Research Korner: Human Resource Approaches

Excellent HRM is more beneficial to the organization rather than cost-cutting strategies in the area of Human Resources

During times of economic uncertainty or decline, organizations are pushed to look for cost-cutting strategies to drive down cost and to increase the business’ chances of survival. In the area of Human Resource Management, the common contribution that the HR department can give during tough economic times is downsizing the human resources or other cost-cutting approaches.             IT has been argued that during economic uncertainty, instead of looking for cost-cutting strategies, the HR department must focus more on excellent Human Resource Management. This paper explores the proposition that during times of economic uncertainty organizations should be focusing even more on excellent HRM rather than looking to cut costs in this area.               Lawler (2003) asserts that if the organization wants to be more competitive, it needs to treat its people right (cited in Burke and Cooper 2004). When an organization is faced with economic uncertainty, the key is not downsizing or restructuring but on how its treats people. According to Lawler, it is common believed that there is a conflict between what is good for an organization and what is good for people. While sometimes true, when people are treated right the likelihood of such conflict is reduced. Lawler sees this as a two-way street. Organizations must adopt new attitudes; employees have a responsibility in meeting goals or high organizational performance. Perhaps, what Lawler is trying to make us understand is that no matter what the organization is undergoing (such as economic uncertainty) the organization can benefit from treating its employees right, meaning the organization can benefit from having a more streamlined and strategic human resource management. Employees need to take responsibility for their knowledge, skills, development and performance. These efforts foster virtuous spiral success. When organizations value and reward people, those people are committed to performing well. As a result, the organization accomplishes more and it can then reward employees more and attract and retain more talented employees. This leads to even higher organizational performance. This involves developing a variety of HRM practices that motivate people to peak performance with accompanying rewards. Employees, in return, are more committed to the organization and more responsible for their own behaviors.               Excellent HRM is more beneficial to the organization rather than cost-cutting strategies in the area of Human Resources. I think the foundation of this proposition is the view of human resources as a source of the company’s competitive advantage. This perspective is also commonly termed as ‘resource-based perspective’. Looking at the firm in a resourced-based view has given birth to the idea that Human Resource can be a source of competitive advantage for the firm. The importance of HR as a source of competitive advantage sprung up from the resourced-based view of the firm, which presents a notion that firms develop competitive advantages through valuable and inimitable internal resources. The resource-based view is a conceptualization of firms as unique bundles of accumulated tangible and intangible resource stocks. Resource stocks are defined as internal attributes, including assets, capabilities, processes, routines, and knowledge, that are tied semi-permanently to or controlled by a firm (Barney 1991; Wernerfelt 1984 cited in Niehaus 1995). Examples of resources according to Niehaus (1995) are brand names, in-house knowledge of technology, employment of skilled personnel, trade contracts, machinery, efficient procedures and capital.             Viewing HRM as a source of competitive advantage provides a strong argument supporting the proposition that in times of economic uncertainty, it is more advantageous to develop excellent HRM practices and procedures instead of cost-cutting. Firms must focus on attracting the right people. Streamlining the recruitment and selection process, will lessen the cost spent on attracting applicants that the company does not need. Attracting the right people will make training of new hires more effective, thereby avoiding the necessity to constantly look for applicants. Effective training and development strategies are expected to increase employee performance. Increased employee performance has positive effects on organizational performance and earnings.               HRM is particularly linked with all the activities that contribute to successfully attracting, developing, motivating, and maintaining a high-performing workforce that adds to an organization’s competitive advantage (Sims 2002, p. 2-3). HRM is involved with the institution and implementation of policies, programs, and procedures that affect the performance, competences, and loyalty of the organization’s workforce. Through these policies and procedures, individuals are attracted, retained, motivated, and developed to perform the work of the organization. It is through these policies and procedures that the organization seeks to mold and shape the actions of the employees to operate successfully, comply with various public policies, provide satisfactory quality of employment, and improve its position in the market place through strengthened ability to compete and serve (Clardy 1996, p.1).   HRM practices according to Sims (2002) are increasingly viewed as a means to contribute profitability, quality, and other organizational goals through enhancing and supporting organizational operations. Mannix and Peterson (2003), argues that a carefully crafted human resources strategy can be or at least can result in, a source of competitive advantage in the market place.   