Human Resource Management Report: Squires Garden Centre HRM Practices

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices at Squires Garden Centre. It begins with an introduction to HRM and its strategic importance, followed by an examination of the HR department's functions, including recruitment, compensation, employee relations, and training. The report then delves into the advantages and disadvantages of current and alternative recruitment and selection methods, such as advertising in newspapers, internal recruitment, and employee referrals. It also explores the benefits of apprenticeships and the range of rewards and benefits available to staff. Furthermore, the report discusses employee engagement and its significance in employee relations, as well as the influence of UK legislation on HR decision-making. Finally, it includes a job description and person specification for a customer service assistant role, concluding with a summary of the key findings and recommendations.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................3
a) Purpose of the HR Function and its importance to the organisation, given the size and
nature of its business and its plans to become employer of choice........................................3
b) Advantages and disadvantages of current recruitment and selection and other methods of
recruitment and selection........................................................................................................5
a) Explain the benefits of Squire's offering Apprenticeships to both the organisation and the
potential apprentices.............................................................................................................10
B) Explain the range of rewards and benefits available to staff...........................................10
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................11
a) What is meant by employee engagement and its importance to employee relations.......11
c) How UK Legislation influences human resource decision making.................................13
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................13
a) Create a job description and a person specification for the job role of customer service
assistant.................................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is the strategic approach to an effective management of the
people in an organisation, so that they help the business will gain their competitive advantage. In
the current scenario, HRM is considered as the important aspects for every company and their
units (Van Reenen, 2011). Human resource management is used to bring the actual potential
ability and power into the employee of the company. This report will be carried on Squires
Garden Centre, which is the medium sized and family owned business. It was founded in 1936 as
the landscaping business and it has expanded their garden centres around by 1964. Apart from
this, this report will be carried on discussing on purposes of functions of HR Department
resource management along with the strength and weaknesses related to different methods of
recruitment and selection. This report will also put light on importance of an employee relation
along with different human resource practices and its impact on an organisation.
TASK1
a) Purpose of the HR Function and its importance to the organisation, given the size and nature
of its business and its plans to become employer of choice
HRM stands for Human Resource Management, is the practise of recruiting, hiring,
deploying and managing an organisation's employees. The HR Department handles many
necessary functions of Squires Garden Centre such as record keeping, hiring and training,
relation assistance, and help in handling specific performance issues.
Functions of HR Department:
Like every other organisation, Squires Garden Centre also have some key functions of their HR
Department. The major functions are as under:
1. Recruiting: This is the most challenging task of an HR Manager. It is so because the
manager has to check about the required skills about the job and he has to make the
choice from a variety of candidates having different skills. So, choosing from one among
them and finding the best is a difficult task which cannot be accomplished by everyone
easily. The purpose of employer of Squires Garden Centre behind staffing is to ensure
availability of skilled and capable employee via advertising on newspapers and official
website. However, it is important because it assist HR manager in short-listing applicants
on the basis of experience and qualification. Implying to this will helps in recruitment of

potential and qualified candidates which will support positive environment at 15 centres
of garden.
2. Compensation and Benefits: Squires Garden Centre can attain its goals and objectives if
it finds new ways of providing benefits to the employees. Some of the benefits can be
working hour flexibility, extended vacation, education reimbursement for children,
medical insurance. These kinds of facilities when provided to the employees makes them
loyal the organisation. The purpose of employer of Squires Garden Centre behind
compensation and benefits is to motivate employees to work as effectively as possible or
to give their best in the work assigned to them. This will beneficial for both the
organisation and employees as organisation wants the best output from employees and
employees want proper reward for their performance.
3. Maintaining Good Working Conditions: It is the responsibility of HR Department to
provide good working conditions to their employees so that they may like the workplace
and environment. It serves as the fundamental duty of the department. This department
should come up with a system that provides both the financial and non-financial benefits
to its employees. Employee welfare promotes job satisfaction. The purpose behind this
function of HR Department is to keep the workplace clean and hygiene so that employees
can work without any difficulty and they can be prevented from any kind of diseases.
This will also affect the working of company as the bad working conditions will result in
the absenteeism of employees due to sickness.
4. Managing Employee Relations: Employees are the pillars of an organisation. Employee
relationship is a very broad concept and it is one of the crucial functions of HR
Department. It also helps to foster good employee relations. They have the ability to
influence behaviours and outputs. The purpose behind this function of HR Department is
to provide a free environment to employees where they can work without any kind of
problems and if they any, it must be resolved by the Department. When there is no
problem in the workplace and the management, the employees can work freely and
concentrating completely on the task given.
5. Training and Development: It is also a part of HR Department's duty. The new
employees must be provided with the sufficient training about work provided. Also, if
there is a change in the working of the organisation, the HR Department will provide

training to the new as well as the existing employees. It will help in improving the current
and future performance of the employees by educating and increasing one's skills and
knowledge. The purpose behind this function of HR Department is to make their
employees skilled so that they perform the given task efficiently which will directly result
in the growth of company. It will also increase the willingness of the employees to do
work as they are fully trained about the work.
Source: Functions of HR, 2018
Illustration 1: FUNCTIONS OF HR

