Comprehensive HRM Report: LV= Society's Strategies and Practices

This report delves into the human resource management (HRM) practices of LV= Society, a major financial institution in the UK. It begins by defining HRM and its functions, such as recruitment, training and development, and performance appraisal, within the context of LV=. The report then examines workforce planning, evaluating how HRM functions contribute to it and their significance for the organization's overall success. A critical evaluation of LV='s selection and recruitment processes follows, including strengths, weaknesses, and suggestions for improvement to attract top candidates and become an employer of choice. The report continues with a person specification for a personal assistant role, CV reviews of job applicants, and competency-based interview questions. It also explores learning and development opportunities, rewards and benefits for staff, and the importance of effective employee relations. Finally, the report assesses the role of leadership and the impact of UK employment legislation on HRM decision-making within LV=, concluding with a review of human resource practices in the workplace.

Human Resource
Management
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................5
ACTIVITY 1...................................................................................................................... 5
a) What is HRM and identify its functions in context with LV=.....................................5
b) How these function relates to workforce planning in LV= and their significance to
the organization as a whole......................................................................................... 6
c) Critically evaluates strength and weakness of LV='s selection and recruitment
process. How process can be influenced in order to select best candidate for a role.
Along with the extent to which it assist LV= to becoming an 'Employer of choice'.......7
ACTIVITY 2...................................................................................................................... 8
(a) Person specification for personal assistant role by using job description...............8
(b) Review the CVs offered from three job applicants for the role of Personal
Assistant.................................................................................................................... 10
(c) Six competency based questions to asked at the selection interview for the
personal assistant vacancy as well as justify choice of questions personally............11
ACTIVITY 3.................................................................................................................... 12
(a) Learning and development opportunities for staff, from staff and organization
perspective both.........................................................................................................12
(b) Rewards and benefits offered by LV= to its staff from both organization and staff
perspective.................................................................................................................13
ACTIVITY 4.................................................................................................................... 14
(a) Employee relations and why it is necessary for LV= to have effective employee
relations..................................................................................................................... 14
(b) Critically evaluates role of leadership in context with LV=....................................14
(c) UK employment legislation and how they impact on HR decision making in LV=.
................................................................................................................................... 15
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................... 16
REFERENCES...............................................................................................................17

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management refers to the process of inducting employees,
recruiting, selecting, hiring, offering orientation, training and development programmes
and so on in order to make proper relation with employees towards achieving
organizational goals. HRM has 2 forms (academic activity and practice in organization)
to exist in the market for long period of time. Human resource management is very
much effective approach for people at workplace which define that what should be done
to make people more working and efficient towards firm. This assignment is based on
LV= which is one of the largest society in UK. It was formed in the year of 1843 with the
help of its employees and workers (Alfes and et. al., 2013). Along with its offers various
financial services such as life insurance, pensions, insurance and so on. Further
discussion will be based on scope and purpose of HRM in terms of organization and
resourcing talent to fulfil objectives of business. After this effectiveness of key elements
of HRM in context with organization. Together with internal and external factors that
influence decision making and employment legislation towards HRM. At last, human
resource practices in work related context will get covered.
ACTIVITY 1
a) What is HRM and identify its functions in context with LV=.
It refers to the process of hiring, selecting, recruiting, deploying and managing
overall organisation's employees appropriately. It is also known as human resource in
simple term. Therefore, within the organisation or a firm HR is always responsible to
develop effective government policies in the relationship of business industry as well as
its employees. In simple words, it defines that people who always work for the
organisation, in aggregate. There are some functions of HRM in relation with LV=, those
are following as under:
Functions of HRM:
Hiring and Recruitment: It is considered as the main function of resources and
workforce planning whereas, recruiting is the process of delivering a firm or an
organisation with new members and employees as well (Banfield, Kay and Royles,
2018). With the help of this they can achieve goals properly. Hiring is a process for
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selecting appropriate knowledgeable candidates who can fulfil organisation's demand
and needs. In reference with LV= manager of this society always hire and recruit skilled
or knowledgeable people/candidates to increase productivity of society and their
services as well. Therefore, it is useful for them to use proper utilization of planning and
availability of resources.
Training and Development: It is most important function of human resource
management. Training is known as the systematic setup in which employees can get
lots of technical knowledge in context with their job. Development shows the maturity
and growth of people. In relation with LV= they are providing this function to its
employees so that they can learn better ways to operate overall financial activities and
able to gain huge profit appropriately.
