Strategic HRM Development and Millennials: A Report for Mark & Spencer

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of strategic human resource development (HRD) within Mark & Spencer, a major British multinational retailer. It begins by defining HRD and its importance, particularly focusing on the implementation of strategic HRD plans. The report examines the factors influencing Millennials in the workplace, highlighting their impact on employee experience and technological integration. It explores talent management strategies, the role of human talent, and the use of technology solutions. Furthermore, the report differentiates between the significance of technology in human resource management and HRD functions, evaluates the use of technology in HRD, and offers recommendations for improvement. The report emphasizes the importance of strategic planning, resource analysis, implementation, and follow-up in achieving organizational goals, considering the dynamic nature of the business environment and the evolving expectations of the workforce, particularly Millennials. The report also delves into the importance of corrective action plans to address deviations and ensure organizational success.

Human Resource
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Question 1........................................................................................................................................4
Implementation of strategic human resource development and factors of Millennials as
referred to articles...................................................................................................................4
Question 2........................................................................................................................................9
Talent management and role with human talent, performance and flexible with technology
solutions..................................................................................................................................9
Question 3......................................................................................................................................13
3. 1 Difference between significance of technology to human resource management function
and human resource development........................................................................................13
3.2 Evaluating use of technology in human resource development function and
recommendation...................................................................................................................16
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................20
.......................................................................................................................................................21

INTRODUCTION
Human Resource Management is a function within an organisation which focus on
recruitment of candidates and providing guidelines to manpower in a company. It basically deals
with concerns that are related to staff of an organisation in terms of hiring, compensation,
performance, safety, wellness, benefits, motivation and training (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). It
is also a predetermine approach to manage people and work culture in a particular organisation.
Eventually, it engage, improve and preserve sufficiently capable employees to implement
activities essentially to achieve organisation aims. Furthermore, human resource management is
coordination of an organisation people to achieve specific business objectives, fulfil staffing
needs and maintain employees satisfaction. It accomplish its objectives through use of people,
processes and technology that basically focus on internal parts of an organisation rather than on
external environment. It concentrates on internal sources of competitive advantage and proactive
in its relationship with people as well as seeks to enhance organisational performance in its
relationship with them. Moreover, human resource management enables the workforce of an
organisation to contribute efficiently and effectively towards over all achievements of a
company's goals and objectives. In this report, organisation chosen is Mark & Spencer, a major
British multinational retailer headquartered in Westminster London. It is specialised in selling
clothing, home products and luxury food products. This report is going to analyze the
implementation of strategic human resource development in Mark & Spencer. Such as strategic
human resource department must be flexible enough to accommodate changes in environment.
Moreover, identifying a person role responsible for understanding a business need to success and
best way to fulfil role with human talent both permanent and flexible with reference to
technology solution. Differencing between significance of human technology to human resource
function and human resource development in an organisation. Furthermore, evaluating use of
technology in human resource development function as well as providing recommendation for
improvement.

Question 1
Implementation of strategic human resource development and factors of Millennials as referred
to articles
Human Resource Development ( HRD ) is a framework that help employees to develop
their personal and organisational skills, knowledge and abilities (Bratton and Gold, 2017). It is
one of the most significant opportunities as it help in employees career development,
performance management and organisation development. In many organisation human resource
development process begins with hiring new employees and continues through out employee's
tenure within a company. The main purpose of human resource development is to provide “
coaching” that is need to strength and grow knowledge, skills and abilities of an employee.
Moreover, focus of all aspect of human resource development is on developing most effective
and superior workforce so that an organisation and individual can accomplish their work goals in
an appropriate manner. It also help an individual or employees in increasing knowledge and
capabilities and positive working attitude towards all level in business undertaking. It is needed
by an organisation in order to be dynamic and growth oriented to succeed in fast changing
environment. An organisation can become dynamic and grow through efforts and competencies
of human resource.
Scope of human resource development
The scope of human resource development basically deals with procurement,
compensation, maintenance and utilization of human resource (Briscoe,Tarique and Schuler,
2012.). It also deals with efficient utilization of human resource and it is a part of human
resource management.
Features of human resource development
Systematic approach: In an organisation, human resource development is a systematic
and planned approach through which efficiency of employees is improved. Moreover, it help
Mark & Spencer to achieve their entire gaols and objectives which are planned according to a
systematic approach.
Continuous process: Human resource development is a continuous process for
development of all types of employees. Mark & Spencer are adopting this process in order to
develop their technical, managerial, behavioural and conceptual employees on continuous basis
in order to meet goals and objectives of an organisation.

