Waitrose HR Policy: Evaluation and Implementation Plan - Summer 2019

This report provides a comprehensive review of Waitrose's existing HR policies, critically evaluating their effectiveness in delivering strategic objectives and efficiently utilizing resources. It examines Waitrose's approach to talent management, flexibility, and ethical considerations, referencing relevant legislation and best practices. The report also includes a detailed plan for policy implementation, addressing potential challenges and recommending improvements in areas such as communication, training, and employee engagement. The analysis concludes that Waitrose's HR policies, characterized by flexibility and a focus on employee development, contribute to a positive work environment and organizational success. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide range of study tools and solved assignments.

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Introduction
A strategic human resource management in an organization requires proper
formulation and execution of the policies and procedures in order to enhance the competence
of the employees and their talent. Waitrose, is a food retail organization, it mainly
implements the model of flexibility in the organization for, managing the talent and human
resource in the workforce. The purpose of this report is to review the existing policy of the
chosen company Waitrose and critically evaluate its effectiveness of the policy in terms of
delivering the strategic objectives of the business and the efficiency of the policy in
appropriate utilization of resources. Further, it suggests a plan in which polices can be
implemented in practise considering the challenges that can be faced by Waitrose.
1. Review of the existing HR policy in Waitrose
Waitrose applies coherent and strategic approach for managing the human resource in
the organization and ensures that every individual in the organization are collectively and
individually contribute towards success and growth of the organization. Waitrose considers
the contributions of every individual as the most important assets (Waitrose & Partners,
2019).The human resource department of Waitrose plays an important role in the
organization and they have a significant impact on the functioning of the organization. The
human resource department of the organization manages the employees and the workforce of
the organization as per the rules lay down by the owners of the organization. The company
sets up prioritizes for the employees for the purpose of encouraging and motivating them to
work in the most efficient and effective manner. It applies the soft HRM policies in order to
boost the interest of the brilliant and talented workforce present in the organization. The
personnel management of Waitrose is concerned with the employee’s law, payroll and

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recruitment. Waitrose applies the IR policies and practices in the organization for maintaining
the efficiency and effectiveness of the decisions taken by the mangers (Waitrose & Partners,
2019). The IR practices of Waitrose have three main faces that is science building, ethical
and problem solving. The company exercised high level of flexibility in the organization
including full time employees, home working, shift swapping, job sharing and part time
employees. This types of flexibility in the organization helps in reaching out to the employees
who are highly talented and for the people who are unable to perform the job in an inflexible
environment. The company implements various types of flexibility models including
numerical flexibility, place of work flexibility and functional flexibility. Implementing such
types of flexibility in the company helps them to meet as per the requirements in respect to
the employees of the organization. The flexible environment of the company allows the
employees to develop and grow and it gives the comply access with the pool of talent which
might be unavailable otherwise (Pettinger, 2013). Further they have an approach towards
open communication which is essential to build effective teamwork with diversified talents.
Extramural facilities motivate the employees to increase productivity and quality and attract
talented candidates towards the organization.
2. Critical evaluation of the HR policies of Waitrose
 Policies from the point of view of the relevant legislation
According to Albrecht, et al., (2015), Waitrose treats its diverse workforce fairly, the
hr policies of the organization are such that it ensures a safe, well treated and fairly rewards
to all the employees. They have high respect for human rights and support the United Nation
(UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Guiding Principles on Business
and Human Rights. The suppliers of the company are monitored against their Responsible

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Sourcing Code of Practise through daily inspections (Cascio, 2015). It promotes the workers
voice to improve the lives of the employee and the communities.
 Effectiveness of the policy in terms of delivering the strategic objectives
As mentioned by Finkin & Mundlak, (2015), the HRM policies and practise of Waitrose
includes high level of commitment, quality and flexibility. It is the objective of the business
organization to be highly committed to the organization and ensure flexibility in the
operations of the business. The company also meets the quality standards of the company.
The positive productivity, low absence, low conflicts, higher customer satisfaction are the
outcomes of the effective HR polices.
 Efficiency of the policy in the appropriate use of resources
Waitrose efficiently utilizes the existing resources of the resources. They allocate the
right resources for specific activity. According to Noe, et al., (2015), the human resource
managers have in-depth knowledge about the skills and talents of the workforce and assigns
them task with adequate resources to perform the job efficiently. The managers ensure that
right equipments are available at the right time for executing the job effectively. The financial
resources of the organization are utilized in implementing advanced technology and
machinery in the organization.
 Ethical considerations
Acording to Pettinger, (2013), since Waitrose has a diverse workforce in the
organization with diverse pool of people, it needs to offer an ethical response to diversity and
respect the differences in the organization. It needs to enforce equal opportunity for the
training and development opportunity. It must maximize the value of every worker. It must
fully comply with the environmental and state laws. Further it must ensure an ethical decision

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making in the organization, while protecting the human rights and operating the business in
fair and just manner.
3. Recommendation- Planning to implement the policy into practice
Waitrose needs to consider the needs and areas for its improvements and to overcome
the challenges that can be faced by the organization. Proper implementation of training and
development in the organization and proper allocation of time to ach tasks or activity will
help the company to improve its performance (Pettinger, 2013). It lacks professionally
written form of communication; this can be a challenge for the company. Effective
communication must be incorporated in the company especially through online sources. The
employee grievance or the customer complaints can be managed via online sources. The
resources of the organization must be arranged using past experience and implementing new
advanced technology and techniques (Noe, et al., 2015). Integration and employee
engagement can be attained by organizing teams and having time to time meeting.
Professional language must be used by the company to allocate the tasks to the employees.
The roles and responsibilities of the organization can be assigned by analyzing the potential,
skills and talents of the individual workers in the organization. There must be proper analysis
of the performance gap of the organization (Cascio, 2015). However, there are challenges that
can be faced by the company. A considerable amount of cost, time and money is required for
the training and development which is the major cause of concern.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above conclusion it can be concluded that Waitrose HR policies
are mainly associated with high level of flexibility in the organization along with the soft HR
policies. This HR policies implemented by the organization are aimed to ensure effective

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utilization of the existing talents, skills and potential of the organization. The flexible
environment of the company allows the employees to develop and grow. It has effective
teamwork with diverse talent and potential. They are given various benefits and incentives to
encourage quality and productivity. The report critically evaluates the HR polices and
formulates a plan to implement the policies and practices.

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References
Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015).
Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive
advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People
and Performance, 2(1), 7-35.
Alfes, K., Shantz, A. D., Truss, C., & Soane, E. C. (2013). The link between perceived
human resource management practices, engagement and employee behaviour: a
moderated mediation model. The international journal of human resource
management, 24(2), 330-351.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brown, S., Blackmon, K., Cousins, P., & Maylor, H. (2013). Operations management:
policy, practice and performance improvement. Routledge.
Cascio, W. F. (2015). Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill.
Finkin, M. W., & Mundlak, G. (Eds.). (2015). Comparative labor law. Edward Elgar
Publishing.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2015). Human resources
management. Instructor, 2015.
Pettinger, R. (2013). Organizational behaviour: Performance management in practice.
Routledge.
Waitrose & Partners. (2019). Retrieved 17 August 2019, from
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/featured/groceries/sustainability

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