Overview of Woolsworth Limited
Discuss about the Corporate Strategy And Human Resource Of Woolsworth.
For the purpose of this study, Woolsworth have been chosen as the organization to be studied. The motivation behind choosing Woolsworth is because of its decadent presence and strong foothold in the Australian context. It is the second largest largest retail brand in Australia and was founded by Percy Christmas, Stanley Chatterton, Cecil Scott Waine, George Creed and Ernest Williams in the year 1924 (De Waal, 2013). The HRM department of Woolsworth is quite famous and has committed itself in devising efficient and sustainable corporate or strategic plan. The aim of this paper is to examine the HRM strategy and corporate plan of Woolsworth Limited and further explore challenges and seek solutions.
Human resource strategy has been understood as a support function provided to the business organizations (Newton, Becker & Bell, 2014). However, with the change in time, the alignment of human resource strategy and corporate strategy has become difficult. The task of the Human Resource Manager is to assist the line mangers situated at different levels to secure their strategic goal (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). The company has been committed in providing great serve through the incorporation of top-quality people. The Divisional Director of HR, Matt Keogh has been vocal about innovation and quality. Some if the strategies of the HR department of Woolsworth Limited have been matching staffing, recruitment of talent, training and retraining the employees based on their performance and capabilities, and finally downsizing (Human Capital Review, 2018).
The organization has acknowledged that of late it is facing challenges in attracting and retaining the talent that are instrumental for the proper functioning of the company. Another challenge faced by the company is sustainable transformation. This pertains to achieving the numeric target and embracing an organizational culture that would enable in realizing the advantages of business diversity (Purce, 2014). The HR department of Woolsworth is planning to form an alliance with the veteran business leaders of the world to create employee value proposition. This would be done with the aim of retaining the best talents and inspiring the present workforce to show their commitment towards the company (Marler & Fisher, 2013).The steps not undertaken by the HR department of Woolsworth Limited is the long-term and the cyclical process of strategic human resource with adequate room for exercising flexibility. Woolsworth Limited adheres to a Business process HR outsourcing. The highlight of this strategy is that external supplier is able to manage the important activities of payroll administration and payroll along with arrange of other activities that are key functions of the HRM.
Some of the key focus for the company will be (a) development of capability and career pathways with the aim of the consolidation of the workforce. This would contribute in the growth of the next generation of workers (Storey, 2014). (b) the second thrust area will be creating and sustaining a work-motivated culture where performance would be prioritized through a robust approach towards management, identification and rewarding of experience that would be in consonance with the delivery and dissemination of the strategic plan (Budhwar & Debrah, 2013). (c) the third area of thrust will be enhancing the commitment and focus towards the values of leadership and (d) fourthly, conceptualizing and creating an effective employment brand experience. Through these key measures and initiatives, Woolsworth is aiming to make the workplace a forceful and inspiration area to work.
The HRM Department of Woolsworth Limited
The position of HR (Human Resource) is important for monitoring the activities of the line managers who would be accountable to the people. Another rationale behind embedding the HR is to essay the role of a true business partner by conducting a perusal of the current business model and thereby bringing in HR expertise to the job. The role of the HR is to formulate solutions that are sound from the viewpoint of the HR and befitting for the pertinent business strategy (Kramar, 2014). Therefore, the role of the HR goes beyond managing the line mangers and the provision of service for true business partnering. The other reasons behind embedding HR can be related to the key functions performed by the HR in Woolsworth Limited. The HR in Woolsworth Limited in collaboration with the line mangers develop an action plan that are aimed at meeting the requirements of the labour (Cascio, 2018). This was in the functional level. At the strategic level, the embedding of HR pertains to human resource and training the corporate. It has been found that Woolsworth Limited operates their HRM both at the functional level as well at strategic levl. The HR is involved in the planning of the human resource that takes place at the functional level and training the corporate that takes place at the strategic level. At the functional level, it is the line managers who carry out most of the tasks of the primary activities with the aim of ensuring that employees have all the facilities to work without any worry.