According to Sims (2002), incorporating the top management’s goals to the HRM practices and policies will bring out and reward the types of behaviour necessary for achieving an organizations’ strategy. Effective HRM practices can enhance an organization’s competitive advantage by creating both cist leadership and differentiation. The HRM function focuses its activities on ways to help the organization achieve corporate goals like growing through recruiting and hiring employees, orienting and training them and making their initial and future job assignments. HRM contributions to a cost leadership strategy focus on recruiting and retaining employees who can work as efficient and productive as possible. HRM contributes to the successful use of differentiation strategy by recruiting and retaining employees who can perform high quality work and who can provide exemplary customer service (Sims 2002).   Human Resource Management is a source of an organization’s competitive advantage because: 1. It provides the right kinds of talent to the organization at the right time. HRM is expected to assure that a supply of qualified labor in a timely fashion (Clardy 1996, p.20). 2. It ensures that the organization is properly staffed. When done effectively, the staffing, recruitment, and selection process provides a flow of qualified individuals for filling open positions within the organization on a timely and efficient basis (Clardy 1996, p. 41). 3. Using appraisals, the employees are assesses and evaluated. Employee appraisals have very profound implications for both the employees and for the future success of the organization (Clardy 1996, p.58). 4. Using effective pay systems, the management can focus employees’ efforts toward desired organizational goals (Clardy 1996, p.79). 5. Ensures that the employees are properly skilled to perform their tasks and supports the organization’s growth through career development. The goal of training as part of the human resources management processes is to create cost-effective programs that build the skills to perform effectively (Clardy 1996, p.103).   Over the years, HRM has taken a more active role in the decision-making and management processes of the organization. HRM is now viewed by more and more organizations as a strategic partner and thus Strategic Human Resource Management arose. Strategic human resource management aims at the improvement of the way human resources are managed strategically within organizations, with the definitive goal of improving organizational performance, as judged by its impact on the organization’s declared corporate strategy, the customer or shareholders (Brewster et al 2000, p.6). Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is a philosophy of people management based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important to sustain the success of a business. SHRM can be defined as the process of linking the human resource functions with the strategic objectives of the organization in order to improve performance (Ahmed et al 2006). According to Sims (2002), effective SHRM planning aids in creating a competitive advantage for an organization (p.30). SHRM planning when done correctly provides a number of direct and indirect benefits for an organization. <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Identification of gaps between an organization’s current situation and 	desired future</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Explicit communication of organizational goals</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Encouragement of proactive instead of reactive behavior</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Stimulation of critical thinking</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Creation of common bonds and a sense of shared values and expectations</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Identification of the potential problems and opportunities </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">HRM 	costs may be lower because management can anticipate imbalances before they 	become unmanageable and expensive</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">More 	time is available to locate talent because needs are anticipated and 	identified before the actual staffing is required</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Better 	opportunities exist to include women and minority groups in future growth 	plans.</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Development of managers can be better planned</li> </ul>   Viewing SHRM in a resource-based perspective, Wright and McMahan (1992) argues that human resources have the ability to provide sustained competitive advantage through the fulfillment of four basic requirements. 1. Human Resources can be a source of competitive advantage if they are able to add value to the production processes of the firm. 2. Human Resources can be a source of competitive advantage if they are equipped with rare skills. 3. Human Resources can be a source of competitive advantage if they are able to yield a human capital that is hard to imitate. Although human resources are not subject to the same degree of imitation as equipment of facilities, the firm can invest on its human capita to in order to further decrease the probability of such imitation by qualitatively differentiating a firm’s employees from those of its competitors. 4. Human Resources can be a source of competitive advantage if they are not subject to replacement by technological advances or other substitutes.   Viewing human resources as a resource that has the potential to contribute to the achievement of sustainable competitive advantage, Burke and Cooper (2004) argued that SHRM has emerged as a major approach to improving the competitive advantage of the firm. As an approach to improving the competitive advantage of the firm, the aim of SHRM is to attract, train and develop and retain employees of the highest quality. Over time and throughout rapidly changing circumstances, organizations must be able to sustain the competitive advantage that the knowledge and skills of these employees provide. In the past, competitive advantage could be gained through finding better, cheaper access to financial capital, or marketing a new product, or inventing some new technologies. While cheap and ready access to capital, high-quality products, and new technology remain important components of any organization’s competitive advantage, today’s business environment requires a greater focus on the human resources element in business. Out of this realization has come SHRM (Sims 2002). Sims (2002) considers human resources as a source of competitive advantage for the firm. Thus, he views SHRM as a contributor in developing and retaining this source of competitive advantage.   