Human Resource Management Report: Coles Supermarket Analysis

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) issues at Coles Supermarket. The study investigates various aspects, including employee satisfaction, compensation and benefits, working conditions, and leadership management. Research methods included the collection of qualitative data through questionnaires distributed to 20 employees, as well as secondary data analysis from official websites and journals. Key findings reveal significant dissatisfaction among employees regarding compensation, lack of recognition, and challenging working environments, including long working hours and poor work-life balance. The report highlights issues such as wage discrimination, lack of training, and unethical behavior in the workplace. Based on these findings, the report recommends strategies to improve employee morale and productivity, including designing better employee benefits packages, providing job security, and fostering a more supportive and collaborative work environment. The report concludes with recommendations for Coles to address these issues, improve employee satisfaction, and enhance overall organizational performance.

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Human Resource Management
Student’s Name
6/15/2019

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Executive Summary
The management of human resource is crucial for the success of the organization. The
report covers the current performance of the Coles and the issues faced by the company to
maintain its human resource. To analyse the issues faced by the employees the research is
conducted under which the response of the 20 employees is taken in the form of a
questionnaire. The qualitative data is collected through official websites and journals. It will
also cover the result from the response of the respondent and the recommendation to boost
the morale of the employees and the productivity of the company. The scope of the research
is limited to the employees of the Coles. It does not cover the generic issues of the Australian
workplace.

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Scope of research.......................................................................................................................3
Research method........................................................................................................................4
Research analysis.......................................................................................................................4
Research Findings......................................................................................................................7
Recommendations......................................................................................................................9
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Management of human resource is critical for the success of the organization
performance. Dissatisfaction among the employees reduces productivity and affects the
performance of the organization. It becomes imperative for the organization to sole the HRM
issues and retains the best employees in the organization (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart &
Wright, 2017). In consideration of the HRM issues, the report will reflect upon the HRM
issues faced by the employees at Coles.
Coles is an Australian supermarket chain that is headquartered in Melbourne as a part
of the Coles group. It is a public proprietary company that currently employs 112,000 team
members across Australia. The company deals in fresh foods, liquor, groceries, general
merchandise, fuel and financial services through its national store network and online
channels. The company earned $39,388 m revenue in the year 2018 and weekly recorded
21.7 million customer transactions across the Coles businesses. It is analysed that the Coles
slippage at the cultural issues because the company is not able to sustain the morale and the
enthusiasm of the suppliers. The company received 5.5/10 grading in comparison to the
grading of Woolworth which created the emerging need for the company to invest in its staff
(Wesfarmers, 2018).
The company strongly focuses on its gender balance to fulfil the leadership positions
and maintain equality in recruiting the employees for the company. It is analysed that 33% of
the leadership positions are held by women and 8% increase in the senior level women
leadership positions. The CEO of the company is Steven Cain who has 20 years of experience
in Australian retail (Wesfarmers, 2018).

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Scope of research
Research is conducted on analysing the issues faced by the human resource at Coles.
The objective of the research is to conduct the analysis of the problems faced by human
resource and provide insight into the working conditions at the company. It will help the
organization to design the new strategies that help in motivating the employees and
increasing the employee benefits. The scope of the research is limited to working conditions
at Coles. It does not cover the scenarios of the Australian workplaces. It is based upon the
reviews of the employees (Cascio, 2015).
Research method
The qualitative data is used to conduct the research and involves the collection of the
secondary data to get the insight of the working conditions. A large amount of data is
gathered through the questionnaire to get a deep insight into the issues faced by the human
resource at Coles (Mackey & Gass, 2015). The respondents for the questionnaire will include
20 employees of Coles. They will be selected randomly from different departments.
Research analysis
According to the theory of ability, motivation and opportunity, the performance of the
employees can be improved by providing adequate monetary benefits and increasing the
remuneration. It motivates the employees and makes them more committed towards the
organization (Osabiya, 2015).
From the reviews of the employees and the analysis of the secondary data, it was
scrutinised that the employees at the Coles were underpaid. The company does not adhere to
the Fair work commission and many workers earn $ 10,000 to $ 15000 in a year. The
company provides lower penalty rates for the day and the night shifts and was found that the

