Human Resource Management Practices in NatWest Bank

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Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Activity 1.........................................................................................................................................3
LO1 – Purpose and scope of human resource management in terms of resourcing and
organization with skills and talent appropriate to fulfill business objectives..................................3
Purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and resourcing of an
organization [P1]..........................................................................................................................3
Accessing the different ways in which the functions of HRM can provide talent and skills
appropriate to fulfill business objectives [M1]............................................................................5
Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection [P2].................6
Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection
[M2].............................................................................................................................................6
Critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection, supported by specific examples [D1]...........................................................................7
Activity 2.........................................................................................................................................8
LO2 – Evaluating the effectiveness of the key elements of Human Resource Management in an
organization.....................................................................................................................................8
Benefits of different HRM practices within an organization for both the employer and
employee [P3]..............................................................................................................................8
Evaluating the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organizational
profit and productivity [P4]..........................................................................................................8
Exploring the different methods used in HRM practices, providing specific examples to
support evaluation within an organizational context [M3]..........................................................9
Critical evaluation of HRM practices and applications within an organization of context, using
a range of specific examples [D2]..............................................................................................10
Activity 3.......................................................................................................................................11
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LO3 – Analyzing the internal and external factors that affect human resource management
decision making, including employment legislation.....................................................................11
Analyzing the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision
making [P5]................................................................................................................................11
Identifying the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision making [P6].................................................................................................................11
Evaluating the key aspects of employee relations management and employment legislation that
affect HRM decision making in an organizational contact [M4]...............................................12
Critical evaluation of employee relations and the application of HRM practices that inform and
influence decision making in an organizational context [D3]...................................................12
LO4 – Applying human resource management practices in a work related context.....................13
Illustrating the application of HRM practices in a work related context, using specific
examples [P7].............................................................................................................................13
Rationale for the HRM application of specific HRM practices in a work-related context [M5]
....................................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
Reference List................................................................................................................................15
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Introduction
The success or demise of an organization significantly depends on the conduct of Human
Resource Management activities by the HRM department of a company. Therefore, it is
important that the HRM activities are conducted in the most appropriate way to maximize the
benefits to an organization. It ensures that the Human Assets are protected in the organization
which results into internal motivation to work harder for the company. The following report has
explained the importance of human resource management department and its activities in
banking sector. A well known London-based Bank named NatWest Bank has been selected for
the study and details regarding is HRM functioning have been mentioned. An activity booklet
has also been included describing the benefits of HRM practices for an employer and employee
from the perspective of NatWest Bank. The key aspects of employment legislation and the
influence of HRM decision making on the functioning of an organization have also been
explained with some examp_les.
Activity 1
LO1 – Purpose and scope of human resource management in terms of
resourcing and organization with skills and talent appropriate to fulfill
business objectives
Purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing of an organization [P1]
The primary objective of human resource management department of an organization is to look
after the management of the Human Assets in the company. All the important tasks within an
organization are done by the Human Assets and therefore it is important that the best and
deserving people are selected to work at different positions within the organization. Hence, the
human resource management department must execute its activities in a well calculated and
organized way. The activities of the HRM department are correctly associated with workforce
planning and resourcing the organization with the right quality and amount of workforce. There
are different types of roles available for employees in a banking sector company that require
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some special set of skills and talent. Hence, the HRM department must be able to identify the
right person with the necessary amount of skills so that he or she can perform the role in the best
way while being a part of the company (Farouk et al. 2016).
The responsibilities and functions of an HRM department working in banking sector ranges from
conducting recruitment and selection related activities to allocating the workforce to different
departments depending on the necessity of employees. In addition to this, the sheriff department
also looks after the requirements stated by the employees including taking good care of the
grievances they have. Following are some of the major functions of HRM department of
NatWest Bank.
 Recruitment and selection – The HRM department of NatWest Bank conducts
recruitment and selection processes in order to hire adequately skilled people for different
roles and responsibilities within their organization. Is conducted using different methods
and from different sources depending on the necessity of workforce in various
departments.
