Human Resource Management Report: Microsoft and Chocolate Presence

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices, focusing on two companies: Chocolate Presence and Microsoft. It begins by outlining the core functions of HRM and their significance to a company, followed by an evaluation of Chocolate Presence's current selection methods, including their strengths and weaknesses. The report proposes improvements to the selection process, such as structured interviews and group work. It then provides a detailed person specification for a receptionist role at Chocolate Presence. The study also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different advertising methods and recommends improvements. Furthermore, it explores the benefits of internships and graduate training schemes, along with flexible working arrangements offered by Microsoft. The report also examines how companies design job roles to motivate employees and the importance of employee engagement. It concludes by clarifying key approaches to engaging staff and the impact of UK employment legislation on HR decision-making.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

Contents
Contents.............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................4
TASK 1...............................................................................................................................4
Purpose of human resource functions and its significant to company..........................4
Strength and weakness of current selection methods used by chocolate presence.....5
Two potential improvements which is made by organization to enhance selection
procedure.......................................................................................................................6
TASK 2...............................................................................................................................7
Person specification for receptionist role in Chocolate presence..................................7
Advantages and Disadvantages of methods of advertising...........................................9
Recommendation for further improvement in job advert...............................................9
TASK 3.............................................................................................................................10
Internships and graduate training schemes benefit to both employees and Microsoft
.....................................................................................................................................10
Flexible working arrangements for staff offer by Microsoft company..........................11
Designs of job roles by organization motivates its employees....................................12
TASK 4.............................................................................................................................13
Employee engagement and its importance in company..............................................13
Key approaches to engage employees and their benefits to improve communication
in workplace.................................................................................................................14
Key components of UK employment legislations and its influence upon HR decision
making procedure........................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES................................................................................................................17

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is essential part or department within
organizational structure, they deal with several issues related to employees. They are
responsible for provide compensation, safety, performance management, wellness and
enhance employee motivation (Guest, 2017). HRM play the strategic role in business,
they manging peoples and workplace environment and culture. The present report is
based on two companies, Microsoft and Chocolate Presence. It explains purpose of
Human resource functions and their importance to company, and weaknesses and
strengths of current selection methods. Two potential improvements that made by
Chocolate presence to enhance selection process and person specification for
receptions role. This study discussed pros and corns of methods of advertising jobs in
company and recommend job advert for receptionist vacancy to be placed. Benefits to
both firm and employees for training schemes and internships and it clarifies range of
flexible working arrangements by Microsoft. Define ways company design their job roles
to motivate workers and employee engagement as well as its importance. Furthermore,
clarifies key approaches to engaging staff and UK employment legislations and its
impact upon HR decision making.
TASK 1
Purpose of human resource functions and its significant to company
HRM is term used to describe formal program devised for the management of
staff within the organization. It is concerned with people’s attribute of management, it’s
the procedure of maintenance, acquisition, motivation and development of human
resource of Chocolate presence. Company is facing current issues that impact on its
performance, the owner of firm has no experience of employing an ever-increasing
workforce (Jamali, El Dirani and Harwood, 2015). Due to this problem staff turnover has
increased and most of the customers give feedback which indicates that quality of few
items is not good. HRM functions help to solve it easily-
Functions of HR-
Maintaining good working conditions- it is one of the most essential
responsibility of HRM to provide better working environment to workers so that they like
work environment and workplace. They can be able to solve current problem that stated

above, the purpose of HRM is to motivate staff and give financial and non financial
benefits that help to retain all of them with company and increase workforce.
Selection and recruitment- it is the procedure of screening, captivating and
selecting qualified and potential applicants based on objectives criteria for specific job.
To improve the quality of some items within Chocolate Presence, HRM hire talented
and skilled peoples which is beneficial for company. They create effective and
appropriate recruitment plan based on situational analysis. It is one of the best way to
enhance productivity and beneficial for further business growth.
Managing employee relations- company owner has no experience related to
increasing workforce which effect on workers performance and productivity. Human
resource management is responsible for managing employee relations and enhance
their performance (Kavanagh and Johnson., 2017). They provide training and
development session to them that increase workforce and its abilities effectively. HRM
organize some activities which help to know staff at professional and personal level.
Importance of HR functions to firm- All the above functions of HRM is
essential for Chocolate Presence. It helps to resolve their current issues, increase
workforce and retain staff with them.
Strength and weakness of current selection methods used by chocolate presence
Chocolate Presence company used two different types of selection systems in
order to hire the most talented, skilled and qualifies candidates. They create own
assessment test on maths and English comprehension which applicants accomplished
on line or in person. Another method is face to face interview which takes around 15
minutes. These two selection methods have some strength and weakness that might be
effect on selection procedure and hire wrong peoples within business which is not
appropriate for growth and success in marketplace.
Strength of own assessment test-
It is the method of evaluating job candidates with consistency, they range from
hard abilities test to softer like personality batteries. Organization management create
home assessment test on English and maths, 50% marks is passing criteria for
applicants. It strength of own assessment test is that, it help to hire applicants and know

