiency
of employees and reduce the mistakes committed by them during their work (Masum et al.,
2016).This training enhances the opportunities of the employer towards improvement of the
business operations and achievement of maximum profits.
Off the job training
This type of training involves vestibule-training, simulation, video and lectures, role-playing and
others. It helps the organisation to make the employees identify their strengths and develop their
skills to perform work effectively (Ghosh and Gurunathan, 2015). It ensures development of the
employees apart from their job role.
The HRM practice provides substantial benefits the organisation as well as the employees.
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Benefits to employees
 It improves employee motivation and confidence. Training and development encourages
the employees to work efficiently provide favourable performance results to the company
(Frost, 2016).
 It helps the employees to gain knowledge regarding the business process of the company
according to which they perform their work.
 Effective training helps the employees to identify their strengths and overcome their
weakness in order to perform their work effectively and contribute towards significant
business growth of the organisation.
Benefits to Barclays bank
 Training and development encourages the organisation to develop the skills of employees
and make them work efficiently and accurately. It helps the organisation to achieve the
targeted objectives within a stipulated period.
 Training helps the company to improve the knowledge of employees regarding the needs
of customers so that they can satisfy customers’ requirements. It helps the company to
gain large customers base and enjoy high sales volume and profitability (Home.barclays,
2019).
 Effective training increases the skills of the employees, which results in improvement of
organisational productivity. Employees provide positive results to the company, which
help it to accomplish the long-term goals.
P4: You should also evaluate the effectiveness of the different HRM practices in terms of
raising organisational profit and productivity
Training and development improves the skills and experience of employees so that they can
perform their and work according to the guidelines provided and complete it within a stipulated
time. It helps the organisation to ensure a systematic flow of business activities and increase in
profitability. Training helps employees to overcome their weaknesses, reduce commitment of
mistakes in their job, and enhance their productivity, which in turn helps the company to attain
the long-term objectives of business. Trained employees provide better services; thereby,
maximizing the satisfaction level of the customers. It helps them to gain customers’ trust and
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