The strategic view of human resources as a source of competitive advantage has given birth to new roles for the HR department especially the HR manager. Ulrich’s (1997) model of HR roles seeks to focus HR delivery on a framework that promotes specialist knowledge and positions it to deliver on the challenges presented to HR. These challenges are: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Strategy</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Financial Performance</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Change 	Management</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Business Performance Improvement</li> </ul> In Ulrich’s model, each role combines to focus on delivering improvement with the function and within the business. The new roles of the HR manager according to Ulrich (1997) are: 1. Strategic Partner – by having a strategic partner who clearly focuses ob strategic issues, HR is able to tackle them. As strategic partners, HR managers understand the critical factors affecting organizational competitiveness and communicate benefits that change strategies and interventions provide to the firm. Strategic partners thoroughly understand business fundamentals, core processes, operations and procedures (Gilley and Maycunich 2000). 2. Administrative Expert – through an administrative expert, the HR function is able to demonstrate it is supporting financial goals of the company by focusing on having efficient and high quality service. 3. Employee Champion – through the employee champion role, the HR function is able to focus on the employee relationship and improving employee capability. Human resource managers, according to Ulrich (1997), are in a unique position to serve as employee champions. As such, they reveal the correct balance between work demands and resources, identifying legitimate demands on employees and helping these workers focus by setting priorities. Employee champions also distinguish creative ways of leveraging resources so that employees do not feel overwhelmed by what is expected of them. 4. Change Agent – the change agent role allows the function to meet the challenges of the changing business environment and positioning the business to execute strategy. In the role of change agent, HR managers exercise the greatest organizational impact and influence. When HR managers act as change agents, they establish high credibility within the organization and great influence with key decision makers, line managers, and employees (Gilley and Maycunich 2000).   Shrinking HR vs. Transforming HR             Many companies will make across-the-board budget cuts to respond to mandates from senior management to lower costs. This strategy achieves short-term results, but dies not necessarily help a company achieve its long-term goals for greater efficiency. Although a short-term solution to reducing HR costs might be to cut "discretionary" programs like training, college relations, and health and wellness initiatives, forward-looking companies understand that these types of cuts will hurt the business in the long term. Delaying investment in HR can ultimately increase a company's people-related costs (Rison and Tower 2005). Firms that have cost-reduction strategies do not invest in human resources. This in turn can result to lower levels of training, teamwork, internal labor markets, employee participation and pay (Marchington and Wilkinson 2005).             On the other hand, there are companies that instead of shrinking HR opt to transform HR. Transforming HR means closely aligning HR practices, policies, goals and objectives with the goals and objectives of the company. Thinking holistically about how HR delivers services is the most effective way to reduce costs over the long term. This means looking beyond the current costs to understand how work gets done and delivers value to the organization. It also means holding tenaciously to the goal of providing value through HR, even in a time of intense budget scrutiny (Rison and Tower 2005).       References   Ahmed, F.. Ullah, M. H. and Uddin, M. K.  (2006), Strategic Human Resources Management: Linking HR Practices with the Business Strategy, 34(3), 15-30.   Barney, J. (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99-120.   Brewster, C, Mayrhofer, W. and Morley, M. (Eds.) (2000). New Challenges for European Human Resource Management. Basingstoke, England: Macmillian.   Burke, R. and Cooper, C. (Eds.) (2004). Reinventing Human Resources Management: Challenges and New Directions. New York:Routledge.   Clardy, A. (1996). Managing Human Resources: Exercises, Experiments, and Applications Workbook. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.   Gilley, J. W. and Maycunich, A. (2000). Beyond the Learning Organization: Creating a Culture of Continuous Growth and Development through State-Of-The-Art Human Resource Practices, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.   Lawler, E.E. III (2003) Treat People Right. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.   Mannix, E. and Peterson, R. (Eds.) (2003). Leading and Managing People in the Dynamic Organization. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,   Marchington, M. and Wilkinson, A. (2005). Human Resource Management at Work: People Management and Development. CIPD Publishing.   Niehaus, R. (1995). Strategic HRM. Human Resource Planning, 18(3), 53+.   Rison, R. P. and Tower, J. (2005). How to Reduce the Cost of HR and Continue to Provide Value, Human Resource Planning, vol. 28, no. 1, 14+.   Sims, R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Westport CT: Quorum Books.   Ulrich, D. (1997). Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivery Results. Harvard Business School Press.   Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A Resource Base View of the Firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5, 171-180.   Wright, R. M. and McMahan G. C. (1992). Theoretical Perspectives for Strategic Human Resources Management. Journal of Management, 18(2): 292-320.

