Kingfisher plc: Strategic HRM, Recruitment, and Employee Relations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices at Kingfisher plc, a leading European retailer. It evaluates various HRM techniques used to maximize employee performance and achieve a competitive advantage. The study explores the purpose and functions of HRM, focusing on workforce planning, recruitment, and employee relations within Kingfisher. It also examines the strengths and weaknesses of different recruitment approaches, including internal and external methods. Furthermore, the report highlights the benefits of HRM practices such as payment and reward systems, and development and training programs for both employers and employees at Kingfisher plc, emphasizing the importance of a healthy work environment and employee engagement. This document is a valuable resource for students studying HRM and seeking insights into real-world applications of HRM principles.

MARKETING HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................9
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................12
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................22
Reference List................................................................................................................................23
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Introduction
Human resource is the backbone of any organization. Human resource department procures
talented and efficient personnel for an organization and retain them according to their
performance. This study looks to assess the principles of Human resource management (HRM).
Different techniques of HRM to maximize the performances of the employees and achieving
competitive advantage will be evaluated. The rewards of flexibility among the organization and
its human resources will be assessed. This study will shed light on the different human resource
management techniques adapted by Kingfisher plc.
Company Overview:
Kingfisher plc is the leading retailers of Europe with sectors that retail electrical, general and
DIY merchandise. The company operates 2900 stores across fifteen nations and has
collaboration with best-known brands of UK such as B&Q, Darty, Comet, Woolworths and
Castorama. They have employee strength of around 130,000 and are the leading DIY
merchandise retailers and third largest electrical business of Europe. The HRM department of
Kingfisher puts extensive focus on managing a good relationship with their employees and has
taken measures to devise flexible work environment for them.
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Task 1
Introduction
The human resource department of any organization is an integral part of their business
operations. The HR department of Kingfisher has adapted various techniques in their daily
actions that prioritize employee benefit and employee satisfaction and also considers that
selection and training of employees result in higher performance of the business and also
generates greater revenue.
1.1 Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing in Kingfisher/an Organisation of your choice.
The purpose of HR department of any organization is to strategically plan the image of the
company in terms of brand value and its policies for their employees as well as customers.
Kingfisher plc has the most efficient mind behind their Human Resource department. The HR
department is in charge of keeping employees motivated and maintains a healthy employee
relation that reflects on their overall performance in the business (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).
HR department of Kingfisher efficiently recruits and trains the most suitable people for the job
that ensures quality of services and enhancement of business.
In recent times, there has been a rapid change in the business market in terms of operative and
management strategies. Organizations such as Kingfisher consider the employees as an important
asset of the organization. In order to realize the importance of human resources the companies
emphasizes on planning and implementing a strategic model of management that enhances the
connectivity of human resources in terms of success and standards.
The best-fit approach emphasizes on alignment of human resource strategies and organizational
strategies. It is essential to assure that human resource plans are best suited for different
organizational circumstances and cultural processes (Bratton and Gold, 2017). This approach
emphasizes on the contributions and needs of both the business and the employees.
The best practice model emphasizes on the HR activities that support the organization to reach
high distinctions and attain competitive edge over the market. This approach supports the idea of
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superior organizational performance by performing the activities like providing employee
security, effective recruitment, high compensation, contingency plans and training. The human
resource department of Kingfisher plc ensures that they use the guidelines of best practice and
best fit model so that they can enhance company’s and employees’ growth.
There are several ways of approaching effective management of human resources in an
organization. The categories of approach are Hard and Soft models of human resource
management.
Hard model of HRM
This approach treats employees as business resources. This model has a high inclination towards
corporate organizational planning that evaluates requirements, cost and procurement methods.
The focus of HR department that adapts a hard model of management is to identify the key
sectors that need human resources and hire personnel accordingly (Brewster and Hegewisch,
2017). Key features of this approach are minimized communication between employees and
management, short-term modification in the work force, minimum wage structure, low
delegation for employees and autocratic style of management.
Soft model of HRM
This approach of human resource management treats the employees as valuable assets who
contribute to the growth of the business. Each employee is provided with individual needs. This
approach emphasizes on employees’ roles within the organization and considers motivating and
rewarding them according to their performances. Key features of this approach include long-term
work force strategies, employee encouragement and empowerment, strong and bidirectional
communication and adequate wage system and democracy based leadership (Brewster and
Hegewisch, 2017). Kingfisher plc has chosen this model of human resource management as this
model tends to produce maximum results.
