Dissertation Plan: HR's Role in Recruitment and Selection at Tesco

This project explores the role of Human Resources (HR) in the recruitment and selection processes within organizations, focusing on Tesco as a case study. It investigates the concept of recruitment and selection, the specific role of HR in Tesco's hiring practices, and the strategies employed to attract and select talented employees. The research addresses the challenges arising from labor shortages in the United Kingdom, exacerbated by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and how Tesco's HR department navigates these issues. The study aims to provide insights into effective recruitment and selection strategies, offering recommendations for improving Tesco's performance and talent acquisition. Academic themes covered include the definition of recruitment and selection, HR's responsibilities in talent management, and specific recruitment strategies like employer branding and social media utilization. The theoretical underpinning emphasizes HR's crucial role in developing a skilled workforce through strategic recruitment and selection practices, aligning with organizational objectives.

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DISSERTATION PLAN
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*2 What are the
possible sources of
your research
question?
.
Recruitment is defined as the procedure of finding suitable candidates
for the vacant position and encourage them to apply for it. On the
other side, selection is referred as selecting the best candidate out of
the pool of applicants. Recruitment and selection process plays an
important role within an organisation as it help them to acquire talent
and enhance performance of the company.
The main objective to conduct the study is to analyse the role of HR
in recruitment and selection process of an organisation. In addition to
this, it will help in gaining insight about the recruitment and selection
process adopted by companies to hire talent within the organisation.
The present study will assist various stakeholders such as
organisation, researcher and many more. In relation to organisation, it
help them to know about the challenges they face at the time of
recruitment and selection because of which they can develop effective
strategies to hire and retain talent. With reference to researcher, it
assist to learn and improve skills such as data collection,
communication, time management and so on. Moreover, it will also
assist researcher to conduct future studies in more systematic and
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effective manner.
Another major source for the present investigation is the future career
intention of developing professional career in the Human Resource
field. This investigation looks at the recruitment and selection which
is an important area of human resource management. By conducting
this research knowledge in relation of human resource management
will be improved which can support in developing a better career in
the field of human resource management. In this one of the primary
sources for this investigation is personal interest and ambition to build
strong career in human resource management.
*3 What is your
proposed research
question?
Research question:
 What is the concept of recruitment and selection process in
context to organisation?
 What is the role of HR in recruitment and selection process of
Tesco?
 What are the recruitment and selection strategies used by
Tesco to hire talented employees at workplace?
*4 How has the
problem arisen?
Recruitment and selection is considered as one of the human resource
practice which allow an organisation to recruit, hire and select
talented staff members that has positive impact on the performance
and profitability of an organisation. In addition to this, hiring of
talented staff members assist company to execute activities
systematically, develop brand image, maintain performance level and
so on. In case of the of the present investigation the problem of
recruitment and selection in United Kingdom has arisen because of
lack of skulled and dedicated employees in the United Kingdom
labour market. United Kingdom is experiencing a labour shortage
because Brexit has restricted the free movement of workers of EU
employees and recent COVID-19 healthcare crises has also impacted
availability of skilled employees in UK (Brexit intensifies labour
shortages as companies struggle to hire, 2022). This introduced
recruitment and selection challenges because finding dedicated and
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talented employees in an environment which experiences workforce
shortage is extremely difficult. This investigation looks at the concept
of recruitment and selection in case of Tesco to identify appropriate
recruitment and selection strategies and the role of HR in building
talented workforce.
For the present report, Tesco is taken into consideration. It is a British
multinational groceries and retailers which was established in year
1919 and headquartered in UK. The higher authorities of Tesco are
facing issues at the time of executing recruitment and selection
process that delayed hiring process and attracting top talent at
workplace. Because of this issues, the company is sometimes not able
to recruit talented people which has negative effect on its performance
level. In order to analyse the reason behind occurrence of issue and to
deal with it. The present study will help in analysing the role of HR in
recruitment and selection process along with the strategies that help in
hiring talented employees. It is important to understand the ways HR
in Tesco has been able to handle the workforce shortage in United
Kingdom and its contribution in recruitment and strategies to
understand the ways in which skilled workforce can be constructed.
*2 *3 *4 with contrbution from Jan Green (2013) Senior Lecture Glyndwr University Wrexham
What are the aims
of the research
study?
Title:
“Role of HR in recruitment and selection process of an organisation”
Aims of the study:
The aim of the study is “To analyse the role of HR in recruitment and
selection process of an organisation”. A study on Tesco
Research question:
 What is the concept of recruitment and selection process in
context to organisation?
