Impact of COVID-19 on Talent Management: Merrie England Coffee Shop

This research project investigates the impact of COVID-19 on talent management, focusing on a case study of Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD. The study explores the effects of the pandemic on the hospitality industry, including economic downturns, changes in consumer behavior, and the implementation of new health and safety regulations. The research aims to understand the concept of talent management, its benefits, and the role of human resource managers in navigating the crisis. The project examines the challenges of employee health, remote work, and talent retention, and provides recommendations for companies to manage talent effectively during the pandemic. The literature review covers key themes such as the impact of the pandemic on health, PESTLE analysis, and the benefits of effective talent management. The research utilizes a qualitative methodology to achieve its objectives, addressing research questions related to the definition of talent management, its benefits, the role of HR, and the impact of COVID-19, offering insights into how organizations can overcome challenges and manage talent during the crisis.

Research Project
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................5
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW:...................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................10
CHAPTER 4 FINDING AND ANALYSIS.............................................................................................12
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................17
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................19
Appendix..................................................................................................................................................20
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TITLE: "To analyse the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation. A case study
on Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD"
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
In recent times, COVID-19 has highly impacted on entire global market. Due to that there are
many companies and business that is been affected in negative way. The world economy has been
collapsed and so many of the people have lost their job because of the lock down implemented by so
many countries. It has also been analysed that mostly small and medium size business has been affected
by the global pandemic situation (Emon Dastidar, 2019). The world economy has been fallen down and
whole of the world is in situation of crisis.
Background of the study
Moreover, it is found that due to COVID-19 hospitality industry is been adversely affected.
This is because countries have stopped movement of people from one place to another. Also, due to
lock down hotels, pubs, restaurants, etc are closed. Thus, tourism industry growth has gone in negative
way. There are new ways of performing operations and tasks due to which quality of services has
declined. In addition, there is change in people needs as well. They prefer to stay at home and become
more health conscious. So, there is major challenge in front of companies to recover from it. As there
are various restrictions been imposed as well so it has impacted on operations of organisation. in study
conducted it is found that 50% of individual do not want to dine in restaurants. They feel unsafe and not
comfortable as well. In many countries there is ban on cinemas, malls, etc due to which stores sales is
declined. The main sector which is adversely affected in hospitality industry is tourism. The growth of
companies operating in it has declined (Christina Pavlou, 2020). It is because of hault on their
operations such as airlines, etc. all the strategies and plans developed by firms are failed. The goals are
not being attained in it. Moreover, people needs are changed so that is not buying products and services
as well. Various companies have also implicated cuts in employees’ salaries and so many of them have
to even fire their employees. The incident management plan so that they can firmly handle the situation
of crisis.
Besides that, it is found in Mckinsey report (Economic conditions snapshot, June 2020) that
world economies are struggling to recover from pandemic. It is expected that this is worse than
recession of 2008. In China 45 % people said economy condition is worse. Moreover, 12% said that
business operations are affected due to COVID 19. This has resulted in difficulty in future growth and
expansion of hospitality firms. Along with that, there is high decline in sales and revenue of firms. The
hospitality sector is expected to take long time to recover from COVID 19. Due to it, companies are
highly using and adopting technology in order to continue their operations (Brian Westfall, 2019).
Rational of the research
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Main rational behind the selection of this topic is to identifying the issues of COVID-19 in
talent management. In report of UNWTO (International tourist number could fall 60- 80% in 2020,
UNWTO reports. 2020) there is decline in 60- 80% tourist in 2020. Also, there is loss of US$ 80 billion
in exports as well. In report it is also said that there was 22% fall in tourist in first quarter of 2020.
Thus, there is risk of millions of job loss in hospitality sector. In many countries the arrivals dropped
down to 57%. In Asia and Pacific impact is high that is 33 million arrivals as compared to Europe 22
million. The international borders are closed and there are many restrictions as well. Furthermore, it is
said that in international travel with decrease in loss of demand the overall loss is up to 850 million to
1.1 billion. Alongside, there may be loss of US$ 910 to US$ 1.2 trillion in export revenue and about
100-120 million jobs at risk.