Performance Appraisal: This process is based on daily basis reviews of an
employee's job performance and effective contribution to a company (Brewster, 2017).
In reference with LV= they always analyse employee's performance first by observing
their daily activity as well as their achievements. By having this sort of benefit for
employees respective firm can give better rewards and benefits to its employees in
order to achieve organisational goals.
Purpose of HRM:
The main purpose of HRM is to encourage people/candidates towards achieving
organisational goals by offering them different types of training and development
programmes. In relation with LV= HR has purpose to increase employees working
performance regularly to achieve appropriate goals efficiently. With the help of this
employees can learn so many things and able to develop unique strategies to get
different output.
b) How these function relates to workforce planning in LV= and their significance to the
organization as a whole.
According to the above information about various HRM functions it has been
observed that, LV= giving better performance to satisfying people needs and demand
on time. By having various HRM practices they are growing rapidly to gain better
opportunities for future. This business always takes care of society's needs and provide
them various financial services like insurance, life insurance and so on (Bratton and
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Gold, 2017). Therefore, all functions of HRM are interrelated with each other as they are
much essential to gain better position across the UK. With the help of these functions
they can provide better training and development programmes to its employees which
helps them to enhance overall work force planning effectively. It will influence other
candidates outside the business in a positive manner. Therefore, interrelated functions
are always good resources for this LV=. If this business will use high techniques in order
to develop more and more knowledgeable skills in employees mind then it will be
increase their productivity as well as profit efficiently. From all this method if will get
more satisfaction and motivated then it helps this firm to reach appropriate growth of
business. Therefore, LV= used these HRM functions to make its services better and
provide unique tools and techniques for them to make their future better. Apart from this
they also hire more knowledgeable employees who can promote their organisation at
large level in different locations. There are some importance forms which is necessary
for LV= to increase workforce and resources, explained below:
All HR functions are important for this society business, with the help of these
sources HR manager can easily make unique strategies or tools to grab lots of
opportunities at marketplace. On the other side interrelation of those functions like
training and development, recruiting and selecting helps them to achieve organisational
profits and profitability as well. Thus, these functions are helpful to increase workforce
planning for betterment of future (Budhwar and Debrah, 2013).
c) Critically evaluates strength and weakness of LV='s selection and recruitment
process. How process can be influenced in order to select best candidate for a
role. Along with the extent to which it assists LV= to becoming an 'Employer of
choice'.
HRM is very helpful approach for each and every organisation which helps
people of management to enhance overall working efficiency in a stipulated way.
Therefore, is essential for firm to bring these sort of policies in order to recruit and hire
appropriate candidate for suitable job role. There are some practices in context with
HRM which is generally used by LV=, those are listed below:
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Recruitment: It refers to those processes in which HR manager can find and hire
best knowledgeable candidates within the organisation as well as outside the
organisation.
Internal recruitment- According to this method of recruiting people from the
organisation. Examples of this way is transfer, promotion, retirement and so on.
Merits Demerits
 It makes better ways for long time
stability of employees.
 It always encourage employees by
which they can perform better.
 Sometimes it can be the reason of
promoting issues between
employees and firm.
 Political working environment
influence each and every people
within the workplace.
External recruitment- This method is used to hire people from outside the
organisation. It mainly includes campus recruitment, labour contracts and so on.
Strengths Weaknesses
 It brings different perspective for an
organisation.
 It is less costly for training and
development programmes.
 It removes issues from the
organisation.
 It can develop negativity in firm by
giving better ways for freshers.
 It can take time to recruit people
accordingly so company faces few
issues and adjust accordingly.
Selection: This process is manages by HR manager in order select appropriate
people from lots of candidates.
Selection methods: In reference to LV= they are using various tools and
techniques like telephonic interview, face to face interview for better selection of
selected candidates.
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Telephonic and face to face Interviews: It depends on the telephonic round
and face to face interviews by which an organisation can select appropriate candidates
for the betterment of future.
Strengths Weaknesses
 It helps to overcome communication
barriers and select people
accordingly.
 It also helps to remove all kind of
mistakes from telephonic and face
to face round.
It can influence interviewer during the time
of lots of interview.
Short period of time can impact on the
overall quality of interview.
