Human Resource Management Practices and Legislation at Virgin Group

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) functions and practices within the Virgin Group, a UK-based multinational corporation. It covers the purpose and key roles of HR functions in meeting business objectives, workforce planning approaches, recruitment and selection methods, development and training measures, and performance management strategies. The report also examines different HR practices, the effectiveness of employee relationships and engagement with flexible work arrangements, and key aspects of employee legislation. Furthermore, it explores how employee relations and legislation influence decision-making within the organization, including job descriptions and person specifications. The significance of technology, online sources, and social networking in the recruitment and selection process is also discussed, offering a thorough overview of HRM within the Virgin Group.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.......................................................................................................................4
TASK 1..............................................................................................................................4
1. Purpose of HR functions and key roles and responsibilities of HR functions and
meeting business objectives..........................................................................................4
2 Approach to workforce planning and recruitment and selection, development and
training measures and performance management of organisation..............................7
3. Different methods used in HR practices...................................................................8
4. Effectiveness of employee relationship and engagement with flexible work
practices and flexible organisation................................................................................9
5 Key aspects of the employee legislation..................................................................10
6. How employee relation and legislation helps in decision making...........................11
TASK 2............................................................................................................................12
7 Job description and person specification.................................................................12
8 Significance of technology, online sources, digital and social networking on
recruitment and selection process...............................................................................15
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES................................................................................................................17
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INTRODUCTION
Within an organisation, the employee's and work force will play a very crucial part
in executing the operations of the firm. Hence, their proper management is very
important aspect and function of an enterprise. The human resource management is a
very important operation within the firm. It will help in proper assessment of the
employee's and helps in gaining the operations of the firm. The present report in
presented in regard to Virgin group. It is a UK based Multinational Corporation that
operates in many countries around the world.
The present report will include purpose and function of HRM, handling of the
workplace planning and resourcing within the firm. Other than this, the strength and
weakness of suitable recruitment and selection process is taken. Benefits of different
HRM practices for both employee's and employer are presented with assessment of
HRM functions within the firm. It also helps in maintaining HRM operations and decision
making with proper legislation and application of work related practices.
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TASK 1
1. Purpose of HR functions and key roles and responsibilities of HR functions and
meeting business objectives
The HR department within the Virgin Group will look after the proper assessment
of the employees and the employee's within the organisation. As Virgin Group is one of
the largest MNC in the world, its HR department of the firm has to interact with various
employees within the organisation that will be working within the firm. A HRM
department within a firm is required to follow a wide range of functions and meeting of
key business objectives of the selected MNC. The major business objective of Virgin
Group is to have high customer satisfaction level and delivering suitable quality services
and products to their customer's.
The main purpose of having the Human Resource Management is to handle the
manpower within the organisation in most effective and significant manner (Oyewunmi
and et. al., 2017). They will perform a range of operations in order to get the best talent
to be hired within the business enterprise. HRM will also assist the organisation to
enhance the quality of operations which are been followed within the enterprise.
Functions of HRM:
 Planning
 Organising
 Staffing
 Health and safety
 Controlling
 Development
 Compensation etc.
Certain roles and responsibilities of HRM along with its functions within the organisation
are:
 Recruitment: This is the most prior objective of the HRM department within an
organisation that will help in proper talent accessibility for the firm. The HR
executives within the organisation will look after the handling of the assessing the
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credential of an interested candidate, placing the job description, setting person
specification and carrying out proper communication and negotiation that will
help in proper assessment of the measures that will help in meeting needs and
requirements of an organisation effectively (Nieves and Segarra-Ciprés, 2015).
HR will look after the proper management and setting up of operation's that will
contribute in getting the best talent within the organisation and hence, improves
efficiency of achieving objectives of the organisation.
 Professional development: Once a person is recruited within a firm, he/ she will
be trained and inducted by the HRM department of the organisation. Suitable
training and guidance will help the newly recruits within Virgin group will look
after the proper evaluation of the training and skill improvement needs of the
individual or newly recruit within an organisation. This will enhance their
confidence level and will effectiveness to perform at work place of Virgin Group
(Bajenaru and Smeureanu, 2015). The allocation of services and training
measures that will improve the effectiveness of work force of Virgin Group to
attain the business objectives and thus will help in having high productivity at the
firm.