Scope and Limitation of the research
This research has wide scope because talent management at workplace playing an essential role
in development of an organisation. Into this project used qualitative research that result in attainment of
research objectives successfully. There are few limitations exists such as lack of time, inappropriate
amount of capital and ethical issues.
Research Aim:
The aim of this research is "To analyse the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an
organisation. A case study on Merrie England Coffee Shop LTD"
Research Objectives:
In relation to this research, the objectives of study are as follows:
 To understand the concept of talent management.
 To determine the benefits of talent management within organisation.
 To analyze the role of human resource manager in talent management.
 To assess the impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation.
 To determine the ways that company can employ to overcome the crisis and manage talent
within organisation during COVID-19.
Research Questions:
The questions of research in context of this study are mentioned below:
 What is the concept of talent management?
 What are the benefits of talent management within organisation?
 What is the role of human resource manager in talent management?
 How COVID-19 has impacting on talent management within an organisation?
 Which are the different ways that company can employ to overcome the crisis and manage
talent within organisation during COVID-19?
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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW:
Introduction-
This chapter will describe about secondary data that is been gathered from different sources
such as journals, articles, books, etc. it will help in giving insight about what overall topic is and what
are views and opinions of another researcher on it. Thus, here in depth analysis will be done on topic by
forming various themes.
Concept of talent management:
As per the view point of Brian Westfall, (2019), talent management is referred as a strategy of
an organisation related to attract, recruit, retain and develop people in the organisation. It involves
practices of company pertaining to some critical facets of human resource including recruitment, on
boarding, compensation planning, performance management, succession planning, workforce planning
and learning and development. Effective talent management within an organisation helps in improving
the performance of business and also enable company to stay competitive in the market. Apart from
this, it helps in driving innovation within the organisation and developing productive teams that work
more effectively towards accomplishment of goals and objectives. The concept of talent management is
not limited to recruiting right candidate, but it extends to explore hidden qualities of workforce and
nurturing and developing them to get desired outcome.
Health issues
As said by Nurhuda Syed, (2020), due to COVID 19 there is impact on health issues as well.
This is because in hospitality sector employees deal directly with customers. So, there is high risk of
getting affected by COVID 19 while working. Moreover, there are various health issues occurred as
well due to which talent management practice is affected. The HR is not able to provide effective
training to staff. Besides that, with new guidelines formed by government firm have to follow strict
rules and regulations. Along with that, there is change in way of working and team is not performed.
Besides, if health issues are not addressed properly than it leads to high risk of spreading of COVID 19.
Thus, changes are made in health and safety norms and business have to focus more on employee’s
health and safety. It is said by Seetharaman., (2020), COVID 19 has impacted on employee mental as
well as physical health. It is because they are not able to work in team and communicate with each
other. Thus, they feel depressed and it impact on their mental health in negative way. They are not able
to maintain work life balance as they work in stress. It has lowered their job satisfaction as well. It has
also been evaluated because of working from home and that too alone employee’s mental and physical
well being has also affected. It has also been analysed that because of the lost job opportunities, the rate
of crime has been increased. It has also been analysed that people have become miserable and they have
been depressed. This virus has affected lives of people severely
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Pestle analysis
In the view of Christina Pavlou, (2020) there is impact of COVID 19 on social, culture,
economic as well as environmental. Thus, for that pestle model can be applied which is as follows
Political- The factor consists of political stability, trade laws, etc. that affect on hospitality
industry. Due to COVID 19 government has made new laws due to which they have banned entry of
people from specific country. Also, in tourism new laws are formed that is to be adhered by all
companies. Hence, COVID 19 has resulted in new laws and regulations.
Economic- - As stated by Caligiuri and et.al., (2020), they are the factors such as GDP
currency rate inflation etc. any change in this factor affect on business growth. COVID 19 has created
an adverse impact on entire global economy. It has resulted in declining economic growth at global
level. All nation GDP has declined to great extent. Furthermore, hospitality industry economic growth
has declined as well. Moreover, there operations are affected in negative way.
