A CRITICAL REVIEW OF ATKINS’S HRM

BY JOSIAH JOHNSON
STUDENT ID: 150056497

January 1, 2018
CITY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
EPM937 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR & HRM

FINAL WORD COUNT:

Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Good HRM Practice ................................................................................................................................. 2
Defining Human Resource Management ............................................................................................ 2
The Key Aspects of HRM ..................................................................................................................... 2
Strategy ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Employee Training and Development............................................................................................. 3
Employee Motivation...................................................................................................................... 3
Recruitment and Selection.............................................................................................................. 4
Evaluation of ATKIN’s HRM ..................................................................................................................... 4
Organisational Structure and Strategy ............................................................................................... 4
Employee Training and Development................................................................................................. 5
Employee Motivation.......................................................................................................................... 5
Recruitment and Selection.................................................................................................................. 5
Conclusions and Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 5
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Recommendations .............................................................................................................................. 6
References ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Introduction
Human resource pertains to the manner or approach which an organisation uses for managing people
to ensure effective performance. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development defines
Human Resource Management (HRM) as “The design, implementation and maintenance of strategies
to manage people for optimum business performance including the development of policies and
processes to support these strategies and the evaluation of the contribution of people to the business.”

Objectives
This report aims to the evaluate and review the HRM structure of the construction company Atkins.
As one of the most successful companies in the world, it is beneficial to evaluate the HRM policies
and practices currently implemented by Atkins to identify the areas which has led to the success of the
organisation as well as areas where the organisation can improve in terms of its HRM approach.
Although HRM is a comprehensive subject comprising of many topics the evaluation of Atkins in this
report will focuses mainly four main aspects of HRM Strategy, Employee training and Development,
Recruitment and Selection and Employee Motivation. Included in this report is a literary review of
good HRM practice to identify the industry recommended approaches HRM, an evaluation of Atkin’s
HRM approach and recommendations for Atkins’s HRM policies and approaches using key points
identified in the good practice review.

Good HRM Practice

Defining Human Resource Management
People management is a key aspect of any type of organisation whether a multinational or small local
charity since businesses are run by people and usually provide services for people. Human resource
management as a concept which has acquired many definitions since in first evolved from term
personnel management in the early parts of this century to the adoption of the term HRM during the
1980’s. (Tyson, 2006) Typically, the overall the definition of human resource management often
centres on covering the main areas of the job such as health and safety, employee relations, business
strategy, ethics and corporate responsibility and employee wellbeing. According to Foot and Hook
(2011) described the primary aim of HRM as “to serve the corporate strategy and achieve corporate
aims by means of a high-performance workforce”. This criterion focuses on the idea of HRM needing
to provide a competitive advantage for an organisation. Similarly, according to Tyson (2006) “Human
Resource Management is concerned with the strategies that employers can adopt to achieve key
performance goals.”. Tyson’s definition reinforces the need for HRM to contribute to the performance
of the organisation as well as the key role of strategy meeting performance requirements.

The Key Aspects of HRM

Strategy
One of the most important aspects of HRM is the strategy. Strategy is such a significant part of HRM
the term Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has become synonymous with Human
Resource Management. (Beardwell et al, 2004). SHRM may be explained as the practice of aligning
the fundamental components of HRM such as health and safety, employee relations, ethics and
corporate responsibility with overall organisational goals and objective. (reference) It entails the
process of identifying ways in which an organisation may utilise its workers to achieve success.
Benefits of SHRM include motivated and empowered employees as well as increased employee’s
skillsets. Beardwell et al (2004) identified 4 types of SHRM; the classical approach which suggest
“strategy is formed through a formal decision-making process”, the evolutionary approach which
suggest top managers to plan and act upon the markets to secure profit maximisation, the processual
approach which “identified the need to take account of the psychological, political and behavioural
relationships” and systemic approach which states strategy should be shaped “by the cultural
and institutional interests of a broader society”. On the other hand, Armstrong (2006) categorises
human resource strategies in two ways, overarching HR strategies which describes “the general
intentions of the organization about how people should be managed and developed” and specific HR
strategies where an organisation defines strategies in specific HR areas such as talent management,
knowledge management or resourcing. According to Armstrong (2006) some of the requirements for
effective HR strategy includes satisfying business needs, being founded on detailed analysis and
considering the company’s needs.