Workforce planning
This is a continuous process where managers of the human resource department recognizes
individual needs of the workforce and address them by strategic methods. This is an essential
process, as the company must cater to the needs of its employees to ensure high quality of work
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and this process of workforce planning help to realize the long-term goal of the company by
attending to the requirements of its employees. Kingfisher plc has chosen to incorporate both
operational and strategic work force planning into their human resource management structure.
Recruitment, Selection and Employee Relations:
The human resource department of an organization identifies the requirements in workforce and
plan the most effective process of recruitment. This is a tedious task, as the recruiters have to
choose the most suitable personnel from a number of applicants. They select the employees
according to the job positions available and in requirement of labour (Marchington et al., 2016).
Recruitment methods of Kingfisher plc include quantitative assessment, technical interview,
personal interview and machine testing.
The company highly considers employee relations as their tool to satisfy the needs of employees.
They have devised strategies to engage employees and integrate them into the operations of the
business. These strategies include healthcare, childcare, flexible working hours and paid
holidays.
Labour Market
The labour market plays an important role in the human resource management of any
organization. This market includes divisions in their sector like technical personnel,
administrative personnel, support staff etc. This market addresses the demand of employees in
the business market. This sector of human resource supply is directly influenced by demand of
employees generated by organizations.
1.2 Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches of recruitment and
selection used by Kingfisher or an organisation of your choice.
The recruitment process of any organization is a vital opportunity to revise the quality of labor
within the business. There are two types of recruitment process and Kingfisher plc recruits
employees using both of these methods.
Internal Recruitment Process and its Strengths and Weaknesses
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This process includes upward downward and lateral processes where existing employees can be
promoted to higher position or shifted to a different sector (Jøranli, 2018). This process is
efficient as the existing employees are already exposed to the operations of the business and do
not require training. This process looks to fill vacancies with employees who shoe tremendous
individual growth and optimization. The strengths and weaknesses of this process are:
Strengths Weaknesses
 Less time consuming
 Cost effective
 Helps in retaining and motivating
employees
 Assist with developing good relations
with employees
 The externally available talents are not
screened
 Innovation restrictive
 Unfair to the external applicants
Table 1: Strengths and Weaknesses of Internal Approach
(Source: Created by the learner)
External Recruitment Process and its Strengths and Weaknesses
This generally the process of selecting and hiring personnel from the applications received as
responses to their recruitment advertisement. It requires the interested personnel to provide their
resume and appear for quantitative and psychometric evaluation as well as interview (Jøranli,
2018). The company posts the vacancy advertisement on digital media as well as newspapers and
sometimes collaborate with recruitment agencies. The strengths and weaknesses of this process
are:
Strengths Weaknesses
 Enables the company to recruit the
most efficient personnel
 A wide range of options available
ensure justified selection
 This is a time consuming process
 Expensive process, as advertisements
and the recruitment process requires
financing
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 Creates employment in the market
 Wide scope
 The news employees have to be trained.
Table 2: Strengths and Weaknesses of External Approach
(Source: Created by the learner)
The process of recruitment provides insight about the contemporary trends of employment.
Kingfisher plc has implemented both of these techniques in their recruitment process. This
ensures the best personnel available in the market. An efficient work force propels the business
towards higher performance and higher revenue.
Conclusion
This essay sheds light on the different functions of the human resource department. The purpose
of HR department is undeniable as they ensure the quality of employees and assist with the
operations of the employees as well. The recruitment processes provides the HR department the
opportunity to select most efficient employees form a large number of applicants. Kingfisher plc
has put emphasis to elevate the functions of their HR department, which is reflected by their
performance in the retail market.
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Task 2
2.1 Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within Kingfisher or an organization of
your choice for both the employer and employee.
The human resource department of Kingfisher plc has various practices for realizing healthy
work place environment in the company. These practices help the employers as well as
employees. The priority of the HR department is to develop a healthy and communicative
relation between the employers and the employees. The most prominent practices are
development and training, and payment and reward system.
Payment and Reward System
This motivational scheme has been developed to keep the employees and the employers
motivated in their roles. The employers as well as the employees enjoy the fruition of their
efforts as the company incentivizes their performances. The performances of the employees are
evaluated regularly to ascertain their performance and devise rewarding schemes accordingly.
The human Resource department considers employee satisfaction as one of the factors that make
or break the operations of the business and their advantage in the market (Brewster et al., 2016).