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casual and the part-time workers were hard hit from underpayment. Around 80% of workers
constitute the casual workforce who does not receive the monetary benefits. The
underpayment amounted to $70 million to $100 million a year (Financial Review, 2017).
The dominance of casual and part-time workers creates job insecurity for permanent
employees. It is analysed that the trend of casual workers in Australia creates dissatisfaction
among permanent employees because it increases the risk of dismissal and creates a high
level of job insecurity (Carmody, 2015). Coles constitute 80% of casual workforce which
increases the risk of job loss of the permanent employees and in turn lowers the morale of the
employees. It is analysed that the company does not comply with the local labour laws and
regulation and does not provide a fair commission to the employees (Nott, 2019).
The company does not invest its money in providing efficient training to its employee
which in turn creates difficulty in coping with the changes and decreases the productivity of
the company. The lack of training does not allow the employees to expertise in their
respective areas and enhances the productivity of the company (Probyn, 2017).
It is analysed that the employees at Coles face high wage discrimination. At Coles, the
pregnant women’s were shifted to the new department and were paid low wages. In the year
2011, the company received 45 complaints about discrimination with the pregnant women’s.
The online website of Coles is not accessible for the blind or the people suffering from vision
impaired. This discrimination created dissatisfaction among customers (ABC News, 2019).
Underinvesting in the staff creates difficulty for the company to manage the staff levels at the
weekend. The decrease the staff levels affects the functioning of the company and in turn
decreases its productivity (Schneiders & Milla, 2018).
From the reviews of the employees, it is analysed that the Coles has a challenging
working environment because the workers have to work for long hours which creates stress

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and disturbs the work-life balance. It is analysed that there is no defined roster and the short
notice calls disturb the work-life balance and create dissatisfaction among the workforce. The
management badly overlooks at the employees they do not care of providing breaks to the
employees and only focuses on fulfilling the expectations of the community (Hardy, Howe &
Cooney, 2019). It is analysed that the women employees faced misconduct. The employees
were bullied and faced with sexual harassment. The young female employees feel
uncomfortable and were harassed by the other employees.
Through the reviews of the employees, it was analysed that the employees at Coles
consider their job as a physically demanding job because they have to lift heavy loads and
have to deal with difficult customers. They declared that they were paid less and does not
receive any motivation in the form of recognition or promotion. There was a lack of
leadership management and the employees were provided with minimal training. The
working environment was not collaborative because the other team members did not help
each other and the employees were criticized during the probation period (Bruce, 2016).
The employers of the organization were rude and are not very professional. There was
a lack of leadership which created difficulty for the company to manage the level of the
employees at the weekends. The employees were paid less at the working hours were not
defined which created difficulty in handling of the job. The employees were not treated fairly
(Elmas, 2018).
It was analysed that the employees suffer high work pressures from their managers
and were not paid for that because the company did not invest in their human capital. The
company consistently violated the laws of the agro labour and provides less pay to the agro-
labourers which created a high level of dissatisfaction among the employees and reduction in

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the supply of the goods affected the productivity of the company (International Law Office,
2018).
Research Findings
From the response of the 20 respondents, it is analysed that 14 respondents were not
satisfied with the compensation and the benefits packages they received. It is analysed that
the Coles pay less to its employees and does not focus on providing benefits and designing of
the employee benefits packages to motivate the employees and make them more committed
towards the organization.
It is analysed that majority of the respondents feel and they are not recognized and
appreciated for their work. The company does not focus on promoting the employees to
higher positions and appreciate them for their works. It is analysed that the non-monetary
benefits play a major role in motivating the employees and creating a high level of
satisfaction.
Out of 20 employees, 14 employees were not satisfied with the working environment
of Coles because the employees were being harassed and the team members were not
supportive during the time of probation. The employees feel stressed as there was not work
balance and absence of the defined roster creates difficulty in managing their personal lives.
50% of the respondents do not feel safe at the workplace and described the unethical
behaviour of the employees and the higher level positions. They felt that the employees were
not supportive and did not behave in the right manner. The young female employees felt
uncomfortable which creates a high level of dissatisfaction among the employees and affects
their performance.