 Conducting training and development sessions – The training and development session
and syllabus of those recruited employees are designed by the HRM professionals of
NatWest Bank. The syllabus is design according to the requirements of the functioning of
different departments like customer services, financial Management, and other
departments.
 Workforce allocation – The workforce available with the company is allocated to
different departments of NatWest Bank by the HRM department. The allocation is done
according to the vacancies available in different departments and their availability of
workforce possessing expertise in different working sectors (Antwi et al. 2016).
 Suggesting strategies to senior departments – The important strategies about critical
decision making by the senior management of the NatWest Bank are often suggested by
the HRM department professionals. The strategies are suggested on the basis of the
quality and quantity of workforce available with the company as it decides the possibility
of success of a strategy.
 Making recommendations for promotions – The performance records of employees are
kept organized by the HRM department of NatWest Bank based on which
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recommendations for appraisals and promotions are provided. Therefore, the HRM
department suggest about providing a person with bigger responsibilities in the company.
 Resolving issues for the employees – Differences and issues caused to the employees
due to some reasons are taken care of by the HRM professionals. The employees of
NatWest Bank can communicate with the HRM department in case of any grievances or
complaints with an assurance that an effective solution will be provided (Ahmed et al.
2016).
Accessing the different ways in which the functions of HRM can provide talent and
skills appropriate to fulfill business objectives [M1]
In order to fulfill the business objectives, an organization must have adequate amount of talent
and skills available in its workforce in the form of its Human Assets. There are different ways
that can be used by the human resource management department of NatWest Bank or any other
organization to provide the necessary skills and talent to its different departments in order to
fulfill the business objectives. The most common and effective method is recruiting the right
individual for the right job. The primary operations of NatWest Bank include providing Financial
Services, personal loans, business loans, Investment plans and services, and several other
investment related facilities to its customers. Hence, the workforce needs to be equipped with
people skilled in different sectors by conducting proper recruitment from colleges and organizing
walk-in interviews. The companies can also conduct an internal recruitment by organizing a
small Talent Hunt event to provide the Employees with opportunities to showcase their talents
that can be useful for the company (Ayentimi et al. 2018).
The establishment of a new department while expanding the business requires the contribution of
adequately trained and experienced employees. Hence, that and departments must be careful
about deciding the proper ratio of experienced employees holding work experience with NatWest
Bank and the newly recruited employees. The HRM department also needs to ensure that the
training that has been provided to the employees is is effective enough to make them work
dedicatedly for the company without making critical errors. There are several instances when an
organization faces a critical shortage of employees in a specific department while a different
department has surplus employees working for it. Therefore, the HRM department must ensure
delivery of basic knowledge regarding every department during conducting the training sessions.
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This enables the HRM department to re-allocate the employees to different departments so that
the shortest can be dealt with effectively (Murphy et al. 2018).
Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection [P2]
The most common approaches to recruitment and selection chosen by a large scale organization
include internal recruitment and external recruitment processes. In addition to this, the external
approach of recruitment and selection can further be classified on the basis of the stakeholders
involved in recruitment. This includes self recruitment where the organization itself conduct a
recruitment drive and recruitment using a third party company where the contract for recruitment
is given to another company. The first approach which is internal recruitment involves hiring
professionals from within the organization in order to reward them with bigger responsibilities or
rearranging the responsibilities of different employees by shifting them into several other
departments. The second method is external selection where the employees are selected from
external sources like colleges and Universities and even through conducting direct walk in
interviews (Manzoor et al. 2019).
The primary strength of an internal recruitment approach is that the company has authentic data
available regarding the skills of an employee based on which a promotion or a shift to a different
department can be provided. However, a significant drawback for weakness of this recruitment
process is that the company is not likely to find a new variety of talent or skill. On the other
hand, the most prominent advantage for strength of an external selection is that the company can
choose from a huge pool of talent that fits its requirements. However, a significant weakness of
external approach of recruitment and selection is that the company has to invest a huge amount
in order to conduct the entire recruitment drive. Moreover, it is also a very time consuming
process (Ugarte, 2017).
Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection [M2]
Hiring the employees for a new task from within the organization has several advantages because
the company can save a lot of time and resources while doing so. In addition to this, since the
employee has been working already within the organization, he or she is likely to develop a bond
of loyalty with the company that results in to better performance. However, a disadvantage is
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that the company has to provide a large salary package to that individual while giving a
promotion declining which the employee can leave the organization in some cases. Similarly, a
prominent strength of external recruitment is that the company can go to colleges and
Universities to look for some fresh talents to select from. Hence, it is more likely that the
organization find better and smarter people who can enhance the quality of work at the
workplaces in the future. However, the companies also have to wait for a longer time like notice
periods and declaration of the university results in order to induce the newly recruited candidates
(Ayentimi et al. 2018).
Critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to
recruitment and selection, supported by specific examples [D1]
When a company hires an individual from within its different departments to relocate the person
to different department for promoting him to a higher designation, that person can take the
charge on the very next day. Hence, the organization does not need to worry about formalities
like notice period for submission of verification documents. A weakness of external hiring
through self recruitment by the companies is that the HR professionals and interviewing officers
can handpick the candidates depending on the requirements of the company. This is because the
HR professionals of NatWest Bank are strongly aware of the requirements for different
designations. However, it is a time and resource consuming process as the same could have been
invested somewhere else in the betterment of the company. On contrary to this, conducting
external recruitment using third party organization has an advantage that the company can use its
resources for some other cooperation. However, it also has a disadvantage that the skills
possessed by the hired candidates are likely to be different from the exact skills that are required
by the companies due to misunderstanding or misinterpretation (Khanna and Sehgal, 2016).
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Activity 2
LO2 – Evaluating the effectiveness of the key elements of Human Resource
Management in an organization
Benefits of different HRM practices within an organization for both the employer
and employee [P3]
Conducting different HRM practices within an organization is beneficial for every stakeholder
including the two major stakeholders that are the employers and the employees. Following are
the benefits of implementing effective HRM practices within a company from the perspective of
employer and employee.
 There is a better mutual bond between the employer and the employees if the necessary
HRM practices to increase employee relationships building are implemented.
 The employers are able to have a clear idea about the total investment to be done in order
to expand the business or higher new professionals for the existing business (Farouk et al.
2016).
 The employees can look for proper solutions to their grievances in case they are facing
some issues while working at the workplaces.
 Effective HRM practices significantly reduce the chances of conflicts due to which the
company does not faces any delay in the operations which enhances the productivity.
 Better relationships shared by the employers and employees result into a better reputation
of the company that earns more customers and their brand loyalty (Guest, 2017).
Evaluating the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising
organizational profit and productivity [P4]
The major HRM practices significantly contribute towards racing necessary organizational profit
for the company and also increasing the productivity of the organization at organizational and
personal levels. The HR professionals of an organization including NatWest Bank need to ensure
that the right individuals possessing necessary amount of skills are selected during the
recruitment and selection process. In addition to this, proper execution of HRM practices also
result into proper training for the employees that makes them skilled with the adequate skill sets
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required to perform at their best while working in the company. The different approaches of
training that include making the employees learn about working under pressure and developing
multiple skills that can be useful for their personal enhancement increase the productivity of the
company. The NatWest Bank generally provides financial services and customer support to its
customers and therefore the company has to hire people who are good with communication and
interaction with customers (Collins et al. 2018).
The employees that are adequately talented in terms of time and resource management are
capable of producing high quality work in huge quantities for the organization that further
increases the productivity of the company. In addition to this, the company also needs people
who are good with analytical skills to identify the data concepts based on which new strategies
can be formulated for overall financial benefit of the company. Therefore, hiring the right
candidate and providing him with the necessary training significantly increase the profits for the
company (Ogunyomi and Bruning, 2016).