For becoming an “employer of choice”, the company has to provide those facilities which
the others are not providing or by improving their current prerequisites. The current prerequisites
used by the company are good as the employee satisfaction level is high but, the company can
provide several other benefits. The relation of the firm with the employees is good enough to
become employees of size as it provides separate benefits other than their pay according to the
performance of employees which itself is a motivation for the employees. This motivation
strengthens the relation between employees and the company which helps in making Squires
Garden Centre the employer of choice.
b) Advantages and disadvantages of current recruitment and selection and other methods of
recruitment and selection
Recruitment:
Recruitment is a process of hiring the prospective employees for the various vacant posts
in the organisation. Squires Garden Centre is expanding its business so the company is hiring
employees for different branches. There are two types of Recruitment Methods. These are:
1. Internal Recruitment: It refers to that recruitment which is done from the organisation
such as promotion, transfer, etc.
2. External Recruitment: When the recruitment is done other than the existing staff, or can
be said as from outside the organisation whether from advertising, campus recruitment,
employment exchanges, etc.
Squires Garden Centre is using External Source of Recruitment for filling the vacant posts in its
new branches. And the external source is Advertising in Newspapers. The following are the
advantages and disadvantages of Advertising in Newspapers. These are as follow as:
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Advertisement is done on a large scale
so the Squires Garden Centre will get
more options and to choose the best.
 There will be more competition in
 It is a time-consuming process.
 It is also expensive as compared to
internal sources of recruitment.

terms of hiring new talent.
Selection:
Selection refers to the process of choosing the best candidates for the posts vacant in the
organisation and rejecting others. This can be done through various selection methods such as
application form, psychometric tests, etc. Squires Garden Centre is currently using Application
Form as the method for the selection of suitable candidates. The process of measuring the
strength and weakness of a person by conducting suitable tests. The advantages and
disadvantages of Application Form are described below:
ADVANATGES DISADVANATGES
 Squires Garden Centre will be able to
get the complete details of the
candidate.
 The comparison among many of them
can be made easily.
 The details provided can be proved
wrong.
 The personal details can fall in wrong
hands and hence can be misused.
Other Methods Of Recruitment for Squire Garden Centre:
Squires Garden Centre can also use other methods of Recruitment than Advertisement in
Newspapers. As already discussed above that there are two types of recruitment method. These
are Internal Recruitment and External Recruitment Method.
Internal Recruitment:
The company can make use of Internal Recruitment in order to fill the vacant posts.
There are various types of Internal Recruitment such as Promotion, Transfer, etc. Also, these
methods also have their own advantages and disadvantages as well. These are discussed as
under:
Promotion:
This is a common form of internal recruitment wherein employees are moved from the
lower level to the upper levels of the organisation with more responsibility and prestige. The
following are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Promotion:
ADVANTAGES DISADVANATAGES

 It increases the morale of the
employees.
 The employee is familiar with the
work, policies and procedures of firm.
 Promotion of one can be the reason of
demotion of others.
 It does not allow the new talents to
show their skills and is limited to
number of working personnel’s.
Transfer:
Transfer means shifting of employees from one job to another.
ADVANATAGES DISADVANATAGES
 When employee is selected from
outside the organisation, there is a
possibility of errors in selection but as
the employee is of the Squires Garden
Centre itself there is no chance of error
as the company already know about the
skills and his knowledge.
 It promotes loyalty among the
employees as they feel secured.
 It discourages capable persons from
outside.
 It is possible that the requisite number
of persons possessing qualifications for
the vacant posts may not be available in
the organisation.
External Source Of Recruitment:
In External Source of Recruitment, the company can use various other methods than
advertisements in newspapers such as employee referrals, campus recruitment,etc. It will help
Squires Garden Centre in increasing the competition in the workplace between new and the old
employees. These methods are discussed below:
Employee Referrals:
Organisations also encourages their employees to bring suitable candidates for
various openings in the organisation.
ADVANATGES DISADVANATGES
 It increases the chance of growth of
Squires Garden Centre as well as of the
 This process is very risky as the
company does not know anything about

employees also.
 The company can also use the other
techniques which are used by
competitors as their own employees
will refer their company to their friends
working in other companies.
the person.
 It is also possible that the person is not
capable of working but got selected in
influence of workers who is loyal to
firm.
Campus Recruitment:
It can also be said as Campus Interview where companies take interview in different
institutions in order to select the best candidates for the posts available in their organisation.
Squires Garden Centre can also use this method in order to complete the recruitment process
going on in Squire Garden Centre. The method has following advantages and disadvantages:
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 The fresh talent can be hired by
providing them low salaries as
compared to the experienced ones.
 Fresh Graduates are more serious
towards the work as compared to the
old employees as they feel leisure of
doing the same work again and again.
 The interest of candidates recruited
from institutions cannot be judged as it
depends on them that they may like or
do not like the workplace, or the work
provided.
 As they are fresh so they do not have
any knowledge or experience about
how to complete the work assigned to
them ?
Other Methods Of Selection:
Other than Application Form, there are other methods of selecting the employees which
Squires Garden Centre can use. These are discussed as under:
Psychometric Tests:
The process of measuring the strength and weakness of a person by conducting suitable
tests.
ADVANATAGES DISADVANATGES

