Analysis of HRM Practices and their Impact on HSBC

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments. This report analyzes HRM practices at HSBC Bank.

Human Resources Management
1

Executive Summary
HSBC bank is a well-known bank name and is popular all over the world. It is a British
multinational organization in the banking and financial sector. It ranks seventh in the world in
terms of its size and is the largest bank in Europe. The total asset of the organization is 2.374
trillion US dollars. The human resource department of any organization is responsible for filling
the vacant positions in the organization with deserving candidates. It is one of the major
responsibilities of the human resource department. The various functions of the HR department
and the ways in which it affects the operation of the organization has been described and the
advantages it has for the employees, as well as the employer, has been described.
2

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................5
P1: In your report explain to the HR Director the purpose and the functions of HRM,
applicable to workforce planning and resourcing an organisation..............................................5
P2: Explain to the HR Director, the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches to
recruitment and selection.............................................................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
P3: Explain to your HR Director the benefits of different HRM practices within the firm for
both the employer and employee.................................................................................................9
P4: You should also evaluate the effectiveness of the different HRM practices in terms of
raising organizational profit and productivity...........................................................................10
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................13
P5: In your report, analyze the importance of employee relations with respect to influencing
HRM decision-making...............................................................................................................13
P6: For your HR Director, identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact
it has on HRM decision-making................................................................................................14
TASK4...........................................................................................................................................17
P7: Illustrate the application of HRM practices in a work-related context that you might be
familiar with so you can use specific industry examples..........................................................17
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................22
Reference List................................................................................................................................23
3

Introduction
The human resource department is the backbone of an organization. The administrative tasks of
an organization are supported as well as handled by the human resource department of the
organization, which aims for the effective operation of the organization and increases its
productivity. The success of an organization is dependent on the human resource department as it
is responsible for the recruitment and selection of new candidates and fills the vacant positions in
the organization. The other functions of the human resource department are to train the
employees of the organization and make them achieve the goals of the organization. It makes
sure that the performance of the organization is improved and the employees of the organization
are satisfied with the work they are doing.
In this report, the purpose of the HR department in HSBC bank has been demonstrated along
with an analysis of the factors affecting the HR department of the organization has been
explained. The application of human resource functions in the organization has been illustrated
in this assignment.
4

Task 1
P1: In your report explain to the HR Director the purpose and the functions of HRM,
applicable to workforce planning and resourcing an organisation.
Human resource management is the course of action followed by the management of an
organisation for the successful management of human resource or employees working in the
organisation. HRM is essential for a business organisation as it allows the company to monitor
and improve the efficiency and productivity of the staff for the enhancement of the business
operations of the company. It guides the employees to perform in a manner that will enable the
company to achieve their business objectives in the stipulated time span and attain competitive
advantage in the industry (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The purpose of the HRM department in
an organisation like HSBC is varied. The HR department is invested with the responsibility to
ensure that the company follows all the legal policies. The department also takes cares that the
employees abide by all the rules and regulations of the organisation. The disciplinary procedures
are also looked after by the department. The HR department of the company that makes sure that
there is diversity among the workforce and the employees receive equal treatment from the
organisation.
There are different approaches such as hard and soft HRM that can be adopted by companies for
the effective management of the workforce of the organisation. A global organisation such as
HSBC adopts a combination of both the approaches to manage their employees in the best
possible manner. Hard HRM approach treats the staffs as a mere resource of the organisation and
develops a strong bond with the business planning of the company. On the other hand, soft HRM
considers the staff of the company as a significant resource for the functioning of the business
that will allow the company to gain competitive advantage (Bratton and Gold, 2017). HRM is
vital for the planning and resourcing of an organisation as it takes cares of the employees and
ensures that they perform in an improved manner for the development of the organisation. The
functions of the HR department of an organisation are discussed below:
Recruitment: The HR department recruits new employees as per their skills and competencies
in order to fill the vacant position in the company. The department ensures that eligible
candidates are recruited that improve the productivity of the organisation. The HR department of
5

HSBC recruits employees that will be able to perform the various functions appropriately leading
to the development of the business.
Development and training: It is essential to train the employees from time to time in order to
enhance their skills and improve their performance that will consequently result in the
development of the business. The HR department of HSBC conducts training sessions
periodically to improve the knowledge of their employees and provide them with an opportunity
to acquire new skills.
Compensation: The HR department ensures that the employees are adequately compensated for
their work and they are satisfied. They also ensure that the employees get added benefits for
better performance or working overtime (Bailey et al., 2018). HSBC compensates their
employees, through their HR department, in an appropriate manner so that they are motivated
towards their work. They are also rewarded benefits for excellent performance for the
organisation.
P2: Explain to the HR Director, the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches
to recruitment and selection
The HR department of an organisation has to ensure that they adopt the correct method for the
recruitment and selection of the employees in the organisation otherwise, it will result in wastage
of time and funds if inefficient candidates are selected through wrong methods. There are
different approaches to recruitment and selection that can be adopted by the HR department of an
organisation as per their business requirements and needs. The different methods of recruitment
are passive candidate research, recruiters, internal recruitment, external recruitment, word of
mouth, internship, events, databases, publications, employer branding etc (Briscoe et al., 2012).
The recruitment processes that can be adopted by the HR department of HSBC are internal and
external recruitment. Internal recruitment is the process of recruiting the employees already
operating in the company through transfers, promotions, former employees etc. However,
external recruitment is the process in which the employees are recruited from outside the
company through employment agencies, employment exchange, direct recruitment, professional
associate, advertisements etc.
The advantages of internal recruitment are:
6