Employee Training and Development

According Beardwell et al (2004) the “continuous learning and development of individuals are” of
crucial and strategic importance to organisations”, particularly due to the modern requirements for
organisations to succeed. It is now necessary for organisations to have a culture of “sharing learning”
and provide opportunities for” creating new knowledge”. Training Mullins (2010) described the main
benefits of providing training as follows;
- Increase the confidence, motivation and commitment of staff;
- Provide recognition, enhanced responsibility and increased pay and
promotion;
- Improvement of personal satisfaction, achievement and broaden opportunities for
career progression
- Improvement of the availability, quality and skills of staff

Employee Motivation
According to the Oxford dictionary motivation may be defined as “desire or willingness to do
something. The topic of motivation is important in HRM particularly due to the influence it has on the
performance of workers within an organisation. Motivation in not just HRM but in almost any aspect
of life governs the amount of effort or drive an individual may apply to a task and therefore for an
organisation it is essential to factor in ways to ensure its staff are to be kept motivated. Beardwell et al
(2004) identified two fundamental benefits of understanding motivation in the workplace from the
perspective of the employer. Firstly, employers can make work more satisfying and enjoyable which
should improve productivity in the workplace and secondly, it enables managers to control the
behaviour of subordinates.
Reilly (2012) Identified the following questions as beneficial to ask during the process assessing
employee motivation.
• What causes people to come to work?
• What motivates them to perform?
• What stops them from being effective?
• Are they engaged?
• Do they know the big picture?
• Is their potential harnessed?
Motivation Theories
Research over the last century has produced several theories of motivation where the theories have
been distinguished into two categories content approach or process approach. Content approach aims
to identify specific factors that motivate people while the process approach aims to offer an
understanding of the process of developing motives. Some of the well-established process and content
theories for improving motivation in the workplace are as follows:
McClelland’s Achievement Motivation Theory
According to McClelland people’s motivations are shaped
mainly by on their life experiences. The main idea behind
McClelland theory is that an individual has three main driving
motivators. They are a need for either affiliation, achievement,
or power.
Maslow’s Pyramid
Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a well-established model used in
many disciplines. The fundamental principle behind the model
is the general idea there is a hierarchy of needs which must be
satisfied for an individual to attain a certain level of contentment
and happiness. It reinforces the idea that these needs must be
satisfied in the workplace or productivity will be stifled

Procedural justice theory

The theory of procedural justice was developed in the late 1980’s. It is often referred to as procedural
fairness theory. The theory is concerned with ensuring staff or employees believe procedure or
measures used by organisations to allocate rewards are fair and impartial.
Fredrick Herzberg theory
The Herzberg theory is a well-established and recognised theory of motivation. The fundamental
principle behind the theory is the concept of “movement vs motivation”. It identifies factors which are
motivational in the workplace as well factors which are demotivational. The model describes
demotivating factors as hygiene factors which are essentially the factors which must be provided to
avoid dissatisfaction. Motivational factors must be incorporated to ensure phycological growth of the
staff.

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment is a key function of HRM. According to Armstrong (2006) the main aim of the
recruitment and selection process is to “obtain at minimum cost the number and quality of employees
required to satisfy the human resource needs of the company.”. Similarly, Beardwell et al (2004)
describes good recruitment as “minimizing risk, and increasing the probability of success.”. The
process of recruiting a candidate may be divided into three stages; Defining requirements, which
entails identifying the job objectives and ensuring an established standard for a job, attracting
candidates, which comprises of using the appropriate sources to attract the best candidates and
candidate selection which involves the evaluation of candidates to assess suitability for hiring.
Armstrong (2006)

