LSC UoS HRM Report: Analyzing Royal Mail's HR Strategies and Practices

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Royal Mail's Human Resource Management (HRM) practices. It begins with an introduction to HRM and its significance, followed by an examination of strategic HRM concepts, including the Fombrun and Guest models, and how Royal Mail utilizes HR strategies to achieve its business objectives. The report explores the impact of environmental factors on company culture and HR plans, including an analysis of the Clan model and the influence of regional and national cultures. It delves into various HRM models, such as the 8-Box model by Paul Boselie, and discusses Storey's 27 points of difference. The report further investigates job design strategies, including Taylorism and the Socio-Technical system approach, and examines Royal Mail's hiring and firing strategies. It provides corporate examples and concludes with recommendations for improving HRM practices within the company. The report is structured to address the specific requirements of the assignment, offering a detailed overview of Royal Mail's HRM strategies and their impact on the company's performance.

Human Resource
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................2
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
Concept of strategic HRM and HR strategies........................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Impact of environmental factors on culture and HR plan......................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
HRM model............................................................................................................................5
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................6
Storey’s 27 points of difference.............................................................................................6
TASK 5............................................................................................................................................8
Job design strategies...............................................................................................................8
TASK 6............................................................................................................................................9
Hiring and firing strategy.......................................................................................................9
TASK 7..........................................................................................................................................10
Corporate examples..............................................................................................................10
TASK 8..........................................................................................................................................10
Recommendations................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
References:.....................................................................................................................................12
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Human resource basically deals in employee performance and also includes managing the
employees in the workplace in a structured manner to help them in achieving their goals and
objectives. On the other hands, Human resource management can also be called as selecting and
recruiting the talented people and to provide them training and development(Hwang and Lee,
2019). Managing human resource in the company is very essential as they are the one who will
help in achieving the objectives of the business. Employees are important for the business
success and the employees are considered to be the asset for the company only when their
performance is helping in meeting the objectives. For the business success it is important that the
managers or leaders make the policy of human resource well. The Human resource management
function starts with Planning as to which person fits best for the job, second to do the organizing
of the employed people, third to give them the direction as how they have to conduct the
activities and last is to control and monitor their performance. Royal Mail is multinational British
postal services which were founded in 1516 which was considered to be the department of
English government. The headquarters of the company is in London, UK and conducts the
activity of providing parcels, letters throughout UK. This report will cover HR strategies, Impact
of environmental factors on culture, HR model, Storey 27 points, job design strategy, hiring and
firing strategy, corporate examples and recommendations.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Concept of strategic HRM and HR strategies
Strategic Human Resource management means the strategies which has to be followed by the
companies to achieve the objectives and make the employees to work towards the goals and aim
of the company.
Different type of strategic model have been explained below-
 The Fombrun Model- According to this model, the Human resource system and the
structure of the organisation should be made in such a manner that it helps in achieving
the objectives(Saks, 2020). The model is based on four functions which includes-
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Selection, Appraisal, Development and rewards. Royal mail provides follow this model
by selecting the best employee for the business, providing them appraisal according to
their performance, provide them training which helps them in development and also
provides them extra rewards and this helps in providing satisfaction to the employees
(Vuorinen and et. al., 2018).
 The Guest Model- According to this model, the HR manager has certain rights those
practices are followed then it will provide the best outcome. It includes six components
which includes- HR strategy, HR practices, behavioural outcomes, financial results,
performance results(Delpierre and Verschueren, 2019). Royal mail employees work hard
to bring the financial results and this is based on their behaviours to achieve it. Behaviour
includes their actions, commitment towards the work which is the result of HR practices
which is followed in Royal mail.
HR strategies by the company-
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Strategic human resource management means the link between the Human resource strategies
with the goals of the business. If the company will use the employees as their good investment
then the manager of the HR will use these resources into an efficient manner. Royal mail is
working all over in UK and has diversified its business due to the business success(Matsumoto
and Hwang, 2019). The strategy which is used by Royal Mail is that the HR manager has
developed the plan of Human resource according to the goals of the business. This has helped
them to outline the things which has to being in the initial step and all the things to met
according to the desired results. They have always tried to align or link the activities of the HR
with that of the company so that the employees work in that way only. Most important which
they have followed is the employee engagement in the business and helped them in developing
the interest towards the business activities.
TASK 2
Impact of environmental factors on culture and HR plan
Culture in the business means the values, policies, environment which exists in the company and
makes the employees feel motivated to work for the goals of the company. Royal Mail has
developed the culture at the workplace to be friendly and flexible so that employees do not feel
any restrictions while doing the work.