Excellent HRM is more beneficial to the organization rather than cost-cutting strategies in the area of Human Resources

During times of economic uncertainty or decline, organizations are pushed to look for cost-cutting strategies to drive down co...

Strategic Human Resource Management in Subway Sandwich Restaurant

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN A SUBWAY SANDWICH RESTAURANT   The world’s famous subway sandwich restaurant franchise system in the world that is independently owned and operated by various entrepreneurs.  Franchisees established their own human resources strategies and policies and implement their own employment rules and policies.  The Subway sandwich restaurant chain is increasing tremendously, and still continues to boom with new marketing opportunities in shopping center, mall and free standing  locations.  Other franchisees locate their own Subway chain to hospitals, colleges, sports arenas and airports.  The Subway chain has been in every part of the globe.  And, most of these franchise stores are located in the United States and others are located in other parts of the globe. The company has innovative and efficient Subway developers, field staff and leasing specialists from different parts of North America.  The Subway chain has an effective marketing and operational system that helps in promoting their products as well as in increasing its wide range of consumer base.  Subway restaurants have unique restaurant concepts, and do not need a wide and spacious location.  The Subway restaurants are flexibly operating anywhere.  In addition to that, Subway restaurants have different marketing concepts and designs as well as various strategic locations such as Jeep assembly plant in Ohio; you can also find it in a new car showroom in California.  In the same manner, there is also a Subway sandwich restaurant in a church in New York.  Other consumers can also eat healthy sandwiches while inside the laundry and tanning salon in Wisconsin.  There is also a chain store inside the High School compound in Detroit, and the best thing is, the students can earn college credits for operating a Subway sandwich restaurant inside the university.  You can also find a floating Subway sandwich restaurant aboard on a river boat in Germany.   And, there is still a plan to try to put a Subway sandwich café to satisfy the food needs of the employees in the office buildings and large establishment and huge commercial buildings.  The menu will include the baked goods and frozen coffee drinks.  The Subway café concept will be designed as a combination of sandwich shop and coffee bar that is located in a cozier environment for coffee break.  (http://www.hr.com/en/communities/subway%C2%AE-world-headquarters-selects-ultimate-softwa_g5rg5kop.html)   The Subway restaurant chain is presently the world’s leading submarine sandwich store franchise that has 32, 200 locations in 90 countries worldwide.  It started our in Milford, Connecticut.  At the same time it has also regional operation in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brisbane, Miami, Singapore, India, and in the United Kingdom.  And, because of its excellent performance worldwide, it has been recognized as number one Global Franchise sandwich restaurant in the globe.  More than that, the Subway restaurant has been providing its employees an outstanding strategic human resources management, recruitment, strict compliance to attendance management as well as performance supervision among its employees.  Payroll and talent and performance solutions have been also in the company’s top priority.  These are all the strong evidences that Subway restaurant has been recognized as having excellent human capital management solution for over the years now.  In fact, Subway‘s headquarters uses payroll service bureau in its US-based chains. All its human resources capital will be centralized already through the help of UltiPro; this is a most complete solution that meets all the human resources management system of Subway sandwich restaurants worldwide.  Currently, Subway has its outstanding strategic and systematic transactional human resources management system for the most advantageous workforce performance and productivity among its employees.  (http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/human-resources-management-h-r/215128-organisational-structure-subway.html) Furthermore, Subway sandwich restaurants are a fast food franchise, but they prepare and serve healthy and fresh food for their customers but in a reasonable price that everyone can afford to buy and eat.  In fact Subway has its new great “Five dollar foot long” campaign in a very affordable cost.  They have sandwiches that are loaded with fresh veggies.  They really make great sandwiches, they are generous with toppings, and the employees are keen to details.  The employees are really giving excellent customer service.  