MGT203 HRM Report: Woolworths HR Strategies and Training Programs

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Woolworths' Human Resource Management (HRM) practices. It begins with an overview of the company's background, objectives, and current business performance. The core of the report focuses on Woolworths' HR strategies, including strategic human resource management, HR functions, and recruitment and selection processes. A significant portion is dedicated to the company's employee training programs, detailing their advantages, disadvantages, and providing a diagram illustrating HR best practices. The report also includes a comparison with Coles' HR strategies to provide industry context. The conclusion summarizes key findings, offers critical analysis of the case study practices, and provides recommendations for future HR strategies. The report utilizes figures and diagrams to enhance understanding and is supported by a bibliography of cited sources.

Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

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Executive summary
Woolworths is one of the famous retail companies and has a separate Human Resource
Department that aims to manage employees of the organization. The organization aims to
provide high quality of delightful food at a very cheap price to its consumers. In October
1964, the organization has opened its regional shopping store near NSW. The report includes
a clear discussion of strategies of Woolworths and illustrates the training program within the
organization for the development of the employees. Woolworths, being a leading company,
understands the significance of their employees. In this context, they undertake activities so
as to enhance their workforce. The company adopts different training programs and has best
practice-based HR strategies. This report sheds light on these measures and the strategies
undertaken by the company. To show parlance of industry standards, a comparison of HR
strategies of the company has also been drawn with Coles in this discussion.

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Table of content
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................4
1.1 Background of the company............................................................................................4
1.2 Company objectives.........................................................................................................4
1.3 Current business performance..........................................................................................5
2.0 Discussion............................................................................................................................6
2.1 HR strategies....................................................................................................................6
2.1.1 Strategic human resource management.........................................................................7
2.1.2 HR functions.................................................................................................................7
2.1.3 Recruitment and selection.............................................................................................7
2.2 Training............................................................................................................................8
2.2.1 Advantages....................................................................................................................9
2.2.2 Disadvantages...............................................................................................................9
2.2.3 Diagram...........................................................................................................................10
3.0 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................11
3.1 Conclusive thoughts on case study practices.................................................................11
3.2 Critical Analysis in comparison with other case............................................................12
3.3 Recommendations for future strategies..........................................................................13
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................14

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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the company
Woolworths Limited was founded in 1924, has started its organization with small store in
Sydney's arcade in 1924, 5th of December. In terms of revenue in Australia, it has rewarded
as the second-largest company. Stanley Edward Victoria, Ernest Robert Williams, George
Williams, Cecil Wayne are the founder of Woolworths limited. The organization provides
goods are a very cheap price with good quality. The Organisation was comprised of investors
with capital of 25,000 shares each. The company allotted 15000 shares to the public but the
29 people especially the companion of supporters subscribed only 11707 shares. The
organization was rewarded a dividend of 5% in the first year, 40% in the second year and
50% in third year. The organization has also gained a good business surrounding and also
opened a large number of shopping stores. In October 1964 organization has opened its
regional shopping store near NSW and celebrated its 30th anniversary for making a record of
$250 million in retail sales (Grimmer 2018).
1.2 Company objectives
The main aim of Woolworths is to create the goodwill of the organization. The organization
wants to be the first preference of all the buyers within the whole retail market. The main aim
of the company is to establish a good culture for its customers and team members (Knox
2015). It also focuses on social development in order to fulfill the environmental desire.
Mission

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The organization also aims to initiate sustainable sales of food by delivering the goods and
products to the right person in order to increase sales and profit. The organization wants to
provide a high quality of delightful food at a very cheap price to its consumers.
Vision
It also aims to produce tastier and delicious goods with several varieties of products.
Woolworths aims to increase inventory turns and aims to enhance network in order to provide
an efficient service to its consumers (Morioka, Evans & de Carvalho 2016).
1.3 Current business performance
The activities of Woolworths have addressed ideal that affects the stakeholders, consumers,
and inventory chain. Woolworths provides high quality of goods and services and has stores
in different locations. The organization is famous for its high quality of products. The
organization is known as Woollies in Australia. The company has established huge numbers
of supermarkets in different locations in order to attract consumers and to bring new
consumers towards the products of the organization.
It has been founded through the research that the organization is not performing its activities
adequately and accurately. The Sydney branch of the organization is not performing its
activities well because of the staff. The organization is facing problems regarding its
goodwill, in terms of consumer satisfaction, design, and availability of goods, process,
services, and capacity.
In Australia, the organization is gaining a huge business success because the taste and
preference of the consumers are changing very quickly. The organization also provides online
shopping facility to its consumers. The organization is also facing huge competition in the
retail market after introducing online shopping. There is also a possibility of new entrants

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with new strategy of retailing that can easily harm the position of Woolworths in Australia. In
2019, Woolworths beat the Coles in sales of foods and in terms of productivity (Grimmer
2018).
2.0 Discussion
2.1 HR strategies
The human resource strategy is a strategy of planning and creating long-term goals in order to
achieve the objectives of the organization and to boost the development within the
organization. Human resource strategies motivate the employees in order to reduce the cost of
production by applying HR outsourcing human resource strategy has become very important
for every Organisation in order to handle the benefits of the employees, handles process of
the company and also provide human resource training. The human resource strategy helps an
Organisation in order to identify and guide the performance and actions of the employee
within the organization and boost the overall development of the organization. It aims to
fulfill the needs of the company, which includes proper planning, and management of all
work (Lai et al. 2016).
The human resource strategy includes Global strategy and also contains a particular goal in
human resources and planning for implementing such strategy with the help of different
projects and actions.
Woolworths is one of the famous retail companies and has a separate Human Resource
Department, which aims to manage employees of the organization (Fleming et al. 2017).