 Compensation and benefits: If an employee gets injured or dies at the work
place, under the health and safety at the Workplace act, 1974, the employee is
liable to get proper compensation or other medical or financial benefits. This will
be looked after by the HRM department of Virgin Group. They will look after the
conditions and will provide effective compensation and benefits to the
organisation. These measures will improve employee's trust level towards the
selected enterprise and hence, improves their loyalty and encourage them to
meet business objectives.
 Legal compliance: The HRM department of the organisation will also look after
the following of different employability laws and legal obligations that will help in
proper assessment of the legislations that will help in suitable placing of business
operations of Virgin Group. Following legislations will help in setting suitable
policies and guiding the workforce to achieve business objectives of the
organisation.
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 Maintaining performance appraisal and rewards: This is another important
operation that is been carried out by the HRM department of Virgin group. Based
on the performance and effectiveness of the employees to carry out the
operations within Virgin group. This will help in incorporating healthy competition
at work place, improving the job satisfaction level and enhance the loyalty of
employees within Virgin group (Bringezu and Bleischwitz, 2017). The appraisal
will increase the motivation level of workers and encourage them to achieve
business objectives and operation within the firm in most effective way.
Virgin Group HR:
All these operations and functions that are been carried out by HRM department
of the organisation indicates that it helps in pooling up the suitable and best talent for
the organisation. This measure will contribute to increase effectiveness of operations
performed by Virgin Group, making it employer of choice.
Significance of HR to attract new talent and to meet Virgin business objectives:
The HR department of Virgin Group will be looking the acquiring of the new talent
for the organisation that will help in proper assessment of the skills and ideas of the
organisation and meeting the business objective of the organisation to increase its
sales.
2 Approach to workforce planning and recruitment and selection, development
and training measures and performance management of organisation
Different approaches related to HRM functions will be carried out that will impact
the performance of Virgin group to a greater level. Some major approaches for various
functions are:
 Workforce planning: Workforce planning can be termed as the measures that
are been undertaken within an organisation which help in suitable planning of
the employees that are been working within the organisation. For this purpose,
future oriented work force can be developed and adopted by Virgin Group that
will helping proper management of employee's within the firm (Bounfour, 2015).
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Methods of workforce planning at Virgin: Virgin Group will be looking at the
proper planning of the services and thus will lead the organisation to take
different methods like setting up of shifts, innovation the employee engagement
operations and will help in meeting the business operations.
 Recruitment and selection: The two major approaches of recruitment and
selection measures that are been taken within the organisation are: Internal and
external recruitment. In the internal recruitment measure, the organisation like
Virgin Group will look after the proper recruitment process from within is existing
workforce for example, promotion, transfer etc. While, in the external recruitment
process, the firm, tends to get the employee's from outside of the business in
order to fill out a vacancy. For example, direct recruitment etc.
Virgin recruitment methods are internal recruitment, advertisement, social media,
talent search and recruitment agencies.
Write in steps how HR in Virgin does recruitment and selection:
The steps at recruitment at Virgin Group involves :
Step 1: Placing an advertisement including the job details
Step 2: Collecting the job applications from interested candidates.
Step 3: screening and analyse the skills and knowledge of the potential candidates.
Step 4: Carrying out personal interview to have a good insight about the ethics and
behaviour of candidate.
 Development and training: This is an important attribute of the organisation
that is been carried within the organisation. For this purpose, on job and off job
training measure is been taken in consideration that will help in improving
services and functionality of the organisation. The on the job training is the real
time training that is been provided to an employee while he is on the job to
improve his efficiency while off the job training will include the proper
assessment of the training measures that will help in proper development of
skills that is been provided outside the workplace (Chen and et. al., 2016).
HR at Virgin does on-job and off- job trainings of employee to keep them
motivated and to improve their skills.
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For employee development purposes Virgin Atlantic launches online
financial education programme
This educational program will help the organisation to have a good understanding about
the financial and educational programs that are carried out by the selected business enterprises.
Such programs help the employee's of the organisation to improve skills and performace of the
organisation.
 Performance management approach: This approach will help in proper
assessment of the operations and carrying out of the growth measures that are
been carried out within the firm. For this purpose, the 360°approach of the
performance review and management can be undertaken that will help in proper
assessment of operations that are been carried out within the organisation that
will help in maintaining productivity of the firm.