Human resource development plan
Human resource development plan are basically action steps or strategic oriented towards
future development for an organisation. Such plans indicates how resources will be allocated,
activities to be performed, encourage employees and implement in such a manner that
organisation goals are achieved (Brewster and Hegewisch, 2017). It also include design and
construction of developmentally oriented activities which is essential in assisting people in
achieving goals of an organisation. Moreover, strategic human resource development plan assist
people to their job in an appropriate way and will have best chance of improving their
capabilities, potential and influence their wealth.
The human resource department of Mark & Spencer are well versed with current
management trends and stay up to date in terms of strategic orientations. The process of human
resource development is based on executives, managers, or employees to conduct daily activities
and maintain level of enthusiasm among workforce. A strategy is long term planning that is
developed and implemented by top management of Mark & Spencer. These plans are used to
seize opportunities to allocate resources in an effective manner. It also includes plan to create
develop strategies in order enhance skills and knowledge of employees. It also train executives,
manager and employees in such a manner that plans are flexible enough to accommodate
changes in working environment as per unexpected situation.
Moreover, training prepares personnel for dynamics of performance that arise in an
individual it is done through training seminars events and programs. It also provide provide
multiple benefits such as to Mark & Spencer such as increasing extrinsic and intrinsic job
satisfaction of employees and staff members of their organisation. It also enables them to
increase their customer satisfaction in adapting changes according to need and demand of their
potential customers. Moreover, by implementing strategic of human development plan assist in
increasing efficient and effective use of resources. It also help developing a peaceful working
environment for their employees so that they can carry out their work without any difficulty.
Eventually, this plan also help managers of Mark & Spencer in making human resources
development actives in proactive nature and in case of impact of situation requires changes or
need of an organisation. Thus, such strategic implementation of human resource development
plan will lead to increase productive of an organisation in an effective manner over stipulated
period of time.

Strategic Human Resource Development is the way of enhancing resources capability
according with belief of human capital of an organisation which is major source of competitive
advantage. It also ensure that right quality people are available in order to meet future as well as
present needs.
Strategic HRD is important for ensuring about HRM and staff management working with
interest of organisation. It is important because with effective plan, goal and objectives cannot be
achieved.
Human resource development plan helps in guiding participants in a step by step form for
developing staffing, forecasting, performance management, compensation and employee
development (Brewster, Chung and Sparrow, 2016) As this plan will help members and
employees of Mark & Spencer how each plans are linked with each other in an organisational
strategic development plan and contributes moral and over all success to organisational success.
Moreover, implementation of strategic human resource development plan in Mark & Spencer so
that plans are enough flexible to accommodate changes in environment.
Develop through understanding of company's objectives: In an organisation, adopting a
strategic human resource development leads success in Mark & Spencer as it clearly define
mission and vision of their organisation. It will help manager in ensuring clear communication of
company's gaols and according a strategic resource development plan will help them in
providing training and development to its employees in order to activities its goals and
objectives.
Evaluating human resource capability: It is necessary of an organisation to evaluate
capabilities of human resource in a company. It will enable Mark & Spencer to understand
employees contribution in fulfilling goals and objectives. Additionally, it will also help them to
understand needs and wants of each employees and according they will able to shape out their
employees according to requirement of an organisation. Thus, strategy need to be simple and yet
includes all aspect of human resource development and should be communicate to individuals
and other department of organisation that must be involved in implementing strategy.
Resource analysis: In an organisation implementation of strategic human resource
development requires to considerate amount of resources. It is important for Mark & Spencer to
evaluate its resources for both current and future need as well maintain monetary and logistic
resources. Accordingly, a prediction need to be made in relation to number of employees in

associated with skills that are required for an organisation to meet up future needs. Moreover,
providing continuous training and development with the available resources will help Mark &
Spencer in attaining its strategic goals and objectives.
Implementation: In an organisation, having resources and having perfect strategy would
not be worth if resources is nit implemented in an appropriate manner (Purce, 2014). The
managers of Mark & Spencer should ensure that implementing plan is important for effective
developing human resource development plan. By implementing plan managers will able to
know weather their plan has between implemented in an appropriate manner.
Follow up: Follow up is important after implementation of plan. If managers of Mark &
Spencer are able to follow strategic plan on regular basis the they can easily overcome with
deviation. Moreover, it will also help them to correct deviation that are important for an
organisation in order to achieve its targets. Additionally, by identifying roots cause of issue of
deviation and taking measure to correct them in an appropriate manner. Thus, follow up on
continuous basis cis necessary for mark & Spencer in order to achieve targets of their
organisation on stipulated time period.
Corrective action plan: In strategic human resource development plan identifying cause
is not enough. Herein manager of Mark & Need to take corrective action plan to resolve
deviation. Moreover, they need to create a back up plan to ensure that performance results are
back on actual track of an organisational strategy. Additionally, managers can also implement
modified strategy that may be necessary in implementing to reach desire goals.
The implementation of above strategic human resource development helps Mark &
Spencer to achieve goal and objectives in an effective manner. Moreover, plans are prepare and
developed in such a manner that it creates flexibility enough in an operating environment. So that
managers can change their plan according to unexpected situation or requirement that is
necessary for an organisation in order achieve its targets as well as goals and objectives.
As per the article “ Millennials” The Architects of Employee Experience. Millennials are
refer as “digital natives” who are pioneering employees experience in an organisation and are
becoming an inevitable part of modern human resource technology. One of the main factor of
generation Z is that they are pronounced focus on digital technologies. The social channel are
natural complement with instantly recognizable apps in order to engage their customers in and