Employers of Kingfisher enjoy steady pay according to their roles and job description. Their
performances are also evaluated to ensure quality of work. The satisfaction of employers and
employees result in healthy employee engagement. Employees enjoy steady pay with incentives
with respect to their job description. The timely and adequate payment of employees ensures
zero slack in work processes and also assists the employees with economy. The reward system of
Kingfisher include various processes like Vision and dental insurance, pension plans, incentives
based on performance, stock options, paid leave, sabbatical, family care schemes. These schemes
address a lot of important areas of the employees’ personal life and the company ensures to cover
all the areas that might need innovation.
The employers along with their incentives benefit from a managerial point of view. A steady and
efficient work force elevates the performance of the company. That is why the employers must
constantly motivate the employees with timely payment and attractive rewards. A motivated
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workforce is advantageous for the company also, as the employees would perform to their full
capacity and enhance organizational productivity.
Development and Training
Kingfisher plc undertakes programs of development and training for the employees because the
recent times have exhibited a trend of innovation and advancements in work operations, methods
and equipments. The advent of digital technologies has significantly changed the scenario of
traditional retailing.
The company is adapting various new technologies and that is why it is important to train the
employees in using the technologies effectively. The employee and the employers benefit from
this scheme of development and training. The employees learn about the functionality of the
technologies and how they enhance work functions and simplify them if they are applied
properly (Brewster et al., 2016). This insight is very much beneficial for the employees as they
perform difficult tasks and the technologies can significantly reduce labour and enhance
accuracy.
The employers at Kingfisher plc benefit from this scheme as the training will lead to better usage
of the technologies and significant enhancement of performance, productivity and revenue for
the business.
2.2 Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising Kingfisher plc/
an organisation of your choice profit and productivity.
The practices of the Human resource Management department of Kingfisher plc were identified
as payment and reward system and development and training of employees. These practices are
beneficial for the company with respect to earning profit and increased productivity. These
practices are encouraged by the top management of the company as they realize that a motivated
and engaged employee who is well versed in the operations of latest technologies will be able to
produce more for the company. The services they provide for customers of Kingfisher plc
require usage of these technologies and training the employees in developing their technical
skills have been effective for the company and have reflected in their productivity and profit. The
productivity was seen to be significantly enhanced as the employees were able to produce more
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goods and owe this ability to the developmental training provided by the company. The
employers have noticed a healthy communication among the employees, as there have been less
cases of replacement or return of goods due to inaccuracy.
The reward system has resulted into unexpected increase in employee satisfaction. The
employees of Kingfisher plc were committed to their work and were really enthusiastic about
their work knowing that the company has taken extensive measures of care for their family and
future. The enhancement in performances of the employees was evident form positive customer
feedback and the generation of more than adequate revenue. These schemes of rewarding the
employees have increased the performances of the employees within the company which is
reflected in their elevated productivity. A higher productivity results in general rise of profits as
the company is able to trade more vigorously when it is backed up by enormous product line and
efficient roster of satisfied and engaged employees.
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Task 3
Introduction
The maintenance of positive employee relations by the HRM of an organization helps in
enhancing work productivity and performance. Employee legislation determines the HRM’s
decision-making process and such a process affects employee relations. Thus, this in-house letter
aims to evaluate the importance of employee relations and the impact of key employment
legislation on HRM practices.
3.1 Analyze the importance of employee relations in Kingfisher/organisation of your
choice with respect to influencing HRM decision-making
Employee relations may be understood as the relationship between employees and the
organization, managed by the HRM by communicating with the workforce, addressing their
grievances and motivating them to perform well (Leat, 2012). It is important for Kingfisher’s
HRM to focus on promoting cordial employee relations so that the business output of the
company is maximized by motivated and satisfied employees. Moreover, positive employee
relations help the company retain its workforce as the staffs are content to work for the
organization. There are several strategies Kingfisher’s HRM can implement in order to build and
maintain employee relations-
Employee rewards and benefits- It has been observed that employees feel motivated when their
hard work is recognized and rewarded in the form of monetary incentives and other benefits
(Shields et al, 2015). Kingfisher’s HRM must ensure that employees are provided with
recognition and that an adequate reward system is in place, to improve employee relations. The
HRM should additionally ensure that proper benefits such as maternity leave, sick leave etc are
provided to employees.
Open communication- It is necessary for the HRM of Kingfisher to keep lines of
communication open and receptive with the employees. The employees must feel comfortable
giving honest feedback about company practices and policies, and the HRM should work to
identify the problems faced by the staffs. Addressing their grievances will establish a positive
perception of the HRM in the employees’ opinions.
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