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2.1.1 Strategic human resource management
The human resource team of World War has taken different responsibilities regarding the
management of the organization and its employees. The organization follows the method of
human resource outsourcing and has many external suppliers that help the organization in the
task of human resources.
2.1.2 HR functions
Woolworths Limited handles its functions of human resources at the functional level and at
the strategic level. The professionals are also involved in such planning at the strategic level.
The managers play a very important role at the practical level that identifies that the staffs are
for the right purpose, in the right place and at the right price (Price 2016).
2.1.3 Recruitment and selection
The quality of the employee totally depends on the strategy of selecting and recruiting an
individual for the organization. recruiting and selecting the employees is not a very easy task
may employers have to face different issues like cost of advertisement of new opening of jobs
and can face many problems in creating good communication between recruiters and
managers (Trevena et al. 2015).
Recruitment and selection are some of the most important strategies of human resources,
which are increasing very rapidly. Woolworths has applied new technologies in order to
reshape the strategies of recruitment and selection. It has identified that there are many
challenges in relation to human resource strategies that are connected with recruitment and
selection process. Organisation has also faced issues regarding advertisement and hiring

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methods of employees because it increases the advertisement cost (Bailey 2016).
2.2 Training
Woolworths has more than 995 stores in Australia for which it requires a huge number of
staff and employees in order to manage the stores. The company always use to organize a
different training program for its employees. It organizes different personal and skill
development programs all over the country. The organization believes that the development
program can increase the ability and skill of the employees. The organization arranges
training program for the development of the employees and for the growth of the
organization. Providing training to the employees is an important aspect of every company
that will build a good connection between the company and its employees. The training
program will increase the confidence of the employees and enable them to become more
creative (Grimmer 2018).
Woolworths has many employees that have started their career with the organization and now
at the leading position in the organization. The training program highlights facts, the process
of advertisement, skills that are required in order to work in a team. During the program the
employees taught about the different types of learning styles and about the taste and
preference of the consumers according to their generation (Higgins et al. 2018).
The Woolworths provides support to all its staff and employees. The employees also get a
chance to work on different projects. The company aims to fulfill the needs of its consumers
with the help of its employees and the working team. The organization arranges fast track
management program for its management department. The program will help the staff in
flourishing efficiently and make the new staff understands the production process.

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The organization always applied new tools and techniques in the development process in
order to aware the employees about the use of current techniques. The organization always
use new pattern in order to deal with consumers and always encourage their employees to use
all the new techniques in training program. The company also arranges a creative training
program, which includes identification of the employees and their level of creativeness that
increase the confidence within the workers.
The organization has also arranged a training and development program for the advancement
of HR management skills (Bayne, Schepis & Purchase 2017).
2.2.1 Advantages
The training will increase the self- confidence within the employee and also enable them to
remain in the competition. The employees will be able to understand the current technique in
order to remain in the competition and to become advanced. The training will increase the
learning ability of the employees and creativeness to create new strategies. It will motivate
the employee to work well in a team with unity. The employees will be able to understand the
right way of handling the consumers effectively and efficiently (Bailey et al. 2015).
2.2.2 Disadvantages
Training needs a huge amount of capital, the company needs to waste time and money in the
process of training. They have to pay wages to the employees and trainers during the training
period. Training in Woolworths includes huge number of theories and it is very difficult for
the employees to learn the topic. Training takes time which makes the session boring and

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workers feel lazy during the training period. Many people join the organization in order to
take training so that they can get better salary from another company (Sutton-Brady,
Kamvounias & Taylor 2015).
2.2.3 Diagram
Figure 1: HR Best Practices
Source: (Bailey et al. 2015)
(Human Resource Management-Woolworths Limited- HR Practices)

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Figure 2: the Share price of Woolworths
Source: (Jie, Parton & Chan 2015)
(Woolworth’s share price)
3.0 Conclusion
3.1 Conclusive thoughts on case study practices
In terms of revenue in Australia, it has awarded as the second-largest company. It has been
concluded in the above report that the organization has also gained a good business
surrounding and opened a large number of shopping stores. Woolworths is one of the famous
retail companies and has a separate Human Resource Department that aims to manage
employees of the organization. The organization wants to provide high quality of delightful
food at a very cheap price to its consumers. It also aims to produce tastier and delicious goods
with several varieties of products. The organization is famous for its high quality of products.
The organization is also known as Woollies in Australia. The goodwill of the organization is
decreasing, in terms of consumer satisfaction, design, and availability of goods, process,
services, and capacity. Human resource strategies motivate the employees in order to reduce
the cost of production by applying HR outsourcing human resource strategy has become very
important for every Organisation in order to handle the benefits of the employees. It has been
founded in the above report that the professionals are also involved in such planning at the
strategic level. The managers play a very important role at the practical level that identifies
that the staffs are for the right purpose, in the right place and at the right price. Woolworths
has applied new technologies in order to reshape the strategies of recruitment and selection.