HRM Report: Sales Assistant Recruitment and Job Design at Bay Man

This report provides a detailed analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices at Bay Man (BM), a men's apparel business, focusing on the recruitment and job design for a sales assistant position. The report covers various aspects including the organization's background, vision, and...Read More

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Human Resource Management

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Answer 1
1A-
Bay Man (BM is the small organization which is engaged in the business of men’s apparel, and
showroom of this organization is situated in the Northland region. This showroom is set up by
the organization only 1 year before, and they mainly focus on giving the most fashionable
clothes to the customers in affordable price.
The main objective of this organization is to create the sustainable values for the employees,
shareholders, business partners, and host communities.
Visions statement of this organization includes the aim of giving the most fashionable cloths to
the customers at the price which is affordable for them.
1B
Organization is looking for the sales assistant in the organization who is able to handle the
customers and ensure satisfying services for them. Sales assistant is responsible for handling the
customers in effective way and ensure such services to them which satisfy their needs. Sales
Assistant is reliable for this retail organization and hold responsibility to liking with the
customers in context of ensuring that transaction between them goes smoothly. They are also
expected to help the customers to choose between the organizations number of goods and
services, process payments and ensure maintenance of high level of customer services.
The method adopting for sales assistant is the telephonic interview in context of selecting the
candidate for the vacant position. Under this method, those employees are chose which perform
well during the telephone interviews, and after that they are moving to the next stage that is
interview with the hiring manager. In other words, candidate is shortlisted after the telephone
interview and during the interview with the hiring manager; final decision is taken by the
organization (Berinsky, Huber & Lenz, 2011).
1C
Job designing is the approach through which tasks and functions related to employee job are
designed, as it includes the wide range which ensures both simplification and highly complex
methods. Following are the two methods which can be used by the BM in terms of designing the
job of sales assistant-
Work simplification- Under this method, job of the sales assistant is simplified by dividing it
into small sub-parts, and after that each and every part is assigned to the employee who holds the
expertise in the similar task. It ensures the proficiency and expertise of the employee by
committing the repetitive tasks. It not only increases the expertise of the employee in particular
task but also the profitability of the organization. Another advantage of this method is the low
cost, as no training is required in this because very low level of skills is needed to do these
particular tasks (Wright & Nishii, 2007).
Job enrichment- Another method which can be used by the BM is the job enrichment in terms
of designing the functions of sales assistant. This method is used in different situations, as job

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specialization is required from the employee to do any particular task. However, it makes the
work little boring as there is repetitive job routine and no challenges. It is mainly considered as
vertical expansion of job, as it includes the more responsibility with less challenges and freedom
to do the same (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).
1D
Following is the job description prepared by the BM in terms of vacant job position of sales
assistant in the organization-
Recruitment & selection- The chosen tools for recruiting and selecting the employee are the skill
assessment and interview. Skill assessment is the tool through which skills of the candidates are
examined such as attitude, knowledge of products, and communications skills. After this
assessment interview of the candidate is conducted by the manager for taking the final decision
in this context.
Purpose- The main aim of sales assistant is to liaising with the customers in terms of ensuring the
smooth transactions with the customers, and further helps the customers in choosing the wide
range of goods and services offered by the organization.
Job responsibilities- Job responsibilities of sales assistant are stated below-
 Give valuable advice to the customers and satisfy their needs through effective services.
 Ensure that transaction with the customers conducted in smooth manner.
 Ensure that stock levels in the firm are maintained.
 Promote the products of the store and offers introduced by the store.
 Arrange the window displays.
 Provide relevant information to the customers (Irish Jobs, no date.
Measurable performance standards – Following are performance measure standards which is
introduced by the BM in terms of measuring the performance of the sales assistant-
 Manager set the sales target on the basis of the past records of the organization, and time
frame is given to the employee in which they required to achieve these targets.
 Another measure is the promotion of brands served by the organization to the customers,
and this measured by the numbers of customers entered in the loyalty scheme of the
organization.
1E
Sales assistant require number of skills and all these skills are assessed at the time of final
interview. It must be noted that, all these skills are deemed as compulsory skills and it necessary
that candidate possess these skills-
 There is no minimum education qualification is set for selecting the sales assistant, but
experience of at least 2 years must be hold by the candidate.
 Candidate must hold effective communication skills in terms of dealing with the
customers and ensures smooth transaction.

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 Another skill required by the candidate in this context is the effective team working
skills, and must coordinate with the other team members.
 Confidence level of the candidate must be high while giving the advice to the customers
of the organization.
 Must hold the capability to deal with the challenges which might occurs in the
professional career of the employee.
 Must hold the ability to follow the procedures set by organization in effective way and
help others in following the procedures set by the management of the organization.
Answer 2
2A
In context of filling the vacant position of sales assistant, BM chose the indirect method of
recruitment as this method help the organization in accessing the wide range of options for the
vacant position. In this advertisement is given by the organization in terms of inviting
applications of the candidates, and this advertisement is given on different platforms such as
print media, electronic media, and social media. The most effective tool of this method is the
social media, as it does not require any cost and give large number of access to the organization
in terms of selecting the best candidate for the position. There are number of advantages of this
method and all these advantages ensures the effectiveness of this method for the organization-
 Wide range of candidates can be accessed by the organization in terms of filling the
position of sales assistant in the organization.
 Huge cost is not involved in this method, and this is the reason because of which this
method is mostly opted by the organization.
 It is not time consuming, as it involves very less time process.
 Digital platform is the best platform in this context as it provides number of options
through which process of hiring can be managed by the organization in efficient manner
(Amon, Campbell, Hawke & Steinbeck, 2014).
A2.B- BM publish the job description in the daily newspaper in terms of filling the vacant
position of sales assistant in the BM-

