Analysis of HRM Functions and Their Impact on Tesco

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Human Resource Management

Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................3
Activity 1.................................................................................................................................................4
An explanation of the purpose and the functions of HRM applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organisation (P1)...........................................................................................................4
Assess how the functions of HRM can provide talent and skills appropriate to fulfil business
objectives (M1)....................................................................................................................................5
Explanation and evaluation on the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment
and selection (P2), (M2)......................................................................................................................6
Are these different approaches successful, do they achieve the organisations aims, what could be
changed and why? (D1).......................................................................................................................8
Activity 2.................................................................................................................................................9
An explanation of the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the
employer and the employee. (P3)........................................................................................................9
An evaluation of the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational
profit and productivity (P4)...............................................................................................................10
Leading to an exploration of the different methods used in HRM practices; providing specific
examples to support evaluation within an organisational context (M3)............................................11
A critical evaluation of HRM practices and application within an organisational context, using a
range of specific examples (D2)........................................................................................................12
Activity 3...............................................................................................................................................13
Analysis of the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision- making
(P5).....................................................................................................................................................13
Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM decision-
making (P6)........................................................................................................................................13
Evaluation of the key aspects of employee relations management and employment legislation that
affect HRM decision-making in an organisational context (M4) (D3).............................................14
Application of HRM practices in a work-related context, using specific examples (P7)..................15
Provide a rationale for the application of specific HRM practices in a work-related context (M5). 16
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................17
References.............................................................................................................................................18

Introduction
The success of an organisation depends greatly on the performance of the human resources of
the organisation. The level of skills employees possess and the experience they have in the
type of job assigned to them defines their performance at work. But, it is the human resource
management (HRM) department actually who takes care of all these aspects of the
performance of the human resources of an organisation. The HRM department hires and
trains the employees so that they could execute the work properly and help the company in
achieving its goals and objectives. The HRM policies define the various aspects of
employment such as working environment, resource allocation and implementation of the
employment legislations. As an applicant for the position of HR Manager at Tesco, it would
be my responsibility to direct and implement all the human resource management policies of
the company and carry out the responsibilities of forecasting, recruitment and selection,
training, managing employee relations etc. In this report, I would provide a detailed analysis
of the various HRM functions at Tesco and the techniques used in executing these functions.
The benefits of the implementation of HRM policies at Tesco would also be analysed in this
report.

Activity 1
An explanation of the purpose and the functions of HRM applicable to workforce
planning and resourcing an organisation (P1)
The main purpose of the HRM department at Tesco is to manage the human resource
requirements in the organisation so that the organisation has skilled, experienced and talented
resources to execute the business strategy of the organisation and fulfil the needs of the
stakeholders of the organisation. In order to achieve this purpose, the HRM department has to
carry out various functions which are explained below:
1. Forecasting
Forecasting the human resource requirements at Tesco is the prime responsibility of
the HR Managers. There are different aspects of this forecasting that contains the
assessment of the new skills needed for the organisation, level of experience desired
to execute a job and number of resources that organisation needs to hire to implement
the business strategy of the company (Albrecht et al, 2015). The HRM department not
only analyses the internal human resource requirements but also studies the trends in
the market and try to make sure that it has the best resources available in the market
with minimum expenditure.
2. Recruitment and Selection
Once forecasting is done, the nest step in human resource management is to recruit
the employees as per the forecast. The HRM department needs to analyse the various
options available for recruitment and selection and then choose a strategy that fits the
organisational requirements. Tesco needs to hire the employees who have a good
experience and skilled in the processes and techniques that are required for the growth
of the organisation (Banfield, Kay and Royles, 2018). A detailed recruitment and
selection process including preparation of job description, person specification, job
advertisement, interviews etc is carried out by the HRM department.
3. Employee Management, Training
The HRM department is responsible for the management of the employees in the
organisation. Human resource allocation as per the request of the line managers and
senior managers is done by the HRM department. Inter-department transfers, transfer
between different facilities, training of the new employees and also managing the skill
level of existing employees is carried out by the HR Managers at Tesco PLC.

4. Employee Welfare, Motivation, Compensations and Benefits
One of the main functions of the HRM department is to provide a healthy, friendly
and safe working environment where an employee could perform as per the
expectations of the management while the needs of the employees are satisfied. It is
crucial for the HR Managers to keep the employees motivated for good performance.
Basic compensation and additional benefits are used by the HR Managers to achieve
this goal (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
5. Employee Relations Management
In order to maintain a healthy working relationship between the employees and
management, it is essential that appropriate strategies for employee relations are
implemented. The HRM department at Tesco PLC focuses on collective bargaining to
handle the employee relation issues and tries to have a participative decision making
approach for better employee relations.
Assess how the functions of HRM can provide talent and skills appropriate to
fulfil business objectives (M1)
Fulfilling the business objectives could only be achieved through having a workforce which
is able and skilled to execute the jobs assigned to them as per the operations and business
strategy of the organisation. Through recruitment and selection, the HRM department hires
such employees and then further organises training and development activities so that they
could perform better (Brueller, Carmeli and Markman, 2018). Even the existing resources of
the organisation needs to be trained in latest skills and technologies so that they could keep
up with the changing trends and market conditions. The HRM department at Tesco continues
to improve the employees’ performance by using methods such as on the job training,
seminars, classroom training and e-learning.
HRM function is also to keep the workforce motivated so that they could exceed the
expectations and deliver excellent results. Employee performance management helps the
organisation in this regard.