more about its written skills. With the help of this test HRM can be able to understand
person skills and recruit appropriate candidates for job vacancy.
Weakness-
The questions with assessment test on maths and English, is not created in
effective manner. All the questions is quite general which is easily based by any one,
due to ineffective selection method or home assessment test management hire wrong
candidates, they do not concern with fairness of test (Al Ariss, Cascio and Paauwe,
2014). Company conduct injustice or unfair assessment test along with inappropriate
questions.
Strength of interview-
Face to face interview has been conducted by HRM of Chocolate presence
because they want to shortlist skilled applicants. Interview procedure allow company to
detailed questions to be asked, with the help of interview selection method management
will be able to identify appropriate skills required to job vacancy. It permit firm to gather
information about communication skill, leadership and analytical skill among candidates
more closely.
Weakness-
Human resource management conduct informal chat in interview, which is not
relevant and suitable to hire applicants. Informal chat do not allow organization to
understand knowledge and skills among people. They hire unskilled peoples and most
of new recruits have failed in its probationary period.
Two potential improvements which is made by organization to enhance selection
procedure
Chocolate presence need to be improve its selection procedure, they must
improved own assessment test and interview process which is essential for hiring
candidates (Fenn and et.al., 2015). For further business growth and success, skilled
peoples is required within business structure, who contribute in competitive business
environment and to achieve organizational goals.
Methods to improve interview and own assessment test-
Structured interview- Organization need to adopt structured interview
procedure which allows them to hire qualified applicants easily. It is the set of

predetermined questions prepared for interview in advanced. Due to inappropriate
questions in own assessment test, Human resource management recruit wrong peoples
(Levashina and et.al., 2014). Some of new has been failed in probationary period which
effect on company financial performance and market position. With the help to
structured interview method organization will be able to acquire the most talented and
skilled staff. HRM must structured each questions in manageable way in advanced, all
the questions should related to job vacancy. It is one of the best way in which company
can enhance its selection process and make it better than before. Fairness is one of the
biggest advantage of structured interview in which all applicants treated objectively
because questions is based on job requirements.
Group work- It is an another selection method used by company to enhance
their current selection procedure. It is effective way to motivate employees, develop
critical thinking, identify their skills like communication and decision making. Chocolate
Presence should adopt this technique as it allows them to understood and determine
hidden abilities in applicants. With the help of group work, HRM is able to identify
communication and other skills which is essential for recruitment based on job vacancy.
It allows to understand creativity and work collaboration skill among peoples and help to
recruit qualified and suitable peoples.
TASK 2
Person specification for receptionist role in Chocolate presence
Person specification is the description of experience, abilities, qualifications and
knowledge which person must posses to work job duties. Specification is derived from
job description and forms foundations for recruitment procedure. It is essential part of
recruiter toolbox, it permits human resource manager to communicate traits they find
describable in its ideal applicants like education, experience of previous work and any
additional traits that needed in receptionist role within company. It detailed of role,
including all responsibilities, requirements and objectives. It refers to the profit of
company ideal new workers, including abilities, personality type and experience related
to job vacancy.
Post title- Receptionist

Location- 3 Valley Crescent, London
Qualifications-
 Appropriate software proficiency is required qualification as receptionist job
 Person has Basic computer knowledge.
 M.A in English.
 High school diploma is needed for receptionist.
Experience-
 At least 1 year experience is required as receptionist job position in Chocolate
Presence.
 Good experience of working with MS office.
Skills and knowledge-
 Must have good team working abilities.
 Communication skills which is required for filling job vacancy.
 Must have Decision making skill.
 IT skills
 Person must have good relationship skills which help to established good and
effective relation with clients and colleagues.
 Must have multitasking skill.
 Technical skill is also required.
 Interpersonal and dependability ability.
 Knowledge to comply with Data protection Act 1998.
 Receptionist must have excellent verbal and written communication abilities.
 They have better consumer and Active listening skills.
Qualities-
 Must have positive attitude, whether over phone.
 Organizational ability, receptionist must know where to find essential
documents, phone number and files.
 Person must be able to operate the different of systems and equipment like
phone system.
Degrees-