Clan model of culture-
This model is the famous and is used in all the organisations whether it is small or big, traditional
or digital. According to this model, the work environment in the company has to be friendly in
which the employees are having goof interpersonal connections with one another. The whole
company makes such an environment that the employees feel as they have become the family of
the company. Royal mail helps in creating such an environment as because of which employees
also feel focused for the work and when the culture of the business will be such friendly and
flexible then the employee turnover ratio will also be reduced.
Impact of regional and national culture on HRM practices
The regional as well as the national culture in UK is made of various things and the life of
people is enjoyable (Sedláková, 2019). The regional culture includes the people from Scottish,
Irish, Welsh, and English while the national includes the people with other languages which
include Scots and others. The lifestyle of the people in regional as well as national is not fully
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changed but they have some changes. Every country has their own way of following the style of
leadership which can be formal or informal. The managers or leaders in British follows casual
attitude, has the feeling to make compromise, helpful and might be sometime rude when the
situation makes them to do. The use of different theories of motivation is used in different
countries according to the requirement at the workplace(De Clercq, Sun and Belausteguigoitia,
2018). For the motivation in Royal mail company the manager provides them the financial
rewards which makes the employees to work harder.
TASK 3
HRM model
HRM model has been discussed below-
The 8-Box model by Paul Boselie-
According to this model there are some internal and external factors which influence the
HRM practices which are going in the company. The external factors contain the market, skills
and the internal factors include the culture, environment inside the company which exists. The
external factors include the market context, population which make the difference in the working
style of HR. For examples- if in the market there is deficiency in the required skills and
knowledge then the company would not be able make the recruitment of the people and this will
hamper the functioning of the company(Shin and Hur, 2020). The importance of culture and
technology also plays important role on the other side as these factors effects the making of HR
practices and policies.
According to this model the HR strategy is divided into 6 components-
 Intended HR practices- This means the policy which the company wants to make in
accordance with the recruitment, training and development. Royal mail follows the
practices which will be good for the company
 Actual HR practices- It means in reality which Hr practices are being followed in the
company which requires the link between HR and the manager. If the manager wants to
do the things differently and the HR different then the practices of HR will not show any
results. In Royal mail such situation does not come as the manager and the HR follows
the rules in a cooperative way.
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 Perceived HR practices- This means that how the employees in the company are taking
the things which are said by the manager and the HR. If both have done the work well but
the employees are perceiving the things differently then it will not work properly.
 HR outcomes- The things which have been perceived by the employees leads to the HR
outcome(Fisher, Thomas and Williams, 2021). In Royal mail the communication which is
made by the manager is perfect and if any problem is faced by the employees then they
can contact with the manager easily.
 Critical HR goals- The goals of Hr practices are the result of things which have been
perceived by the employees.
 Ultimate business goals- The practices which have been followed by the employees re
directly linked with the goals of business which can either result in profit or loss.
The above mentioned model creates value to the organisation as it helps to follow the steps and
the practices which will be suitable for the employees. The communication which has been made
by the manager for providing them the information about the things which has to be done needs
to be effective. Royal mail follows the effective policy and structure for creating the valuable HR
practices in the company.
TASK 4
Storey’s 27 points of difference
Dimensions Personnel Management HRM
Beliefs and Assumptions
Contract It should have written No importance of contracts
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contracts
Rules Rules and regulations must be
written clearly
Not requires any rules
Guide to management action They require course of action. According to business
requirements.
Behaviour referent Related with practice and
custom
According to company vision
and mission
Managerial task They require control and
monitoring
They are bought up
Relations It is Pluralist They are Unitarist
Conflict It occurs in the company Does not give value to
conflicts.
Strategic aspects
Important relations With the fellow employees With the customers
Initiative Based on partial measure It is unified
Corporate plan It is marginal It is the main one
Decisions speed Usually slow Very fast
Line management
Management role Based on transactional Based on transformational
Key managers HR manager Business owners
Communication Informal Formal
Standardization It is on high It is on Low
Management skills The skills are on the
negotiation basis
It is based on facilitation
Key levers
Selection On the basis of task done They are integrated
Pay Performance based Relation with work done
Conditions Works in negotiation Works in harmony
Management of Labour Collective bargaining basis Individual contract basis
Thrust of relations Developed by training and Degraded
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facilities provided
Job categories and grades Various Only few
Communication Less Flexible flexible
Job design Divided into teams Collaboration
Conflict handle Reach on high Maintain the conflicts
Training and development According to position According to environment
Attention for interventions Procedures of personnel Varied personnel and cultural
strategies
TASK 5
Job design strategies
Job design means the duties, rules, work procedure and methods to be used in the particular job
profile. In Royal mail the job profile are distributed into many which the manager of the
company have designed it well so each employee know what they are required to perform in the
job (Porthault and et. al., 2021).
