Analyzing HRM: Workforce Planning, Recruitment, and Employee Relations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices at Marks & Spencer (M&S), focusing on workforce planning, recruitment, employee relations, and the impact of employment legislation. It explores the purpose and functions of HRM, evaluates different recruitment and selection approaches, and examines the benefits of HRM practices for both employers and employees. The report also assesses the effectiveness of HRM in raising organizational profit and productivity, analyzes the importance of employee relations in HRM decision-making, and identifies key elements of employment legislation affecting HRM. Furthermore, it includes a PESTLE analysis to understand the broader environmental factors influencing M&S's HRM strategies. The study uses specific examples to illustrate the application of HRM practices within the company.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
LO1.............................................................................................................................................4
P1: Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organization…………………………………………………………………….4
P2: Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection………………………………………………………………………………………..8
LO2…………………………………………………………………………………………...11
P3: Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organization for both employer
and employee…………………………………………………………………………………11
P4: Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in term of raising organizational
profit and productivity………………………………………………………………………..18
LO3..........................................................................................................................................21
P5: Analyze the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision
making......................................................................................................................................21
P6: Identify the key elements of employement legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision making………………………………………………………………………………23
LO4..........................................................................................................................................29
P7: Illustrate the application of HRM practices in a work related context, using specific
examples...................................................................................................................................29
Conclusion................................................................................................................................31
Reference..................................................................................................................................32
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Introduction
Human Resource management is a strategic approach that helps the organization to manage
well and to develop the business. It helps to develop an employee performance for the growth
of an organization. HR focuses on the people rather than the business therefore; it includes
employee benefits, recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal and others.
HR helps the organization to achieve its goal through the help of the people. HR manages the
human capital and implements the policies and processes of the organization. In this
assignment, it covers the topic functions of HRM, strengths and weaknesses of different
approaches to recruitment and selection, benefits of HRM for employee and employer,
different HRM practices for raising profit, HRM decision making and its impact and
application of HRM practices. The chosen company in this assignment is Marks & Spencer.
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LO1
P1: Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning
and resourcing an organization.
Human resource management is unit where the recruitment and managing the entire
organisation is done. Their responsibility is also to see the policies of the organisation and
keep knowledge about how the employees within the organisation are behaving with each
other in order to maintain the company’s work culture. Human resource management in
Marks and Spencer aims to make effective use of employees such that the risk regarding the
products and work process is reduced. As Marks and Spencer is a leading company in this
competitive world lead by TESCO and ASDA its human resource management is very
efficient and manages excellently (Kew and Stredwick, 2017).
The policies followed by this organisation include promoting of free environment for the
employees that is no discrimination is done on basis of colour, sex and caste. All employees
are treated well and equally. The organisation does not do any kind of partiality and believes
that every individual must receive equal respect. Next is the training program that is also
looked after as without proper training the employees will not know how to work accordingly
and will not be able to organise themselves in the working units of the organisation.
Rewarding the employees is also one important inclusion in their policy that is giving
incentives and promotion as per their working merits. Also beneficial schemes are provided
to the employees in order to encourage them and boost them up so that they work more
efficiently and dedicatedly. The other policy is quality check that is the products before
getting launched in the market needs to be checked by the quality check department
(Banerjee and Sarkar, 2015)
Whether the quality check department has done their work properly is examined by the
human resource department. Maintaining employee integrity and checking whether the
communication between the employees, employee to customer and management to employee
is clear and accurate. Organising the schedules for the business involvement that is BIG
constitution which provides the opportunity to employees where they share and discuss their
ideas and planning with other leading companies. For The organisation to prosper the human
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resource management have to keep in mind about the health issues faced by the employees
and for that health care services are to be organised.
Proper workforce planning is done so that the M&S fulfils all the terms and clauses to
achieve the peak of success. A company to be more demanding and popular needs to have
high number of customers and also has the best ways of dealing with them. For this proper
structuring and planning is very important (De et al., 2015).
Best fit approach is about following of such strategies that are dealing with the competitive
world and implementing of such objectives that will result in employees, and quality of
products enhancement. It is said that designing of appropriate reward system for the resources
that are being arranged by the organisation in such a way that it fits the company’s strategies
is important (Hsieh, 2011). Whereas the “Best Practice” approach is taking up and using
those strategies by the company that have been derived from the past history and experiences.
The “Best Practice” oaths to follow those technology and knowledge that have been already
used and disposed.
There are two broad approaches of human resource one is Hard HR and other is Soft HR.
These two approaches are somewhat academic. Hard HRM treats the employees within an
organisation just as another resource like the way buildings and machines are treated. There
is a strong link with other corporation and all the resources that is collected are chosen based
on the priority of their requirement and their costs.
Key features of the Hard HRM are:
 Short time appointments of the employees that is hire and fire jobs.
 Minimum communication from the top management. This means the management
hardly gets in touch with the employees working, the minimum amount of that is
required to be shared are passed, nothing irrelevant are shared.
