Human Resource Management at Woolworths: Recruitment and Selection

This report provides an analysis of the human resource management practices at Woolworths, focusing specifically on the recruitment and selection processes. It examines internal and external factors influencing these processes, highlighting that Woolworths adopts a fair approach based on courtesy, consideration, and fairness. The report details the HR strategies employed in the retail industry, the key challenges faced in planning and recruiting workers, including labor supply and demographic changes. It also discusses Woolworths' recruitment strategies, including telephonic and face-to-face interviews, risk assessments, and psychometric assessments. The report concludes with recommendations for Woolworths to strengthen its HR policies to ensure a fair recruitment process, attract more employees, increase productivity, and improve employee retention. Desklib provides students with access to this assignment and numerous other resources for their studies.

Running Head: Human Resource Management 1
Human Resource Management

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Executive summary:
This report mainly discusses the various factors such as internal and external factor which
influence the recruitment and selection procedure of Woolworths. It can be said that after
examining different articles and journals, that Woolworth adopts fair recruitment process for the
purpose of selecting new candidates. This report states the key challenges for planning and
recruiting the workers in Woolworth and in retail industry in which Woolworth operates.
Woolworth opt three factors in their recruitment and election process that are courtesy,
consideration and fairness.

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Contents
Executive summary:....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................4
Recruitment and selection process:............................................................................................................5
HR strategies of retail industry:...............................................................................................................5
HR planning challenges:...........................................................................................................................6
Labor supply:.......................................................................................................................................6
Demographic changes:........................................................................................................................7

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Introduction:
The recruitment and selection process of any organization is considered as most important part of
the human resource department because this department bears the responsibility for putting the
right candidate at the right position as per the requirement (Clark, 2010). For making the
recruitment and selection process effective, HR department of the organization must consider
both the factors that are internal and external because these factors have direct affect on the
company and it also influence the operation function of the company in both direct and indirect
manner. The recruitment and selection process is very important process of business
management, and it helps in establishing the business in the market. Human resource department
has the support and expertise that assist the organization in recruiting and selecting the potential
employees for the organization. There are number of actions in recruiting and selection process
such as sourcing candidates, reviewing and tracking applicants, conducting interviews and
selection for employment.
This report highlights the recruitment and selection process of Woolworth and retail industry,
and also discusses the key challenges faced by employers while planning and recruiting the
workforce for retail industry. Structure of this report includes HR strategies of the retail industry,
recruitment strategies, and challenges for the sector. Lastly, paper is concluded with brief
conclusion and recommendations.
Recruitment and selection process:
HR strategies of retail industry:
As stated by Chen (2011), an organization requires appropriate recruitment and selection process
for the purpose of recruiting the right employee at the right position of the company. In
Woolworths the recruitment and selection process depends on the jobs or positions available in

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the organization. For the purpose of determining the available jobs and position in the
organization, HRM department examine the availability of candidates for the corresponding
position, and also the merits and expertise of the candidates. According to Dessler & Teiche et
al. (2004), it is the responsibility of HR department to conduct the recruitment and selection
process for the purpose of maintaining the regularity in the staff position and also for getting the
best performance from selecting employees.
For the purpose of conducting the successful recruitment and selection process, it is necessary
that HR department consider both internal and external recruitment which not only help the
organization in saving its time but also allowed that fresh ideas enters in the organization.
Additionally, recruitment policy is also necessary for the purpose of filling up the human
resource gaps within the organization, increase the productivity, and also helps in conducting the
operations smoothly.
According to Arlot and Celisse (2010), recruitment policy adopted by the Woolworth also
identifies the Woolworth objectives which are determined by organization. All these factors
helps he HR department of Woolworth in understanding the recruitment requirement of the
organization, and it also influence the recruitment policy of the company. At starting stage,
policy related to recruitment states the framework for the purpose of completing the recruitment
process in the organization. As stated by Nkhungulu Mulenga and Van Lill (2007), Program of
recruitment for filling the positions in the Woolworth is implemented successfully. Woolworth
plays fairly in this process and follows the recruitment policies for the purpose of attracting the
candidates to attain the recruitment sessions.

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HR planning challenges:
Labor supply:
Various sources are there through which labor is supplied to retail industry such as graduates
from VET and a higher education option which also includes school based programs. However,
retail industry does not state any definite qualifications for important job positions in the retail
sector. This scenario is also showed in the profile of current workforce, and this can be
understood through example that in 2011 almost 71% of the workers of retail sector do not hold
a post-school qualification (ABS, 2012). As stated previously, lack of qualification requirement
attract the people who seeks casual and part time work towards the retail sector. There are
number of employees who are presently working in the retail sector and also attending school or
university. Generally, people indulged in retail sector for working on casual and part time basis
and for the purpose of getting necessary skill training. This is the biggest challenge faced by the
retail industry that usually, employees work in this industry for casual basis and they do not
consider it as permanent job.
There are number of employees who are selected through traineeship or through a Training
Package qualification which does not include traineeship. It also includes internal or
unaccredited training programs. Managers generally develop and promote the recruitment
process through their internal programs, and these programs were developed on the basis of the
needs of the organization. There are number of managers who complete a Certificate IV
qualification, or achieve a degree or Masters of Business Administration, some with a retail
specialization (Hart & Stachow 2007).
There is one more issue related to recruitment process in retail industry that is completion rates
in retail. Data of NCVER shows completion rates of around 45 per cent of sales workers in 2007,