The job deign model has been explained below in context with Royal mail-
Taylorism- According to this model, the job design must be based on scientific management and
this theory is based on certain principles which are as below-
 To develop a standard for every job profile.
 To select and hire the employees perfectly.
 Provide the training and development course to the employees.
 Help the employees in the work.
Socio-Technical system approach-
This model is based on the following principles-
 The job design must be based on the objective of the company.
 Employees must be involved in creating the job design.
 The job design must be based on providing the high quality working life(Hanson,
Hessel and Danes, 2019).
 Changes must be made effectively so that the company can meet the dynamic nature.
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Recommendation- The job design is the very important aspect as the job design helps to make
the update which is relevant for the employees and which also meet the objectives of the
company. Royal mail is using the Taylorism role and has created the job profile which is
according to the requirement of the company and at the same time which meets the market
environment and the needs (Jetter and Parmeter, 2018). The company is having the job of
operation management in which the employee has to work on the daily activities and has to make
the use of technology as Royal mail also deals in taking the orders online. They have the fleet
maintenance which works for the repair and maintenance and all the job roles are designed well
which also makes the employees happier.
TASK 6
Hiring and firing strategy
Hiring means to employ the right candidate for the vacant position which is having the required
skills and knowledge for that job role. On the other hand, means Firing means to remove the
person form its position which can be because of any reason which includes- unsatisfactory
work, or having unethical behaviour in the company.
Model for Recruiting or hiring the right person-
 Contingency search- The most common and widely used method which is used by the
company to fill the vacant position in the company. The company who wants the people
to fill the positions makes the contact with the companies who do the work of finding the
right person (Reynolds, 2020). The people who are bring employed does not have to pay
any fees but the company who have contacted has to pay the fees only if they provide
them with the right candidate. Royal mail also use this method which makes it easier for
them as it requires huge time to be invested in finding the right person.
Firing- It only requires some specific reason because of which the employees gets terminated
from the workplace. The employees are terminated or fired form the job because of many
reasons as it can be because they have stolen something form the workplace, provided some key
information to the competitors and the manger gets to know about it, the employees is not able to
provide the standard in its work performance and many more.
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Recommendation- Royal Mail always conducts and employs those kind of people which are
considered to be best for the company in which they take the use of Contingency search. They
are the one who looks for the multitasking person and always wants to have the effective
workforce. The termination on the other hand is something which they does not want to do and
always tries that their employees are working hard for the company to make it successful.
TASK 7
Corporate examples
There are many companies which are using the best HR practices for their business in which
the first and the foremost is the Google which is the biggest company and people thrive to work
in such a big company. Not just the big company Google believes that the right ways to attract
the right number of people in the company is to provide them with right tools and create the
workplace which is happier and brining productive results (Pedulla, 2020). The other is the
Cadbury which is the multinational company and the largest confectionary company. The
company which was founded in 1824 has developed and maintained a work village which is
providing to its employees the right place to do the work. They provide the suitable and most
comfortable environment to their employees to do the work and live happily.
TASK 8
Recommendations
The employee will work hard only when the surrounding provided to them is flexible and it
is not making them feel restricted. For this the manager and the leader has to develop the strategy
which will work best for the company and the first practice which they must follow is to provide
the positive and friendly atmosphere in the workplace. Royal mail has tried to develop such type
of workplace environment as they know that the employees will retain only when the culture for
the company will be best (Lecca and et. al., 2020). They also believe that to provide the
incentives which might be financial or non-financial helps in motivating the employees to work
harder. This is because appraisal and recognition is considered to be best practice which must be
given to employees for making them motivated. Royal mail also conduct the model of 360
degree performance feedback in which they make the evaluation of the employees without any
mistake.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that human resource management is important for the
company because employees play important role for the functioning of the business. Every
business owner for effective management and to develop the culture in the organisation has to
manage the employees and their behaviour. This is because it has been seen that if the business
owners does not adopt the strategy of good human resource management then the attitude of the
employees is not on the goal achievement but they just come to earn money. The main aim of the
Human resource management is to achieve the objectives of the company in an efficient manner
as to gain the competitive advantage in the market. If the human resource strategy is used by the
business perfectly then the people who will be employed in the business will be having the
required skills and knowledge. The better management of the employees will help the managers
and the leaders to introduce the change management in the business which at the time is
important to bring. It is because the employees usually resist to adopt any change in the business
and does not want to adopt the change policy. Thus, if skilled employees will be there in the
business then they will no make any resistance of the change.
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