The approach taken to strategic HRM at Sainsburys

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report focuses on Sainsbury's recruiting strategies regarding its recruitment and selection, Training and development, Diversity and Performance management.

The report determines that the organization uses HR policies which is beneficial for the organization development, enhancing their level of customer support and by using as a musical instrument to increases its sales. In the business growth all the stakeholders as well as employees are certain to get benefit. .

The purpose of this report is to concentrate on issues mixed up in HRM (recruiting management), both from the existing theory as well as practise.

HRM consists of various issues right from the recruitment-selection, training and development of employees in organization and employee diversity provided by management.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Consider an organization you are familiar with and with regards to associated theory and practice critically asses the approach that is taken up to strategic HRM. Measure the extent to which the approach has contributed to the organizational effectiveness

INTRODUCTION

John Storey (1989) defined HRM as 'Set of interrelated policies with an ideological and philosophical underpinning'.

Storey (1995) defines HRM as 'a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using a range of cultural, structural and personnel techniques'.

The idea of human resource management has emerged from the 1980s into a core consideration of corporate strategy in the 1990s, (Legge, L 1995). There is no single definition of HRM in the literature, the emphasis has been on the strategic role of human resource management in organizations. Some research has identified HRM with strategic areas of 'best-fit' or aligning visitors to the needs of the organization as expressed in corporate strategy and more have examined HRM as a means of gaining enhanced organizational performance, (Golding, N (2004) cited in Beardwell, I. et al 2004).

People are increasingly viewed as being the most important resource in contributing to an organization's overall capacity and success in attaining corporate goals. Thus human resource management is a essential element of the strategic decision making process. Managing recruiting comprises a variety of issues such as recruitment and retention, employee development, reward schemes and promoting good relations with and between employees, which can be arguably the basic HRM functions. Recruitment lays the groundwork for obtaining suitably qualified employees in order to contribute to achieving corporate goals in an efficient and cost-effective manner, (Foot, M & Hook, C 1999).

For HR to succeed it must take on a proactive role within the organisation. Strategic HR creates value by giving opportunities for organic learning, development of intellectual capital and enhances core competencies. This value is vital to the organisation's future success (Mullins, L 2005). Employers are increasing extorting the perfect performance from employees. Best practice will improve the skills of the existing workforce, and with recruiting it will reinforce the culture of a highly skilled employees (Mullins, L. 2005). Strategic HRM has gained both credibility and popularity over the past decade, specifically regarding its impact on organisational performance (Paauwe, J & Boselie P. 2003).

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT means expressing and performing human resources policies and practices that grow the employee competencies and behaviours the business needs to achieve its strategic goals. New strategic required employees with the abilities, knowledge and inspiration to run the new programmed plant. Strategic human resource plan involved detailed guidelines in what skills and knowledge the employees required, as well as how to recruit, test, select and train the new workers. Human resources managers are now days involved with associating with the top managers in both planning and executing their companies' strategies. Recruiting managers must express their departmental plans in order to focus more on competitiveness and operational improvements. (hrm book pg-13)

N COMPANY PROFILE

Sainsbury is a superstore which operates its business in retail sector.

In 1869, Sainsbury was started by James and Mary Ann Sainsbury's

in UK. It offers many branches located throughout the united states selling different selection of products. Sainsbury control a much centralised Human Resources policy in which all decisions are taken by top management. The primary objective of Sainsbury is to meet customer needs successfully and provide investors with good financial return. Sainsbury aims are to provide all colleagues right opportunities to build up their skills and are well rewarded for their contribution to the success of business.

Sainsbury brand is made after providing customers quality product at fair prices. Sainsbury store have a specific focus on fresh, healthy, safe and tasty food and continues launching new product for the customers.

Sainsbury supermarkets employ 150000 colleagues and with above 19 million customers are visit stores every week. Sainsbury offer many products such as food, grocery and other household products.

They sell other brand products as well as Sainsbury brand product, which are generally cheaper than other brand names.

1. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION AT SAINSBURY:

Flippo's definition: "It is a process of searching for possible employees and stimulating and encouraging them to use for jobs in an organization. "

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Job analysis provides information about what the job and what human characteristics are crucial to perform these activities. This sort of information which is in the form of job description and specification help managers to choose what kind of people to recruit. (hrm book pg130)

Purpose and Need for Recruitment

Control today's and future requirements in combo with personnel planning and job analysis activities

Rise the pool of job candidates at lowest cost

Help growing success rate of selection process by dropping variety of under-qualified or over-qualified applications.

Reduce the likelihood that job candidates once selected would leave shortly

Meet legal and social duties

Identify and prepare potential job candidates

Estimate effectiveness of various recruitment techniques and sources for job applicants.

( http://www. citehr. com/195611-recruitment-selection-full-details. html#ixzz17XBWnmwh)

Sainsbury offers many job opportunities available in several stores. They looking for folks with good customer skills but job can be purchased in clerical, stockroom and technical rules. Flexible contract, term time contracts and dual contracts offer colleagues to focus on hours basic. Job opportunities are advertised on in-store job board, in local newspaper with job centre plus. Sainsbury opening new supermarkets and local and central stores in many towns creating job vacancies in advance, Sainsbury recruit staff two or more months before to be able to permit staff training.

RECRUITMENT FOR GRADUATES:

Sainsbury recruit around 100 graduates' colleagues annually and more than 70 works within stores. Graduates recruitment is conducted online at Sainsbury graduate recruitment website. Graduates are been trained in all aspect of store management under trainee management scheme. Under this training period they will work in all areas of store and later doing their jobs under manager supervision.

Work experience offer to school students

Sainsbury encourage school students to come our stores for work experience. These placements are organised at an area level. Students who need work experience work in different department during their particular period of time.

SAINSBURY SELECTION PROCESS:

1. The first method that they use is collection curriculum vitae's(C. V), letter of Applications and Applications forms from applicant.

2. Sainsbury would then shortlist applicant and is done by recruitment manager. This shortlist of applicant is performed to meet standards that they looking for, right person for the right job.

3. Next is the interview stage. Interview is the primary stage of selecting applicants. Several question are made to provide a deeper insight into candidates, An interview permits candidates to present their case of selection. It will show the difference between those who are good in some recoverable format and those who have good communication skills.

4. Suitable person is selected for the work. They might judge the applicants against the person specification.

2. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training can be defined as a planned process to change attitudes, knowledge or skills and behaviour through a variety of activities to achieve effective performance. When this training is at the task situation, it develops the employee to fulfill current or future needs of the organisation. Therefore training can be utilized as an instrument to improve the culture of the organisation, through the procedure of changing attitudes and values (Beardwell, I et al 2004).

Training means giving new employees possibility to develop skills to execute their job well. Develop skills by means showing new salesperson how to sell products, or

a new superior how to avoid the firm's weekly payroll sheets. It might involve simply getting the existing job holder clarify the work to the new hire. Training is the symbol of good management, and the duty that managers overlook at the chance. Having high-skilled employees doesn't promise they'll succeed. Instead, they need to know how you want those to undertake it and what you want these to do. If indeed they don't they'll create nothing productive by any means. (hrm book pg-298)

Training used to target mostly on developing technical skills such as training assemblers to solder wires. "we don't just concentrate on the original training objectives anymore. . We just sit back with management and help them to recognize strategic goals and objectives and the skills and knowledge, so when they don't, that's when we discuss training needs. "(Christine ellis and sarah gale, "a seat at the table, " training, march 2001, pp 90-96)

IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Development of human resources- training and development creates an possibility to develop human resources technical and behaviour skills.

Growth of skills of employees- it helps in growing skills and knowledge and overall personality of the employees.

Productivity- it assist in increasing the productivity of the employees that help the organisation in achieving its goals.