From the above explanation of recruitment and selection this can be said that
both approaches are necessary for LV= in order to select and recruit better candidates
for appropriate job role. With the help of this they can make their organisation better.
Therefore, HR manager of this society is responsible to bring new employees for this
business in order to achieve organisational goals (Friedman, 2017).
ACTIVITY 2
(a) Person specification for personal assistant role by using job description.
Person specification is referred to the skills that must be possessed by a
candidate so that position offered by an organisation can be managed in an effective
manner. Here, a person specification will be made for the job role of Personal Assistant
for finance department in LV=. Different aspects related with job description are stated
below:
Person specification
Post : Personal assistant
Department: Finance department
Key evidence required:
(A): Application form, (I): Interview, (R): Role
Requirements
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Skills
 Effective research and logical skills. Also, candidate
is needed to collect, manage and evaluate various
types of data in systematic manner.
 Must be able to maintain event schedule, meetings
and projects along with taking notes during
seminars and presentations.
 Capable of handling external and internal contacts,
screening calls and answering phone without any
nervousness.
 Able to assist in amendment and production of
reports to meet deadlines.
 Capable to do basic activities like room bookings,
hotel & ticket booking, organising of ad hoc events,
travel arrangements etc.
Education qualification

 Must have graduation or higher degree.
Key task
 Book meetings
 Administrative and secretarial service to head of
department
 Co-ordination and preparation of meetings
 Answering work related e-mails, posts and phone
calls.
 Interaction and communication with workforce of
other departments
(b) Review the CVs offered from three job applicants for the role of Personal Assistant.
CV is a document which highlights the educational and professional history of a
candidate. In general, a CV involves information like working experience, scholarships,
achievements, grants and awards which are earned by a person. In context with LV=,
three Job applicants have submitted their CV for the position of Personal Assistant
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(Human Kinetics, Ehrnrooth and Björkman, 2012). In accordance with these CVs, two
applicants will be shortlisted for interview process. Below, review process for CVs of
different job applicants is carried out:
CV of Job applicant 1: This applicant has the capability to prioritise workload in
systematic manner. This candidate has high proficiency and learn new skills in shorter
time span. Also, this person have good communication skills and his focus on work is
high. But this person has working experience in e-design which is in domain of Web
design and application. Also, this applicant has worked at a fitness club on the job role
of personal trainer and fitness instructor. These working experiences are not
satisfactory for the job role of personal assistant in LV=.
CV of Job applicant 2: This job applicant possess skills to work as an
administrative support specialist and have excellent communication skills. Business
writing, screen calling and culinary skills of applicant is good. This applicant has working
experience as Personal assistant in IPA Brewing and personal secretary in Ucansell
marketing consultants. Work activities carried out by Job applicant 2 at previous
workplaces resembles the tasks which are needed to be performed by Personal
assistant in LV=. This applicant matches the expectation of company in educational
qualification and can be shortlisted for interview purpose.
CV of Job applicant 3: Core skills of Job applicant 3 includes filtering
communication, disseminating, expertise in secretarial and PA skills, capable to do work
like data entry, dairy management, transcribing notes, meeting and greeting with
customers etc. This applicant has worked as a receptionist and temporary PA for
around 2 years. Due to which this person is capable to manage work at LV= without any
complexity. Educational criteria of this applicant is also satisfactory. Hence, this
applicant can be shortlisted for interview for the job role of Personal Assistant
(Gheiratmand and et. al., 2015).
Out of three curriculum vitae, It has been observed that HR manager is properly
satisfied with the 1st or 2nd job applicant because these individuals have work
experience as Personal Assistant in their previous workplace. Due to this, they will not
face difficulty in managing work and duties at LV= as Personal Assistant of Directors.
But, in case of first Job applicant, situation is different. Job applicant 1 has working
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experience as Web designer and fitness trainer but not as Personal Assistance due to
which this person will face difficulty in adjusting for the required job role. Also, to
prepare job applicant 1 for this position, company will be needed to provide training and
development session which is a time consuming process. Training period given to PA
can reduce the effectiveness and productivity of firm as Directors will not be able to
concentrate on their work due to lack of experienced PA. Hence, only Job applicant 2
and Job Applicant 3 are selected fir interview process (Ganopoulos and et. al., 2013).
(c) Six competency based questions to asked at the selection interview for the personal
assistant vacancy as well as justify choice of questions personally.
