Human Resource Management Practices at Sainsbury's

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Human Resource Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................... 4
LO1.................................................................................................................................. 5
LO2................................................................................................................................ 10
LO3................................................................................................................................ 14
LO4................................................................................................................................ 19
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 25
Reference List................................................................................................................ 26
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Introduction
Human resource management is one of the essential functions of an organisation. The
function of the human resource department is to recruit new and capable employees to
be a part of the organisation’s workforce. This is important as choosing the correct
employee to fill up vacancies. The department also trains the new employees along with
the existing employees to work better and productively by increasing their potential.
The HRM is also responsible for maintaining good employee relations by adhering to
the laws present in the employee legislation.
The chosen organisation for this report is Sainsbury, a UK based supermarket retail
chain. John James Sainsbury established the company in 1869. Since then, the
company has grown and developed to become the third largest supermarket chain in
the UK (Sainsbury.co.uk, 2019). This report will explain the functions of the HRM, along
with its strengths and weaknesses. The various benefits that the HRM confers on the
chosen organisation will be discussed along with an explanation of key elements of the
employee legislation..
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LO1
Explain the purpose and scope of Human Resource Management in terms of
resourcing an organisation with talent and skills appropriate to fulfil business
objectives
P1 Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce
planning and resourcing an organisation
The purpose of this department and its functions are elaborated below.
Planning and Research
The primary function of the HRM is to analyse and plan how many employees are
needed in the organisation in order to fill up vacancies. The HRM needs to analyse the
vacancies in the organisation to find out what type of employees are required in order to
fill them up. Research is done here to prepare the necessary qualifications for the
required employees. This helps in figuring out the future needs of the organisation.
Motivating Employees
The HRM, along with the leaders of Sainsbury motivates and inspires the employees so
that they get more productive in their work and give better results in return (Sparrow and
Otaye-Ebede, 2017). This helps in making the employees satisfied in their work, and
they, in return, strive to accomplish their given tasks in the best way possible.
Controlling Employee Actions
This is an important task as the HRM has the responsibility to oversee the work of the
employees and make sure that they are performing as per what the task requires them
to do. When the department finds that, an employee is doing something wrong,
necessary actions are taken immediately to make sure that their mistakes are rectified.
The HRM also makes sure that the flow of operation remains uninterrupted.
Recruiting and Hiring New Employees
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This is the second primary function of the HRM. After vacancies in Sainsbury is
analysed, it is the job of the HRM to fill them up by choosing capable candidates
through interviews and giving them respective positions in the various departments of
the company. New employees are recruited in a way that only the most capable
candidates out of a pool of qualified candidates get the job (Tiwan et al., 2019).
Training Employees
The employees need to be trained in order to maximise their output and increase their
productivity. This helps in the conduction of operations as they get easier to do for the
employees and operations become smoother. Proper training is essential to new
employees in order for them to learn how to do their tasks in the correct and the most
efficient manner.
Maintaining Employee Relations
Maintaining excellent employee relations is of utmost importance for Sainsbury. If
relations with the employees are strained, the employees will feel less inclined to work
at their maximum potential and might even try to hamper the operations of the
company. Good employee relations is maintained by the HRM by listening to the
grievances and needs of the employees and trying to solve them as quickly and
efficiently as possible. This also helps in creating a friendly work environment for the
employees to work in peace (Jamali et al., 2015). Doing so will also reduce employee
conflicts and improve their productivity. Employee welfare is of the essence for
Sainsbury.
Salaries and Wages
Employees work for Sainsbury in order to earn money. The HRM must make sure that
the respective wages and salaries of the employees are paid in due time. Incentives
and bonus can also be given by the HRM to keep employees happy give them a sense
of their value and worth in the company. The HRM must also give the employees their
remuneration as per their job and skills.
