HRM Report: Workforce Planning and Employee Relations at Sainsbury's

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices within Sainsbury's, a major UK retailer. It begins with an introduction to the company, its mission, objectives, and core business. The report then delves into the purpose of the HR function, outlining its key roles and responsibilities, and its significance in acquiring talent to meet business objectives. It assesses Sainsbury's approaches to workforce planning, recruitment, selection, development, training, performance management, and reward systems, including a case study to examine different HR methods. Furthermore, the report includes the design of job specifications, preparatory notes for interviews, and a template job offer. It evaluates the HR practices, employee relations, engagement strategies, and the impact of employee legislation. Finally, the report concludes by summarizing how HRM practices inform decision-making and contribute to meeting business objectives, supported by relevant references.

Human Resource Management

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1 Introduction to the chosen organisation including mission statement, purpose and core
business objectives......................................................................................................................3
2. Purpose of the HR function and the key roles and responsibilities of the HR function, along
with significance that HR plays in acquiring talent to meet business objectives........................4
3. An assessment of approach to workforce planning, recruitment and selection, development
and training, performance management and reward systems. ...................................................5
Case study example to examine different methods used in HR practice....................................7
PART 2............................................................................................................................................7
Design of job specification .........................................................................................................7
Documentation of preparatory notes for interviews and selection criteria.................................8
Template job offer for desired candidate....................................................................................9
Evaluation of Process and rationale for conducting HR practices............................................10
Approaches and effectiveness to employee relation & engagement with mention of flexible
organisation, working practice and employer of choice...........................................................10
Aspects of Employee Legislation in Context with the Organisation........................................11
Evaluate how employee relation and legislation informs decision making and meeting of
business objectives....................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Human resource are the backbone of each firm whose efforts decides its growth or
success in marketplace. Whereas, Human resource management can be referred to a method in
which workforce of firm is managed. Several functions are executed for managing human
resources within the organisation i.e. training programmes, rewards & compensation, recruitment
and selection etc. and all these functions are carried out by human resource department so that
desired goals of firm can be achieved in predetermined time-frame. Taken firm for this report is
Sainsbury's which is third largest retail firm in UK. This report will be discuss about the
functions and purpose of HRM along with strength and weaknesses of several approaches of
recruitment and selection. Furthermore, importance of employee relations along with impact of
legislations on HRM practices will also describe under this project. At last, report will covers
that how HRM practices are applied within the work-related context.
TASK 1
1 Introduction to the chosen organisation including mission statement, purpose and core business
objectives.
Sainsbury's is a retailer chain which is based in UK along with a market share of 16.9%
in supermarket sector of United kingdom. This firm was established in 1869 by John James
Sainsbury and now company is successfully operating its functions with approx. 1400 shops
across the UK nation. Company offers several things like daily use products, grocery and food
products to their customers. In current scenario, company is known as the third largest
supermarket chain within the UK. Main objective of organisation is to providing quality products
to their customers so that brand image can be maintained in market. Whereas, mission and vision
of organisation is to identifying the desired needs of customers and fulfil them accordingly so
that their satisfaction level can be increased towards company. Organisation believes in offering
quality products to their customers so that their loyalty can be maintained towards offerings and
services of firm (About Sainsbury's, 2019). For this, they also provide loyalty cards to their old
and existing customers for maintaining customer base and competitiveness in marketplace.
Business of firm is increasing day by day because they have made several subsidiaries which are
working under them such as sainsbury's bank, supermarkets, fresh kitchen, discount
supermarkets etc. According to financial report of previous year, revenue of Sainsbury's was

