A REPORT INTO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT SAINSBURY'S

A REPORT INTO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT SAINSBURYS

TUTOR GROUP: W110 HARROW COLLEGE NOVEMBER 2003

BY KANAK PATEL

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Contents Page
PAGE NO.

Introduction Role and Responsibilities of HRM Human Resource Planning Recruitment and Selection Training and Development Motivation and Performance Management Contribution of HRM to improve competitiveness Potential Conflicts between HRM activities 2

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Introduction
This is a report into Human Resources Management (HRM) at Sainsburys PLC. The report will cover the following aspects of HRM: Human Resource Planning Recruitment and Selection Training and Development Performance Management

Sainsburys is a leading UK and US food retailer with interests in financial services and property. It has branches throughout the country selling a wide range of products. It has diversified into banking, selling electronics and financial service. Sainsburys operates a much centralised Human Resource policy in which all major decisions are set, by top management at head office with locally based personal managers carrying them out. The groups objective is to meet its customers needs effectively and thereby provide shareholders with good, sustainable financial returns. Sainsburys aims to ensure all colleagues have opportunities to develop their abilities and are well rewarded for their contribution to the success of the business. The Sainsburys supermarket that I am reporting on is located in South Harrow. The founders\' principles and values guide Sainsburys as strongly today as they did at the outset - to be the customer\'s first choice for food shopping by providing highquality products, value for money, excellent service and attention to detail. Sainsbury\'s Supermarkets employs over 145,000 people .Of these, 60% are part-time and 40% full-time. 62% of employees are women. A large Sainsbury\'s Supermarket such as the one I am basing my report on offers over 23,000 products - 40% of these are Sainsbury\'s own brand. In addition to a wide range of quality food and grocery products, many stores offer bread baked on the premises, delicatessen, meat and fish counters, pharmacies, coffee shops, restaurants and petrol stations.

Role and Responsibilities of Human Resource Function

Human Resource Management was previously known as Personnel Management. Sainsburys PLC like other major firms has renamed its personnel department to human resource department, and it is led by a Director of Human Resources. HRM is concerned with acquiring the Human Resources that are needed if the firm is to remain competitive and successful in the market place. The main purpose of Human Resource Management is to ensure the company has the correct quantity of labour with the right skills and the right amount of motivation. HRM ensures that the company is able to achieve success through people. The Role and Responsibilities of the Human Resource department at Sainsburys involves the following:

1) Human Resource Planning

Ensuring that Sainsburys has the right number and type of workers to achieve its objectives. Planning is important so that vacancies are filled as staff leave Matching up the right type of employees to the needs of the business Sainsburys will work out its labour requirements, its demand and make sure that an appropriate supply is planned

2) Recruitment and Selection

Ensuring that the best candidate is chosen for the job as this will lead to companys objectives being met as profits will increase Getting the recruitment process right. Very important as the HRM is responsible for this. Money will be lost if the process is done wrong or badly.

3) Training and Development

To equip employees with the skills required now and in the future. This will save money in the future as the employee will be ready to show and apply their skills. To train individuals in the workplace for the required skills. This would lead to the individual feeling motivated to work.

4) Performance Management

Motivating staff to ensure high performance for the firm. This would also enhance the output by the employees as they will be motivated. At Sainsburys there are many key areas of work covered by Human Resource Management such as: Human Resource Planning Recruitment and Selection Training

Employee Appraisal Consultation Collective Bargaining Wage and Salary systems Fringe Benefits Disciplinary and Grievance procedures Health and Safety issues Employment Legislation Welfare Role

People add value to the organisation by: Increasing productivity Improving Quality Innovating Improving customer services Sainsburys corporate objectives such as filling vacancies, for growth of business, changing roles, new technology all are responsibilities of HRM. Sainsburys need fully trained, (if not then will be trained by Sainsburys), reliable workers who also possess good interpersonal skills which meet corporate objectives. A friendly supermarket can easily increase sales, makes more profit and increase market share. The Human Resource Management is a key essential for Sainsburys to be successful. Sainsburys have many rival firms competing in the same market and therefore competitive advantage is vitally important. Sainsburys ensure that emphasis is put on key factors such as:

Attracting the right number of employees Attracting the employees with the right skills and attitudes for the job Developing the individuals skills so that then they would be able to meet challenges, now or in the possible future Being able to provide the employees with Health and Safety Special care into the environment so that accidents would not be able to occur Enabling all the employees to contribute equally Ensuring that no employees would be discriminated against by other employees

Sainsburys ensure all these points are met in order for it to achieve its full potential and make the business a success. People are Sainsburys most important resource.