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which is compared with a non-trade occupations average of 50.3 per cent. The productivity
commission states, because of the high level of non-completion in retail may be partially due to
the fact that retail qualification is not considered as prerequisite for employment (Nickson &
warhurst, 2011).
Demographic changes:
Traditionally, retail industry mainly employed the large number of younger people, women, and
casual part-time staff as compared to other industries. From the point of view of employer, this
has provided the necessary flexibility for the purpose of meeting changing seasonal demands and
also for customizes the shifts. From employee point of view, retail industry allowed them to
accompany their part-time and casual work with their job for the purpose of allowed them to give
time to other activities such as study, home duties and caring. Demographic changes also provide
useful transition from study to work which provide the opportunity of the development of
opportunity skills. However, there are number of issues which affect the employment and
recruitment practices in the retail industry. It is considered that there is dramatic increase in the
number of older Australians which includes people aged 65–84 set to double and the number
over 85 set to quadruple by 2050.
This demographic change decreases the pool of young workers which result in higher
unemployment rate. There are currently five working age people for every person over 65, and
this is conducted to almost have by the year 2050 to 2.7. Population of Australia of Median age
is reflected to increase to 38.7–40.7 years in 2026 and to 41.9–45.2 years in 2056 (Guest, 2003).
Recruitment strategies:
Woolworth considered the recruitment process in similar manner as they considered other
aspects of the company, and they do that by putting the candidates through evaluation process for

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the purpose of finding the best. Therefore, recruitment strategy of Woolworth takes 2 to 8 weeks
in Woolworth.
In Woolworth, candidates who applied for positions in head office and Management submit their
applications through Careers Website. After then selected applicants undergo the process of
telephonic and face-to-face interviews, risk assessments and psychometric assessments. Those
candidates who applied for positions in store and supply management fill the application and also
submit their CVs. After that selected applicants will then be informed and interviewed through
telephonic and competency based panel interview, risk assessment and literacy and numeracy
assessments.
There are number of external a factor which affects the recruitment strategy of Woolworths and
selection procedures of the company, and these factors are also considered by the other
employers engaged in the retail industry. For a fair recruitment it is necessary to consider the
following factors while framing recruitment strategies:
 Social factors- according to Cordner and Cordner (2011), social factors strongly impact
the process of recruitment and selection in Woolworths and this is because this company
is the prestigious company which require best candidates for the organization.
 Legal factors- as stated by Van den Brink et al. (2006), HR department of the
Woolworth and any organization operates in retail industry must follow the rules and
regulations of the company and also of the government such as international law of
employment and labor laws framed by government. It is necessary that organization
must follow the laws and regulations for ensuring better performance and for avoiding
the legal consequences.

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 Political factors- according to Jack Chen (2011), it is necessary for the organization to
consider the political factors related to the organization for the purpose of ensuring fair
recruitment and selection procedure in the organization. In case of Woolworth, political
laws and regulations of Australia need to be focused and abided by it (Wheatly, 2010).
Conclusion:
Woolworth performs he recruitment and selection process for the purpose of getting best human
resources in their organization to perform their work. It is recommended to the Woolworth that
company mainly focus on its cost on the incentives and appraisals of the existing employees.
However, it is also important for organization to focus on the HR department policies and also
strengthen these policies for the purpose of ensuring fair process of recruitment in the
organization. Fair recruitment helps the organization in attracting more employees which not
only increase the manpower of the organization but also help the organization in filling the gaps.
It not only increases the productivity but also increases the employee retention.
References:
Arlot, S. and Celisse, A. (2010). A survey of cross-validation procedures for model selection.
Statist. Surv, Volume 4(0), pp.40-79.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012). Survey of education and work, cat. no. 6227.0, ABS,
Canberra; Deloitte Access Economics, 2012, unpublished data.

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Clark, M. (2010). Experiencing recruitment and selection. British Journal of Guidance &
Counseling, Volume 38(1), pp.137-139.
Cordner, G. & Cordner, A. (2011). Stuck on a Plateau?: Obstacles to Recruitment, Selection,
and Retention of Women Police. Police Quarterly, Volume 14(3), pp.207-226.
Dessler & Teicher., Dessler, G. and Teicher, J. (2004). Recruitment & selection”, Frenchs
Forest, N.S.W.. Pearson Education Australia.
Guest D. et al., (2003), ‘Human resource management and corporate performance in the UK.
British Journal of Industrial Relations, Volume 41, No. 2, p.299.
Hart C & Stachow G, (2007). Employer perceptions of skills gaps in retail: Issues and
implications for UK retailers. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management,
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Jack Chen, E. (2011). A revisit of two-stage selection procedures. European Journal of
Operational Research, Volume 210(2), pp.281-286.
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Operational Research, Volume 210(2), pp.281-286.
Nickson D & Warhurst C. (2011). Soft skills and employability: Evidence from UK retail.
Economic and Industrial Democracy, volume 33, No. 1, p. 79.
Nkhungulu Mulenga, C. and Van Lill, B. (2007) “Recruitment and Selection of Foreign
Professionals In the South African Job Market: Procedures and Processes”, SA j. hum. resour.
manag., Volume 5(3), pp. 78-96.
Van den Brink, M., Brouns, M. & Waslander, S. (2006). Does excellence have a
gender?”,Employee Relations. Volume 28(6), pp.523-539
Wheatley, S. (2010). Making the Right Investment – Recruitment and Selection”, Legal
Information Management. Volume 10(04), pp.279-282.