approx. £28.45 billion in 2018 which defines strong sustainability and good position of firm in
UK market.
2. Purpose of the HR function and the key roles and responsibilities of the HR function, along
with significance that HR plays in acquiring talent to meet business objectives.
Human Resource management is a term which is used to define retaining and managing
staff members of organisation. In addition, the best example for defining HRM functions are,
firstly they hire new peoples and train them in a way so that their efforts can be used for
achieving goals and objectives of organisation. In Sainsbury's, their HR managers organises
training programmes on regular basis so that desired needs of customers can be met and
profitability can be increased in market. Some important functions of HR managers in
Sainsbury's are given as below:
Functions of HRM-
 Training and Development - This function is performed by HR managers for increasing
efficiency and performance level of employees at workplace so that their efforts can be
used for achieving goals and objectives of organisation. In Sainsbury's, HR managers
conducts training programme for employees by analysing their working performance at
workplace. So that through engaging them in training sessions desired goals can be
achieved in stipulated time-frame (Paauwe, 2012).
 Recruitment and Selection - It is also an another function which is performed by HR
managers at workplace in which they have to hire qualified, knowledgeable and
experienced candidates whose efforts will be used for gaining competitive edge in
market. For performing this function, HR managers of Sainsbury's have to examine
actual demand of workforce within the firm and then use several recruitment methods so
that most deserving candidate among pool of candidate can be hired.
Purpose of HRM functions along with their roles and responsibilities
 Maintaining effective workforce at workplace – Main purpose of recruitment and
selection function is to maintain workforce at workplace so that brand image and
profitability of firm can be maintained in marketplace. For performing this function
effectively, HR manager of Sainsbury's are responsible for analysing the demand of
workforce within each department so that if any gap will be found than it can be fulfilled
easily.

 Training and development – Prior purpose of this function is to train the workers so that
they can perform their duties in more effective manner. In which, HR managers of
Sainsbury's have to provide on job and off job training to their employees along with
resolving their issues so that they performs their duties effectively on given tasks.
Significance of HR in acquiring Talent
HR managers plays very important role in organisation by recruiting and selecting
employees who are highly qualified and having great experience of performing the work. In
Sainsbury, HR also plays effective role such as first they hire the experienced and talented
candidates among the pool of candidates then provide training to them so that they work
according to the organisational structure. Therefore, it can be said that role of HR is very
important in acquiring talented and skilled candidates for workplace which leads the organisation
towards growth and sustainability (Boon and et. al., 2018).
3. An assessment of approach to workforce planning, recruitment and selection, development
and training, performance management and reward systems.
Main aim of HRM is to increase the working capability of employees so that desired
goals and objectives can be achieved in marketplace. Due to which, HR managers of Sainburry
use several approaches for retaining their employees and hiring new candidates for making
sustainability of firm in marketplace. Some of these approaches along with functions are given as
below:
 Workforce planning: It is an ongoing process which is performed by HR managers for
retaining employees at workplace for long time frame so that desired goals can be
achieved in desired manner. Approach related with workforce planning is given as below:
Competency approach: It helps the HR managers of Sainsbury's in increasing
competencies of employees along with vision, mission and functions. In which HR managers
have to increase competencies of workforce through fulfilling their desired needs so that high
success and growth can be attained by firm in market.
 Recruitment and selection: Recruitment is a method which is used by organisations for
attracting large number of candidates so as to filing vacant positions of workplace.
Whereas, selection is a process of choosing most deserving candidate from large number
of candidates. Approach for recruitment and selection is given as below:

Systematic approach: Whole process of recruitment and selection is related with systematic
evaluation of skills, capabilities, attitude and behaviour of candidates. In this approach, HR
managers of Sainsbury's have to define vacant position, attract and assess the candidates and
perform activities like skills test, written test and interviews so that right candidates be hired for
organisation.
 Development and training: Both of these are referred to an organisational process
which assists the organisation in enhancing efficiencies and competencies of employees
at workplace so that desired goals can be achieved within given time-frame. Approach for
this is given as below:
Proactive approach: This approach can be used or implemented by HR managers of
Sainsbury's easily because it does not require any kind of pre-planning. With the help of it,
employees will provide more efforts for satisfying the needs of customers which will beneficial
for brand image and customer base of firm (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
 Performance management: It is a process of developing appropriate working
environment for workforce so that their performance level can be maintained and used
for attaining goals and objectives of firm. For this, HR managers of Sainsbury's should
conduct some activities on regular basis so that performance level of employees can be
maintained effectively.
Comparative approach: In this approach, HR managers have to evaluate the
performance level of their employees and rank them from high to low. By using this approach,
HR managers of Sainsbury's will be able to identify the employees having high performance as
well as lower so that rewards and training session can be provided accordingly.
 Reward system: This is a method which is used for motivating and encouraging the
employees for delivering best efforts for completing the task. Approach related with this
is given below:
Incentive approach: According to this approach, HR managers of Sainsbury's should
provide incentives on the basis of their performance so that they feel motivated at workplace and
execute their duties in productive manner. This approach is very beneficial as increased efforts of
employees leads the firm towards growth and sustainability in market.
There are two types of approaches internal and external recruitment and selection which are
explained as follows:

Internal recruitment and selection: There the existing employees are selected for the
vacant post in the Sainsbury's. By doing so less paper work and formalities are needed while
selecting and recruiting candidate from within the organization. By doing so productivity and
profitability ratio increases as it requires less time and efforts to understand the job role.
External recruitment and selection: By selecting right candidate from outside sources
huge find is requires as well as time. Sainsbury's recruit pot entail staff members external sources
so that appropriate employee for right place is selected. By doing so workforce efficiency of the
employees are raised at a large scale in the cut throat competitive world.
Strengths Weaknesses
 Less paper work and legal formulaties
need to be done while recruiting skilled
employees from the shortlisted
candidate.
 Selecting nominee from within the firm
grab things easily and raises
productivity within short time period.
 Workplace become monotonous as
same employees are selected and
switched to other post. Due to which
set goals are not achieved.
 Employees get di-motivated and
conflict occurs when within the
company employees are selected for
higher post.
Mark and Spencer adopts both the approaches in order to hire skilled and capable
candidate for the post. By doing so best out comes can be achieved in the set time frame. As well
as customers are satisfied with the needs and demands of the customers.
Case study example to examine different methods used in HR practice
Sainsbury's is an old organisation of UK market which offers several products like cloth,
food and home accessories to their customers. Several departments like HR, Sales, Finance,
R&D etc. are made by management of firm for performing each activity and function effectively.
For e.g. employees are facing several issues during performing business functions within the
workplace due to which working productivity is decreasing and turnover is increasing. For
resolving these issues, management of Sainsbury's have decided to adopt some HR practices
which are given as follows:

Training and development: It is an important HR practice which is beneficial for
increasing orientation of employees towards their job roles and responsibilities. There are also
some methods in it that can be used by Sainsbury's for attaining high growth and success in
market. These methods of training and development are given as below:
 On-the-job training method: It is traditional method of training which is used by each
organisation to train their new and existing employees so that they will be able in
carrying out their each activity in appropriate manner.
 Off-the-job method: This method is most appropriate for resolving the issues of
employees as their staff members are feeling bored and dissatisfied at workplace then it
will be beneficial for the managers of Sainsburry's to take their employees away from
workplace and provide training sessions to them at new places. With the help of it,
employees will be able in learning new techniques for performing work (Guest, Paauwe,
and Wright, 2012).
PART 2
Design of job specification
Job specification: It defines skills, knowledge and abilities of employees that is needed
to perform work within the organisation. It also include several aspects like work-experience,
professional experience and qualification etc. Job specification for post of assistant HR managers
in Sainsbury's is given as follows:
Post: HR executive
Company: Sainsbury's
Job purpose: Organisation is looking for qualified and experienced candidates for the job role
of assistant HR professionals who having good communication and management skills.
Candidate who have good decision-making and problem solving skills can apply for this job
position.
Roles & Responsibilities:
 Providing support to the senior HR managers in forming surveys and organising training
and seminars for the workforce and organisation.
 Organising training and development programmes for newly recruited employees.
Academic qualification:

