IT and HRM: Tesco's Recruitment and Retention Strategies, IT Systems

This report examines the crucial role of Information Technology (IT) in Human Resource Management (HRM), using Tesco as a case study. It details Tesco's recruitment and retention strategies, emphasizing the use of social media and college recruitment for attracting talent, alongside competitive salaries, benefits, and flexible working hours for retention. The report highlights the IT's role in both recruitment and retention, including cost reduction, access to talented candidates, and the provision of remote work facilities and e-learning programs. Furthermore, the report explores Tesco's strategies for developing and engaging employees, such as job enrichment, mentoring and coaching, job rotation, and promotions, alongside strategies for employee engagement like understanding employee learning styles, empowering employees, setting clear expectations, and providing more than just a job. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) in supporting these strategies, automating training and development, and improving communication and reward systems to foster employee engagement and drive cultural change. The report is a valuable resource for students seeking to understand how IT can improve HRM practices.

IT and HRM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................3
PART 2 ...........................................................................................................................................3
Recruitment & Retention strategies of TESCO...........................................................................3
Recruitment process.....................................................................................................................4
Role of IT in recruitment and retention.......................................................................................4
PART 3............................................................................................................................................5
Strategies and techniques for developing and engaging employees............................................5
IT system used.............................................................................................................................6
PART 4 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

PART 1 INTRODUCTION
IT plays an important role HRM as it helps in managing of human resources in an
effective manner in 21st century. In absence of IT managing human resource can become
challenging for company as managing human resources has become more complicated in current
scenario. In 21st century human resource management is well needed for developing skills, mind
set as well as abilities which are required for gaining competitive advantage in the market. Role
of IT has also become vital for organisation in managing human resource as IT helps in
connecting HR works with various business system which can help in achieving objectives for
company. IT is used to improve overall talent management of company as it help in effective
planning of HR planning and training and development program which can increase skills and
knowledge of employees. In this Tesco is taken as organisation, which is a groceries and general
merchandise retailing company of UK. There are approximately 450,000 employees working in
more than 6,800 shops. The target customer of the company are middle income group with
young children and also targets the customers who are interested in quality products. Total
revenue of the company as per the year 2019 is 63,911 million pounds. The IT system which is
used by Tesco is Human resources management system which is designed for managing
company's automated and computerised human resource.
PART 2
Recruitment & Retention strategies of TESCO
The process of attracting, finding, short-listing, selecting and hiring qualified candidates
for suitable jobs within in company or organization k/a recruitment.
Recruitment strategy:
Social media: This is the best medium to find 5alent, advertise jobs and communicate with
suitable candidates for suitable job profile (Oh and et.al., 2017). Tesco uses this strategy to get
value and employer brand.
Collage recruitment: it is also good strategy to discover upcoming talent who can provide new
framework of company by exploring new ideas in company which can be fruitful for company.
Tesco apply this strategy in company and recruit from collage.
while retention refers to ability of company or organization to retain employees and
product or customers for particular period.
Retention strategy:

Salary and benefits must be competitive: Tesco provides financial motivation to employees for
stay in company. It also gives insurance policies benefits to employees that encourage employees
to retain in company.
Flexible working hours: Tesco allows employees to do work in shift that's encourage employees
to stay in company and employees always try to give the best performance in company. This
strategy supports employees to retain.
Recruitment process
Recruitment process is completed by 2 methods:
Internal method: In this method selection is completed through internally mean inter company.
It utilizes this method by organizing talent recruitment process and enlist current employees
who's looking forward to move from their level to upper level through promotion. It selects those
candidates who have eligibility for promotion and if company doesn't find eligibility for post
then Tesco advertises post internally for two weeks through intranet.
External method: In this method selection process is completed outside of company. External
Recruitment process is completed by Tesco through digital media. Tesco uses Tesco websites
www.tesco-careers.com for advertises vacancies. It also advertises vacancies through vacancy
boards in stores. It also enlists this application who make online for managerial position and
short-listing chooses application, conduct interview. For expert job, such as pharmacist and
baker Tesco promotion externally through online and media, television and radio and magazine.
Thus, recruitment process is completed by Tesco.
Role of IT in recruitment and retention
Information technology plays vital role in recruitment and retention process, it assists to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the recruitment and retention process. Tesco uses IT
system for recruitment and retention of employees in company.
Role of IT in recruitment:
Tesco gets benefits to use informational technology for recruitment process. Through IT in
recruitment reduce cost of hiring process and reduce screening cost of employees. It assists to
access the best talented candidates in company. Through this technology human error also
reduces in hiring process (Glaister and et.al., 2018). Tesco company utilizes for decision-
making process in process of hiring. It improves efficiency of HR and reduces burden of
administrative.

