Human Resource Management Report: Strategies for Sainsbury's

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices at Sainsbury's, a major UK supermarket chain. It begins by defining HRM and outlining its core functions, including workforce planning, recruitment and selection, reward management, performance management, and training and development. The report then delves into the strengths and weaknesses of internal and external recruitment approaches, assessing their effectiveness in the context of Sainsbury's. Furthermore, it explores the benefits of various HRM practices, such as reward systems, team working, and flexible working arrangements, for both employers and employees, emphasizing their impact on employee motivation, productivity, and retention. The report also examines the importance of employee relations and key elements of employment legislation in HRM decision-making. Finally, it applies these HRM practices to work-related contexts, providing a practical understanding of their implementation and impact within Sainsbury's. The report concludes with a personal statement and references, offering a well-rounded perspective on the subject.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1. Explaining the purpose and function of HRM and key roles and responsibilities of the HR
functions.................................................................................................................................3
P2. Strength and weakness of different approaches to recruitment and selection..................5
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................7
P3 The benefits of different HRM practices for employer and employees ...........................7
P4 Effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational productivity
and profit................................................................................................................................9
LO 3...............................................................................................................................................10
P5 Importance of employee relations which influence HRM decision making...................10
P6 Key elements of employment legislation and their impact on decision making.............11
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................13
P7 Application of human resource practices in work related context..................................13
Personal statement................................................................................................................16
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................19

INTRODUCTION
HRM can be defined as a procedure of managing employees in an organisation by hiring,
motivating, firing and training. HRM plays an important role in an organisation as it is a
strategic approach which focus on managing people in an effective manner. Sainsbury's is the 3rd
largest chain of supermarket and public limited company in UK. It was founded by John James
Sainsbury in 1869 and Its headquarter is in London, UK. This study shows about the importance
of HRM functions which are effective for workforce planning and resourcing the company. It is
concerned with motivating, maintaining workforce in an organisation. The main function of
HRM is recruitment & selection which has various strengths and weaknesses. Different HRM
practices such as training, rewards and compensation which the company use in order to improve
relationship and solve workplace problems (Noe and et. al., 2017). The main aim of HRM is to
gain a competitive advantages. Employees relations also play a vital role as they impacts on
decision making process in positively as well as negatively.
LO 1
P1. Explaining the purpose and function of HRM and key roles and responsibilities of the HR
functions
Human resource management is refers to the practice of hiring, recruiting, position and
managing employees of an organisation. Human resource management of Sainsbury is
responsible for making plans, developing and administrating policies and it mainly focuses on
the effective utilisation of human resources to bring good outcome (Boehm, 2016). The
Sainsbury is a reputed company that consider employees as the lifeblood. Sainsbury's is the 3rd
largest chain of supermarket in the UK. Its headquarter is in 33 Holborn, London, UK. It is
public limited company which has around 1,415 shops.
Purpose of HRM
 The main aim of HRM in Sainsbury is to ensure positive relationship among the
employers and employees in the industry.
 To obtain required man power at right time in right quality and in right quantity.
Function of HRM
The functions of HRM are carried out by the manager of Sainsbury with aim of fulfilling
the objectives of the industry. The functions are categorised in two parts;

 Managerial function of HRM that includes; planning, organising, staffing, directing,
controlling Operational function of HRM includes; procurement, development, compensation and
benefits, maintenance and separation.
Workforce Planning
The function of Human Resource in Sainsbury is to identify and assess the current
manpower inventory in the organisation and forecast the need arise in the organisation regarding
the vacant position and manpower (Donate, Peña and Sanchez de Pablo, 2016). The role of this
HRM function in the organisation is recruiting and selecting skilful and talented personnel for
the growth and development of the industry.
Recruitment and Selection
After HR identify the skill shortage in the company, next function comes is recruitment
and selection in which company do the process through internal and external methods. The role
and responsibility of this function is to bring new employees in the industry with required
knowledge and skills (Managerial, Operative and Advisory Function, 2019).
Reward Management
Reward management of Sainsbury is linked to performance of the workforce. This
function of HRM provides value to their contribution at work. Rewards can be tangible or
intangible and include; benefits, pay packages, different allowances, etc. The role of this function
in the organisation is to enhance the enthusiasm and motivation of the workforce.
Performance Management
Performance management is the process that is responsible for monitor and review
employees and their activities at workplace. This function is responsible for assessing the current
performance of employees and after that they take actions to cope with the deviations (Hood,
Hardy Jr and Simpson, 2016). This function of HRM includes; monitoring and assessing the
performance of employees by observation, meeting, peer review, etc.
Training and Development
Training is the procedure to develop the workforce and enhance their performance at the
workplace. HRM focuses on the development of the employee's skill and knowledge by
providing them proper training. The role and responsibility of this function in HRM to develop