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It is recorded that only 4 respondents were happy from the conduct of the manager
and 12 respondents believe that the managers do not communicate effectively. They do not
focus on building good relationships with the employees which in turn lower the morale of
the employees. 10 respondents feel that they are being engaged and are considered a valuable
part of the company. They were involved in making management decisions and were
provided with higher job responsibilities.
60% of the respondents felt that their team members were not cooperative and do not
share the responsibility for the accomplishment of objectives. It reflects that the intensity of
competition was high among the employees because they do not support each other and was
not honest. The focus was more on achieving personal goals rather than collaborating as a
team.
From the response of the 20 employees, it is analysed that 90 % of the respondents
were not satisfied from the job and considers their job as a very challenging job because the
employees were paid less for their job and there was no time flexibility. The workers have to
work for long hours which in turn disturbed their work-life balance. This level of
dissatisfaction symbolises that the employees were highly dissatisfied from their jobs and
which in turn leads to a reduction in the productivity of the company.
They expressed that the evaluation of the job performance was not done fairly. The
higher level managers were involved in taking bias decisions and did not consider the efforts
of the employees. 65% of the respondents feel that they do not get the opportunity to develop
their career and advance their professional growth.
From all the above discussion it was analysed that the employees of Coles were not
satisfied and created a high level of discouragement among the employees. A higher level of

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dissatisfaction leads to a reduction in the productivity of the company and leads to decreasing
profits of the company.
Recommendations
In order to motivate the employees, the company must focus on designing the
employee benefits packages and must also provide various monetary and non-monetary
benefits to the employees. It must focus on providing the job security to the permanent
employees and must reduce the ratio of the casual workers so that the permanent employees
can attain the benefits of high salary and job security (Boxall, Hutchison & Wassenaar,
2015).
The company must focus on designing efficient training programmes that help the
employees in advancing their personal and professional growth by developing the capabilities
of the employees. The employees must be rewarded for their performance and must be
recognized in front of all the team members. This will help in increasing the level of
motivation and will help the company to increase its productivity by making the employees
more dedicated to the organization (Mangkunegara & Octorend, 2015).
The managers must effectively communicate with the employees and must provide
them with the opportunity to engage in the decision making the process. It must develop a
safe working place where the members support each other and not being harassed by
conducting good behaviour. The managers must be transparent and must share full
information.
The company must prioritize the work-life balance of the employees and must design
the roster in an efficient manner so that the employees do not feel the stress of the job. The
company must focus on creating a positive working environment and must design the

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integrative incentives to develop teamwork and collaboration among the employees
(Mangkunegara & Octorend, 2015).
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is concluded that management of the human resource is
critical for the organization to achieve the organization objectives successfully. It is analysed
from the research that the employees were not satisfied with the working conditions of the
Coles. The employees were underpaid and were not provided with the benefits packages. The
team members were not supporting and the employees also feel the harassment due to the
misconduct by the employees. The employees do not get the opportunity of personal growth
and were not recognized for their action. This created a higher level of dissatisfaction and in
turn decreases the productivity of the company.
The company must focus on motivating the employees by designing effective
incentive programmes and rewarding them for their performance. It must focus on providing
perks and the benefits that are favourable for the employees and must focus on promoting
work-life balance. From the response of the employees, it was analysed that there is high
pressure from the higher level managers and creates stress in the lives of the employees. It
must focus on providing maximum benefits to the employees to retain the best employees and
increases the productivity of the company.