Healthy environment- creates healthy work place to develop good relationship among employees and assist in obtaining organisation goals faster.

It assists with enhancing organisational development i. e. organisation get more vigorous in decision making and problem solving.

Financial gain through higher efficiency in process and innovation of products and strategies are increased.

AT SAINSBURY'S:

INITIAL TRAINING

At the beginning of their training period all new trainees receive a general overview of the organisation and clear knowledge of their rights and responsibilities.

Trainees undergo a general introductory training programme during the first eight week of their employment period. Under this programme, introduction of the business is given on the day one and is also followed by intensive programme of training covering various aspects like safe working practise, food safety, law, store security and customer support. During trainee introduction period, group of modular workbooks is provided to them they have complete. From the preliminary training all trainee are accessed as they progressed are their performance dictate whether they will be offered long lasting employment.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

We provide everyone right opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge so that they succeed in their jobs.

All colleagues have a Performance Development analysis to go over their career development with their managers, measure their progress or training needs at least once a year.

For analysis training and development and arrange for the future, we've career development committee's team in each part of business.

Various types of training approaches are used like course, workshops, mentoring, qualification, self-development books and videos.

PURPOSES OF TRAINING AT SAINSBURY'S

Well trained staff could be more useful. This can help the business in increasing profit as well as reaching company's objectives.

Creates a more flexible workforce

It would lead to job satisfaction

The attitude of the employees would be improved and therefore the image of the business and employees will feel better and much more relaxed if they are trained beforehand. The employee would reach their potential and the business will be profiting as well as the employee.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT TRAINING

Senior management training is targeted to meet up with the business and individual needs. Through promotion, external recruitment and training, senior management functions can develop.

Through running training courses Sainsbury aims to achieve specific benefits and training needs restructuring if these benefits are not achieved.

Training and development helps Sainsbury to boost quality and service and therefore productivity can be raised. Training escalates the individual motivation and creates flexibility across the workforce.

INVESTORS IN PEOPLE (IIP)

IIP is a national standard supported by the department for education and skills.

Sainsbury became the first major food retailer to accomplish Corporate Investors in people recognition. This followed a three-year programme involving 450 assessment covering 13500 Sainsbury colleagueship recognition is a distinctive achievement that gained from underneath up as opposed to the top down. Almost every unit which makes up Sainsbury supermarket experienced the procedure individually.

Company that is recognised by IIP is capable in adopting and implementing its four fundamental principles:-

Promise to boost all employees to accomplish business goals and targets;

Regularly reviewing training and development needs in the context of the

business;

Taking relevant action to meet training and development needs throughout

People's employment;

Evaluating outcomes of training and development for individuals and the

Organisation as a basis for continuous improvement

(http://www. learnbusiness. co. uk/agcse/unit2/sainsburys/Training%20and%20Development%20Programme. pdf)

3. DIVERSITY AT SAINSBURY:-

Organisation growth and competitiveness depends after its ability to hold diversity and realize its benefits. When an organisation actively implements diversity plans various benefits are reported such as:

Benefits of diversity:

By having a diverse workforce employees from different background bring individual aptitude and new ideas that happen to be flexible in adapting to fluctuate markets and customer demands.

A various collection of talents and experiences (e. g. languages, cultural understanding) allows a company to deliver service to customers on a global basis.

A diverse workforce that feels happy expressing varying points of opinion offers a larger pool of ideas and understandings. The organization can take ideas from that pool to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more successfully.

Diversity at workplace inspire all employees to execute with their highest ability leading to higher productivity and profit.

(http://www. diversityworking. com/employerZone/diversityManagement/?id=9)

In 2004/05, Sainsbury's introduced a diversity management website on internet. This site was introduced to steer about managing faith and belief, disability management and guidance on local commodity recruitment. The site is planned to help all colleagues gain more awareness of other people needs.

