Woolworths HRM Report: HRM Practices, Issues, and Recommendations

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Woolworths, a major Australian supermarket chain, focusing on its human resource management (HRM) practices. It begins with an introduction to the organization, its stakeholders (suppliers, employees, customers, and government), and its key competitors (Walmart, Tesco, Aldi, Coles, and Amazon). The report then delves into the HRM issues faced by Woolworths, including challenges in employee selection, high employee turnover, difficulties during festive seasons, motivational issues, communication barriers, resistance to new ideas, and employee concerns about job security. The report highlights the need for change management and emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing employee needs, referencing Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Recommendations include improving training programs, clarifying job requirements, managing diversity, implementing action policies, providing language support, conducting timely meetings, and utilizing the AHRI model of excellence. The report concludes with a reflection on the skills needed to become an effective manager, emphasizing self-awareness, self-management, positive relationships with employees, and continuous self-development. The report underscores the importance of effective communication and the need to understand diverse cultural backgrounds to successfully manage a diverse workforce.

Running Head: WOOLWORTHS 0
HRM

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Introduction about the organisation: its stakeholder and competitors
Woolworths is the supermarket chain of Australia. It has started its retailing operations in
1924 by opening its first store in Sydney. It is largest supermarket chain Australia. the major
stakeholders of Woolworths are suppliers, employees, customers and government.
Government plays an essential role in the retailing industry of Australia. It is true that
competition has increased largely that force the led the government to bring competition
policy. It states that competition is essential to be eliminating under main players such as Aldi
and Woolworths. Suppliers are also the essential part of the Woolworths. Due to the highly
competitive market, it has to keep the strong relationship with each of the supplier. It also
ensures the effective contract and communication with its entire suppliers. It seeks to work
closely with its suppliers by taking them as the significant stakeholders in its growth and
revenue earning. The suppliers are sourcing around 96 per cent of the fresh vegetable and
fruits. It is also one such reason suppliers are included in its significant stakeholder.
Customers are the essential element in the retailing industry. It also makes several efforts to
satisfy its customers by providing the quality, value, as well as sustainability. Employees are
also the significant stakeholder of Woolworths. They are the reasons company is growing
well in several other countries including Australia.
The major competitors of Woolworths are Walmart, Tesco, Aldi, Coles and Amazon. The
main player Aldi offers the fresh fruits, clothes, vegetables as well as many other things. In
the recent time, retailing industry is growing to a great extent in Australia (Owler, 2018).
Several new competitors are entering the market by ensuring the innovative approach. It has
decreased the demand of existing competitors. Therefore, in order to grow, Woolworths is
required to keep itself up to date.
HRM practice issues that Human resource department of Woolworths is facing
Human resource management is said to be the policies that are used to organize the work in
the employment relationship. HRM is concerned with the recruitment, selection, reward,
team work, communication as well as routine management. By ensuring the effective hr
processes, customers will also feel comfortable. It is also consider as the new approach to the
personnel management. Human resource management is the essential component of the
organisation that ensures the involvement of different department. Maslow need hierarchy

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theory is said to be the guiding principle for each the management of HR across the world.
Due to this, it is also significant for the HR manager to understand the expectations of the
employees (Bratton and Gold, 2016).
It is true that every firm has to face some issues. The main issue is the selection of competent
person in the highly competitive market. There are employees who leave the organisation in
mid when they get the good pay or any good opportunity at other organisation (Devin &
Richards, 2018). Due to this, organisation has to face some loss because they must have spent
the time as well as money in order to train the new employee. Even if any employment policy
is made on the existence of employee for a certain period of time, they leave the organisation.
It is because organisation cannot force any person to stay in the organisation. It provides the
flexible working environment due to which employees are free to join ir leave the
organisation. However, it sometimes becomes the issue for the organisation because it must
have invested some money on that person (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart and Wright, 2017). It
goes waste when employee leaves the organisation even without spending some good time
with the organisation.
During the festive season, most of the employees take the off. In such a situation, customers
have to face the problem because the regular employees are not present on the floor when
customers need them. Festive seasons are the main season when company has the opportunity
to get the maximum number of customers. It becomes a serious issue when every employee
wants the holiday on the festivals. It decreases the revenue of the firm as compare to what it
can earn. It therefore affects the performance of organisation where it has the opportunity to
work better. Sometimes, motivation also becomes the issue when company is not able to
work as per the demand of the employee. It is true that it is not possible for the organisation
to satisfy every employee at one time. When organisation makes a policy, not every
employee gets satisfied. This creates the conflict among the employees as well as
organisation.
Due to the presence of diversified employees in the organisation, it has face several issues
related to human resource. Management of human resource is the major issue in such a case.
Communication barrier in such a case becomes a problem due to the diversified people in the
organisation. there are times when manager give the instruction to employees. in such a case,
some fo the employees to understand properly. In such a case, they make sense of the
instructor according to their understanding. Due to this, task is not performed like what it