Competency is referred to the behaviours which must be shown by an employee
in different situations so that high performance and outputs can be gained. In case of
LV=, there are some competency based questions which are designed for shortlisted
candidates. Some competency based questions, in context with job role of PA are
mentioned below:
Question 1: Give detail from where do you bring positive changes at workplace?
Question 2: Can you provide an example where you have worked with a difficult client
and achieve success?
Question 3: Tell me some situations where your role as PA has benefited your
organisation in attaining good outcomes?
Question 4: Give me examples of how you manage multiple priorities in a systematic
manner?
Question 5: Can you give an example where your PA skills has benefited in gaining
organisational success?
Question 6: What experience do you have for Personal Assistant role?
All of these questions are related with acknowledging the working potential and
capability of an employee (Gomes and et. al., 2012). If a candidate is able to give good
answers to these questions, it will show his ability to work as a PA in LV=. For these
questions, candidate will be needed to give real life examples. Answer of these
questions will decide which candidate will be recruited as Personal Assistant at LV=. If
a candidate is not able to give answers to these questions, this will show the inability of
the person as Personal Assistant.
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ACTIVITY 3
(a) Learning and development opportunities for staff, from staff and organization
perspective both.
In present world, learning and development opportunities plays crucial role within
the organisation's life. In order to gain better opportunities at marketplace they used
different types of HRM practices by which they can fulfil their overall needs and wants.
Along with they also able to sustain for long period of time at marketplace. Some
opportunities for development and learning are given below:
Training and Development: This process is mainly created by an organisation
in order to bring improvement in employees works in both professional and personal life.
By having this sort of programme for employees, they can achieve organisational goals
and objectives appropriately. In reference with LV= this society always make unique
strategies to increase technical or financial skills of their staff members for gaining
better opportunity in marketplace. Therefore, it is important for both and increase firm
productivity at higher level (Guest, Paauwe and Wright, 2012).
Good employee relations: This practice helps HR manager of firms by which
they can make food strategies for making better relations towards achieving goals.
These sort of relation always made by the organisation through developing positive
culture. In context with LV= they are using this practice for overall learning and
developing new skills in firm to improve employees goodwill as well as culture of an
organisation. It will develop more opportunities for firm at marketplace. The main motive
of this element is to make organisation effective for each and every employees and
customers as well by giving them better ways to learn new things. As per the employees
when they meet these sort of people in firm then they can work accordingly and it
increase their overall performance.
Compensation and benefits: According to this HRM practice LV= are able to
conduct various programmes for increasing overall value of their staff members. By
giving these sort of opportunities to employees they can give better performance and
able to achieve goals before time. It is also suitable for respective firm to increase
overall productivity and efficiency in an effective manner. According to the organisation
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perspective by giving this sort of element to employees they can increase their
productivity at marketplace and also increase employees confidence towards the firm.
From the above discussion of HRM practices LV= can achieve their
organisational goals by giving sort of opportunities to its staff members. It will increase
firm productivity as well. Therefore, all these practices will help them to develop and
learn opportunities at different kinds of marketplace.
(b) Rewards and benefits offered by LV= to its staff from both organization and staff
perspective.
In today's world each and every organisation giving lots of benefits and rewards
for their employees in order to increase their productivity as well as working efficiency of
employees. In relation with LV= there are different types of rewards and benefits by
which their employees can get satisfied, those are listed below:
Flexibility in working hours: By having this sort of flexibility in working hours
employees can work accordingly and able to make good environment at working place.
As per the organisation perspective they always expects from employee to work full
time but as per their convenience so that, it helps them to increase overall productivity
in competitive market. Therefore it is also beneficial for employees so that they help firm
to manage works accordingly and make them effective.
Incentives and allowances: It is considered as the best reward and benefit
system which is taken by few employees within the different firms. According to
respective firm, they always gives better incentives and allowances according to their
employees working performance. It encourage employees towards good work so that
they can easily achieve predetermined goals accordingly. Together with it is also
beneficial for LV= as they are giving these sort of rewards to their employees, they can
increase its image and make them more attractive.
ACTIVITY 4
(a) Employee relations and why it is necessary for LV= to have effective employee
relations.
Employees relation is the best part of every organisation's effort in order develop
and maintain unique and positive relationship with its employees. Through maintaining
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