HR Report: The Changing Face of Recruitment in Australia - Woolworths

This report, prepared as a Human Resource Consultant's analysis for Woolworths Group, explores the evolving landscape of recruitment in Australia. It begins by highlighting the significance of recruitment to organizational success, emphasizing the importance of attracting and retaining skilled employees. The report then examines current recruitment trends within Woolworths, including their commitment to fair practices and employee engagement. It further analyzes the challenges faced by both the organization, such as the closure of the Masters Hardware business and market share fluctuations, and its employees, like job security concerns. Conversely, it identifies opportunities for growth, including the company's commitment to diversity, merit-based compensation, and career development. The report concludes by recommending that Woolworths adapt to the changing recruitment environment to maintain a competitive edge and support its workforce. It also highlights the importance of addressing challenges and leveraging opportunities to ensure long-term success.

Running head: THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
Executive Summary
The aim of this study is to understand the changing face of recruitment in Australia which
have been addressed to the top management of the Woolworths Group and focuses on
different sections of the recruitment process. The significance that the recruitment process
holds for different organizations is described in this study. The report also contains the
recruitment trends and the challenges and opportunities that have been faced by the
organization and its employees and have provided a summative conclusion on the same.

THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Significance of recruitment to the organization.........................................................................3
Recruitment trends of the organization......................................................................................4
Challenges faced by the organization and employees................................................................5
Opportunities of the organization and employees......................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................8

THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
Introduction
Woolworths Group Limited was earlier called Woolworths Limited. It is an
Australian company which operates in the retail sector. The segments of the company are
Australian Food and Petrol, Endeavour Drinks Group, New Zealand Supermarkets, Hotels
and BIGW. The mission of Woolworths Group Ltd. is to deliver the best value, quality and
convenience to their customers. They have over 205,000 employees who cater to the needs of
almost 29 million customers (Woolworths Group, 2018). They are a trusted business partner
to numerous manufacturers and local farmers. Being the Human Resource Consultant, this
study is addressed to the top management of Woolworths Group Limited on the changing
face of recruitment in Australia. The report will discuss about the significance of recruitment
to the company and the recruitment trends that the company follows. The report will further
analyse the challenges and opportunities that are being faced by the organization and the
employees followed by conclusion.
Significance of recruitment to the organization
The most important factor behind the success of any company is its employees. The
employees give their best and work hard to achieve the goals that have been set by the
company. This is why it is important that every organization should possess a good
recruitment process so that they are able to employ good staff who can perform to the best of
their abilities. Recruitment is the process through which a company generates a pool of
qualified and skilled applicants for the jobs (Ekwoaba, Ikeije & Ufoma, 2015). Organizations
should hire such people who can become an asset for the company and not a liability.
Individuals with the right skill set is required in the company so that they can perform their
job efficiently. Before recruiting any candidate it is of utmost importance that the skills
required for the job position is explained to the candidate and then explored if the candidate

THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
possesses the same skills. The right kind of people will be able to provide the right kinds of
services and contribute to the betterment and the development of the company (Saifalislam,
Osman & AlQudah, 2014). When a company consists of a very strong employee then then
they will be able to move forward towards their desired goals with ease. Correct recruitment
of employees into the organization will lead to the achievement and success of the
organization itself. Recruitment also helps to bring in a large range of talent which includes
new experiences of individuals and new ideas that they possess which could be incorporated
into the business (Fomunjong, 2013). Therefore, it is mandatory for the business to a form a
well-executed strategy for recruitment which will align with the behaviour of the new
employees so that they can be encouraged to perform their best in the company and help the
company to achieve their desired goals and their aims.
Recruitment trends of the organization
The aim of the recruitment process in Woolworths is to recruit the right people for
the right jobs at the right time. They treat their new candidates with the same fairness and
consideration as their employees. There are various legislations that are kept in place by the
organization for the employees that work under them such as Anti-Discrimination and Equal
Employment Opportunity legislations. The company has always maintained that the
recruitment that is done is solely on the merit of the candidate to ensure that the best possible
individual is appointed for the job. They have the Privacy Act in place to make sure that the
personal information of the employees are kept private (Moreira, 2017). They make sure that
all of their employees are treated with respect and professionally. The company should make
policies which would enable them to retain their employees and build relationships with the
employees of their company. The company could start different activities for staff
engagement which would help the employees to bond with each other. These activities could
be different games or introduction sessions which would help the employees to know the

THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
management better and also form strong relationships with the other employees (Merrill et
al., 2013). It is of utmost importance that the employees are kept happy and motivated so that
they are able to work better and contribute more for the progress of the company. For this the
company has to arrange for different benefit and incentive structures which would provide
motivation to the employees. Monetary motivation is one of the most successful tools of
motivation. The employees should be given proper compensation and incentives based on
their performance so that they feel appreciated and valued in the organization (Dobre, 2013).
These trends should be used by the company to make the employees feel at home and to
motivate them so that they are able to make the use of their full potential to complete the
tasks that have been given by the company.
Challenges faced by the organization and employees
Every company faces challenges in its course of operations. In the same way there are
several challenges that are faced by Woolworths Group as well as its employees. Firstly,
there have been a recent occurring where Woolworths had announced that they will be soon
closing or selling their Masters Hardware business. This was due to the fact that they had
suffered heavy losses in this business (Bolman & Deal, 2017). This has proved to be a
challenge for the HR of the company as the individual has to now think about the future of
the many employees that have been working in the business. Similarly, it is also a challenge
for the employees as they have been suddenly informed of the change that is occurring in the
business and now have to face sudden downfalls regarding their future as finding a new job
would take time. If Woolworths is able to find a buyer for their business then there might be a
change that the staff will be provided with ongoing employment based on the changes that
would be made by the buyer. However, this would remain to be a confusing till the time any
fixed decision is made. Secondly, the shares of the organization has decreased by 9% in the
recent times after they had posted a very poor trade update. This has started a war between

THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
the company and its competitors through the promotion of market shares (Fernie & Sparks,
2014). The organization has to maintain its foothold in the Australian market and make sure
that they are able to ward off its competitors. This is also a deep challenge for the employees
as they have to perform more and give more effort to ensure that the company does not sink
further or does not suffer any more losses (Arli et al., 2013). The organization will also have
to put pressure on their employees to get more work done even if they do not desire it. Even
though there are many other challenges that are faced by the organization and its employees,
these two are the major ones which have affected and gravely impacted the company in the
recent times. In Human Resource Management, the theory of Resource Dependency states
that resources are very critical for the success of an organization (Drees & Heugens, 2013).
The most important resource for almost every organization are their employees, and it has
become a great challenge for every company to acquire the best human resource from the
market so that they can compete with the other big corporations and maintain their foothold
in the market.
Opportunities of the organization and employees
Despite its challenges there are many opportunities that the organization possesses for
itself and for its employees. These opportunities help the employees to grow and perform
better and plan for their future in the organization. Career growth is the most desired thing by
an employee when they enter any organization. If an employee does not find opportunities to
grow in the organization then they leave (Wilson, 2014). Therefore, the opportunities that
Woolworths Group offers their employees is the reason that they are able to retain so much of
their staff. Firstly, the organization supports employees from all backgrounds and diverse
cultures regardless of their gender, religion, race and disability. This attracts a number of
candidates for their organization as they are able to create a workplace which is favourable to
all types of employees (Jacobson, Cornish & Sedaca, 2014). Secondly, the salaries of their

THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
employees depend on the working hours that they provide in the company and the type of
their jobs. Hence, the salary is decided completely on the contribution and the merit and is
fair to everyone who works in the company as there is no biasness. Thirdly, the organization
provides various career opportunities to their existing employees based on their performance
and helps them to grow in their field of expertise so that they can contribute more for the
betterment of the company (Atapattu & Sedera, 2013). Proper training is also provided to the
employees to enhance their skills further and to develop themselves so that the employees can
also learn new things in their field of expertise.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the company’s recruitment process is very beneficial for
hiring new and skilled employees. However, they should adopt more recent trends so that the
recruitment process can become smooth and fast. This would also save a lot of recruitment
cost and help the company to hire more skilled and expert people in much less time. There
are many challenges which are faced by the organization which also has a great impact on the
employees of the company. These challenges should be handled properly by the organization
so that they are able to retain their experienced workforce. However, the company also
provides an array of opportunities which would prove to be beneficial for the employees and
shape their future within the organization. Thus, the organization should try to adopt the
changes so that they are able to align themselves with the changing scenario of recruitment in
Australia.

THE CHANGING FACE OF RECRUITMENT IN AUSTRALIA
References
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Walmart US: Best practices in supply chain collaboration. Journal of Economics,
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Atapattu, M., & Sedera, D. (2013). Agility of the firm: customer's perspective.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Dobre, O. I. (2013). Employee motivation and organizational performance. Review of
Applied Socio-Economic Research, 5(1).
Drees, J. M., & Heugens, P. P. (2013). Synthesizing and extending resource dependence
theory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 39(6), 1666-1698.
Ekwoaba, J. O., Ikeije, U. U., & Ufoma, N. (2015). The Impact of Recruitment and Selection
Criteria on Organizational Performance.
Fernie, J., & Sparks, L. (2014). Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new
challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan page publishers.
Fomunjong, M. G. (2013). Recruitment & selection. Lap lambert academic publ.
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Public-Private Partnerships and Inclusive Business Opportunities in
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& Whitmer, R. W. (2013). Self-rated job performance and absenteeism according to

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employee engagement, health behaviors, and physical health. Journal of occupational
and environmental medicine, 55(1), 10-18.
Moreira, T. C. (2017). The Digital To Be or Not To Be: Privacy of Employees and the Use of
Online Social Networks in the Recruitment Process. GSTF Journal of Law and Social
Sciences (JLSS), 2(2).
Saifalislam, K. M., Osman, A., & AlQudah, M. K. (2014). Human Resource Management
Practices: Influence of recruitment and selection, and training and development on the
organizational performance of the Jordanian Public University. organization, 3, 1-
08873.
Wilson, P. (2014). The Twenty Second Kingsley Laffer Memorial Lecture Sydney University
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Competitive Workplace–Challenges and Opportunities”.
Woolworths Group. (2018). About Us - Woolworths Group. Retrieved from
https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us