Role of IT in retention:
Informational technology provides remote work facilities where allows flexible employer to
work from home (Key Recruitment & Retention Strategies, 2015.). Thus type facilities assist to
retain in company. IT also offers E-commerce learning program where employees can learn new
skills and can participate in professional development. This technology provides better
communication between employees and management.
PART 3
Strategies and techniques for developing and engaging employees
Developing employees and engaging employees are both critical factors for any
organisation, in order to develop employees Tesco uses various strategies and some of them are
mentioned below:
1. Job enrichment: This is an opportunity which is provided by Tesco internally to their
employees which can benefit their existing role in the company by creating additional ways for
developing employees. In this strategy company provides presentation on team building,
volunteering or joining diversity (Heffernan and et.al., 2016). It is motivational technique used
by Tesco to motivate employees with greater satisfaction. This includes giving employees
additional responsibilities which are reserved for high raked positions.
2. Mentoring and coaching: In the leaders of the company feels that particular employees are
not performing well, mentoring and coaching is provided to these employees in order to increase
their performance to higher level (11 Free Strategies for Boosting Employee Engagement, 2017).
Mentoring and coaching programs provides the employees with demonstrated benefits for
quality work, how to solve the problem and improving communication skills of employees in
order deal with customers effectively.
3. Job rotation: By providing this opportunity to employees can develop significant, in this a
team or employee is rotated through one or more job positions where they can learn and gain
knowledge and skills of different job positions.
4. Promotions: It is one of the best motivational strategies for developing employees in an
organisation. When an employees is being promoted to higher position or new position is
referred as another way of rewarding employees performance. By this Tesco gives it employees
to develop new skills and knowledge of their employees in an organisation.

With the development of employees it is also vital for Tesco to keep employees well
engaged in the work place and for this company uses a range of strategies which are discussed
below:
Understanding employee learning style and preference: In order to keep employees engaged,
Tesco is well understanding their employees and also understands how they learn. Company
understands the preferences of their employees as some employees want to work in group and
some employees want to work independently (Van De Voorde, Veld, and Van Veldhoven,
2016). By providing the opportunities to employees as per their working preference helps in
increasing the employee engagement to higher levels and this has also resulted in higher job
satisfaction among employees.
Empowering the employees: It is also the best strategy for engaging employee which is
implemented by Tesco, company provider ownership to employees for performing their tasks
and project which are assigned to them but it is vital for company that employees have a clear
understanding of the expectations and goals which are to be achieved. Company makes the
employees responsible for their own engagement which has improved the performance of the
employees as this has developed a sense of responsibility within the minds of employees.
Setting clear expectations: Tesco also sets clear expectation for employees i.e. what company
wants from them. Setting clear expectation will make it well clear for employees how their
performance should be while performing a particular task and what does a company expects at
the end of task.
Providing more than a job: Tesco offers it employees more than a job and there are other
things which are provided by company to its employees like respect, dignity, flexible working
hours, benefits and compensation, etc which has highly increased their engagement within the
company.
IT system used
HR information system is used by the company for developing and engaging employees
as it helps in meeting Tesco's workforce to meet with the advanced technology and has also
improved communication system of the company with their employees (Al Shobaki and et.al.,
2017). This system has also automated the training and development process of employees by
scheduling the training programs of the employees which require training. This has improved
their performance and also has automated the training and developmental programs. It has also

improved the reward and recognition system of company which has resulted in higher employee
engagement and has also driven to meaningful change in the culture of the organisation which
has resulted in high employee engagement.
PART 4 CONCLUSION
It can be summarised that IT plays an important role for successful management of
human resources and with the help of IT company can improves it recruitment and retention
strategies which can prove beneficial for the company. In the process of recruitment, IT has a
specific role to play in 21st century for a business in order hire and retain suitable employees in
an organisation. Also, company can use various strategies for developing and keeping employees
engaged in a workplace and Human Resource Information System can be used by an
organisation for developing and keeping employees engaged and can positively impact their
performance.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Al Shobaki, M. M and et.al., 2017. The Efficiency of Information Technology and its Role of e-
HRM in the Palestinian Universities.
Glaister, A. J and et.al., 2018. HRM and performance—The role of talent management as a
transmission mechanism in an emerging market context. Human Resource Management
Journal. 28(1). pp.148-166.
Heffernan, M., Harney, B., Cafferkey, K. and Dundon, T., 2016. Exploring the HRM-
performance relationship: the role of creativity climate and strategy. Employee
Relations. 38(3). pp.438-462.
Oh, I. S and et.al., 2017. Human capital factors affecting human resource (HR) managers'
commitment to HR and the mediating role of perceived organizational value on
HR. Human Resource Management. 56(2). pp.353-368.
Van De Voorde, K., Veld, M. and Van Veldhoven, M., 2016. Connecting empowerment‐focused
HRM and labour productivity to work engagement: the mediating role of job demands
and resources. Human Resource Management Journal. 26(2). pp.192-210.
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11 Free Strategies for Boosting Employee Engagement. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.inc.com/sujan-patel/11-free-strategies-for-boosting-employee-
engagement%E2%80%8B.html>.
Key Recruitment & Retention Strategies. 2015. [Online]. Available
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