 It is a cost-effective and simple process
 It encourages the employees to improve their employees and build work relationships in
the organisation (Brewster et al., 2016)
The disadvantages of internal recruitment are:
 The scope of this method is limited, as it cannot be used to fill all the vacant position.
 It restricts the recruitment of candidates who have the potential of incorporating new
thinking and innovative ideas in the business operations.
The advantages of external recruitment are:
 It improves the branding of the organisation
 There will be no partiality or biasing among the employees.
The disadvantages of external recruitment are:
 It is a time-consuming process as it is a lengthy approach
 It is a costly approach in comparison to internal recruitment
There are different approaches that are used by an organisation for the selection of the candidates
to ensure that the correct candidate is selected for the vacant job profile. The selection process
that can be adopted by HSBC is the aptitude test and interview.
The advantages of the aptitude test are:
 It creates a standard that should be maintained for the recruitment of the candidates
 It makes the selection easier through an efficient and objective comparison of the
outcomes of the test.
The disadvantages of the aptitude test are:
 It can result in test anxiety among the candidates that may affect their performance
 It is not an appropriate manner for assessing the performance quality of the candidate
The advantages of the interview are:
 It helps in developing the relationship between the candidate and the interviewer
7

 It leads to the selection of the correct candidate as the interviewer is able to assess the
candidate’s potential in a better manner (Marchington et al., 2016).
The disadvantages of the interview are:
 The interviewer may become biased due to which the appropriate candidate may not get
an opportunity.
 Lack of attention by the interviewee or the interviewer may lead to an incomplete
interview
8

TASK 2
P3: Explain to your HR Director the benefits of different HRM practices within the firm
for both the employer and employee.
The human resource management activities are crucial for the operation of an organization
especially for large organizations like HSBC bank. The lack of an HR department in an
organization can result in the dissatisfaction of the employees and willing to work for an
organized firm (Anand and Devi, 2016.). It aids the organization and the employees to increase
their productivity. The human resource management department of an organization promotes
positive behavior, creates a positive working environment in the organization, and takes steps in
order to keep the employees happy such that the productivity of the organization increases. Other
advantages of various human resource management activities for the employers and the
employees have been described below:
Employers Employees
Recruitment and retention of the employees:
The HRM department aids an organization in
the recruitment and retention of the employees.
Resolve issues: The human resource
department of an organization is responsible
for resolving any kind of conflicts that might
arise among the employees or between the
employees and the management in the
organization (Othman and Lembang, 2017). It is
liable for maintaining peace in the organization
and defines the kind of behavior to be
maintained in the workplace.
Training and development: The HRM
department of an organization is solely
responsible for the training and development of
the employees.
Relations with the employees: The HR
department is accountable for the maintenance
of a healthy relationship between the
organization and its employees. In case the
employees face any discrimination or
harassment it is the human resource department
that provides a remedy to them as well as assist
9

them with legal matters.
Health and safety of the employees: The HRM
department makes sure that the working
environment is safe and secure for the
employees of the organization
Information Resource: The human resource
department conveys the information or data
regarding the benefits of employees, leaves,
absence, compensations, and benefits of the
employees. The HR department also provides
personal guidance in a confidential manner in
case the employees need personal assistance.
Plan for change: It makes sure that the
organization is stabilized after the introduction
of change in the organization. Therefore, it is
the responsibility of the human resource
department in the organization to plan for
change and finally implement it in the
organization.
Create a flexible workplace: THE HRM
department of the organization is responsible
for designing the work environment, work
schedule, assignment of work, location of
work, and the format of communication.
The culture of the organization: The HRM
department is responsible for affecting the
organizational culture and is liable for
establishing or launching the standards of the
organization in terms of the guidelines and the
procedures of the company.
Motivate the workers: The human resource
management department of the organization
encourages the workers to improve the quality
of their work by giving the employees
incentives or promotion.
Table 1: Benefits of different HRM practices
(Source: Created by the learner)
P4: You should also evaluate the effectiveness of the different HRM practices in terms of
raising organizational profit and productivity.
The human resource department is of utmost importance in an organization as it is responsible
for the administration of the organization. A huge organization like HSBC Bank cannot operate
without human resource department since it will become very difficult for the management to
manage so many employees and its administration. The HRM department practices various
10

activities that affect the performance, productivity and the profit earned by the organization. The
various activities practiced by the human resource department have been described below:
Learning, development and training practices: The human resource department of an
organization is responsible for the effective training and development of the employees. It makes
sure that the workers get the opportunity to develop new skills and improve their knowledge in
order to meet the changing requirements of the organization as per the changing market. The
department makes sure that the staffs of the organization can develop themselves personally as
well such that they can enhance the growth of their career (Sethi, 2018). The human resource
department is liable for organizing several training and development programs and ensures that
the employees participate in that in order to enhance their performance and increase the
productivity of the organization.
Flexible working options: The human resource department assigns the job to the workforce of
the organization and makes sure that the employees are satisfied with the work they are doing.
They work in order to provide a good working environment for the workers and practice job
rotation or offer flexible working options to them like work from home or work remotely. Such
steps make sure that the staffs are satisfied with the work they are doing. The options of flexible
working ensure that the workers are happy and intend to improve their performance or
productivity.
Employee performance management and monitoring: The human resource department
monitors and analyses the performance of the employees in the organization. This aids the
organization to keep a check on the daily performance of the employees and provide feedback to
the employees. This helps the management to guide the workers to suggest methods following
which they can improve their performance and increase their productivity (Kar, 2018). Based on
the performance of the staffs the human resource department rewards them in the form of
incentives or promotion that acts as a factor of motivation for the employees, which encourages
them to perform better.
Payment and reward management: The human resource department monitors the performance
of the employees and analyses their performance. It rewards the workers of the organization
through incentives, hike in salary or promotion when their performances are above standard.
11

This acts as a factor of motivation for the employees that encourages them to perform better and
increase the productivity of the organization (Paul and John, 2016).
12