Training and development

The process of recruiting new employees involves selection of suitable candidates and induction training which is aimed at helping them settle into their new work. Mark and Spencer initiative to ensure the new recruit undergo series of training has been deemed as the basic task of every employee. This creates introductory measures for some background details in terms of the history and business of the company. The new recruits are made to well acquitted to the nature and products dealt with at M&S. At Marks and Spencer training is not just for the new employees however, it also involves all other employees in the business at different levels. The training courses offered targets all of them in order to enhance their career and how to use advanced technology and machinery. Marks and Spencer invest massively in training its employees due to the following reasons; to improve employee productivity, create more efficient and flexible workforce, increase job satisfaction and motivation of the employees and training employees to increases their chances of promotion as well.

Performance and Reward for the Management

M &S has a benefits package to help attract and retain staff by the generosity of benefits offered and by facilitating career longevity and work-life balance. The company use reward management within their company through rewarding their employees for their efforts towards the company. The benefits package includes everything from subsided healthcare and performance-related pay rewards to their employee discount. The benefits package encourages commitment to the companies own products and demonstrates corporate social responsibility by giving above statutory levels of sick pay, paternity leave, pension provisions, employee assistance and so on.

Discussion and Comment on Current HRM strategy and Practice

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is a very important theory in Marks and Spencer since they ask their workers to rank their needs in order of importance using a points system and then analyze their current situation against the points system. The company carries out regular assessment through regular interviews in the process of performance management for further training or promotion. This is one of the major motivating factors for Marks and Spencer workers and the company need to be aware that this is a possible area for conflict and de-motivation. According to Maslow, Marks and Spencer’s workers are at the basic or safety needs level. The idea is to make more workers want to achieve a higher level of needs such as social or esteem needs that makes them undergo self actualization.

The company therefore trains workers regularly to keep these workers motivated. The personnel department find out which workers need more training by keeping track records on each employee, Marks and Spencer do this to increase their skills of the workforce in general but to increase the skills of the de-motivated employees more to increase motivation. As Herzberg theory of 1957 suggests, there are two groups of factors affect employee motivation in his motivation hygiene theory. He argued that certain elements in a job motivate people to do better; he called these elements, ‘satisfiers’. In this theory, he suggests that achievement and recognitions are great motivators of employees rather than hygiene factors such as pay and working conditions. Marks and Spencer agree with this and have introduced performance related pay within the last few years.

The move to pay higher wages to these employees who work hard than others does not motivate them to work harder, but rather recognition and self actualization. They also use appraisals as a form of performance management to analyze which areas the employees need to be motivated on. M&S have a higher advantage over its competitors since it carries out frequent appraisals and thus employees are regularly trained for more confidence in their job. This motivates them and makes them be more efficient.

The selection process ant M&W is based on tablet screening, based on ability and suitability despite age. Online applications of the individuals are screened initially on a number of killer questions such as, ‘do you have a permit to work in the UK’. Those that are successful at this stage are then screened using online talent screening, this test assesses their skills and experiences against that required for the role they are applying for. Those who pass this test are then invited for an interview. No discrimination against anybody and more importantly, the data from the online recruitment process is analyzed to ensure that the use of the internet does not discriminate against any particular age group.

The company runs training for recruiters about new legislations; the training is designed to ensure that those individuals who conduct selection interviews do not discriminate on the grounds of age. They also ensure that the chairs of assessor teams in assessment centers are well informed about the legislations. An examination of Marks and Spencer’s criterion-based selection processes shows not only the use of criterion-based selection but also the use of online selections for initial screenings; this ensures that age is not a factor, as this screening is conducted electronically without reference to the candidate’s age. Those candidates who are selected for interview have therefore satisfied a number of criteria for the job without their age being known. The use of trained assessors and the provision of training on age for recruiters also minimize the likelihood of age being used as a factor in the selection process at interview or assessment centre stages.

Cost Implication of current HRM policies

M&S has a wide range of employees who have great commitment to an active Equal Opportunities Policy. This goes along way with their recruitment and selection procedures as well as its training and development, appraisal, promotion opportunities and retirement. The management has emphasized on promotion of an environment free from discrimination, harassment and victimization which they work hard to ensure everyone receives equal treatment. The management ensures that various policies and decisions they make relating to employment practices are objective, free from bias and based solely upon work criteria and individual merit. Not only are they responsive to the needs of their employees and customers but also take pride in the role they play in the community because of this they value diversity highly and it is important to them that they recognize and make full use of the wealth of talent they have within their organization. Marks and Spencer places a lot of emphasis on developing initiatives and procedures that ensure equality for every member of the Marks and Spencer team.

The UK domestic and European legislation compels Marks and Spencer to be responsible too in terms of ensuring the health, safety and welfare of all employees, customers and contractors on their premises. The management has the responsibility to ensure that employees are aware of health and safety regulations and the requirement to report all accidents and dangerous occurrences to the appropriate office. The company operates in a system that ensures workplace health and safety is safeguarded and they provide a range of occupational health services to their employees. In the best interest of the company, it has been abiding by the entire legal framework on selection.

Recommendation and Budget suggestion

M&S uses an advanced process to their human resource planning regarded as strategic planning. Strategic planning department set forth its plan of action based upon the values, culture and mission of the company. This organ of the company is very important to Marks and Spencer’s employees since it helps determine them to understand the process of the strategic planning to see how their work objectives and individual responsibilities directly affect the companies’ mission. The process undergoes through a series of steps, for instance: remembering the mission, identify the opportunities and threats of the company, determining the strengths and weaknesses of the company by evaluating employee’s skills, facilitating and organizing the structure, forecasting on the capabilities and opportunities by evaluating any upcoming changes before forecasting future opportunities, and developing goals and objectives and to implement the goals by evaluating the results and revising the plan as they move forward. This process makes the company to be more effective in their recruiting, training and rewarding employees. The process also makes the company not to spend much during recruiting, training and motivating their human resources.

Conclusion:

The overall performance of Mark and Spencer is a function to its approach and focus to employees. The company has great focus on attracting and retaining the right people they need to be successful by offering employees competitive rewards and benefits and providing their employees with guidance and information about their values. Also focusing on attracting and retaining people from a culturally and socially diverse workforce that allows them to recruit the best people from a wide pool of talent, marks and Spencer also is concerned with ensuring that the health and safety of their employees and people are protected by well managed systems in all their places of work which all these concerns reflecting within their companies strategy.

References

Bloisi, W., Management and Organisational Behaviour, Second European Edition, McGraw Hill Education, London, 2007.

Foot, M. & Hook C., Introducing Human Resource Management, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, England, 2005.

BPP, Human Resource Management: Specialist Units 21-24, Supporting Foundation Degrees, HNC/HND Course book, BPP Professional Education, 2004.