content rich platforms for audiences to grow exponentially. Here are some factors that are
increasing presence of millennials in strategic resource development plans are determined below:
 In an organisation Millennials are setting importance in employees experience but it also
need to work more for growth and development.
 Different shift has been occurring in workplace due to entered of millennials as it
compromise more managerial position while they take huge entry level position in market
place.
 Moreover, understanding shifting expectations that is required to evaluate from an
organisation prospective and also keep approach of human centric.
 Millennials and generation Z are consider to be digital natives, assumed to be
convenience and are desired by meaningful experiences in organisation with new ideas
and innovation in working culture.
 Additionally, they are using different technologies and tools to eliminate menial task in
order to elevated to more strategic responsibilities towards better advancement of
working culture.
 Millennials are creating more opportunities in which employees can grow their relevant
and diversified career paths and positing themselves from more dynamic work
experiences.
 Millennials are looking more towards up to date and intuitive technologies within
workplace. As new and advance technologies help in offering online training and
development on order to eliminate complex busy work through automation.
 Moreover, using technologies to eliminate menial task employees will be more relevant
and involved in more strategic responsibilities.
 Thus, will be more engaged towards strategic development plans in an organisation for
effective development of employee's in order to achieve goals and objectives
respectively.
From the above mentioned points, it has been clear that Millennials are playing an
effective role in organisation. They are termed as digital natives in modern workplace as they
come up with new and different and innovation in technologies in order to reduce work load of
an organisation. Moreover, millennials are providing great employees experiences as well as
help them in shaping better and relevant career path according to their silks and knowledge in

workplace. Thus, millennials are creating a unique part in strategic human resource development
in an organisation in order to achieve goals and objectives in an appropriate manner or attain
sustainability in marketplace.
Question 2
Talent management and role with human talent, performance and flexible with technology
solutions
Talent management is a systematic approach or process of identifying the vacant
position, hiring suitable position, developing skills and expertises of an individual to match
position (Aswathappa, 2013) This process help managers of an organisation to fill vacant
position with skilled and knowledge individual or employee to achieve long term objectives in
an organisation. Its process help in planning, attracting, transitioning, retaining, developing and
selecting a right candidate for right job specification in order to meet up better performance
outcome.
As per the article “ Millennials” The Architects of Employee Experience. Workforce
Shaper is a person who is responsible for understanding talent of a business in order to succeed
and best way to fill role with human talent both permanent and flexible and with technologies
solution. The challenges described in article are determined below:
 One of the major hurdles is understanding how employees experience has become
attracting and retaining talent in an organisation.
 Crucial part role in shaping an individual in a right position
 Employees retention
The above mention are some of the challenges an organisation is facing in their working
culture. Herein , it is the foremost duty of a workforce shaper to build experience that meets up
the real time demand of an organisation workforce.
The managers of Mark & Spencer can adopt various process and theories in order to
appoint such as person in an organisation. In order to meet up relevance gab between an
organisation both in flexible and permanent with adoption of technology solution. Talent
management in organisation is not just fulfilling or attracting best people but it is a continuous
process. It involves sourcing, hiring, developing, retaining and promoting them while meeting an