 Must have high school degree.
 Additional computer degree.
 M.A degree
Advantages and Disadvantages of methods of advertising
Currently the Chocolate Presence utilizes two major methods for advertising the
vacancies in their company. Internal advertisement involves circulation of the vacancy
within the employees and their friends, families. External advertisement includes a
poster indicating the job vacancy in the company which is displayed on a notice board
on the main site wall.
Advantages of current practices :- The internal method adopted by the
company is advantageous as it helps in recruiting those employees who are already
familiar with the working process of and can be trusted (Noe and et.al., 2017). It is also
the cheapest method of recruitment as no expenses are incurred and the advertisement
takes place through word of mouth. The external recruitment also is beneficial as there
is already high rate of unemployment and the candidates are always searching for the
jobs so by only [putting up a notice, they are able to attract candidates. There are no
upfront costs and the paperwork is also limited thus ensuring a quicker and an easier
employment process.
Disadvantages of current practices :- Although the current practices are cost
efficient, they are not the best practices that the organization has adopted. There is no
involvement of fresh talent in the organization and the pool of candidates that are
available for the company are highly limited restricting the expansion of the company.
Since they do not carry any extensive advertising practices, only local people get
informed about the vacancies and hence there is lack of variety in the personnel hired
(Bratton and Gold, 2017). This has led to decrease in the quality of their products as
there is no insight regarding the perception of people about the product outside the local
area in which it operates.
Recommendation for further improvement in job advert
Chocolate Presence company placed job advertisement on its physical vacancy
notice board on external wall of main site entrance. They also spread information about

job vacancy to its existing staff in order to attract peoples. In recent time, companies
adopt different type of job advertising strategies or methods which is beneficial for hiring
and attracting skilled labour. Social media advertisement is recommended to
organization which make them able to placed receptionist vacancy and attract peoples
towards them. There are many companies use social media for recruitment and
advertise job, it is one of the best and appropriate way to job advert. Within organization
HRM wants to hire skilled and knowledgeable person to fil the post as receptionist in
which they required appropriate skills and qualification. Social media marketing is one of
the best and most suitable method for company which allow them to attract applicable
candidates and drive them towards joining. It permits firm to get creative with job ads to
catch applicants’ attentions, they do not have to post the formal job description. Within
job advertising human resource management with the help of marketing department
show its unique organizational culture along with video or pictures of their workplace
and personalized message from existing workers which is beneficial for firm. Social
media job advertising is beneficial for company, it makes them able to hire higher quality
applicants, increase job visibility etc. Spread information about job vacancy in workplace
is not as much effective and better way. It allows only few peoples to take participate in
interview procedure. Job advertising through social media tools like Facebook, Twitter
and others permit organization to promote job vacancy for receptionist role all over the
world. They can spread information in context of filling position to its target market which
attract peoples towards them and build trust among potential clients. Chocolate
presence placed receptionist vacancy on social media tools because it reduces cost of
hire, spread information faster and easily.
TASK 3
Internships and graduate training schemes benefit to both employees and Microsoft
Microsoft create effective culture within its business, they encourage peoples for
professional as well as personal development and growth opportunities. Management of
this company create many plans based on employee development and offer internships
and training scheme to graduate peoples which is beneficial for them and helps to grow
its career more and more. They offer the variety of internship, scholarship schemes and
full-time job opportunities to empower peoples. Company have diverse workforce which

