HRM in Practice: Analyzing HRM Strategies in Different Contexts

This report delves into Human Resource Management (HRM) practices, exploring workforce planning, recruitment, training, and development within the contexts of Wood Hill College, Tesco, and ITV. It examines the role of an HR manager in workforce planning, analyzing the strengths and weakne...Read More

HRM IN PRACTICE

Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................3
a) Workforce planning HR manager’s role in Wood hill College........................................................3
b) Strengths and weaknesses of approaches to recruitment and selection............................................4
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................................5
a) Job advertisement for job role of biology lab assistant in Wood hill College......................................5
b) Platforms to place job advertisement for biology lab assistant in Wood hill College..........................5
c) Job description and person specification for the role of biology teacher.............................................5
Task 3.........................................................................................................................................................6
a) Difference between training and development.................................................................................6
b) Describe how training needs are identified and the methods of training used by Tesco..................7
c) Explain the benefits for Tesco and the employees in having a systematic approach to training and
development............................................................................................................................................7
The apprenticeship program, eLearning and other training programs have aided in improving the
overall performance f employees within UK. This can be gauged by the presence of an increased
profitability and sales figures. For example, the sales at Tesco has jumped to 3.1 percent in the last
month of 2017 which is far greater than the one recorded for other supermarket chains such as
Sainsbury, Asda as well as Morrison’s (Torrance, 2018). Moreover during May 2017 the company
further recorded the best quarter sales performance in 7 years which was all possible on account of the
commitment given by employees (Armstrong, 2017)..............................................................................8
Task 4......................................................................................................................................................8
a) Importance for ITV to maintain good employee relations and how it influences their HR decision
making.....................................................................................................................................................8
Various strategies have been used by ITV in order to maintain good relations with the employee. The
practices as well as its impact on HR decision making has been described below;.................................8
b) Key elements of employment legislation and how this influences ITV’s HR decision making.......9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
Managing human resources is one of the most important tasks for the organisations as
this is associated with management of employees. In today's competitive scenario, it is not only
important to have qualified personnel but also to retain them for long time. Human resource
management includes various functions like recruitment and selection of employees, their
training and all round development (Kuvaas and et.al., 2015). The present studies include
various case studies through which emphasis has been laid on various human resource functions.
These mainly include training and development, employment laws and employment relations.
Case studies are based on Tesco, wood hill College and ITV through which involve
understanding of various human resource issues and their effective management so as to ensure
towards long term sustainability of the company.
Task 1
a) Workforce planning HR manager’s role in Wood hill College.
Workforce planning can be defined as systematic process that helps to make sure that right kind,
number and type of people are recruited for right job in an efficient and successful manner. It is a
very necessary approach for Wood Hill College so as to ensure that it is not short of teachers as
well as admin department. Proper planning further aids to recruit positions in a timely manner
and that too as per the schedule (Friedman, Carmeli and Dutton, 2015). It thus aids in meeting
the overall business objective and further makes sure that overall performance of students is also
improved. The role of HR manager in this respect is as follows;
He is required to carry out proper and accurate forecasting of the teachers that are needed in the
college. This is further followed by deciding over the process by which teachers are to be
recruited for the college. If one process is not going well then it is the duty of HR manager to put
the issue in front of management so that necessary changes can be done.
Next role of HR manager is to carry out induction as well as training sessions for the teachers
and other staff members so as to make sure that there can be development of requisite skillset.
This will help to make sure that appointed employees are aware of the mission, vision, strategies
and overall working of organisation (Anggraeni, Dwiatmadja and Yuniawan, 2017). Hr. manager
must also work with his team members so as to find out as to what is the main reason behind
high staff turnover so that strategies can be taken to deal with them.

b) Strengths and weaknesses of approaches to recruitment and selection
Various techniques can be used for recruitment and selection along with the one that has been
used by Wood Hill College. Their strengths and weaknesses have been described below;
recruitment and selection
methods
Strength Weakness
Internal recruitment It assists in boosting up the
overall morale of employee as
he or she gets a chance of
promotion.
There is no need to waste
resources on training je staff
towards organisational culture,
work ethics etc (Potoski and
Callery, 2016).
The situation to turn down
staff members towards a
position can be tricky one.
External recruiters Aids in generating a large
number of candidates with the
requisite skill and expertise.
Hiring external recruitment
agencies is a costly affair for
the firm and also requires a
huge time.
Referrals from Existing Staff Known and trustworthy
candidate can be recruited.
It further spread a positive
word of mouth that company
is good to work for.
The generated referrals may
not be good for current
position (Anitha and Begum,
2016).
Website recruitment used by
Wood hill college
The management saves a lot of
money in hiring third party
recruiters.
The time of applicants is also
saved as they can send the CV
on the website directly.
Use of just a single technique
may not generate ample
amount of candidates.
There is still a need to direct
the applicants towards the
website which is a costly
affair for the company.
Local newspapers This traditional technique aids Time consuming and delays