organisation requirement simultaneously. If an organisation wants best talent that it need to
attract a person having something beyond imagination, both in flexible or in permanent manner
with technologies solution. Moreover, talent management process is incomplete if an
organisation fails to fit best talent in an right manner . It also derives an important factor than an
organisation need to take at higher level of shaping employees in an appropriate manner
according to requirement. Hence it can be said that talent management is a never ending process
for acquiring right talented person in an organisation.The importance of talent management in
Marks and Spencer are as follows:
Increase Employee Performance- The use of talent management helps to make things
easier to identify employees suited for company that lead to required less performance
grievances and issues. In context of Marks and Spencer, it require talent employees for
performing activities of business. It also increase their performance effectively and efficiently.
Improve Business Performance- Talent management helps in increasing employees
skills for better work performance. This leads motivate to them for achieving business goal and
objectives. It assist in improving business performance and client satisfaction easily. Marks and
Spencer requires high skilled worker for improving performance.
Herein, managers can use talent management process in order meet up gab or placing a
right candidate according to its skills and knowledge which is useful for an organisation to attain
its goals and objectives. The process is described below:-
Understanding requirement: It is a preparatory stage and plays a crucial role in success
of whole process. The main objective is to determine requirement of talent (Anderson, 2013).
Herein, manager of Mark & Spencer need to understand their recruitment process in order to
achieve right talented person for a right designation. Moreover, the main objective of this step is
to select right person for entity. It also help an organisation in overcoming challenges and
creating relevance between gab where they are lacking behind in managing talent in workforce.
Sourcing talent: In an organisation, talent management process involves in targeting best
talent for an industry. Herein, managers of Mark & Spencer need to source out best talented
individual for their organisation. Moreover to overcome with the relevancy where they are
lacking behind. This process will help them in selecting right talent for right job according need
and requirement of job profile.

Attracting talent: It is important for an organisation to attract talented people in order to
work within an organisation which is beyond imagination (Pieper, 2012). Moreover, aim of
manger is to selected right candidate for their industry in order to know their relevancy both in
permanent and flexible environment with technology solutions.
Recruiting talent: In an organisation actual process starts at recruiting best and talented
candidate for a specific job description. Herein, managers of Mark & Spencer need to selected
the best and talented candidate so that a gab dose not arise in an organisation. Moreover, a
relevancy can be maintained both in permanent and flexible environment. Eventually, managers
can come up with technological solution such as providing training and development online,
conducting seminars and session.
Training and development: Training and development is an essential part of an
organisation. Manager of Mark & Spencer need to train their employees and staff members in an
appropriate manner in order to enhance their talent and skills. In this way manager can attract
right and talent candidate for a specific job profile. Moreover, from the staring point the can
match up with relevancy and fill up the gab in order to overcome with such challenges in talent
management.
Retention: Retention is sole purpose of talent management process. Hiring a candidate
dose not serve the purpose completely. Moreover, managers of Mark & Spencer need to serve
purpose of talent management with help of various factors such as job specification, pay
packages, challenges involved in job designation and organisation culture. They follow up such
process in order to enhance talented individual in an organisation.
Promotion: In an organisation promotions play an effective role. Herein, managers of
Mark & Spencer need to maintain effective promotion strategies for their employees. In order to
maintain talent individual in their organisation as well as cope up with the gap of relevancy for
both flexible and permanent period of time.
Competency mapping: Assessing employees skills and development and maintaining
competency is the next level of talent management process. This help managers to asses talent of
employees with their skills, knowledge and responsibilities so that manager of Mark & Spencer
can effective place an right candidate at right place in order to maintain relevancy of their
organisation.

Successful planning: In an organisation successful planning is all about who will be the
leader of an organisation in coming future (Nickson, 2013). Herein, managers of Mark &
Spencer need to heir such candidate which help in progress of organisation. Moreover,
employee has to give his best to their work in order to serve long time in future. Additionally,
they need to plan from the first day in maintaining talent management process in order to best
skilled employees.
Talent management process is a complex process and very difficult to handle. Its sole
purpose is to place right at right place at right time. Moreover, it is the main issue in an
organisation such with the help of such process gab and relevancy of talent can be matched or
not to more extent it can be matched with the help of this process. With the help this process
employees experience can be overcome and their talent can be achieved in an appropriate
manner. Eventually, it will help in shaping employees at right place in an organisation in order
to have best and talented employees to carry out work effectively without any difficulties.
Additionally, talent management have various benefit for an organisation as well as to
employees. Some of the benefits for organisation are strategic talent management results in
accomplishing goals and objectives as well mission and vision. It also strength organisation
structure by building strong human capital and succeed over its competitors to build a strong
presence in marketplace. Moreover, it also improve participative decision in making
management and it continuously improve organisational performance making it more effective
and efficient. Herein, it also benefit to employees in various manner such as talent management
initiates a positive environment in an organisation where an employee experience job
satisfaction. Employees get chance of learning and improving themselves which motivates them
to better to perform in an attractive way. Moreover, it also help in training and development
programs that help an individual to learn something new and enhance their skills and talent in
effective manner. It also focus on individual growth and performance and developing an peaceful
environment as well as sense of belongingness for an organisation.
Thus, in global scenario human resource management has been a effective tool for a
company's growth and success. It make the best possible for utilization of resources, employees
talent and skills for this talent management is essential for Marks and Spencer in order to achieve
their set goal and objectives. HRM assist organisation to select most suitable candidate for
business who can work effectively and efficiently.