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From the above points tht describe the various functions of the HRM, its purposes
become clear. The HRM has many purposes, which can be related its functions. The
HRM makes sure that there are no vacancies present in the organisation by recruiting
and staffing these vacancies with suitable employees. It also make sure that the
employees are compensated for their hard work by paying them their wages and
salaries in time. The HRM also appraises the performance of the employees so that
worthy employees are promoted and the unworthy employees are terminated or
demoted. The HRM also makes sure that the employees comply with the rules and
regulations of the company to enforce a fair and just working environment.
P2 Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment
and selection.
It is essential for the HRM to recruit and select the right candidates for the vacancies
present in the company. Therefore, it is necessary for the HRM to carefully analyse the
vacancies and requirements of the company and make the necessary recruitments. In
order to achieve this, the HRM can recruit new employees by following many
approaches, which are elaborated below.
Internal Recruitment
Internal recruitment refers to the process of recruitment where an existing employee is
used to fill the job vacancies. This kind of employment generally happens in the form of
promotions and demotions. Suitable employees who have proven their worth to
Sainsbury can be promoted to a higher position that is vacant if they are deemed to be
capable and have the right qualifications and skills for carrying out the tasks (Gravili and
Fait, 2016)..
Advantages: This procedure of recruitment is advantageous because no time is wasted
searching for the required employees. It is a fast and simple procedure,
Disadvantages: This procedure does not allow the introduction of fresh new talent in
the company, which might have been beneficial to the company in this competitive
industry.
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External Recruitment
External recruitment is the process of choosing suitable candidates from outside the
boundaries of the organisation. Job vacancies are advertised by the HRM.. After a pool
of candidates appears for interviews by seeing these advertisements, the best
candidate out of them all is selected and given the job (O’Donovan, 2019).
Advantages: This allows the company to recruit new talented individuals to work for the
company who might introduce new concepts and ideas for the development of the
organisation.
Disadvantage: This increases the chance of existing employees to leave the company
because it may provide them with lesser chances for appraisals.
The following procedures are implemented for selecting the right candidates after they
are recruited into the company.
Induction
The process of induction is focused around explaining the new employees what job they
have to do. This process is part of the process of knowledge management, where the
new employees learn all the important details about the organisation like its rules and
regulations, organisational visions, employee policies, and many more. The induction
program conducted by Sainsbury covers all the legal and compliance necessities that
are required by the employee to “integrate” successfully into the organisation. The terms
and conditions of employment. This process is also known as Orientation program.
Advantages: This process helps in assisting the employee to become a part of the
organisation without them feeling as if they have been given the job in a strange
environment. This reduces employee turnover.
Disadvantages: Induction training has no disadvantages other than the fact that not
implementing any kind of induction program will result in the employee to be
disoriented, which might make the employee leave his or her job (Srimannarayana,
2016). This will increase employee turnover.
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Onboarding
Onboarding is the process of training the new employees over a period to let them get
used to the company and its employees. This process helps the employee to learn all
the requirements regarding the behaviour expected in the office, skills required to carry
out tasks, and many more. Over a period, the employee gets to learn what is expected
of him or her, and feel welcomed into the business. The employee also gets to know
about other employees, managers, and leaders so that he or she can communicate with
them better (Caldwell and Peters, 2018).
Advantages: Reduces employee turnover if the employee feels that they are an
integral part of the organisation.
Disadvantages: The onboarding program must be set in a way that welcomes the
employee, not make them feel not valued by the organisation. This will force the
employees to leave the organisation, increasing employee turnover.
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LO2
Evaluate the effectiveness of the key elements of Human Resource Management
in an organisation
P3 Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both
the employer and employee.
Human resource management is an essential function for the development and growth
of a company. Therefore, all organisations including Sainsbury have a dedicated
Human Resource Department to handle all the functions of HRM. Its core function is to
link the human resources of the company to meet the goals of the organisation. The
various practices done by the HRM have many benefits, which a company like
Sainsbury enjoys. These benefits are explained below.