We speak about equality and diversity policy at training to all or any colleagues and deliver written guidance to managers on equal opportunities and recruitment of disabled colleagues. In 2004/05, Sainsbury started using 'Disability Confident' which really is a new means of understanding how to benefit colleagues inside our stores move beyond disability awareness to be more confident in dealing with disability.

Colleagues can report discrimination or harassment through our fair treatment and complaint procedure. Sainsbury commenced to build up plans to focus on older workers. It introduced retirement plan pension protection mechanisms. Full payment is received if anybody recruited until their 65th birthday.

In form age has been removed and its requested for monitoring purposely only. Mixed age workforce has led to improved customer satisfaction by flawlessly reflecting the profile of the customer.

Sainsbury's diversity and equality policies are an important part with their business plan. All diversity and equality are expected to 'add value' to boost both customer services and sales.

Flexibility in covering holidays has improved as different religious festivals are spread out across the year. A calendar of religious festivals has been produced and displayed in stores.

(Sainsbury's case study from age positive campaign)

( http;//www. efa-agediversity. org. uk/case-studies/index. htm

Employers' forum on age case studies of employers who have adopted approaches

based on the principles old diversity)

4. PERFORMANCE MANGEMENT

Performance management as an activity "that unites goal setting, performance appraisal, and development into an individual, common system whose aim is to ensure that the employee's performance is supporting the company's strategic aims". Performance management measures the employee's training, standards-setting, appraisal, and feedback relative to how his / her performance should be which is adding to achieving the company's goals. (hrm book pg-338-gary dessler)

Performance management therefore never just means ending up in the assistants a few times per annum to "review your performance". This means setting goals that makes sense in conditions of the company's strategic aims. This means daily interaction to ensure continuous improvement in the employee's capacity and performance. And it means making certain the employee has the training she or he needs to perform the work. . (HRM book pg-338-gary dessler)

Benefits of performance management

It brings the organisation in placement using its goals and reduces the time it uses to make strategic changes by communicating the change through a brand new group of goals.

It creates some clearness in understanding the targets and control management enhances and is also flexible to management wants.

It ensure that all employees are treated just as the assessment are built generally on the results proposed by them. It changes the effort from activity orientated to result orientated. ( http://www. pcissue. com/the-importance-of-performance-management/)

At Sainsbury

.

Performance Management is very important at Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's achieve the performance of its employees effectively in order to remain competitive on the market. Various methods are being used at Sainsbury's to know how well individual employees doing their responsibility and for the managers to be able to observe well they can be undertaking.

Performance monitoring offers information which is of value for identifying future training or promotion opportunities and areas where inadequate skills or knowledge could be judged as a threat to the employee's efficiency.

Managers exercises control at organisation and individual level through:

Development by planning objectives and targets

creating performance values

perceiving actual performance

Comparison against actual performance and targets

adjusting mistakes and taking action

Goals of Management

The goals of management where the performance of the individual and Sainsbury's is frequently being measured against objectives and targets which have been fixed by managers and employees.

Objectives at Sainsbury's are determined through discussions between managers and employees. This technique calls for both a top-down and a bottom-up style.

The manager at Sainsbury's presents the organization objectives and the individuals and team members then state what they feel can be achieved. The goals will be more expected to be efficient if they are:

Specific

Measurable

Agreed

Realistic

Time-related

CONCLUSION

"The role of HRM is fundamental in strengthening the organisation's capability, and

Maximising everyone's potential right over the business" (Sainsbury website)

The human division of business and partners with every business is driven by human resource at Sainsbury's to ensure that employee development strategy is associated to mention the business goals. Sainsbury uses HRM strategy to develop its budget; it has used new recruitment and selection tactics to give job possibility to large number of folks and choosing the right candidate for the right job through selection process.