skill of employees to cope up with the changes in environment and new demand such as;
consumer trend and technology.
There are two models or approaches of HRM;
 Hard HRM: In this approach HR manager of the company treats their employees simply
as other resources in the industry like machinery or building. The main focus of HRM is
on identifying need of business regarding employees and hire and manage them
accordingly.
 Soft HRM: In this approach HR manager treats the employees as the most essential
resource of the industry and an important source of the competitive advantage. They main
focus of the HRM is on the needs of employees and concentrate on fulfilling them with
the need of the organisation.
P2. Strength and weakness of different approaches to recruitment and selection
Sainsbury need a large number of human resources to achieve the goal and objective of
the organisation (Navimipour and Soltani, 2016). The company uses both external and internal
source approach for the recruitment and selection process of the employees.
Recruitment and selection
Recruitment is a activity of searching and acquiring potential candidate for the available
position in the organisation. In this process, organisation attract people to give interview as they
acquire to hire the most skilful person. On the other hand, Selection is the process of short-
listing, screening the best suitable candidate from all the candidates that fits in the position with
his/her skills and knowledge.
Internal source approach
Under this approach recruitment done on the internal level and of the employees that are
already working in the company (Noe and et. al., 2017). This takes place when HRM team of
Sainsbury aims to fill the vacancy from the workforce that already work on different position in
the industry. There are various internal recruitment and selection approaches such as; Job
posting, referrals of employees.
Promotion: Under this process, employees are recruited internally from their current post
to the higher post according to the vacant position and the best fitted skills. This approach is
beneficial to motivate the workers and promote them as per their performance.

Transfer: Under this approach, transfer is undertaken internally in the situation in which
other branch of Sainsbury have vacant position for the same post. The employee hired for the
same position in other branch of the same business.
Strengths Weaknesses
 The main strength of internal source
approach such as promotion and
transfer is that employees are already
familiar with the working environment
and are highly motivated to work
effectively.
 There is no risk of hiring unqualified
and low skill employees.
 Weakness of the internal source
approach is that employees that are not
promoted can get demotivated.
 The approach can create discrimination
within the working environment.
 It can limits the opportunity of hiring
new and innovative employees and
limits the available talented people in
the company.
External source approach
The external source approach recruits the workforce from the external sources. Under this
approach, HRM of Sainsbury attracts employee from various sources such as advertising to
inform people about the vacancy for specific position in the company (Vanhala and Ritala,
2016).
Online method: In this approach candidates are recruited and selected from various
sources such as; social media, advertisement through print, newspaper etc. from which eligible
candidate attracts towards the company.
Agency: Moreover, the people can be hired through various recruitment agencies from
the flourishing market. The agency is responsible for providing trained and efficient people for
Sainsbury's vacant position.
Strength Weakness
 This approach enable Sainsbury to
recruit and select new , creative,
innovative employees (Zibarras and
Coan, 2015).
 The biggest weakness of this approach
is that it is time and money consuming
process.
 There is high risk for the company to

 It enables company to ensure high
productivity.
 This approach gives new pool of
applicant availability and to promote
brand externally in the market.
hire unfitted employees.
An assessment of the approaches of the following;
Workforce Planning: The approaches under workforce planning are quantitative,
qualitative and Delphi method. In Sainsbury, the most workforce planning use are Qualitative
approach.
Development And Training: There are two approaches in T&D; On the job training and
development and off the job training and development. Sainsbury implement and provide on the
job training to their employees.
Performance Management: There are many performance management such as; 360
feedback, comparative approach, attribute approach. The organisation uses 360 feedback for
their employees.
Reward System: There are two types of reward system such as monetary and non-
momentary. Company uses monetary reward approaches for their employees.
LO 2
P3 The benefits of different HRM practices for employer and employees
HRM is an approach in order to manage a group of people and employees effectively for
their performance. Best practices of HRM helps the company in achieving their team and
organisational goals. There are various HRM practices which are being adopted and used by
Sainsbury's such as reward & benefits to employees, flexible working, safety and security,
training, team working etc. Some of the best HRM practices are as follows:
Reward & benefits: It is the best HRM practice which are being used by the manager of
Sainsbury's with the aim of motivating employees. It is concerned with financial as well as non-
financial benefits. Non-financial benefits includes recognition, job promotion etc. On the other
hand financial benefits include fringe benefits, incentives, bonus etc. When employees are
recognized for their better performance, that time they feel more motivated towards achieving