Figure: Benefits of HRM practices
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(Source: Created by the learner)
Recruiting New Employees and Retaining Them
The primary task of the HRM of Sainsbury is to recruit new employees for filling all the
vacancies of the organisation. This allows the operations to be completed effectively as
the employee requirement for a job is fulfilled through recruiting new employees. This is
an important task because better and capable employees will be recruited only when
the HRM of Sainsbury is talented and skilled enough to select the best candidates for
employment. Employee retention is another benefit that the HRM provides to Sainsbury.
Employee retention refers to all the activities of the HRM that compel an employee to
stay in the company for a longer period (Noe et al., 2017). These activities are done in
order to reduce the chances of employee leaving the company (a benefit for the
employer). Recruitment provides suitable candidates with jobs through which they can
earn money (employee benefit).
Training Employees for Their Development
All employees, especially the new ones, require a form of training in order to allow them
to do their tasks without any mistakes. This allows the operations conducted by
Sainsbury to be completed smoothly and efficiently. Training is given to employees
even if they are well qualified to do their jobs because each organisation has different
approaches to their operations, which makes it necessary for employees to be trained in
order to know the difference in the styles of functioning. Training will also make the
employees more efficient and productive in doing their respective tasks, raising overall
company productivity and improving the quality of the products and services offered by
Sainsbury (benefit for both employee and employer).
Developing Good Employee Relations
Employee relations are necessary to be maintained by Sainsbury so that employees
feel valued to be a part of the company. When good relations are established, the
employees start working harder, improving overall productivity of the workforce
(employee benefit) and quality of products and services manufactured. Good
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relationship with the employees will also make them communicate better with the
company and will also allow them to provide useful information that will be used in the
decision-making process and the strategy-planning process of the company (employer
benefit) (Edgar et al., 2015).
Maintaining Organisational Culture
Organisational culture refers to the policies, visions, values, and beliefs of the company
that it follows. This is necessary to be maintained in order to give the employees
guidance on what their tasks are and how to do them (employee benefit). This culture is
dictated by the HRM with recommendations from the leaders. This culture allows
Sainsbury to give their employees a common goal (Mendy, 2018). Maintaining
organisational culture also keeps the behaviour of the employees regulated in order to
prevent confusions and conflicts arising between employees (employer benefit)
P4 Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising
organisational profit and productivity.
Every organisation must know how to manage and control their human resources - the
employees. The function of HRM is to manage their employees and staff to ensure that
operations are conducted smoothly and efficiently.
All the various HRM practices lead to the increase of organisational profits and
improvement of organisational productivity. The effectiveness of HRM can be evaluated
in the following ways.
Preferred way to onboard employees
All employees need proper training and equipment to work better at their most
productive level. This can only be provided by the HRM. When new employees are
inducted into the organisation, the HRM has the responsibility to give them adequate
training and improved machinery and equipments so that they can work to their fullest
potential. Doing so will increase the overall productivity of Sainsbury and this will in turn
lead to an increment of the profitability of the company (Yang et al., 2015).
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Reducing Employee Turnover
Employee turnover refers to the number of employees who are recruited to replace the
employees that have left the company or have been fired. One of the roles of the HRM
is to maintain good relations with the employees. Maintaining good relations with the
employees will make them feel more valuable to the company, which in turn will make
them stay in the company for a longer period. These valued employees will also be
more productive as they realise that they are considered worthy by Sainsbury. This will
result in increased productivity of the company. If these employees stay around for a
longer period, the expenses incurred in recruiting new employees and training them will
be nil, raising the profits of the company (Nie et al., 2018). A high turnover will also
make the tasks get completed faster as new employees will take time to complete a
particular task than existing and experienced employees.
Minimizing litigation
Litigation refers to the process of taking legal action against an individual or a group of
people, which can be a business enterprise also. The HRM maintains good relations to
ensure that the employees have a good brand image of Sainsbury in their mind. A good
brand image will help Sainsbury prevent their employees from taking any legal action
against the company in case they feel that they gave been deceived by the company or
have been mistreated. If good brand image persists in the minds of employees, the
employees will be more productive (Meijirink et al., 2016). Lawsuits against the firm will
cost Sainsbury a great deal of their fortune as these cases are long drawn and require a
great deal of their resources.
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