 Bachelor's degree in Human resource Degree of MBA in core field of HR.
Work experience: Candidates must have 2 years experience as HR executive in recognised organisation.
Documentation of preparatory notes for interviews and selection criteria
Documentation of preparatory notes
Preparatory notes are those documents which are prepared by employees before
organising starting recruitment and selection process. Preparatory documents is connected with
interview which includes formation of several questions that will be used for identifying
capabilities and knowledge of applicant. In case of Sainsbury's, some questions are formed by
their HR managers which are given as below:
Interview Questions
 Briefly Introduce yourself ?
 Which technique will be used for resolving conflicts between employee and
management ?
 First employee policy that you would suggest as new HR executive ?
Preparatory document for selection criteria includes several informations regarding
selection approaches and methods that will be used by employers of Sainsbury's for choosing
desired candidates (Sirmon and et. al., 2011). In this context, HR managers of Sainsbury's have
decided several stages like pre-interview, short-listing of candidates, skill test, verbal test etc. for
selecting candidates. For this, a chart is also formed which is given as below:

Source: (Selection process, 2019)
Template job offer for desired candidate
Job Offer Latter
Mr. Mac John
Lower street, British market, UK.
Dear Mr. John foreigner
We are glad to inform you that you are being selected for the position of assistant HR manager.
Job duties and responsibilities:
 you should perform administration support functions for HR department
 You are responsible for doing basic HR activities and resolving the conflicts that can
occurs at workplace.
Reporting: BOD and Senior HR manager
Illust
ration 1: Selection process, 2019

Basic salary: 4,500 pound per month.
Work hours: 9:30 AM to 5.30 PM.
Vacations: weekly off
Compensation and benefits: Compensation package offered by firm include disability and
general life insurance and medical kits.
We will be happy to see you on the job from 4th June 2019.
Sincerely
John Vera
Evaluation of Process and rationale for conducting HR practices
HR practices like recruitment and selection, job orientation, training and development,
rewards and compensation helps each organisation in performing their business functions in most
desired manner. Along with it, several HR practices are also performed by HR managers for
hiring candidates like job description, Interview, Job Specification etc. so that desired candidates
with special skills can be hired within the firm. Thorough this, overall productivity and working
potential of Sainsbury's will be increased which will also beneficial for them in improving their
brand image and market position among the rivals. Rational for organising HR practices is that
the new employees from different region can acquire the required skills and knowledge which
will leads the towards high growth and success in market.
Approaches and effectiveness to employee relation & engagement with mention of flexible
organisation, working practice and employer of choice
Employee relation- Several approaches are related with employee relation in which,
most appropriate approach is flexible working hours. According to this approach, employees are
backbone of the firm so that if more pressure will possess on them then demotivation and
dissatisfaction among them will be increase which will not beneficial for productivity of firm.
Therefore, management of Sainsbury's should provide them flexible working hours so that they
feel motivated while working within the firm. Through adopting this approach, Sainsbury's will
become flexible organisation and their managers will be able in develop healthy relations with
their employees (Storey, 2014).
Importance of employee relations and their impact on decision-making – By developing
healthy atmosphere at workplace HR managers of Sainsbury's will be able in removing conflicts

which will leads the organisation towards growth and sustainability in market. Effective relations
with the employees also helps the managers of Sainsbury's in gaining their desired targets and
objectives. Good employee relations encourages the employees to take parts in decision-making
process so that better decisions can made for betterment of firm.
Employee Engagement: It can be defined as the process under which the measurement
of the dedication of the employees towards the work of the company is measured. In other
words, it can also be said that it is the contribution made by the employees of the company in the
success and growth of an organisation. There are different approaches which are taken into
consideration at the time of measurement of employee engagement. The first one is Situational
Approach. In the following approach the focus is made on the needs and welfare of the
employees such has by giving the preference of employees on priority. When the management
works in accordance with the needs of employees than it motivates them and increases their will
to work so that they could make their contribution towards the growth and development of the
organisation in the mos effective ways. In order to increase the employee engagement, the
company can provide their employees with flexible working hours, extra time for refreshment
and many more facilities which increases their morale and dedication to work. This will help the
company in becoming employer of choice because the employer is taking care of all the needs
and demands of the employees. In addition to this, it will also become possible for the employee
to get the correct guidance from the employer about the work performance.
Aspects of Employee Legislation in Context with the Organisation
Employee Legislations can be defied as the rules and acts which are prescribed by the
government of a country in order to protect the interest of employees working in an organisation.
The following is the description of these acts which hare described as under:
Sex Discrimination Act, 1975: In accordance with this Act, it make illegal to
discriminate the people on the basis of their sex whether they are men or women, they should be
provided with equal importance a the workplace. It includes activities such as harassment of
employees, at the workplace and some other activities which makes the people liable to
punishment (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez, 2018).
Equal Pay Act, 1970: In accordance with this Act, every employee working in an
organisation at the same level have the right to get equal salary which the other employees are
getting. It makes illegal in case when the employees are working at the same level but are