goals (Donate, Peña and Sanchez de Pablo, 2016). With the help of this practice, Sainsbury's can
build and improve loyalty and honesty of employees. It is beneficial for employer as employees
get motivated when they are recognised by their manager in front of all employees. It is also
beneficial for employer as motivated and happy employees tend to retain in the organisation for
the long run.
Team working: Team working is other main important HRM practice. It helps the
company in resolving problems and improve interpersonal relationship. When employer provide
their employees the facility of team working then employees find easy in working and
completing tasks. With the help of their seniors they perform productively and effectively. It also
reduces the chances of errors and mistakes in works which increases their self esteem. It is
beneficial for employees as this practice motivate unity in the workplace and promotes an
environment which fosters loyalty and friendship. It also provides a great learning opportunities
to employees of Sainsbury's. Employer can increase their sales and productivity when employees
more focus on their work with each other's help (Hood, Hardy Jr and Simpson, 2016).
Flexible working: It is the way of working that suits an employees' needs. With this
practice, employees have flexibility to choose working time accordingly. They can also choose
to work from home by which they can continue their personal works and also focus on their
family. Parents with having children under 6 and having disabled children under 18 have the
legal right to ask for flexible working hours. It is beneficial for manager and employer as it
decreases absenteeism and lower level of stress (De Menezes and Kelliher, 2017). It is an
effective practice by which employees can meet their personal and family needs with their
professional life. So it can be said that it is beneficial for both employer and workers.
Training and development: There are various functions that HR has to play such as
recruitment, selection, training, benefits to them, planning etc. Training is the best HR practice
which strengthen and increase the knowledge and skills of employees. New employees do not
have the knowledge regarding allotted work so they require and feel the need of training. When
employer provide them training that time they feel more dedicated towards their work. It is
beneficial for employees and employer. Employer can reduce labour turnover and can also gain
productive work which can increase their revenue and sales. When employees get enough
training that time they concentrate more on their work and try to learn new innovative things.

Contingent compensation: Compensation to employees is the best way of retaining and
creating commitment with the company. Employees play a significant role as they are the main
asset of the company. So it is important for Sainsbury's to retain them and maintain relationship.
it is a type of bonus which depends on the performance and behaviour of an individual (Vanhala
and Ritala, 2016). It is beneficial for employees and employees as employees receive all the
benefits which fulfil and satisfy their needs. Happier and satisfied employees stay in the
company so it reduces their cost of recruiting. So it can be said that all these practices are
beneficial for employees and employers.
P4 Effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational productivity and
profit
HRM practices helps management and the company as it has various benefits such as it
increases productivity, sales and decreases staff turnover, interpersonal conflicts and also helps
in quick decision making. Sainsbury's has to face various problems such as interpersonal
conflicts, ineffective communication, labour turnover, dissatisfaction among employees etc. In
order to solve all types of problem the manager of Sainsbury's uses various HRM practices.
Effectiveness of these practices are beneficial for employers as well as employees. It increases
overall productivity of the company which is good for employees and the business.
Employees security: The main benefit and effectiveness of HRM practices is it provide
security to employees by providing them safe working environment and by satisfying their all
needs and demands. The main function of HR is to recruit and retain their potential employees.
In Sainsbury's, there are some women employees also whose main need is security. The
company focus on satisfying this needs of their women employees which make them sure that
they are safe and secure in that company. When employees feel secure then they also focus and
dedicated towards achieving organisational goals (Navimipour and Soltani, 2016).
Decrease labour turnover: When an organisation focus on satisfying all the needs of
employees and when it provides them benefits and rewards that time employees feel motivated.
On the other hand, when they feel that employers are not focusing on solving their problems and
fulfilling their needs then it leads to high turnover. So rewards and benefits HRM practice help
management and Sainsbury's to solve these type of problems. When employees are being
recognised in front of other employees then it increases their self esteem and make them happy.
They are less tend to leave the organisation.