 Minimum wage is payed to the company employees and benefits are less.
 Very little empowerment is given and the employees are strictly tackled. The leisure
hours are cut down and limited break from work is given.
 Feedback system is created depending upon the way the employees are working
whether good or bad.
Soft HR is just the opposite of Hard HR as it treats the employees as an important resource of
the organisation. Employees are treated well and their needs are also looked after. Proper
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motivation and rewards are also given to the employees so that their working is boosted up
and they end up as a committed worker (Shields ,2015)
Key features of the Soft HRM are:
 Long term appointments of the employees are carried that is they are appointed for a
long term planning and definitely not a hire and fire job.
 Communication is very frequent among the employees as well as top down
(management to employees).All the difficulties that are faced by each working unit or
by the employee are reported on time and cleared. They are also given suggestions
from top management regarding their work.
 Adequate wage is given to the employees so that they are satisfied and benefits are
also provided.
 Feedback is given about the working of the employees so that within the safe time
they can rectify their shortcomings and improve.
The subset of workforce management is workforce planning. M&S deals with the software
requirements of the labours and the human resources required for the development of the
products manufacturing.
The PESTLE analysis is about marketing principles where P is for political, E for economics,
S for social, T for technological, L for legal and E for environmental.
Elements of PESTEL Analysis
Political Factors The political conditions in UK have led to
higher cost schemes. Due to the energy
efficiency scheme that has been newly
introduced by the UK, government has put
negative effect on this organization. This
factor is very much influential in the context
of business because every business functions
on certain policies (M&S, 2018). As per the
recent report of political condition of U.K,
the company faced lots of challenges because
the policies were made for the existing
political parties. Some disturbances occurred
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when different political parties affected
negatively.
Economics Factors M&S has faced problem with the economic
condition as the other organizations have
reduced their cost of products. People of UK
look for both products as well as their value.
Falling of oil prices also had negative effect
on the organization due to it being a retailer
company. These factors mainly highlight the
economic factors of Marks & Spencer which
includes the employment growth and
unemployment rate at the time of inflation
and recession (M&S, 2018). However,
economic factors are very much interrelated
with the social and political factor. As per the
recent report, the economic condition of UK
is facing huge inflation problem including the
previous economical misbalances.
Social Factors As there is always a change from previous
generation to new generation regarding the
country culture, M&S has also adapted with
it.
Technological Factors As this organization has strong social media,
it remains easy for it to reach to the
customers. With the changing generations
newer technologies are being invented every
time and M&S copes up with technologies as
well as upgraded employees to run them. The
development of the other companies proving
the same service to the industries with a
lower rate and it is affecting negatively in the
business process (M&S, 2018).
Environmental Factors Whenever there is change in the social
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culture of the country there is also an overall
environment change. It can be both internal
and external that is within the organization
and other is outside the company which
mainly deals with the customers.
Legal Factors It has legal improvements for opening
physical stores and also home deliveries.
This gives a greater expansion to the
company.
Table 1: Pestle analysis
(Source: Created by the learner)
P2: Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection.
The retention of employees in M&S is internal and external. In case of internal as the
recruitment is done from within the company the employees are already habituated with the
work processes. The internal can either formal or informal recruitment. As a result they are
more efficient and dependable. Also another advantage is the time and cost for internal
recruitment is much less as to evaluate already existing employees the process to recruit is
less and no travelling is required. It can also make the employee more attractive. It gives
M&S more opportunity to change their position and get appointed to other one where they
get something newer task to do. This also makes them get rid of the monotonous work
schedule and type.
Disadvantage of internal recruitment is the overall no gain in the number of employees as the
employees are selected and appointed from within the organisation. The vacancy caused as a
result of this is not filled up and thus that particular section remains lacking in workforce. It
often creates conflicts among the co-workers as they may assume that the organisation has
been partial towards them by overlooking their working abilities and not giving them a
chance to prove themselves (Keep, 2014). In addition, there lies a issue with respect among
the employees as everyone as assumes themselves to be equal as long as they are within the
same unit.
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External recruitment is choosing employees from outside the organisation. In this, the benefit
remains in getting new talents and employees with capabilities. In addition, the companies
get new employees as result of which the strength is also enhanced. It appoints employees
from large pool of applicants .It also provides a complete new outlook. The disadvantage of it
is that the time and cost is more as new employees are interviewed for which number of
processes are required to analyse their capabilities. Management needs to look after the
training properly as the employees are completely fresh to the organisation.
Another problem with external recruitment is that it brings all inefficient workers. Thus, in
order to overcome this problem, proper screening has to be done which takes a long time and
more should be taken by the Human Resource department (Keep, 2014). It also requires long
training sessions because the employees need to learn and adapt to the working culture.