Explanation and evaluation on the strengths and weaknesses of different
approaches to recruitment and selection (P2), (M2)
The HRM department at Tesco uses different approaches to recruitment and selection
depending upon the requirements provided by the managers and the availability of the
resources in the organisation. Some of these approaches with their strengths and weaknesses
are described below:
1. Internal Recruitment using Transfers, Promotions and Reserve Bench Strengths
a. Transfer
This is an approach in which the HRM department uses the existing resources of
the organisation to fulfil the requirements raised by the managers. If an employee
is free in a project or team and there is a requirement in another team or even
another department, the employee is transferred to fill the vacancy. Similarly, the
employees are transferred between different Tesco Facilities.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This approach is beneficial to the company as a new resource is not hired which
saves the extra money that the company would have been spending as
compensation to new employee (DeCenzo, Robbins and Verhulst, 2016). This
approach also saves the cost and money that would have been spent in the
recruitment and selection process.
A weakness of this approach is that the transferred employee might not be able to
adjust to the new position which would affect his performance
b. Promotion
If an employee at a senior position retires and resigns, then HRM department uses
promotion to fill the vacancy and hire new employee to fill the space created after
the promotion.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Promotion works as a motivating factor for the existing employee which would
result in better performance by the employee. However, a compulsion for
promotion might result in giving a position to an employee who is not suitable for
the role.
2. Recruitment using Referrals
In this approach, the HRM department asks the employees of the organisation to refer
the individuals in their circle for the vacancies in the job. Employees forward the

resumes of individuals to the HRM department who then short list and implement
further recruitment process.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strength of this approach is that employee refers the individuals for a job whom
they think to be fit for the job. On the other hand, a wrong reference by the employee
could result in the recruitment of an unfit employee.
3. External Recruitment using Company Website by the HRM department
This is an approach in which the HRM department advertises the job description on
the website of the company. Tesco has a dedicated Careers Tab on its website where
people could see the available vacancies in the organisation and apply to the jobs they
qualify for.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This approach is managed completely by the HR Managers at Tesco which allows
greater control on the execution of the process (Dyer, and Song, 2015). The HR
Managers could also use application form in this approach as per the format they
seem to fit for the job. This allows easy short listing of the candidates in the first
round itself as all the essential details are filled by the applicant in the application
form.
A weakness of this approach is that it needs lots of efforts form the HR Executives of
Tesco which might affect their other responsibilities. This process also takes lots of
time and would not be suitable for urgent hiring.
4. External Recruitment using a Recruitment Agency
In this approach of recruitment and selection, the HRM department of Tesco PLC
outsources the job advertisement to a recruitment or placement agency. The agency
advertises the job, collects candidates resume, short list the candidates and then
further process of selection that involves Group Discussion and Interviews is carried
out by Tesco HRM department.
Strengths and Weaknesses
This approach is found to be efficient as most of the time taking activities like job
advertisement, resume collection and short listing is done by another firm. Some
recruitment agencies also provide the facility of resource replacement if the hired
resource is not able to perform.

Sometimes recruitment agencies use their old databases for resume collection and
short listing which is not a good approach for the recruitment. Another weakness of
this approach is that resume short listing might not be strict as per the job description
and person specification as own HRM department of Tesco is not involved in the
process.
Are these different approaches successful, do they achieve the organisation's
aims, what could be changed and why? (D1)
A recruitment and selection approach could only be called successful if it is able to provide a
resource to the organisation that matches the job description, matches the compensation
criterion and budget of the job and also has the necessary skill to get the job done (Farndale,
Scullion and Sparrow, 2016). If an approach is unable to meet any of the above criterions, it
would not be a successful approach. Also, if the approach is unable to hiring the resource in
the required time frame, then again the approach would result unsuccessful.
If Tesco needs an employee on urgent basis, the approach of internal recruitment that consists
of the inter-organisation transfer of the employee is most suitable approach. If HR department
goes to external requirement for an urgent job then it would take lots of time. Similarly, if a
job contains high designation, it is good to go for promotion because finding a highly
experienced and talented employee in the market where talent is scarce and costly would not
be effective approach.