in generating responses from
large number of candidates.
may occur on the basis of
publishing date.
Task 2
a) Job advertisement for job role of biology lab assistant in Wood hill College.
Wanted Lab assistants for biology in wood hill college
Wood hill college, London (UK) is looking for experienced and well qualified male/female
biology lab assistants. The applicant is required to possess bachelor’s degree in biology and
should have previous experience of working in preparing laboratory material for school or
college.
Interested candidates may drop there CV on woohilljobs.ac.uk by 30th march 2018 or come for
walk in interview in the college.
Regards,
HR manager
Wood hill college, London
Email: woohilljobs.ac.uk
b) Platforms to place job advertisement for biology lab assistant in Wood hill College
In order to invite suitable applications for the post of biology lab assistant the Hr. manager can
use several platforms to place the advertisement. The very first place can be its own website
followed by usage of online job portals such as Guardian, monster, total jobs, Adzuna etc. These
can aid in generating greater visibility and also attract suitable applicants for the position. Other
than this, the advertisement can also be posted on social media sites like LinkedIn where Hr.
team can search for candidates and make a contact with them thereby saving time and money
factor (Ozuem, Lancaster and Sharma, 2016). Facebook page of wood hill college can further act
as a great source for posting the job advertisement which can be done in the news feed section. It
can act as a word of mouth that can be passed on to suitable applicants.
c) Job description and person specification for the role of biology teacher
Job description: Biology lab assistant
Department: Biology (Science)
Job title: Biology lab assistant

Responsible to: Biology teacher
Overall responsibility:
Assist in setting up laboratory for biology, microbiology, anatomy or physiology.
Store equipments and related supplies in a proper and safe manner.
Maintain cleanliness and overall organisation of laboratory.
Person specification
Education and Qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications
Studied college level in biology or related area of science.
Preferred Qualifications
Bachelors in biology or related area of science. Previous experience in microbiology or preparing
laboratory materials for science classes in college or school level.
Experience and knowledge:
Ability to create chemical solutions, prepare media and maintain equipment’s as well as supplies
for lab.
Knowledge about safety procedures in laboratory and inventory management system.
Skills and Attributes:
Ability to interact effectively with others.
Task 3
a) Difference between training and development
Training can be defined as the technique by which knowledge and skill set of employees can be
increased with respect to doing a particular job while development is the programs conducted by
management for the overall growth. Training programs are mainly designed for non-managerial
and technical staff members to fulfil a specific need or purpose while development is designed
for higher executive and the ones who are there in managerial field so as to fulfil a generalised
need (Kuvaas and et.al., 2015). Training has further been regarded as a onetime process which is
wrapped up after taking the feedback from employees while development is a continual process
where knowledge of employees is upgraded on a constant basis. If the training of employee is
done properly then it benefit both the organisation as well as employees but if the trainee losses
interest in the session then it does no good (Imamura and Kubo, 2016). Development on the
other hand has always got a positive impact for both the employee as well as organisation.

Training takes place within the organisation on account of external stimulus such as the one
insisted by employer while development occurs on account of internal stimulus that is developed
in the minds of employee (Strohmeier, 2014). Overall it can be said that both training and
development sessions are essential for making the employee more productive and maintaining
the long term sustainability of organisation.
b) Describe how training needs are identified and the methods of training used by Tesco
Training needs are identified within Tesco after setting of the business targets that are required to
be achieved. Then the need is to assess the activities that are to be performed by employees and
skill set needed for the same. If the employee lags behind in one or the other area then training is
rendered to them. In the same lines, various techniques are used by Tesco to train its employees
which adheres with a flexible and structured approach so as to adapt to needs of individuals.
Tesco has committed itself to improve the overall training and development program by growing
its Apprenticeship programme by 30 percent. It has further started a digital training program so
as to aid in delivery of grocery code compliance (Pasterfield, 2016). Other than this, it further
provides eLearning, face to face training, coaching etc. to the employees on a regular basis.
There is also a presence of options programme were training sessions are designed so as to
render support to the employees who are working on new roles. Tesco has also launched its new
learning portal named as Academy Online which will be the key point for carrying out learning
and development across the company. This portal will ensure that training materials which are
given to the staff members are of highest quality and consistent so as to be trusted by the staff
(Welcome to the Tesco Academy, 2018).
c) Explain the benefits for Tesco and the employees in having a systematic approach to
training and development
Training can be regarded as an effective tool which can be used to improve the employee
performance. But if it is done in a systematic manner then there can be generation of positive
financial results. Hence adhering with a systematic as well as organised approach to training is
very essential for Tesco as well as the employees. If followed on a strict note then it can assist in
generating more clarity for the staff members and trainers also start taking an interest in the
sessions by which organisational performance can be improved. The learners can further be kept
engaged throughout the training sessions which can make them take a grasp of whatever has