The labour markets of M&S are of two type’s internal and external labour market. Internal
labour means appointing an employee outside the company in spite of choosing someone
from within the organisation. While external labour means appointing employee for some
senior post from within the company, it is actually beneficial, as the management knows
about the employees. The labours are one of the most important part of the business
organization.
Lack in proper training will result in turnover of the labours highly. Companies, which
provide proper facilities to their employees, then they will be able to properly know about
whether the training is given properly the HR team needs to continuously keep a check and
this is the process of analysing turnover. Employees are retained in any business organization
on basis of their capabilities, commitment and loyalty. Thus, the top-level managers of the
company are responsible to recruit employees, who are highly skilled and appropriate for
their job roles. The company is also responsible to provide proper training and development
to their employees, so that the employees can understand their responsibilities (Keep, 2014).
Socialisation means giving proper knowledge to the employees so that they are able to
completely adapt the work culture and process of M&S. Induction is about proper training
given to the employees so that the required output from the organisation is achieved
successfully. This includes corporate values, and the ethics as per the norms of the company.
The disadvantage regarding the induction is if improperly done then this may lead the
organisation to risk (Keep, 2014). This organisation aims at proper induction by making sure
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that the training programs are carried properly and the employees are making clear
understanding of the things acknowledged to them.
Online job Applying in external recruitment is about applying to the link provided in the
company’s website. Here many fresher’s apply and many are unskilled, due to which the
problem arises. Social media plays a very important role in this context. Nowadays, all the
recruitment process of any business organization is done through online job portals and
advertisements via social media networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and other
online blogs.
The competency framework of this organisation aims at making the HR much more effective
in order to get effective output. While recruiting the employees the HR team makes sure that
the personal specifications of them are true and as per the requirement. M&S being a branded
company recruits its employees on basis of both internal and external. But large there are
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LO2
P3: Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organization for both
employer and employee.
Human resource management practices are the implementation of the policies and practices
designed by the organization’s HR Department to manage its people for effective
performance. Good practices are instrumental in higher productivity and objective
achievement. The relationship between HRM practices and organizational effectiveness is
complex. The best HRM practices should have -
a) Linear relationship with organizational performance.
b) The practices should be accepted universally.
c) It has to be measurable in terms of the organization’s market share and profit.
It includes, selection of staffs, performance based pay. The HRM practices move around the
following areas.HRM practices must be aligned with the policies of the organization, which
include the “vision”, the “core values” and the “mission”.
Employment practices and placement: One of the most important HRM practice is
recruiting new employees who will either be a part of the general work force or play a major
role in decision making within the organization.
a) The Early Expectations: New employees are not expected to know all the organization's
policies and procedures. Therefore HR ensures that expectations are clearly set before the
new employees. That is why Induction is one of the most important practices, which HRM
needs to follow to prepare an employee for the organization.
b) Frequent Feedback: Annual performance review is the most common HR practices, but
this once-a-year evaluation is not enough for improved performance of the employee
(Matthews, 2015). Instead, a system of half yearly feedback is also designed by some
organizations. The best method of feedback is done one-to-one by individual supervisors who
arrange meetings with their subordinates, either once in three months or once in a month and
discuss performance. This helps the managers to get connected to their subordinates and also
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motivates them. This practice also improves attachment with the organization and the
employee understands their purpose and value better.
Flexible Work Arrangements A survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource
Management showed that 89 percent of HR policies which include flexible work facility
showed better employee retention. Flexibility might either be a facility of work-from-home
arrangements or the facility to work on different schedule .This arrangement helps employees
to accommodate childcare or medical appointments and balance their personal life.
Embrace Technology: Embracing technology for better performance monitoring has
become a regular practise for HRM. It helps to track the performance of an individual
employee effectively and efficiently cutting down the cost of manual labour. System software
are now available for generation of internet-based payroll system, submission of leaves, plan
vacations. Planning leaves through internet helps the employees as well as their supervisors,
who can plan their assignments better. Tracking the performance and achievement of sales or
service objects becomes easier for the management team through technological
improvements.
Consistency: Consistency is an HR best practice mainstay. Any human resources practices
must be aligned to the company's policies and procedures; therefore HRM has to enforce
them fairly across the board for all employees, irrespective of the length of employment in
the organization. If the HRM practises favouritism, or act bias towards decision making, then
employees are less likely to abide by the rules and regulation of the organization. Workplace
conflicts increase and attrition is likely to be higher.
Compensation and benefits: Employees first attention goes to the compensation and
benefits an organization offers. Compensation includes Salary, incentives and perks. Benefits
include the health policies, Leave travel policies, encashment of leaves and others. Salary
component usually remains fixed but depending on the earning potential of the job an
individual can also have a variable pay (Conroy, 2015). The salary component is also based
o0n the performance of the employer throughout the year. The variable pay includes dearness
allowance, shift allowance, lunch allowance, travel and stay reimbursement for field jobs or
simply a daily allowance. Organizations sometimes have contract with health Insurance
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