Social - The factors are related to change in taste and preference needs etc of people. Due to
COVID-19 now people have become more health conscious and are considering organic products. They
prefer to stay at home and not dining at restaurants, going to pub, bars, etc. this has changed their needs
and wants. Thus, it has highly impacted on hospitality industry growth and expansion.
Technological- On contrary Pandita, and Ray, (2018) said that the factor is related to
advancement in technology. This factor highly effects on business operations. Due to COVID 19 now
there has been high use of technology by people as well as by companies. So, it has also lead to
developing of new software and applications. In hospitality sector as well the technology is used to
deliver services to people.
Environmental- In this it refers to factor that are CSR practices, environment laws, etc.
however, COVID 19 has forced business to contribute towards society. But due to lack of funds
companies are not able to contribute (Christina Pavlou, 2020).
Legal- these are the factors related to employment law health and safety law minimum wage act
etc which needs to be followed by company in nation in which they operate. Due to COVID 19 there is
change in health and safety law as government has issued new norms and guidelines. This has affected
way of working in hospitality sector and operations. The employee performance has declined and goals
and objectives are not attained.
Cultural impact – Due to COVID 19 there is cultural impact as well. The cultural events and
festivals are celebrated in new way by following new norms and guidelines. Besides that, in weddings
and other events only limited people are allowed to participate. So, it has changed way of living.
Benefits of talent management within organisation:
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As per the view point of Emon Dastidar, (2019), talent management is a procedure through
which employees are maintained and developed by companies. There are several benefits of talent
management including better hiring methodologies, improve the growth of employee, retention of best
employees, developing more trust in company, develop consistent performers etc. which ultimately
help the company in accomplish its goals. A strong and effective talent management strategy in an
organisation would help in bringing about more participative workforce and recruit and hire the best
candidate for the suitable job position. Apart from this, talent management strategy also helps in
minimising the attrition rate which leads to reduce hiring cost of company.
Role of human resource manager in talent management:
As per the view point of Christina Pavlou, (2020), Human resource manager work with talent
management team to train employees and develop them. the role of HR department is to design and
execute policies that helps in training and internal promotions of employees so that appropriate
development plans can be develop in order to manage talent within the workplace. Human resource
manager compiles the data that assist in informing talent management. The main foundation of
managing talent within the organisation is hiring right people which is the main responsibility of human
resource manager. The recruit and hire talented employees within the organisation by analysing the
need of personal within the firm. They also manage performance of employees by tracking productivity
and performance.
Impact of COVID-19 on talent management in an organisation:
As per the view point of Nurhuda Syed, (2020), in the COVID-19 survey, it has been found that
one in three organisations have executed hiring freezes across all the roles. While new recruiters are on
boarded utilising tools online, above half of the engaging employers are delaying joining dates of their
employees. For the existing workforce, the plans of work are being altered wherever necessary as well
as written connections between human resource teams, managers and employees is being developed to
system manage work as well as understand anxieties and motivations. Talent management within the
organisation is highly impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.
Ways that firm can employ to overcome the crisis and manage talent in organisation during COVID-
19:
Developing inspired and resilient employees by emphasizing on employee participation and trusted
communications in order to ensure that employees are informed as well as prepared to work effectively
during COVID-19. Developing open communication and trust within the teams helps the managers in
managing talent as this helps in improving motivation of employees and encourage them towards work
effectively in challenging situations. Apart from this, adopting appropriate leadership style will also
help the management in guiding employees and inspiring them to work effectively towards
accomplishment of organisational goals.
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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology is refereed as the different methods that supports in performing the study
systematically. Different methods of research can be better understand by research onion framework
that consist of six layers’ description of which are as follows:
Research Philosophy: Interpretivism research philosophy integrates human interest into
investigation and positivism is based on factual knowledge based on observations. Among the two
research philosophies, positivism and interpretivism; Interpretivism research philosophy is use by
investigator in relation to this research as it has conception of understanding human social roles related
to the area of study.