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Job title: Sales Assistant
Reporting to: Manager
Salary: $85000 per annum.
Hours: 11 AM to 8 PM
Location: Northland (travelling is not required)
Purpose of the position- The main aim of sales assistant is to liaising with the customers in
terms of ensuring the smooth transactions with the customers, and further helps the customers in
choosing the wide range of goods and services offered by the organization. Job responsibilities
of the sales assistant-
Give valuable advice to the customers
Satisfy their needs through effective services.
Ensure that stock levels in the firm are maintained.
Promote the products of the store
Academic or trade qualifications- No minimum qualification is required, but minimum 2 years
of experience in this profile.
Work experience and skills- Skills of effective communication and team work.
2C
Following are the four shortlisting criteria which is chose by the BM in context of selecting the
candidate applied for the vacant position in the organization-
 Whether candidate hold the required experience of 2 years or more in the position of
sales assistant or any similar position or not. This question is deemed as effective criteria
because this is the basic requirement for appointing the sales assistant.
 Whether candidate is able to coordinate with other employees or working in the team. It
is necessary that candidate must be able to work in the team, because it avoids the
unnecessary chaos and confusion in the organization.
 Whether candidate holds the effective communication skills or not, as communication
skill is considered as most important skill for attracting the customers and ensures smooth
transaction with them.
 Candidate must be able to advice the customers, as they must hold required knowledge
about the products and services offered by the organization (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, &
Wright, 2006/ Stewart & Ruckdeschel, 1998).
2D
Selection is the stage for which all the above stages are performed, as it is considered as most
critical stage of whole recruitment process. BM use two methods for selecting their shortlisted

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candidates, and these two methods are skill assessment and interview of the candidate. The
chosen tools for recruiting and selecting the employee are the skill assessment and interview.
Skill assessment is the tool through which skills of the candidates are examined such as attitude,
knowledge of products, and communications skills. This is the effective method, as it examines
all the required skills. After this assessment interview of the candidate is conducted by the
manager for taking the final decision in this context. Interview is considered as effective tool
(Mehrabad & Brojeny, 2007/ Woodman, Swift, O’Boyle, Valley, Bland, Kahn & Schaffer,
2006).
2E
BM set four questions in terms of evaluating the behavior of the candidates while selecting the
candidate for the vacant position, as this further help the employer in evaluating the capabilities
of the employee. Some of these behavioral questions are stated below-
 Are you able to demonstrate any situation in which you work with the team and the
challenges you faced while working with that team. This helps the employer in
understanding the team working capabilities of the candidate.
 Another question asked by employer related to the communication skills of the candidate,
and in this candidate is asked to demonstrate the situation in which they attract the
customers and entered with him in transaction when customer is not even interested in
looking at the products.
 Demonstrate the situation when you deal with the person who is not as much responsive
as you required entering into the transaction (Hsu & Leat, 2000).
2F
BM create this chart for shortlisting all the candidates who send their applications, and after
that taking their final decision.
Respondent Experience
as sales
assistant
Oral or Written
Communication
Skills
Team Work Attitude Total
2 Years or
more
a=not acceptable
b=considered
c=acceptable
a=not
acceptable
b=considered
c=acceptable
a=not
acceptable
b=considere
d
c=acceptable
Respondent
1
Respondent
2
Respondent
3
2G

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Pre-employment checks are the most important stage, as it mainly ensures the background of the
employee and helps in managing the future risks. Following are the criteria on the basis of which
employee is evaluated-
 Background related to crimes must be checked by the organization with authorized
departments.
 Residential address of the candidate must be cross verified through legal documents.
 Proofs of citizenship in the country must be verified (Ball, Pollard & Stanley, 2010).
References
Amon, K. L., Campbell, A. J., Hawke, C., & Steinbeck, K. (2014). Facebook as a recruitment
tool for adolescent health research: a systematic review. Academic Pediatrics, 14(5), 439-
447.
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Berinsky, A. J., Huber, G. A., & Lenz, G. S. (2011). Using Mechanical Turk as a subject
recruitment tool for experimental research. Submitted for review.
Hsu, Y. R., & Leat, M. (2000). A study of HRM and recruitment and selection policies and
practices in Taiwan. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(2), 413-
435.
Mehrabad, M. S., & Brojeny, M. F. (2007). The development of an expert system for effective
selection and appointment of the jobs applicants in human resource management.
Computers & Industrial Engineering, 53(2), 306-312.
Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2006). Human Resources Management:
Gaining a Competitive Advantage, Tenth Global Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
Stewart, T., & Ruckdeschel, C. (1998). Intellectual capital: The new wealth of organizations.
Performance Improvement, 37(7), 56-59.
Wright, P. M., & Nishii, L. H. (2007). Strategic HRM and organizational behavior: Integrating
multiple levels of analysis. CAHRS working paper series, 468.
Ball, L., Pollard, E., & Stanley, N. (2010). Creative graduates creative futures. CGCF Higher
Education.
Woodman, P. J., Swift, S. E., O’Boyle, A. L., Valley, M. T., Bland, D. R., Kahn, M. A., &
Schaffer, J. I. (2006). Prevalence of severe pelvic organ prolapse in relation to job
description and socioeconomic status: a multicenter cross-sectional study. International
Urogynecology Journal, 17(4), 340-345.

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Irish Jobs. Sales Assistant. Retrieved from https://www.irishjobs.ie/careeradvice/sales-assistant-
job-description/.