The employers need to select employees depending on their quality. The strategy of recruiting employees is important for the stability of any organization. Goal setting is an important strategy for the execution of company strategy. The motivation behind the implementation of goal alignment is that it enhances and facilitates the execution of operation. Therefore, there is a need to quickly shift from the planning of strategy to the execution of strategy (Bruce, 2018). This will boost the morale of the employees and further contribute in retaining the employees. The aim of the human resource manager of Woolsworth Limited would be to hire a candidate who demonstrates a positive attitude towards life. The single quality of talent should be at the mind of the HRM whilst selecting the candidate for a specific post. The criterion of positive attitude should be the top priority, as the company would need motivated individuals who are committed towards the vision of the company. Woolsworth Limited need to conduct a job analysis in a routine manner with the aim of creating an accurate description of the function of the company. In Woolsworth, some of the key reasons for retaining the job has been Woolworth’s consistent effort to improve the cause of the employees through their empowerment and helping them to manage their own employees. This boosts the career growth of the employees and motivates them to retain their job with Woolsworth. This can be attributed to the role of HR who pays special attention in looking the needs of the employees. Woolsworth Limited is committed in the continuous improvement of the business strategies (Ethical sourcing and human rights, 2018). The company has went through consistent process of improving its business therefore, making it easier for the employees to continue their loyalty.
Challenges Faced by Woolsworth Limited
Currently, the primary issue faced by Woolsworth Limited is from the perspective of human resource is that the challenge in redeploying the majority of the staff of the Master in case they would refrain from continuing business (Alfes, Shantz, Truss & Soane, 2013). Another challenge faced by HR that have prompted the development of HR strategy is that Woolsworth Limited may encounter pressure from the union in the continuance if its business. The major challenge of HR pertains to managing the morale of the employees and reducing the impact of fear or uncertainty incase the job security of the employer is under threat. It is predicted that around 7, 000 workers will be affected due to the restructure.
Some of the key HR related achievements would be establishment of a customer and store-oriented team and culture. The second achievement would be the generation of the sustainable sales momentum in the department of Food of the retail brand. The third achievement will be the evolution of the beverage products that would provide greater convenience, credibility and value to the customers. The third achievement of the successful implementation of the HR strategy would enable the empowerment of the employees and staff and boosting their loyalty towards the company (Jackson, Schuler & Jiang, 2014). Fourthly, it would to the empowerment of the portfolio business that would enable in pursuing the strategies to deliver business at the shareholder value (Woolworths Group, 2018). Lastly, the implementation of the HR strategy would enable in making the company in becoming a lean retailer through an end-to-end process through systematic excellence. Therefore, it will lead to the consolidation of a great retail team.
Conclusion
Therefore, the paper discussed about the HRM strategy with a specific focus on Woolsworth Limited. Woolsworth is a major retail giant in Australia and has become a household name. The company has key issues and can be resolved solely through emdedding of Human Resource strategy.
References
Alfes, K., Shantz, A. D., Truss, C., & Soane, E. C. (2013). The link between perceived human resource management practices, engagement and employee behaviour: a moderated mediation model. The international journal of human resource management, 24(2), 330-351.
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Bruce, V. (2018). Restructuring challenge on the cards for Woolworths HR. HR Online. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/restructuring-challenge-on-the-cards-for-woolworths-hr-210692.aspx
Budhwar, P. S., & Debrah, Y. A. (Eds.). (2013). Human resource management in developing countries. Routledge.
Cascio, W. (2018). Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.
De Waal, A. (2013). Strategic Performance Management: A managerial and behavioral approach. Palgrave Macmillan.
Ethical sourcing and human rights. (2018). Sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au/our-principles/sourcing/ethical-sourcing-and-human-rights/
Human Capital Review – Interview with Matt Keogh – Woolworths Divisional Director for HR. (2018). Humancapitalreview.org. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.humancapitalreview.org/content/default.asp?Article_ID=930
Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.
Kramar, R. (2014). Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human resource management the next approach?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(8), 1069-1089.
Marler, J. H., & Fisher, S. L. (2013). An evidence-based review of e-HRM and strategic human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 23(1), 18-36.
Newton, C., Becker, K., & Bell, S. (2014). Learning and development opportunities as a tool for the retention of volunteers: A motivational perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 24(4), 514-530.
Purce, J. (2014). The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management. New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals), 67.
Storey, J. (2014). New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals). Routledge.
Strategy and objectives – Woolworths Group. (2018). Woolworthsgroup.com.au. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/our-approach/strategy-and-objectives
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