provided with different salaries. In case of differentiation, the employee can file case against the
company.
Impact of these legislations on decision-making - Employment legislation is a
framework that supports the organisation in governing their duties and functions in ethical
manner so that any difficulty wouldn't be faced by them in future period of time. In addition
these laws and legislation will also help Sainsburry in carrying out their business activities
honestly and transparently which will helpful for organisation in making their good brand image
in front of their rivals. Whereas, if high pressure will be exert by the superiors on their
subordinates then it will not beneficial for productivity and profitability of firm because due to
high pressure, employees feel dissatisfied at workplace which will affect the overall performance
of organisation. Therefore, it is important for management of Sainsbury's to adhere laws and
legislations considerably so that any difficulty not be faced by organisation.
Evaluate how employee relation and legislation informs decision making and meeting of
business objectives
HR Manager of Sainsbury's must follow the rules and regulations laid down by the
government of an economy. This will help the company in making good relation with their
employees As following the rules and regulations will help the company in creating good
relation with employees on the other hand it will also prevent the company from being
intervened by the government which is not good for any company. By following the rules and
regulation it will become easy for the company to maintain good and image of their company in
front of the employees and also in front of the market also. In addition to this, if the relation of
the company is good with the employees, it will become easy for the manager of the company to
get good work from their employees. It will also help the management in the focusing on other
issues which are of great concern to the management as there is no need to look over the work of
employees due to their self dedication and motivation to work (Marchington and et. al., 2016).
Employees relations and legislation directly affect the HR practices carried out in the
business. This plays a vital role in the administration growth and success. HR practices of
Sainsbury's build strong relations with it's team members so that set goals can be achieved easily
Whereas, legislation related to company are affected effectively by the HR of the company so
that workers can be assured about their safety and security in the premises.

CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above discussed report that HR department plays very
important role in each functions and operations of organisation. As it helps the firm in managing
and retaining the employees for long time-frame so that growth and sustainability can be
maintained in marketplace. HR managers frames questionnaires for interview and examines
competencies of candidates so that best qualified and experienced candidate can be hired at
workplace. Several laws and legislations must be consider by HR managers while performing
functions at workplace so that each functions would be carried out in ethical manner.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Boon, C. and et. al., 2018. Integrating strategic human capital and strategic human resource
management. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. 29(1).
pp.34-67.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017.Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Chelladurai, P. and Kerwin, S., 2017. Human resource management in sport and recreation.
Human Kinetics.
Gatewood, R., Feild, H. S. and Barrick, M., 2015. Human resource selection. Nelson Education.
Guest, D. E., Paauwe, J. and Wright, P. eds., 2012. HRM and performance: Achievements and
challenges. John Wiley & Sons
Harrison, F. and Lock, D., 2017.Advanced project management: a structured approach.
Routledge.
Marchington, M. and et. al., 2016.Human resource management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Messersmith, J. G. and et. al., 2011. Unlocking the black box: exploring the link between high-
performance work systems and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology. 96(6).
pp.1105.
Moutinho, L. and Vargas-Sanchez, A. eds., 2018.Strategic Management in Tourism, CABI
Tourism Texts. Cabi.
Sirmon, D.G. and et. al., 2011. Resource orchestration to create competitive advantage: Breadth,
depth, and life cycle effects. Journal of Management. 37(5). pp.1390-1412.
Storey, J., 2014. New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals).
Routledge.
Online
About Sainsbury's. 2019. [online] Available through:
<https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/about-us/>
The employment act. 2019. [online] Available through<https://cartwrightking.co.uk/areas-of-
practice/Employment/employee-rights/>/.