 What is the role of HR in recruitment and selection process of
Tesco?
 What are the recruitment and selection strategies used by Tesco
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to hire talented employees at workplace?
Background to the study
Recruitment and selection in case of the retail industry is crucial for the
success of an enterprise because the employees recruited in the
company workforce directly interact with employees and their services
play an important role in satisfying the consumer. In this way
recruitment and selection is linked with competitiveness of an
organization in the retail industry. In the modern age where skilled
employees have so many options to gain employment and there is
workforce shortage, developing recruitment and selection strategies for
the company is highly important. The present investigation will
analyse the role of HR in recruitment and selection at Tesco and
identify the most effective recruitment and selection strategies which
contribute in developing a highly skilled workforce.
Quantitative Study The objectives of the study are :
 To gain knowledge about concept of recruitment and selection
process in context to organisation.
 To identify the role of HR in recruitment and selection process
of Tesco.
 To determine the recruitment and selection strategies used by
Tesco to hire talented employees at workplace.
 To recommend the effective recruitment and selection
strategies to Tesco for improving performance level within the
organisation.
What is the main
academic theme of
your proposal?
Theme 1: Concept of recruitment and selection process in context to
organisation
As per the viewpoint of Piplani, (2019), the selection and
recruitment process basically refers to encouraging and locating
applicants with required skills and qualifications for the purpose to fill
a job Position. It is basically described as choosing the right applicant
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from pool of candidates. The selection and recruitment process plays a
very important role in the organisation and contributes towards growth
and success of the company(Recruitment and Selection Process in
HRM, 2019).
According to Thompson, (2019), recruitment basically involves set of
techniques which focuses on attracting individuals with high potential
and good skills in the organisation. In context to selection, it goes hand
in hand and further represents the final stage of the recruiting life
cycle. In context to organisation, it is very important to carry out the
selection and recruitment process in effective manner to carry out
business operations(The concept of Recruitment and Selection, 2019)
Theme 2: Role of HR in recruitment and selection process of Tesco
As per the viewpoint of Wilson, (2022), the process of selection
and recruitment is not a easy task and it is very important to consider
the factors which are needed in order to perform a particular task of
hiring. The process of recruiting and selecting are considered to have a
major impact on the organisation and the selection of right candidates
will help the organisation in increasing revenue and helping the
company to seek growth. In context to HR department, they are
responsible for the management of employees and is also responsible
for the filling the various positions(What is the role of HR Department
in Recruitment and Selection, 2022).
According to Fields, (2018), the process of acquisition and talent
selection is considered to be a very complicated process and the HR
department had to perform various functions in order to carry out the
recruitment and selection process. Choosing the right candidates is not
an easy job and in order to select the right candidate, it is important to
perform the recruitment and selection process function in a effective
and efficient manner (Interviewing and HR, 2018).
Theme 3: Recruitment and selection strategies used by Tesco to hire
talented employees at workplace
According to Paige, (2021), the organisation such as Tesco uses
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various recruitment and selection strategies for the purpose to hire
talented employees at the workplace. The process of recruitment is
considered to be a important part in order to run a successful business
and in order to hire talented employees such as developing a clear
employer brand, use of social media tools and techniques, exploring
niche job boards, considering college recruiting and conducting
awesome interviews for hiring qualified professionals(8 Employee
Recruitment Strategies to improve your hiring process, 2021).
As per the viewpoint of Harlan, (2021), the organisation uses
various effective strategies for the purpose to hire talented employees
in the company. The qualified and talented employees helps the
organisation in seeking growth opportunities and achievement of
organisational goals and objectives. The process of selection and
recruitment plays a very important role in order to achieve growth and
run a organisation in a successful manner and it is very important for
the managers and leaders to use effective strategies for selection and
recruitment which involves campus placements, promotion, using
social media tools and applications for hiring, carrying out interviews
and exploring niche job boards (Examples of Recruitment Strategies,
2021).
What
Academic
theory
underpins
the research
question?
As per the view point of Thompson, (2019), Recruitment is a set of techniques
which aims to attract people with high skills to apply for the vacant position. In
addition to this, it assist an organisation to human talent with the organisation’s
objective (Concept of Recruitment & Selection, 2019). on the other hand,
selection is the procedure of choosing the best candidate who has the potential
to implement activities and meet with the targets of company.