After all, Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily caters submarine sandwiches, salads and personal pizzas.  The specialty sandwich that the restaurant has is the Chicken Pizziola sandwich; this is a 6-inch sandwich that made of nine-grain wheat bread, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, cucumbers and cheese.  In Subway, the customers may choose the bread, toppings and condiments for the sandwich they order.  And, healthy sandwiches are being prepared in front of the customers. This restaurant chain has been dominating in the world market since 1995 through its employees’ hard work and high quality food products.  (http://renegadehr.net/case-study-hr-practices-subway/)  References: (http://www.hr.com/en/communities/subway%C2%AE-world-headquarters-selects-ultimate-softwa_g5rg5kop.html) (http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/human-resources-management-h-r/215128-organisational-structure-subway.html) (http://renegadehr.net/case-study-hr-practices-subway/)

Strategic Human Resource Management in Subway Sandwich Restaurant

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN A SUBWAY SANDWICH RESTAURANT The world’s famous subway sandwich restaurant franchise system in the wo...

Human Resources Planning and Development - Case of Nando’s

Human Resources Planning and Development - Case of Nando’s   Table of Contents 1.0        Introduction. 2 2.0        HRM Activities of Nando’s. 2 2.1 Recruitment and selection at Nando’s. 3 2.2 Training and development at Nando’s. 4 2.3 Compensation at Nando’s. 5 3.0        HR Planning and Development Methods at Nando’s. 5 4.0        HR Performance of Nando’s. 7 5.0        Conclusion and Recommendation. 9 6.0        Reference and Bibliography. 10 7.0        Appendices. 11             Human Resources Planning and Development - Case of Nando’s   1.0  Introduction Several factors affect the organisation and its expected growth. Organisations therefore need to focus on developing strategies and explore opportunities to grow according to the demands of the business environment. Placing human resource management (HRM) at the core of organisational functions toward succeeding to this new environment is therefore critical. HRM is simply defined as the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organisation’s most valued assets - the people. One company that understands the value of HRM is Nando’s, a Mozambiquan/Portuguese-themed restaurant chain that originated from South Africa. Named after the son of Fernando Duarte who is a Portuguese living in South Africa and together with his friend named Robert Brozin, the first Nando’s restaurant was incorporated in Rosettenville in 1987. Duarte and Brozin bought a restaurant called Chickenland which was later changed to Nando’s to reflect the fusion of Portuguese and Mozambiquan cuisine. The first Nando’s in the UK was established in 1992 in Ealing. Nando’s now specialises in chicken dishes with either lemon and herb, medium, hot or extra hot peri-peri marinades. Nando’s is famous for its peri-peri chicken that Nandocas prepared. Nandoca refers to the person who works for Nando’s (Nando’s online, 2009) At Nando’s, the belief is the people, that is, the Nandocas, are the ones who make the difference. HR Director of Nando’s Julia Rosamond has this to say: “people want to value the organisation they work for and be valued in return.” In this report, the HRM activities of Nando’s as well as its planning and development methods and performance will be discussed. Nandoca/nandocas will be used to pertain to the people in the entirety of the discussion.      2.0  HRM Activities of Nando’s Nando’s main objective is to fight for client ‘share of stomach’ and establish fast-food outlets with a lifestyle of their own. Nando’s is dependent on the success of national approaches and procedures (Pycraft, 2000, p. 790). Nando’s aim is not to be just another chain of restaurants. Instead, the founders aimed that each Nando’s restaurant to be individual and to reflect the characteristics of its location (Nando’s online, 2009). At Nando’s, the conduct of the organisation is guided by its five core values such as pride, passion, courage, integrity and a sense of family. The fifth core value is especially intended for the Nandocas to facilitate the delivery of the Nando’s experience to the customers. In HR, it is the department’s responsibility to ensure that Nandocas are happy, engaged and fulfilled as they develop their careers with Nando’s (Nando’s online, 2009). Apparently, there are specific HR activities implemented which generally include recruiting, training and rewarding. 