been delivered to them by the trainer. There can also be a sharing of knowledge as well as skill
set that can then be applied within the workplace (Hodge and Rainey, 2014). This is most likely
to make the employees satisfied and boost their overall morale so that they work harder for the
organisation. Hence the management team at Tesco must ensure that its training program is in
tune with the mission and goal of organisation. It must make use of consistent as well as
progressive techniques so that desired outcomes can be attained with the least possible chance of
error.
d) Evaluate the effectiveness of Tesco’s training and development practice in terms of delivering
a return on investment
The apprenticeship program, eLearning and other training programs have aided in improving the
overall performance of employees within UK. This can be gauged by the presence of an
increased profitability and sales figures. For example, the sales at Tesco has jumped to 3.1
percent in the last month of 2017 which is far greater than the one recorded for other
supermarket chains such as Sainsbury, Asda as well as Morrison’s (Torrance, 2018). Moreover
during May 2017 the company further recorded the best quarter sales performance in 7 years
which was all possible on account of the commitment given by employees (Armstrong, 2017).
Task 4
a) Importance for ITV to maintain good employee relations and how it influences their HR
decision making
Various strategies have been used by ITV in order to maintain good relations with the employee.
The practices as well as its impact on HR decision making has been described below;
Making use of employee opinion surveys aids in gathering inputs about the overall workplace
where the employees have been placed. The strategy further impacts Hr. decision making as the
department is required to make changes in the policies and procedures as per the feedback given
by employees. Collective consultation is done by use of elected representatives that helps in
making the employees share their opinions about the workplace (van den Berg and et.al., 2017).
This helps in developing an overall sense of responsibility in the representatives as they feel
privileged that management has selected them to represent the employees. It further makes the
employees confident to talk about three issues and they can further trust the represoentative that
he will present the problems in a best possible manner. The decision to be taken by HR is to

select the best possible representative who can do justice for the employees as well as be in
favour of the management also. Hr. is then required to make sure that it gives an ear to the
opinions shared by employee representatives and takes steps accordingly so that overall
concentration of staff members is increased and productivity happens. Collective bargaining is
another such strategy which is undertaken by management of ITV (Kuvaas and et.al., 2015). It
ensures towards prompt as well as accurate settlement of the issues that has been raised which
further results in the creation of least number of conflicts. The company also adopts effective
negotiation which assists in maintaining good employee relations by which overall morale can be
enhanced and a culture of fair completion can be created. Hr. in this regard is required to be
sound in the area of negotiation so that decisions can be taken properly.
b) Key elements of employment legislation and how this influences ITV’s HR decision
making
There is a presence of many employment legislations that are required to be adhered by
management of ITV within UK and this puts an impact on the overall decisions taken by HR as
well. These have been described below;
 The Occupational Health and Safety Act – this act makes it mandatory for the
management set ITV to comply with varied laws so that employees can be protected from
working in unsafe environment within the office premises. The Hr. in this regard is
required to decide over how it can maintain the documentation of hazards that are there in
office premises, It is further required to report any incident, injury or death that occurs in
the office. Decisions are further required to be taken on how proper training can be
provided to employees so that they can be kept safe from any unwanted situation.
 Data protection act - ITV is also required to focus on data protection act wherein it is to
be ensured by the Hr. team that no personal data of the employees is used for the purpose
other than which it is meant for. In case of any breach in data security then government is
mostly likely to impose heavy penalty on the company. Hence decision with respect to
proper encryption of personal data in a secured format must be made by the Hr. team.
 Equality – there is further a presence of employee legislations with respect to equal pay
where the staff members must get access to equal salaries irrespective one of the gender
in case similar work has been done by them. The company is further required to adhere
with Disability Discrimination Act where no kind of discrimination should be practiced

by the employer if a person is suffering from any disability. HR must make sure that
employees are saved from harassment and bullying and strict action is taken against the
culprit.
 Employee termination – the contracts of employee can be terminated on account of
several reasons like death, retirement, redundancy or dismissal. In this regard, it is the
responsibility of both the employee as well as employer to provide a minimum period of
notice as per the agreement. Legal actions can be taken if contractual regulations with
respect to termination are not followed. In this regard, the Hr. team is required to give a
fair reason for the termination or dismissal and if they cannot do so then penalties can be
faced if a case is filed by the terminated employee (Kuvaas and et.al., 2015).
It can thus be concluded that there is a presence of varied laws that impact the overall working of
ITV with respect to employee legislation. Hence the employer as well as HR team of the
company must understand and keep themselves up-to-date with the obligations so as to avoid any
issues in the coming future. This is most required by the company in order to maintain long term
sustainability and avoid any penalties.
Conclusion
From the above report, conclusion can be drawn that human resource managers should be aware
of various human resource issues and find proper solutions as well. It is on their part to select
and recruit the best pool of employees for the organizational by applying effective recruitment
methods. Also, proper training and development programs should be organized for employees
with an aim of their all-round development. Healthy relations should be maintained with them
and also among all employees. It can also be concluded that employee’s laws should be
implemented by the human resource managers in the best possible manner so as not to cause any
issue for the company on account of the problems faced by the employees.

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