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As per view of Hirst and et. al., (2021), the human resource department of an
organization plays an essential role in developing skilled workforce. One of the
functions of the HR department is to conduct recruitment and selection activity
at the organization which involves wide range of activities. This involves
coordinating with marketing department to send job advertisements and other
promotional material regarding vacancies. In addition to this HR is also tasked
with analysing the CV and professional evidence submitted by potential
candidates to ensure that the right candidate is selected for the right job. Finally
selecting different strategies for filling a position is also completed by the HR.
In this way the HR department is essential for filling talented employees in
various positions and completing recruitment and selection.
As per the view point of Piplani (2019) it is analysed that HR department plays
an important role in the overall recruitment and selection process. The HR of an
organisation find out the suitable candidate for the vacant position and ensure
that effective employee is selected that has positive impact on the performance
of employees (Recruitment and selection process in HRM, 2019).
According to Nerdy (2021) It is determined that Tesco is one of the private
sector employer within United Kingdom. In order to recruit staff members, the
recruitment method used by Tesco is job description that includes all the
information about the roles and responsibilities, skills required, vacant position
and many more (Tesco’s recruitment and selection process, 2021). Moreover,
the company make use of both internal and external recruitment method which
includes Tesco website or by vacancies boards in stores. Moreover, interview
rounds are conducted by Tesco for selecting suitable candidate for the position.
Evidence
underpinning
Objective 1
One sentence explaining what the evidence says in relation to objective 1:
Recruitment and selection is one of the important HR function which allow an
organisation to recruit and select talented staff members that has positive
impact on the performance of an organisation.
Evidence
underpinning
One sentence explaining what the evidence says in relation to objective 2:
Human resource department plays an important role as they find out the
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Objective 2 suitable candidate which matches with the skills and knowledge required for
fulfilment of vacant position.
Evidence
underpinning
Objective 3
One sentence explaining what the evidence says in relation to objective 3:
The recruitment and selection strategies used by Tesco for hiring talented
employee is external recruitment that includes Tesco website and other boards
and consultants.
List the
academic
journal
articles
Books and Journals
Hirst and et. al., 2021. Refugee recruitment and workplace integration: An
opportunity for human resource management scholarship and
impact. Human Resource Management Journal.
Online
Concept of Recruitment & Selection, 2019 [Online] Available through;
https://bizfluent.com/facts-6836962-concept-recruitment-selection.html
Tesco’s recruitment and selection process, 2021 [Online] Available through;
<https://nerdyseal.com/tescos-recruitment-and-selection process/#:~:text=For
%20external%20recruitment%2C%20Tesco%20advertises,
stage%20of%20the%20selection%20process>
Brexit intensifies labour shortages as companies struggle to hire, 2022. [Online]
Available through https://www.ft.com/content/a9677ee4-281d-4d0d-
8456-661982890304
Recruitment and selection process in HRM, 2019 [Online] Available through;
https://gladtutor.com/recruitment-and-selection-process-in-hrm/
Piplani, 2019. Recruitment and Selection Process in HRM [Online] Available
Through
<https://gladtutor.com/recruitment-and-selection-process-in-hrm/>
Thomson, 2019. The concept of Recruitment and Selection [Online] Available
Through <https://bizfluent.com/facts-6836962-concept-recruitment-
selection.html>
Wislon, 2018. What is the role of HR Department in Recruitment and Selection
[Online] Available Through
<https://community.hrdaily.com.au/profiles/blogs/what-is-the-role-of-hr-
department-in-recruitment-and-selection>
Chris Fields, 2018. Interviewing and HR [Online] Available Through
<https://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/interviewing-and-hr-delegate-or-
collaborate/>
Paige Garner, 2020. 8 Employee Recruitment Strategies to improve your hiring
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process [Online] Available Through
<https://technologyadvice.com/blog/human-resources/recruitment-strategy/\>
Harlan, 2020. Examples of Recruitment Strategies [Online] Available Through
<https://www.exacthire.com/recruiting/what-are-examples-of-
recruitment-strategies/>
Ethical considerations
It is important for researcher to follow all the ethical principles while conducting the study.
These are informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and so on. All this assist to implement
research activities without any issues and interruptions as well.
Ethical
Approval:
Compulsory for all academic research
In order to collect data for the present study, the 30 employees of Tesco is
selected randomly and the written consent form is obtain from them. The main
reason to select employees is they have knowledge about ground working and
policies of company because of which they can provide better and effective
information to researcher.
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