include individual with disabilities. They provide training to disable peoples and also
offer internships to them which is beneficial for person growth as well as business.
Microsoft provide training to workers and plan schemes related to it, it helps to increase
workers abilities and productivity which is beneficial for its overall business and they can
be able to perform better and increase profit margin. With the help of trained and expert
peoples, they provide training and development schemes to peoples in order to improve
new abilities and develop more knowledge in context of current technologies which is
applicable for career growth. Microsoft also offer educator trainer which help to give
training through online trainer academy. They provide internship opportunities to
peoples which enhance their productivity and performances. Along with skilled
workforce they can earn money and deliver services or products on time which also
build good customer relationship. But training schemes is much expensive and things
which included in this process also required a lot of investment. Eligible and interested
applicants able to apply online for Microsoft careers. At its own development centre,
they provide internship benefits to workers and other graduate peoples in order to get
the best and creative ideas from younger minds because they are potential to resolve
issues effectively and create healthy work environment. According to senior software
engineer of Microsoft, company provide things in which person is passionate about to
work, they help to solve any issues with effective communication and try to encourage
workers productivity and working abilities.
Flexible working arrangements for staff offer by Microsoft company
Flexible working is the way of working that match the workers needs, having
flexible finish and start times in company peoples like to work with them for longer which
is beneficial for business. All staff members have legal rights to request management in
context of flexible working. Microsoft provide the range of flexible working arrangements
for their staff members. They offer flexible working practices to staff in order to retain the
most applicable and talented peoples with them for long term period which is beneficial
for company (de Linde Leonard, Stanley and Doucouliagos, 2014). According to the
president of Microsoft international, flexibility is not about device, it is about secure and
fast access to data for workers and for consumers and partners. Organization provide
work from home facility to its staff members which make them able to accomplish given

task from home. In London, they offer flexible working hours benefits to employees
which is beneficial for overall business as well as all the worker. With the help of flexible
working environment peoples prefer to work with them and new applicants like to apply
for job in company. In simple, words flexibility with organizational structure attract
peoples and allows firm to hire skilled and qualifies candidates within pool to talent.
Microsoft offer workers policies and programs aimed at making work better, including
each and everything from flexible work choices to opportunity for ongoing learning. Staff
elect to work part time, work remotely, work compressed weeks, job share and flex its
schedules. Management of company provide each member laptop so they can work
remotely. Furthermore, Microsoft also give vacations to its employees to spend some
time with family members. It increases interest of work and enhance performance and
productivity than before.
Designs of job roles by organization motivates its employees
Microsoft inspire and motivates their workers through way they design job roles
in which they provide range of benefits related to job position. For example,
management create job roles including all the benefits and policies related to health
care. They committed to its workers to give best and offer first class benefits designed
to empower them as well as well fare for family members. In organizational structure
there are many peoples play their role effectively along with several benefits like flexible
working hours and health and safety policies (Breevaart and et.al., 2014). It is beneficial
for workers and business, that increase profit margin and help to create positive work
environment around working area. They give compensation pay, incentives, stock
awards and bonuses to its staff based on people’s skills and talented. They do not pay
rewards unfairly; management teach each of the equally without any kind of
discrimination. Stock awards provide by company to eligible workers based on
individual work ability or performance. They offer benefits to support people lead the
health life, enjoy journey at Microsoft and save for future. Organization reimburse
employees up to$800 per year for wellness context expenses that contribute individuals
to stay and get fit emotionally, financially and physically. People use those funds for
anything from fitness classes to facilities like medication system and gym membership.
Microsoft also arrange and design play area within business structure in order to refresh

peoples mind and motivate them to work hard and achieve organizational goals and
business objectives. They plan for future and provide many benefits to its staff like
retirement plans in which individual can be able to save money which help in future and
current situation.
TASK 4
Employee engagement and its importance in company
Employee engagement is the assets of relationship between the company and its
workers. Engaged staff member is the one who is fully enthusiastic about work and
absorbed by, so takes positive activity to further business reputation and interest. In
simple words employee engagement is one of the best workplace approaches that
make company able to build trust and develop good relationship its workers. It is
beneficial for Microsoft as well as workers, if company build good relation to its staff
they can serve or deliver the best services or product on time. organization offer and
shared great practices and lessons learned in order to driven by improving employee
engagement and communication in its business (Bailey and et.al., 2017). Effective
employee relations are part of employee engagement which is beneficial for Microsoft,
company offer range of benefits and pay compensation to peoples which build strong
relationship between management and workers. Leader forced employees to take
participation with decision making procedure which enhance productivity and make
them able to feel essential part for company. Participation and engagement in decision
taking practice motivate peoples and provide high employee satisfaction. Microsoft
solutions like windows 10 and office 365 helping to seed up company workforce and
elevate digital employees to the new level of performance. Effective employee relation
ship is important for company as it allows management to retain talented and qualified
peoples and permit them to engage all of them for longer term period. Group work is
one of the best strategies that help to engage workers and build strong connection
between management and their staff. With the help of creative environment around
workplace organization deliver what peoples need, employee feel good and better
under positive atmosphere.