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should be. There are some employees who always have the tendency to reject the new ideas
and concepts that organisation is bringing. In such a case, sometimes organisation is not able
to cope with the competition that is prevailing in the industry (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung,
2016).
Apart from these changes, employees of the organisation also remain in fear that they will be
expelled from the job or not. This also puts the extra pressure on the department of human
resource as they are required to work harder in motivating the employees. this si the example
why some employee join some other organisation. It should also adopt the change
management approach which will help it in overcoming the different issues. It is such
approach that can be used by the organisation to effectively knowing the problem and adopt
series of steps by analysing them. after the proper analysing of the problems, it can ensure the
effective research regarding solution to those problems. it is quite significant that
improvements cannot be brought in the organisation if there is no effective tool to know the
problem. If organisation will ensure the adoption of change management in best possible
manner, it will be able to do so.
It is true that every employee have different needs that should be fulfilled effectively. It can
ensure the meeting time-to-time so that employees can share their presents need. Maslow
Hierarchy need also states the different level of need (Ekwoaba, Ikeije and Ufoma, 2015).
Different series of need are present that can be solved only by undertaking the Maslow model
in the organisation. Besides this, it should also keep the up to date information in order to
ensure the effective operation of the organisation. the information that is being given to the
organisation should also be ensured safety so that it can be sued in the future when it will be
needed. Managing any of the information is such a challenge for the human resource
department (Woolworths Group, 2017). In order to effective manage the information, it can
appoint an effective person who will be responsible for passing the information to each
employee.

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Recommendation
It is true that Woolworths is a good organisation. In order to avoid the problem of early
quitting of the employee from the organisation, it can ensure the effective training of its
organisation. It should also make more productive efforts for defining the job requirement in
the more clear way so that employee get the more clarity regarding everything. Diversity can
be managed by undertaking several measures (Levasseur, 2010). It can effectively make the
changes in policies. It is better to adopt the action policy in order to solve the diversity
problems. It can appoint the persons who are expert in every language. According to the
different languages, it can provide the structure. this will help it in ensuring the smooth
functioning of the work. In addition to this, it should also give more emphasis on the training
programs time-to-time. The timely meeting bring the effective changes in the organisation
(Richards & Devin, 2016).
AHRI model of excellence also states the graphic representation regarding what HR
practitioner should know. It is also recommended to sue the AHRI model of excellence. By
suing this model, it will become easy for the HR practitioner to know what they are expected
to do in terms of capabilities as well as behaviour. This will also ensure the best and
significant capabilities that are required in an effective HR practitioner (Ahmad, 2015). At
the time of appointing any HR practitioner, organisation should also see the qualities that re
required in an HR practitioner.
Reflection regarding how I will become the effective manager in future
In the limelight of above discussion, I have learnt various things. I come across then several
skills that are needed in order to effectively manage the employees. I will ensure the regular
learning process in the most effective manner. Besides this, proper management style is also
required. I will also ensure the understanding of self-awareness and self-management so that I
will be able to control the stress even in difficult situation (Abe and Abe, 2019). I will also
ensure the positive relationship with my employees so that they also feel happy and work
with more productivity. Self-awareness will give me the [power to adapt, communication as
well as ensure the maintain of better team. I will also provide the right direction to every
employee so that they will be able to fulfil their responsibility better.

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In addition to this, I also come to know that the self-development is the key to become a
better manager. In order to become the better manager, I will start participating in different
seminars and projects (Guest, 2016).The participation in these activities will definitely assist
me in becoming a better manager. In this way, I come to know that self-development as well
as self-awareness is the essential element that will help me in becoming an effective manager.
I will ensure the effective communication with the diversified background people. for
understanding their culture, I will go through several concepts.
Conclusion
In the limelight of above discussion, it can be concluded that Woolworths is the growing
supermarket chain of Australia. In spite of the several competitive advantage, it has face
several issues in order to ensure the effective management of human resource. Among all the
human resource management issues, selection of competitive and skilled employee is still the
major issue. It is the reason sometimes organisation is not able to achieve that much revenue
that it can achieve. However, it can take several measures in order to improve the human
resource management issues. The first measure that it can take is the change management
approach. Beside this, it can also appoint the competent person that will assist the employees
in understanding several changes.

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