Flexible workplace: Flexible working hours is the best HRM practices which has
various benefits and effectiveness. It increases the feeling of personal control over work
environment and work schedule (Boehm, 2016). It also boosts workers morale which reduces
tardiness and absenteeism which is good for employers as they do not have to waste their time on
recruiting and selection process. It decreases their costs in their selection and recruitment process
and can make a wider pool of potential employees in their company.
Development of workers: When the company focus on effective communication and
training then it develop their knowledge. They try to learn various techniques and ways of
providing services to their customers in an effective manner. With the help of team working and
collaboration practice, employees learn various new things from their seniors which develop
them. On the basis of performance, they also get financial and non-financial benefits which
satisfy their all needs. They tend to stay for long run in the company. By getting benefits and
compensation, employees feel motivated and respected and they focus on providing the best
services to their customers.
Increase productivity: Sainsbury's provide training to their employees which improved
their knowledge and skills by which they concentrate more on their work. When employees are
dedicated towards their work then it directly increase their personal and company's productivity.
Effective and potential employees focus on improving their quality and try to become self
dependent which decreases the pressure of management. They also get job promotion
opportunity which increases their self esteem.
LO 3
P5 Importance of employee relations which influence HRM decision making
Employees relations play an important role in an organisation. Employees are the main
assets of any type of company which helps them in achieving their determined goals. There are
certain issues and situations happen in which a manager and a leader can not take decisions at
their own so they require the suggestions of employees. There are various benefits of
maintaining employees relationship such as:
Good employees relationship increases productivity of the company that helps them in
taking decisions quickly. When employees and employer do not behave ethically then it is
known as employee indiscipline.. Sainsbury supermarket has almost 186,900 employees at their

all store so for them it is very important to maintain employees relationship in order to being
leader in the market.
Decrease staff turnover: Maintaining employees relationship can help the company to
retain potential employees which can also decrease their overall cost. For example if employer
do not focus on developing and maintaining an effective relationship then it leads to employees
turnover. When employees leave and do not stay in the company for long run that time HR
requires to hire new employees and it can increases their cost. For the new employees they also
require to provide training to their new employees so it can impact on their decision making
process and financial budget (Zibarras and Coan, 2015). So it is important for them to maintain
relationship in order to retain them.
Effective decisions: Sainsbury's needs to take decisions regarding how to behave and
treat employees equally with the aim of foster relationship and take decision regarding which
employment law need to be incorporated in to the company so that all the employees would be
treated and behaved equally that can lead to healthy environment. When employer provides
opportunity to their employees to take participate in decision making process then employees
feel motivated and respected. Employees try to give their best suggestion in order to make
improvement in their activities and decision making so it can be said that relationship of
employees influence decision making process of Sainsbury's.
Increase productivity: For making the best decision and for achieving determined
organisational goals, a manager requires to fulfil all the needs of employees and to provide them
fair treatment which can make them happy. Happy and motivated employees lay keen
emphasises on work effectively and productively. There are various types of decisions which are
being made and taken by manager. The main step which is included in their decision making
process is to identify and achieve goals. For fulfilling the first most important step of decision
making it is essential to focus on maintaining employees relationship because without potential
workforce, a company can not achieve their goals. Sainsbury's make various strategies and
follow employees legislation in order to make them sure that they are safe in the company. When
employer follow legislations then employees also feel secured and respected at workplace. It also
retain them in the company for the long run (Hood, Hardy Jr and Simpson, 2016.).

P6 Key elements of employment legislation and their impact on decision making
Employment legislations can be defined as a laws and rules that governs employment
within the workplace with employees who work for the company. The main aim of
implementing and developing employment laws is to regulate and maintain the relationship
between employees and the business. All these acts impact on decision making by managers.
Anti-discrimination act: Anti discrimination act refer law that prevent discrimination
against employees and a group of people on the basis of colour, sex, race etc. the main aim of
Sainsbury's human resource manager to adopt this act id to provide fair and equal treatment to
their employees in order to increase their morale. It also impact on their decision making as HR
manager have to make polices regarding behave ethically and equally and to provide equal pay
in their recruitment process based on their skills and performance. This act protects employees
against harassment, bullying unequal treatment. It also decrease interpersonal conflicts and
improve interpersonal relationship. Employees focus on working in team that lead higher
productivity and sales.
Health and safety act, 1974: The main responsibility of human resource manager of the
company is to provide health and safety to employees at workplace. Sainsbury has adopted this
act in order to provide their workers a healthy and safe working environment. When employees
feel safe and secure at workplace then they stay in the company which reduces labour turnover.
It is also beneficial and good for women employees because their safety play a vital role.
Employees spent a lot of their time in the company at workplace and this safety act make them
sure that they are being secured which makes them happy and stress free. In order to ensure
safety at work they have to take decision regarding to train their workers that how to use
equipments and resources etc.
Data protection act, 2018: UK parliament has adopted and updated data protection laws
in order to develop customer and employees informations which is used by the company.
Employees need to feel secure about their informations and data which are being submitted by
them to the company. This act also impacts on decision making as HR manager has to make the
policies and take the ways by which employees data can be protected. It is important for the
company to develop as it protects the rights of the data subject.
Equal pay act: Equal pay and wages act is made and updated to prevent discrimination
in context of payment of wages based on the gender when men and women perform same types