Sainsbury\'s Supermarkets employs over 145,000 people (including Savacentre). Of these, 60% are part-time and 40% full-time. 62% of employees are women. A large Sainsbury\'s Supermarket offers over 23,000 products - 40% of these are Sainsbury\'s own brand. In addition to a wide range of quality food and grocery products, many stores offer bread baked on the premises, delicatessen, meat and fish counters, pharmacies, coffee shops, restaurants and petrol stations. The role of HRM is fundamental in strengthening the organisation\'s capability, and maximising everyone\'s potential right across the business. It\'s an incredibly exciting time as the company\'s new strategies get into full flow." This is a quote from the Sainsburys website.

The human resource management process at Sainsburys is shown below:

PERFORMANCE

Human Resource Planning

HR Planning seeks to ensure the firm has the right number and type of workers for the firm to achieve its objectives. The action part of the plan seeks to balance labour with labour requirements. The main reasons for Human Resource Planning are: It encourages employers to develop clear links between their business plans and their HR plans so that they can integrate the two more effectively. Sainsburys can control staff costs and number employed far more effectively. Employers can build up a skill profile for each of their employees.

Workforce Planning

Workforce planning entitles forecasting future human resource requirements and translating those requirements into actual needs in terms of numbers of employees. It helps Sainsburys to foresee change, identify trends and implement human resource policies. Ineffective human resource forecasting can lead to: Recruitment and selection problems which could mean appointing the wrong applicant Inadequately trained employees would mean the employees would not be performing to the required standards Morale/motivation problems- employees would be de-motivated to work High levels of stress High levels of labour turnover- Sainsburys would then have to analyse the labour market to recruit High levels of absenteeism Redundancies High costs Crisis management Bad planning ultimately results in problems. Below is a diagram showing the steps involved at Sainsburys when making plans for the workforce:

Sainsburys might be looking for individuals with basic abilitys where the cost will be low, but if they are looking for a more advanced individual then they must ensure that they get the right person as it will cost to recruit this individual. Sainsburys look to recruit staff locally rather than nationally. The way in which Sainsburys aim to attract the best employee possible is by offering higher pay rates. The main reasons why Sainsburys demand labour is because Sainsburys need employees to achieve there objective. The objective is making a profit To produce quality goods When Sainsburys want to expand in the future, they need to recruit early because the demand for labour could be high and rivals may take advantage of that.

Supply and Demand

Demand

Sainsburys demand for labour will depend on the plans that Sainsburys have for the future. Sainsburys demand for human resources must be estimated by analysing its future plans and by estimating the levels of activity within the business. Sainsburys use 2 methods for forecasting demand. They are: 1. Management estimates- Mangers at Sainsburys may be asked to forecast their staff requirements. They will do this on the basis of past, present and likely future requirements. 2. Work study techniques- Work study specialists work out how long various jobs take, using available machinery and equipment.
Supply

Sainsburys must examine the numbers of people available to work, how long they can work for, their ability to do the required jobs, their productivity to work out the supply of labour available to work. The supply side is made up of two sources

Internal Supply

Statistics and information need to be collected on employees already at Sainsburys. This will cover the following main areas: The number of employees in particular job categories. The skills available Skills analysis Performance results Promotion potential Age distribution and length of service

It is important for Sainsburys to be able to plan retirements within Sainsburys so that you keep a good balance between people who have been at Sainsburys for a long time and people who are bringing new ideas into the organisation .
External Supply

External supply refers to: Size of the labour force Unemployment Skills shortages Opportunities for education and training Competition Geographical considerations