Holistic Strategy Development and Implementation for Marks & Spencer

This report analyzes the holistic strategy adopted by Marks & Spencer, a British multinational retailer, focusing on age-neutral hiring practices and employee training programs. The report highlights the importance of a holistic approach to gain a competitive advantage, particularly in managing a diverse workforce comprising employees of various age groups. Key strategies discussed include mentorship opportunities to facilitate succession planning, flexible work arrangements to accommodate older employees, and the avoidance of age discrimination in the recruitment process. The report also outlines a structured training program designed to enhance employee skills, with tailored training needs identified for different employee categories. The training program involves identifying training needs, assessing trainers, developing objectives, implementing the program, and evaluating progress. The report concludes by emphasizing the significance of holistic strategies and training programs in improving employee performance and achieving business goals. The references include various books and journals related to the topic of holistic strategy and its implementation.

Holistic strategy

Contents
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY........................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES......................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
It is important for organisation to develop holistic strategy as this will help in gaining
competitive advantage over other rival companies (Chen, Chi and Fu, 2014). This report is
based on Marks and Spencer company and this organisation is considering age neutral hiring
process in its organisation. This report will includes different strategies that is used by
company. In this training program is developed for different employees.
MAIN BODY
Marks and Spencer operate their functioning as a British multinational retailer with
having headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Company offer wide range of product and
services to customers all around the world. For this there are different type of departments
globally that involve number of employees who dedicatedly perform their activities and
operations in order to maximise overall production level of entity with an aim to increase
overall profitability of organisation. In order to manage them there is a re-designing of
company policy which is being undertaken by organisation. It has been evaluated that
workforce structure of company include employees of younger workers, middle age workers,
older workers employees who deals with issues like young workers may have children,
middle workers may deal with issues of aging parents and children’s in colleges while old
age workers many time off to deal with their health issues (Felix, Rauschnabel and Hinsch,
2017). For this it is essential to take advantage of different training and knowledge
management program in order to restructure, project based work, phased retirement, less fast-
paced work or flexible schedules. In this age neutrality is also one of the most important
factors through which company can effectively able to ensure their workplace efficiency in a
well define manner. In context with this, strategy and policy is being defined below that will
include succession plan for knowledge transfer from older worker to younger worker and age
neutral hiring:
Offer mentorship opportunities
With the help of this Marks & Spencer can effectively aid succession planning. In this
company can provide effective mentorship program in which older employees of entity can
mentor younger employees. With the help of this type of interaction company can effectively
able to prepare younger workers to take responsibility as already established workers may be
near to retirement. Along with this in order to save cost on training, formal mentorship

program will also benefit company to prepare their employees rather than to hustle them
towards training after an experienced or older employee leaves.
Offer flexible work arrangements:
By providing flexible work arrangements Marks & Spencer can effectively able to
enable their older employees to transition in a gradual manner out of their jobs (Tamir and
Finfer, 2016). With the help of this company can effectively able to provide effective
succession as well as transition process. As in this in older employee can effectively able to
provide training to new employee by ensuring knowledge transfer. In addition to this flexible
work can also provide great assistance to maintain employee balance between their personal
life and work.
Avoiding age discrimination in recruitment process:
In the hiring process recruitment equal opportunity should be provided to all
individual despite of their age. In this Marks & Spencer must undertake knowledge and
experience of the individual rather than considering their age.
With the help of collaboration Marks & Spencer can effectively able to ensure shared
corporate values in which they allow freedom to act, passion to win, for one another and trust
into an effective practice. This will not only aid entity to shape their corporate culture but can
effectively able to impact upon customers in significant basis. It will benefit company to
make significant increase in their good will that automatically generates higher profitability
for company in respective industrial segment.
Training to employees
Training and development is one of the crucial aspect that will help company to
improve the performance of employees. Marks and Spencer company is working with age
neutral hiring process as well as recruitment employees irrespective to their age. This policy
and strategy of respective company will lead to have direct impact to business performance as
well as goal accomplishment. It is essential for Marks and Spencer company to develop and
create effective training design plan that will lead to boast the performance of employees.
Training program table
Employee categories Training need Time duration

Director and Manager Leadership skills 3 Months
Technical professional Technical skills 4 Months
Sales Executive Communication skills 2 Months
Designing and developing program is very complex process as its includes different steps.
This is very important for Marks and Spencer to understand the important of training as well
as its impact on employees. Process of creating training program of age neutral employees is
mention below in detail.
 Identifying training needs – This is the first step in which human resource department
of respective company will identifying and analysed the training need of each and
every employees (Scheibe, Yeung and Doerwald, 2019). Staff member with age
neutrality and different age groups will have different training needs.
 Assessing trainer – Once the training need is determined organisation will have to
find and determine highly effective trainer. It is crucial that trainer is capable for
providing right training in right manner.
 Developing training objectives – In this step of training program, Marks and Spencer
company will focus on creating and developing smart objective (Raymer and et.al.,
2017). This should be timely achieve by company as well as meet with business
requirements.
 Implementing training program – This phase refers to actual implementation of
training program. In this trainer will provide training to the schedule employees.
 Evaluating progress – This is the last step of training and development program and in
this human resource team of Marks and Spencer company will analyse and evaluate
progress of employees.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been determined that it is essential for company to develop
effective holistic strategies as this will help in performing task in better manner. Training
program will help company to increase the skills and capabilities of employess to perform
business activities in more better manner.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals

Chen, Z., Chi, Z. and Fu, H., 2014, August. A hybrid holistic/semantic approach for scene
classification. In 2014 22nd International Conference on Pattern Recognition (pp. 2299-
2304). IEEE.
Saban, K., 2014. Using Holistic Strategy to Govern Today’s Extended Enterprise.
In Management Science, Logistics, and Operations Research (pp. 128-138). IGI Global.
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P.A. and Hinsch, C., 2017. Elements of strategic social media
marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, pp.118-126.
Scheibe, S., Yeung, D. Y., &Doerwald, F. (2019). Age-related differences in levels and
dynamics of workplace affect. Psychology and Aging, 34(1), 106-123.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pag0000305
Tamir, L. M., &Finfer, L. A. (2016). Executive coaching: The age factor. Consulting
Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 68(4), 313-325.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000069
Raymer, M., and et.al., 2017. An examination of generational stereotypes as a path towards
reverse ageism. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 20(3), 148-175.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/mgr0000057