Evaluation of ATKIN’s HRM

Organisational Structure and Strategy
Atkins is a large British multi-national construction and engineering firm providing services in
structural design, mechanical and electrical engineering and project management. Atkins which was
founded by Sir William Atkins in 1938, currently employs approximately 18 000 employees
worldwide as of July 2017 and is estimated to have annual projected revenue of £1.2 billion.
Human Resource Management is a very important aspect of development in any organisation and this
includes Atkins. Atkins’s HRM strategy focuses on the human aspect of the organisation with the
main aim of making “people feel valued and motivated”. In the most recent annual report the Director
of HR said, “We aim to attract the best people and continually develop their capabilities so that we
can deliver outstanding solutions for our clients.” Atkins achieves this goal by “reviewing their human
resources metrics regularly using measures such as headcount, succession planning, and employee
engagement. Atkins also routinely reviews the progress of their strategies, this enables the company to
forecast its future skills and resourcing needs.

Employee Training and Development

Atkins aims to enhance its employee’s performance and improve their development and professional
competences through training courses. Atkins provides a digital learning system for its workers in
four main areas commercial, technical, client and people. In addition, it provides several practical
courses throughout the year focused on people, commercial and client management. The company has
also formed a partnership with Ashridge School of Management to provide bespoke management and
leadership courses. These provisions of courses are effective particularly as it provides staff with
resources which enable personal growth.

Employee Motivation
As mentioned previously is fundamental to the performance of an organisation’s employees and
therefore it is vital to ensure motivation is a key factor in the policy decision making process of an
organisation. Atkins identifies lack of motivation as a major risk and aims to mitigate it by performing
an annual review of it staff engagement through surveys with the aim of ensuring “morale and
motivation is managed effectively.”. In line with hygiene requirements of Herzberg’s theory of
motivation the organisation offers several financial incentives for good performance. Senior staff
participate in a bonus scheme while discretionary bonuses are awarded to approximately 20% of staff.
One area Herzberg also identified as vital for motivating employees to work harder is praise and
recognition, however this is an area in which the company has had low reviews from workers.

Recruitment and Selection

As mentioned earlier one of the main aims of recruitment process of HRM is to “obtain at minimum
cost the number and quality of employees required to satisfy the human resource needs of the
company.”. One way of acquiring quality employees is through being appealing to employees from a
wide range of backgrounds. The philosophy behind Atkin’s recruitment and selection process
according to their latest report is “building a diverse organisation to maximise the skills available to
us in the regions in which we operate.”. One system currently implemented by Atkin for recruitment
is an e-recruitment platform which enable candidates to apply for job in languages other than English.
Recruitment done based on aptitude and ability. Although it is headquartered in the United Kingdom,
Atkins routinely access talent pools from across the globe particularly in India and China. Atkins also
currently possesses an extremely successful graduate recruitment program which currently ranked 40
in the Times top 100 graduate recruiters list 2016-2017 and is also included in the Top 50 Places
Where Women Want to Work 2016 in The Times. These accolades are achieved by providing
networking groups and visiting over 40 universities throughout as part of the recruitment process.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusion
Although it is established that resource management is fundamental to the success and
competitiveness of an organisation there is a wide variation on how an organisation may attain
effective HRM. The common denominator however, in any company or organisation when it comes
to maximising its HRM is the reliance on skilled workers and managers. Poor worker management
has the potential to severely limit the organizational growth. Managing human beings means
attempting to cater to the personal needs of individuals. This makes human management one of the
most difficult resource for an organization to manage due to the need to fulfil the desires of a wide
range of people often with different perspectives, personalities, values, motives, attributes and habits.

Recommendations
Effective HRM policies not only ensures good team-building as it improves an organisations
likelihood of success. The HRM methods a company such as Atkin implements in the process of
building and maintaining a strong workforce is vital due to the importance of its work force in
meeting project schedules. Some of the key considerations of Atkins with regards to its HRM
approach includes employee management and motivation, providing adequate industry training and
hiring suitable candidates from a wide range of backgrounds in a construction industry relying on
specific skillsets. Although Atkins is an exceptionally successful company which indicates it has an
effective HRM approach there are a through the review of good practice, the following
recommendations were identified:
HRM Strategy,

Employee training and Development - mentoring and coaching

Recruitment and Selection
Employee Motivation- INCENTIVE OTHER THAN FINACIAL
References