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References
ABC News. (2019). Coles and Woolworths urged to boycott suppliers linked to the
exploitation of migrant workers. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-
05-03/coles-and-woolworths-urged-to-boycott-suppliers/11068108
Boxall, P., Hutchison, A., & Wassenaar, B. (2015). How do high-involvement work
processes influence employee outcomes? An examination of the mediating roles of
skill utilisation and intrinsic motivation. The International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 26(13), 1737-1752.
Bruce, V. (2016). Are your workers being exploited? HR could be held liable. Retrieved
from: https://www.hcamag.com/au/specialisation/employment-law/are-your-workers-
being-exploited-hr-could-be-held-liable/145236
Carmody, B. (2015). Former Coles employee wins unfair dismissal bid following a physical
altercation with suspected shoplifters. Retrieved from:
https://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/legal/former-coles-employee-
wins-unfair-dismissal-bid-following-physical-altercation-with-suspected-shoplifters/
Cascio, W. F. (2015). Managing human resources. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Elmas, M. (2018). Coles to invest in new strategic direction. Retrieved from:
https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/coles-signals-new-strategic-direction-201806
Financial Review. (2017). Coles shakes up senior management. Retrieved from:
https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/coles-shakes-up-senior-management-20170203-
gu4lzk
Hardy, T., Howe, J. & Cooney, S. (2019). Working hard to make work fairer. Retrieved
from: https://www.themandarin.com.au/109661-working-hard-to-make-work-fairer/

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International Law Office. (2018). How to manage the challenges of an ageing workforce.
Retrieved from: https://www.internationallawoffice.com/Newsletters/Employment-
Benefits/Australia/Lander-Rogers/How-to-manage-the-challenges-of-an-ageing-
workforce
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design.
London: Routledge
Mangkunegara, A. P., & Octorend, T. R. (2015). Effect of work discipline, work motivation
and job satisfaction on employee organizational commitment in the company (Case
study in PT. Dada Indonesia). Universal Journal of Management, 3(8), 318-328.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human resource
management: Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Education.
Nott, G (2019). SAP things are happening at Coles. Retrieved from:
https://www.cio.com.au/article/657619/sap-things-happening-coles/
Osabiya, B. J. (2015). The effect of employees motivation on organizational
performance. Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, 7(4), 62-75.
Probyn, A. (2017). Cole’s work could bring down enterprise bargaining system if wage
challenge is successful. Retrieved from:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-04/coles-employee-could-bring-down-
enterprise-bargaining-system/8414994
Schneiders, B. & Milla, R. (2018). Huge pay rise for Coles workers after scrapping of cosy
union deal. Retrieved from: https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/huge-pay-
rise-for-coles-workers-after-scrapping-of-cosy-union-deal-20180811-p4zwwo.html

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Wesfarmers. (2018). Annual Report. Retrieved from:
https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/reports/wes18-044-2018-annual-
report.pdf?sfvrsn=4

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Appendices
Questionnaire
1. Do you feel that you are equally compensated and the benefits package meet your
expectations?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 0
Non-satisfied 14
Somewhat satisfied 6
2. Do you feel that you are being recognized and appreciated?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 2
Non-satisfied 14
Somewhat
satisfied
4
3. Do you enjoy the working environment of Coles?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 4
Non-satisfied 12
Somewhat
satisfied
4

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4. Do you feel good about the workplace safety and ethics of the company?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 0
Non-satisfied 10
Somewhat
satisfied
10
5. Do the supervisors and managers communicate effectively?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 4
Non-satisfied 8
Somewhat
satisfied
8
6. Do you feel engaged with the job and the company?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 10
Non-satisfied 8
Somewhat
satisfied
2
7. How well your team member shares the responsibility of the task and is honest with
each other?

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Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 0
Non-satisfied 12
Somewhat
satisfied
8
8. How challenging is your job?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 0
Non-satisfied 18
Somewhat
satisfied
2
9. How many opportunities do you have to get promoted at your workplace?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 2
Non-satisfied 14
Somewhat
satisfied
4
10. Are you satisfied with your job?

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Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 4
Non-satisfied 12
Somewhat
satisfied
4
11. Does your job performance is fairly evaluated?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 0
Non-satisfied 17
Somewhat
satisfied
3
12. Do you receive the opportunity for professional development?
Extremely
satisfied
0
Satisfied 3
Non-satisfied 13
Somewhat
satisfied
4