Activity 2
An explanation of the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation
for both the employer and the employee. (P3)
The HRM department of an organisation is responsible for the efficient management of the
employees by implementing various HRM practices. These practices have benefits for both
the employer and employees. These are described in the below table:
HRM Practice Benefit to the Employee Benefit to Employer
(Tesco)
Induction Induction process provides
an opportunity for the
employee to become familiar
with the policies of Tesco
that would result in better
compliance of the policies
It reduces the instances of
mistakes in following the
policies by the employee
which is good for the
organisation as it would
result in fewer conflicts at
workplace (Hanks, 2015)
Training and Development These programs organised by
the Tesco PLC HRM
department supports the
employee in overall
professional and personal
development.
Skill level of the employee
increases which could be
seen in the better
performance by the
employee.
Performance Management This practice lets the
employee know about the
areas where he is lacking and
provides an opportunity for
self-assessment and
improvement (Kramar,
2014).
HR managers become able to
recognise the skills of the
employees and use them
accordingly.
Appraisals According to many experts,
appraisals are a source of
motivation for the employees
Increased motivation level
would result in better
productivity and increased

profit for Tesco PLC.
Employee Relations Employee Relations have to
be good for the high moral of
the employees and employee
would have better working
conditions
Lesser number of strikes and
more days of productivity for
the organisation. A happy,
loyal and motivated
workforce.
Flexible Working Option Employee could opt for an
employment approach that
suits his style. He could
choose to work from home if
the job allows
Flexibility in the working
condition reduces employee
turnover.
An evaluation of the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising
organisational profit and productivity (P4)
As mentioned before, the organisational profit is directly related to the productivity of the
employees. The HRM department at Tesco PLC designs the HRM policies in a manner that it
could get better performance from the employees. In order to perform better an employee
needs to have a good working environment, should have the excellent knowledge of
organisational processes, should possess excellent technical and communication skills should
be able to take initiatives, should be a good team worker and should be loyal to the
organisation (Kuipers et al 2014).
All the above mentioned conditions are essential for high productivity of the employees and
then only the organisational profits could be increased. HRM department at Tesco has
different HRM practices that specifically target these areas.
One of the most important HRM practice is Induction that starts with the joining of the new
employee in the organisation. The HRM department at Tesco organises a 3 days induction
program for all the new employees. In this program, the employees are taught about the
policies of the company and the best practices that are followed in the organisation.
Employees are also told about the structure of the organisation. All these things make an
employee aware of the different aspects of organisational culture and help him in adapting to
the new environment.

Similarly, Training and Development practice by the HRM department at Tesco PLC is used
to train the employees about the organisational operations and also in teaching them new
skills. When Tesco PLC hires raw talent from graduate schools, the new employees are not
aware of the professional skills that are essential to execute the job. These employees are
trained by the experienced trainers and professional so that the skill level of the new
employees could be improved to a standard where they are able to do every assignment given
to them (Knies, Boselie, and Vandenabeele, 2015).
Performance management and appraisals are used to monitor the performance of the
employees and then reward them for better performance. Rewards and recognitions are the
most important tools for motivation that always result in good performance and enhanced the
productivity of the employees. Increased productivity further enhances organisational profits.
Leading to an exploration of the different methods used in HRM practices;
providing specific examples to support evaluation within an organisational
context (M3)
An example of the HRM practice at Tesco PLC is the comprehensive recruitment and
selection policy that involves a multi-layer selection process instead of one step selection.
Tesco PLC first conducts an online test of the short listed applicants. The online test contains
3 sections –
a. Aptitude Section – to test the general awareness, quantitative skills, reasoning skills
and IQ level.
b. Language Section – to test the communication skills of the applicant
c. Technical Skills – Contains questions relevant to the job for which the candidate has
applied.
This online test functions as elimination round and only suitable candidates remain after the
test. The next step is Technical Interview in which an interview panel setup by the HRM
department asks job relevant questions and evaluates the overall skills of the employees.
After the Technical Interview, the HR Interview is conducted by the Senior HR Manager for
final selection of the candidate.
This comprehensive recruitment and selection process is an example of the implementation of
excellent HRM practices at Tesco PLC.

A critical evaluation of HRM practices and application within an organisational
context, using a range of specific examples (D2)
Tesco PLC is known for its Structured Training and Development Programs that contains a
range of practices for the employees’ learning. These practices include -
a. Classroom Training – Tesco has a highly skilled and Experienced Trainers pool which
is used to train the employees. A 3 months initial training module is organisation for
the new employees. External trainers are also hired to provide the employees training
about the latest technologies
b. Mentoring – Employees are assigned Mentors who observe and teach the employees
about the different aspects of a job while employees learn on the job.
c. E-Learning – E-Learning modules containing audio, videos and animation are
developed by Tesco HRM department for regular learning of the employees
As above mentioned training program results in skilled employees, the performance
management practice at Tesco PLC involves 360 Degree Evaluation of the performance of
the employee. Performance appraisal is initiated by the HR manager when a self-evaluation
form is filled by the employee (Noe et al, 2017). Manager of the employee then puts his
comments on the form and also gather feedback about the performance of the employee from
the employee’s supervisor, colleagues and also from the client (if applicable). In the end, the
HR manager analyses the whole feedback and rating is assigned to the employee on the basis
of the different parameters. This practice allows the HRM department to critically and
correctly evaluate the performance of the employee.