 The tests taken are standardised.
 It is very easy to give scores and derive
ability of individual to work
consistently. This test helps HR
manager in determining applicants’
behavioural style and mental
capabilities.
 The questions asked in tests may be
complicated.
 Due to nervousness, some of them may
not be able to score well in the test
conducted.
Ability and Aptitude Tests:
Another method that can be used for selecting the suitable candidates is through ability
and aptitude tests. These tests are taken in order to check the general intelligence, verbal ability,
numerical ability, clerical ability, diagrammatical ability of the candidates. This method also
have several advantages and disadvantages like other methods. These are:
ADVANATGES DISADVANATEGS
 With the help of these tests, Squires
Garden Centre will be able to check the
ability to perform manual tasks of the
candidates.
 It will also help in checking the
candidates proficiency in maths, typing,
and checks whether the candidate is
able to write and express his views or
not depending upon the requirement of
the company.
 If the candidate does not know about
English Language but it is preferred for
the job to know English, then he will be
rejected in spite of his other abilities.
 It does not mean that a candidate
performing good in aptitude test will
also perform well at the workplace,
because the work provided at the
workplace will be totally different from
that of aptitude test.
So these are the other methods of recruitment and selection that Squires Garden Centre
can use according to their applicability as they have their own pros and cons.

a) Explain the benefits of Squire's offering Apprenticeships to both the organisation and the
potential apprentices
In context with Squires Garden, this business firm provides different rewards such as
performance-based rewards and non-monetary apprentices. There are different benefits of
Squire's offerings apprenticeship are: performance-based rewards enhance the motivation and
confidence level of an employee. It also enhances the actual potential and ability of an employee
to contribute to the profit generation and productivity of the Squires Garden Centre
(Bröckermann, 2012). Such apprenticeship is responsible for building the motivation and trust of
an employee into the company. Squires Garden Centre is providing various types of training to
its employees such as online e-learning modules, RHS Wisley training and the support from the
senior management. This will be beneficial both for the employees as well as for the company
also. The skills of the employees will be enhanced and the employees will perform their work
being more confident than earlier. This will also increase the morale of the employees. Also, it
will lead to personal and career growth of the employees. The company can make benefit out of
trained employees as the customer satisfaction level of the company will increase because
trained employees can satisfy more better than untrained and in the way they will create the
image of Squires Garden Centre on their behalf.
B) Explain the range of rewards and benefits available to staff
The main objective of Square's is to earn huge profits as well as achieve huge customer
base through providing their services of recruitment to different companies. For this purpose, it is
important for the management to implement several HRM practices which includes training and
development programs, recruitment and selection, rewards and compensation etc. This will bring
motivation and increase work commitment with company for longer duration due to getting
maximum support from HR managers in achieving growth and success in their professional
career.
For example, training and development programs to staff enhances their skills and
knowledge which makes them more capable to perform in different work field with best efforts
and dedication. Through this, an organisation can gain maximum contribution from its staff
towards achievement of desired goals and objectives within pre-determined time period.
Recruitment and selection of eligible and qualified candidates gives their maximum efforts in

helping organisation to achieve stated objectives through implementing new and innovative ideas
in practical manner.
c)Rewards and compensation are effective methods improve the productivity in the
organisation.
HRM practices encourages employees to increase their performance level on continuous
basis so as to defeat their rivals and receive rewards and compensations from company.
Adoption of HRM practices provides an opportunity to HR manager of Square's to create better
relationship with their employees which increases their loyalty and work commitment with
company for longer duration. Thus, having experienced employees provides maximum support
to the achievement of Square's Garden goals and objectives which in results enable them to
achieve within pre-determined time period. These are the perks that squire's garden offers:-
 Promotion:- The promotion in the company is the basic that HR manager offer to its
employees to motivate and makes their work appreciated. Through this person will do
work effectively which is helpful in increasing the companies productivity.
 Monetary rewards:- This type of reward offers when the revenue of the company is
increased because f their employee. It can be based on anyone performance whether is an
individual, team or the department.
 Offers the trip:- This type of reward also help the comp0any to motivate their
employees. After coming back with fresh mind increase the effectiveness. The new ideas
and thoughts will be generated from them.
 Mementos:- Company can appreciate their employee through the certificate, medals and
some related to the company.
Therefore, HRM practices is an essential requirement for an organisation to adopt as it
increases overall performance level of employees which makes direct positive impact on the
performance and productivity of an organisation.
TASK 3
a) What is meant by employee engagement and its importance to employee relations
In various research, it was noticed that employee engagement has been resulted in raising
employee relation with the top-level management of Squire's Garden. Employee engagement is
termed as engaging the workforce into the business entity to raise the performance of both the