Exploring the different methods used in HRM practices, providing specific
examples to support evaluation within an organizational context [M3]
In order to hire the right candidate for a financial services oriented organization, the recruitment
department of the HRM unit of the company looks for calculative and analytical skills possessed
by the candidate. Moreover, the quality of working under tremendous pressure is also required in
order to make the organization perform at its best. Hence, the recruiters perform psychological
test to check the mental stability of an individual. Some tests also include time constraints so that
the speed of decision making of the candidates can be checked. The face to face interview is
conducted by the HRM professionals to check whether the candidate is able to talk to the
customers and clients in an effective manner. The banking and financial services sector in United
Kingdom is growing at a tremendous rate. Hence, the NatWest Bank has to compete with its
rivalries that include HDFC bank and Barclays Bank. Therefore, the NatWest Bank HRM
Department checks for work experiences possessed by the candidates as it helps the organization
provide training to the person in a much effective way (Crifo et al. 2016).
The NatWest Bank also focuses towards developing creative methods to conduct its operations
and provide a better experience to its customers. Hence, the HRM department constantly looks
forward to induce new and raw talent from different colleges and Universities. Hence, the
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creative skills possessed by the candidates are also tested by HRM department of this Bank so
that the company can encourage entrepreneurship and Research and Development within the
organizational operations to promote creative methods for conducting the major operations
(Gomes et al. 2015).
Critical evaluation of HRM practices and applications within an organization of
context, using a range of specific examples [D2]
The term practices of any organization need to be aligned with its core operations so that the
selected candidates can perform well after being inducted in the company. Following are some of
the major HRM practices conducted by the HRM department of NatWest Bank in order to meet
the business objectives of the company.
 The company looks for candidates with analytical ability so that they can make accurate
assumptions about the marketing sector and forecast the possibility of any upcoming
scenario in the banking sector.
 The bank has multiple departments where the NatWest Bank representatives need to
interact directly with the customers. Hence, the HRM department focuses on
communication and interactive skills possessed by the candidates (Jayawickramad et al.
2016).
 Due to the tremendous digitization of banking services, it has become very important to
maintain the online acids and servers of the company. Hence, the NatWest Bank invest a
huge amount in looking for and selecting the candidates that can take care of the software
assets.
 The employees have to work in large teams and might have to switch in different
departments while working with the company. Therefore, the interviewers focus on team
building skills and ability to work with other people in proper coordination while
conducting the recruitment.
 The HRM department also regulates the verification processes involved in order to to
verify the background of a candidate before conducting the person for the company
training. Moreover, it also ensures that the right person is selected without any fraud
process (Xing et al. 2016).
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Activity 3
LO3 – Analyzing the internal and external factors that affect human resource
management decision making, including employment legislation
Analyzing the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM
decision making [P5]
Employee relations are very important in order to ensure your better bonding within the
employees at different levels as well as those working in the same teams. The HRM department
needs to shuffle the teams on a regular interval so that the employees are comfortable with
everyone while working for a common goal towards the betterment of the company. The
decisions that are made by HRM departments are highly influenced by the employee relations
because deciding for a new session of training and development requires planning. Hence, the
department can plan for the syllabus according to the level of mutual bonding and employee
relations it can observe within its different departments. In case of making a critical decision
about expansion of the company operations by introducing a new service, the skills and talents
possessed by the employees along with their compatibility with working with each other and
with available resources are tested properly by the HR department (Lai et al. 2016).
Identifying the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon
HRM decision making [P6]
The employment legislation includes details about working hours to be allocated to the
employees along with a minimum salary wage that is to be paid to the employees. The HRM
department needs to negotiate with the employees during the recruitment and selection processes
on the basis of working hours, health and safety, disciplinary procedures, minimum wages, and
holiday entitlements to be provided to the employees. The minimum salary to be paid to the
employees is directly influenced by the investment that is to be done by the organization while
hiring new employees. Moreover, the operations conducted by the company need to be explained
to the candidates so that they can get an idea about the working hours. According to the
employment legislation, there should be adequate arrangements for safety and health for the
employees at the work premises. The key elements of employment legislation also include the
different disciplinary grounds on which necessary actions can be taken against an employee.
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