Research Approach: Inductive approach is related to development of new theory based on data
and deductive approach is based on testing of theory. Inductive and deductive are 2 approaches among
which Inductive research approach is utilize by investigator in study. The reason of using this approach
is that it enables researcher to ripen suitable outcome evolving from the data or information gathered.
Research strategy: It refers to overall plan for performing investigation that guides researcher to
perform study effectively. Different research strategies include case study, survey, systematic literature
review, experimental study etc. Among these, survey research strategy is use by researcher to collect
adequate information on topic or study area. It helps investigator in gaining information or data from
the predefined group of respondents.
Research Design: Quantitative research design is concerned with collection of quantifiable
information and qualitative is related to gather non numerical information. Among the research designs
like quantitative and qualitative, this research will make use of qualitative research design as it supports
the investigator in gathering qualitative data on study area and draw accurate results. Through this,
researcher will also ensure accuracy of data.
Time Horizon: Longitudinal and cross sectional are the two time horizons among which the
cross sectional time horizon is utilize in investigation as this study snapshot a specific group of
individuals at single point of time.
Data Collection method: It can be done in two ways which includes primary and secondary data
collection method. The primary data is acquired through using interview which fresh data is collect by
researcher. On the other hand, secondary information is gather through books, online articles, journals
etc. which are published previously. Both the methods are used by investigator to gather appropriate
amount of information relevant to the topic.
Primary research: In this type of research, fresh data is collected by the researcher. Different
methods are utilized for collecting first hand information on the topic including survey, questionnaire,
interview, experiment, observation etc. The selection of method is done on the basis of need for
collecting data. This method of data collection helps in gathering data which is never used before, even
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though it is expensive but help in gathering more accurate data on the topic. It takes a lot of time by the
researcher together adequate amount of information on the topic by using primary method.
Advantages-
 It helps in gathering fresh data and up to date info.
 The data is interpreted in better and effective way as researcher know what type of data is
gathered.
 The primary data is more accurate and precise as data collected is useful
 Disadvantages
 There is high cost required in order to collect primary data
 It is time consuming process
 There is inaccurate feedback given by respondents in it.
Secondary research: In this method of research, the data which is already used before is
collected on the topic. this type of data is collected by using different sources including articles,
journals, books, previously published literatures, newspapers etc. The information collected through
this method sometimes may not provide relevant information regarding the topic. However, it will help
researcher in collecting a lot of information on the topic in less period of time. This method is also
inexpensive and consumes less time of researcher for collecting data.
In relation to this research, both the methods are used by investigator to collect relevant and
adequate amount of information on the topic in order to ensure that valid outcomes can be drawn which
is accurate and reliable.
Advantages
 It is cheap as compared to primary data
 It saves time as data is easily available on journals, articles, etc.
 It provides a basis for scholar to understand and compare data that is gathered
 Disadvantages
 The data gathered may be outdated
 The accuracy and reliability of data is not known in it.
Sampling Method: Probability and non-probability are the two sampling methods among which
simple random sampling is use in this study as by this researcher can ensure that no biasness will occur
at the time of selecting observers from large population. In this particular study, the sample size is 5
employees of firm and are selected for interview.
Data analysis: Data is analysed through qualitative analysis technique by making use of
interview. This helps researcher in analysing numerical information effectively and drawing valid and
reliable outcome of research.
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CHAPTER 4 FINDING AND ANALYSIS
Interview questions
Q-1 What is impact on COVID 19 on talent management on employees?
Q-2 How management is able to tackle this crisis?
Q-3 How TM is related to employee performance?
Q-4 Do you think that adopting of leadership style will be useful in minimising impact on TM?
Q-5 What are ways through which TM can be improved in Merrie England Coffee Shop?
Theme 1- What is impact on COVID 19 on talent management on employees?