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
 Figure 1: Appraisal Form
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(3) Different methods used in HR practices
Within the current case study, Virgin will look after adoption of suitable measures
that are been taken within Virgin Group that will help in proper assessment of the
various HR practices and operations that are been carried out within the firm (Hitt, Xu
and Carnes, 2016). Some major HR practices and measures that will impact the
performance of the organisation that will influence the work performance are:
Recruitment and selection: This is major HR practice that is been carried out within an
enterprise and assists the proper management of the operations and carrying out of the
functions within the organisation. It includes:
Internal recruitment process: This will help in proper planning of operations which
assist organisation to have a good assessment of operations that will help in proper
assessment of business operations and thus will lead to getting the suitable candidate
from within organisation or workplace itself this will help in effective evaluation of the
skills that are been possessed by an individual. These skills will help the organisation to
have a cost effective recruitment process within the firm. It involves the measures like
promotion, transfer etc.
Advantage: It is a cost effective approach that will help in the proper assessment of the
suitable talent within the firm. Other than this, it supports the rise in effectiveness of the
operations and action plans which will help in placing the best candidate for a job role
(Bogner, 2018).
Disadvantage: The biggest disadvantage of this approach is that it may lead to
conflicts and reduction in contentment among the work force of Virgin Group.
External recruitment process: This includes the assessment of the skills and qualities
of an individual which is outside the organisation. This will help in the proper planning of
the measures which will help in getting the best and most appropriate talent for a job
role. This includes the assessment of candidates who are not the part of the
organisation. This wills incudes a hierarchical measure that will improve the
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performance of Virgin group. It involves the recruiting and selection measures like direct
recruitment, third party recruitment etc.
Advantage: It helps the organisation like Virgin Group to get the innovation and thus
will help in meeting the operational requirements of the organisation. Besides this, it will
improve the performance of the organisation (Reiche and et. al., 2016).
Disadvantage: It is a very time and resource consuming process and may impact the
profitability of the firm. Also, the training requirements are higher than compared to
internal recruiting.
4. Effectiveness of employee relationship and engagement with flexible work
practices and flexible organisation
The employee relationship and engagement measures are been taken within Virgin
Group that assists an organisation to have a good rise in the effectiveness to carry out
the operations.
Write about employee relations at VIRGIN
In Virgin Group, the employees are well related and coordinated within the
organisation and have a deep and effective role in maintaining a good performance and
achieving the business objectives of the organisation. This will help in proper planning
of services and thus will help in carrying out of the operations in much effective way.
Employee engagement can be termed as the bonding and level of interaction that
exists at a work place among the employees of the firm. It supports proper rise in the
operations and gaining a good accessibility of the MNC that will help in improving the
performance of Virgin Group (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, 2016). This approaches
will have a significant influence on both, employee and employer to become the
employer of choice.
Virgin group as flexible workplace:
Some major approaches of flexible organisation and work practices for employee
relationship and engagement that will be taken in Virgin Group are:
 High performance working: This will help in proper development of the
operations and gaining the operations and thus, will lead the organisation to
improve the effectiveness of operations that will help the firm to emerge as
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employer of the choice. It will include the skill development and role allocation
processes that will improve the firm's performance and enhance the quality of
services and action plans that will help in effective employee engagement. This
will lead to the rise in flexibility of working practices at Virgin Group without
hampering the firm's performance. It will also aid to improve the employee's trust
level towards firm, making it employer of choice. This will help in incorporating
adjustable working hours and setting up of shifts that will help in proper planning
and setting up of employee relationship.
 Inducing different level of employee engagement: Virgin Group, on the basis
of having high level of interaction or collaboration with an employee (Brewster
and et. al., 2016). Various approaches like surface level engagement,
feeling/emotional engagement and intellectual engagement will support the
imbibing of different employee engagement aspect in the firm like transparency
and open communication improving working flexibility. All these aspects will
assist in having flexible working practices and make the organisation to emerge
as employer of choice. Various level of employees can be undertaken with
cooperation with fellow workers in order to improve the firm's flexibility towards
work and operations that are been carried out at the work place.
All these HRM measures which are been followed will improve the quality of
operations which are followed by the organisation and contribute in improving the sales
and overall profitability and manufacturing capacity of the Virgin Group. As the
employee interaction is improved, this will help in meeting the business objectives and
achieve them effectively.
5. Key aspects of the employee legislation
Within Virgin Group, certain legal measures are required to be followed out that
will help in proper planning of operations of the organisation (Marchington and et. al.,
2016). These legal measures will help the organisation to have a good assessment of
the operations and thus, will help in suitable placing of operations firm. Few employee
legislation measures that will be followed are:
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