In every organization it's important to have a right person for the right job. Recruitment and Selection plays a major role in this situation. Usage of new technology is putting considerable pressure about how employers Recruit and choose staff. Talent (Acquisition is an activity of discovering the sources of manpower to meet requirements of the staffing schedule also to employee effective measures for attracting that manpower in sufficient numbers to facilitate effective collection of efficient personnel. ) change

Training and development strategy improved the employee skills and knowledge so that they perform their responsibility effectively. The attitude of the employees would be improved and therefore the image of the business and employees will feel better and more relaxed if they are trained well. Sainsbury's manage its employees by means of retirement plan and free medical facilities.

Sainsbury's considers diversity as a significant driver of innovation, imagination and development. Sainsbury using 'Disability Confident' which is a new learning means to help colleagues inside our stores move beyond disability awareness to become more confident in dealing with disability. Sainsbury's believe having diverse workforce express various progressive ideas and understanding. Organization can take suggestions to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more successfully. Diversity at workplace motivates all employees to perform to their highest ability resulting in higher productivity and profit.

Performance management is very needed for Sainsbury's. Various method are being used to know if employees doing their job effectively. There are also specific training programs for managers whatsoever levels in the business.

RECOMMENDATION

I indicate to Sainsbury's introduce some services which will give to an organization a comparative advantage over their challengers.

Sainsbury's would be an opening of local shops located in the town centre rather than on the outskirts of the city. Customers frequently choose local shops rather than supermarkets to save lots of money and time if they do not need large purchase, because undoubtedly in large stores often they purchase more than actually have planned.

At Sainsbury's, recruiting management is the most crucial department.

To understand if Sainsbury are competively in comparison to their rivals, they have to compare their prices of product start of rivals. A means of learning rival's information is by going undercover. An associate of the Sainsbury staff could visit rivals supermarket like Asda, Tesco and note the costs that are charged for the same product that Sainsbury selling.

If the prices is cheaper for that particular product that Sainsbury selling then Sainsbury's have to decrease the prices for that particular product. If the costs are higher at Tesco than Sainsbury with the product, are ahead in competition over Tesco.

The human resources management department at Sainsbury's control the workforce and see how they perform. A poor workforce in terms of lazy staff could cause low output.

Mayo's theory, employed in team is virtually very important to Sainsbury's and creates friendly environment which can increase company's profit.

The human resource department have the workforce and problem from then on is keeping them happy. Rivals may look for Sainsbury's existing employees by offering them better pay and promotion. The HRM department at Sainsbury's should become more alert of this problem and may offer their employees more pay and promotion in order to keep existing employees.

If promotion or better pay offered to employees then he/she would feel important to business. HRM needs to safeguard that Sainsbury employees right quality and quantity workers.

HRM department at Sainsbury's have to plan in advanced, if a manager is leaving in near future than advance planning for recruitment, interviewing and selection is important to be able to safeguard department never to get suffered and business never to be influenced by a worker leaving.

Maslow theory, pay may have something to do with the employees being dissatisfied.

At Sainsbury's, if labour turnover is high, then is undoubtedly a failure by the HRM department. If labour turnover is low then is regarded as a success by the HRM department. To analyse absenteeism rate is also important. HRM seeks to ensure that absenteeism is low. High absenteeism caused insufficient commitment, poor motivation and poor management by the HRM.

Maintaining 100% service levels as the web business grows

Sainsbury's is currently operating with high service levels. However, there continues to be some room for improvement to ensure that all orders are delivered completely and promptly. There are a few ways in which Sainsbury's could further still improve service levels; however, regulations of diminishing returns would come into play at this stage therefore investment would need to have the ability to provide definite improvements. Also, the online business is growing at a rapid rate, ahead of overall market growth. Picking such large orders from stores during busy periods could become an issue

http://www. oracle. com/us/corporate/analystreports/corporate/ovum-sainsbury-cs-170835. pdf

Bibliography

Foot, M. & Hook, C. (1999) (2nd edition) Introducing Human Resource Management Pearson Education Limited, UK

Beardwell, I. et al. (2004) (4th Edition) Human Resource Management a Contemporary Approach, Prentice Hall, Harlow

Mullins, L (2005) (7th Edition) Management and Organizational Behaviour

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