By undertaking interview, it is found that out of 5 employees 3 said that coivd 19 has highly
impacted on their performance. They said that they are not able to work in effective way. also, team
working is not been practiced by them due to which goals and objectives are not attained on time.
besides that, they said that talent management is also highly impacted due to COVID 19. It is evaluated
that there is lack of skills possess by them as they are not getting training and development in regular
time period.
Besides that, only 1 employee said that due to COVID 19 there is need to advance skills in
talent management. But they do not possess advance skills of working in such harsh times. Thus, due to
that their efficiency is decreased. The complex tasks are not being completed in effective way and this
has hindered their ability to do work. In addition, 1 staff said that HR is not able to perform effective
TM practices. This is because of new way of working in company. Therefore, it has also decreased
morale of them. they have to work individually and this is taking more time to complete task.
Theme 2 - How management is able to tackle this crisis?
From the interview it is analysed that out of 5 staff 2 said that company management is trying to
tackle problem of talent management by taking some actions. They said that HR is hiring talented staff
who possess high and advance skills. This will help in doing complex task easily and reducing burden
on them. in addition, new staff is giving new ideas and suggestions to work in creative way.
Furthermore, 2 staff said that by giving training and development in new ways Merrie England
Coffee Shop management is tackle this issue. They said that training is given through video
conferencing and individually. Now, more videos sessions are conducted to show to work. This has
resulted in making it difficult for them to learn as the concept is new. Therefore, they are taking time to
get train. Moreover, 1 staff said that there is effective monitoring of staff done in it. The HR manager
are observing performance and working of each staff. Thus, they are able to find out who is feeling sick
or not capable of doing task. Therefore, TM practices are then followed accordingly. So, Merrie
England Coffee Shop management is not effectively able to tackle this issue but are making efforts to
do so.
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Theme 3 How TM is related to employee performance?
Here, after taking interview of 5 employees it is found that all 5 said that TM is related to
enhancing staff skills, increasing productivity and increasing competency. This is because TM consists
of several practices that are involved in improving employee performance. So, for that they are given
training and weak areas are improved. Moreover, their skills and capabilities increases which directly
impact on their efficiency in positive way. With reward management practice staff are given rewards on
basis of their performance. This leads to motivating them and they are able to put more efforts in
attaining goals and objectives.
Besides that, TM also hires new and talented staff which brings in new knowledge. This is then
shared by others in doing tasks. So, they are able to learn and gain new knowledge as well. thus, when
training is given to them their skills and abilities increases. This allows in working in team and in
effective way. this results in enhancing their performance. Hence, it is found that TM enable staff to
become competent in their relevant field. Employees become more efficient in doing tasks and attaining
goals and objectives. Along with it, staff efficiency is increased it leads to enhances overall
organisation productivity. Hence, TM is directly related to employee performance.
Theme 4 Do you think that adopting of leadership style will be useful in minimising impact on
TM?
From interview conducted it is stated that out of 5 staff, only 2 said that adopting of leadership
style will minimise negative impact of COVID 19 on TM. In this they said that Merrie England Coffee
Shop leader must adopt participative leadership style. It will be highly effective. It is because here
leader will be able to engage with employees and work with them. besides that, decisions can be taken
by listening to staff suggestions and opinions. However, some others theories can be applied in as well
which will help in changing overall situation of company and TM. But 2 said that leadership style will
not be useful in minimising impact on TM. It is because here leader will only focus on improving
employee performance. So, there require other measures and action need to be taken along with some
other TM practices such as reward, hiring, promotion, etc. with that it will be easy to make TM
effective.
At last 1 employee said that Merrie England Coffee Shop should make new laws and guidelines
of working. They should not focus on TM rather than on maintaining employee progress so that their
performance is maintained. Along with that, company need to focus on health and safety of staff and try
to maintain positive culture as well. So, staff knows that leadership style will enable in providing
direction and training as well to employees. There are several style which can be followed according to
situation. Thus, leader will gain insight on staff capability and on basis of that skills is improved.
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