2.1 Recruitment and selection at Nando’s             Organisations may recruit workers internally and externally, identifying a suitable pool of applicants quickly, cost-efficiently and legally. The selection processes that the organisation will employ should be technically sound and legal. Across the UK, Nando’s is opening as many as 30 restaurants each year which means ongoing recruitment of Nandocas. Striking a balance between internal and external recruitment, Nando’s HR is responsible for looking for Nandocas that is capable of becoming Patrao. Patrao is internally known as the Manager, Managing Director and/or General Manager. Putting in mind that the Nandocas’ passion fuels the growth of the brand, future management opportunities are provided. Details about Nandocas are filed for future reference (Nando’s online, 2009).               Externally, Nando’s HR encourages applicants to contact local management team. Positions become available at Central Support Level (Head Office) and in the restaurants specifically for cashier and griller positions. Further, the corporate website also serves as a recruitment tool wherein career opportunities page is one of the fundamental elements of the site. Current positions are available in different areas of the UK as well as the ‘how to apply’ procedures. A key in achieving the objectives of the company, Nando’s prioritises the local people to make up the local version of Nando’s in respective countries (Nando’s online, 2009; Taylor, 2005, p. 39). Nando’s, further, partners with the Global Online Recruitment Resource and other online job searching companies such as Jobs.ie to fill vacant positions that are not immediately available internally. Only permanent and full-time positions are available. Once hired, they become Nandoca (Nando’s online, 2009).             When it comes to the legal aspect, Nando’s is committed to its equal opportunities policy. As such, the organisation recognises the diversity in people, beliefs and origins. Nando’s HR, in addition, ensures that information about vacant positions is circulated as widely as possible so that it can reach all sections of the community (Nando’s online, 2009). As the preference for any group of applicants is strongly refuted, recruitment and employment decisions that Nando’s HR make are made on the basis of fair and objective criteria. 2.2 Training and development at Nando’s             Applicants of today are looking for the chance to development or simply employment progression. Employers, on the other hand, capitalise on this progression orientation of applicants by providing training and development. Nando’s understands that Nandocas must be trained to focus on their present jobs and to develop them to prepare for possible future jobs. The resource-based HRM model gives way on the possibility of work-related learning and the mobilisation of employee through learning strategies. Guest (1987) noted that the incremental function of HRM is central on the emergence of better educated workforces and higher individual expectations.   A career development programme guides Nando’s HR to allow both Nandocas and Nandoca trainees to realise their true potential. Nando’s invests heavily on people and training that is why trainings are ongoing and these are performed in-house.  By working with the Learning and Development (L&D) department, learning and development of the people is tailored with each individual’s needs. The first three months of working as a Nandoca trainee is devoted to learning the necessary skills and management skills required to be successful at Nando’s. Trainees are supported and coached by Nando’s Legends as well as other Nandocas working at the L&D department.               After the three month-long training, trainees are invited to a Self Development Workshop wherein the Nandoca or the trainee will prepare a development plan for the coming years. Succeeding trainings will depend on the position that the Nandoca or Nandoca trainee is currently occupying. Nonetheless, Nando’s boasts for its awarded training programs such as Coaching Programs, Train the Trainer and Working in Management Teams.      2.3 Compensation at Nando’s             Sustained competitive advantage model of HRM (see Appendix section) claims that the organisation shall seek the betterment of internal and definite processes, procedures and systems which aimed at consolidating competencies, continuous education, proficient performance at individual and collegial levels and balance monetary and non-monetary reward systems (Bratton, 2001). For instance, dealing with compensation issues will be unique on the basis of structural consideration (i.e. corporate, business-level and functional). Compensation aims at establishing and maintaining a competent loyal workforce at an affordable cost. To be at Nando’s, Nandocas experience both direct and indirect compensations. Basic salary is based on the experience and quarter and annual bonus are also provided. Aside from free staff meals per shift, Nandocas are endowed with 20% staff discount card. Along with the 28-day paid holidays, there is a long service pay reward wherein a Nandoca will receive an extra four weeks which has to be taken all at once after every five years (Nando’s online, 2009).             Nandocas, moreover, also enjoy area drinks evenings quarterly that include a themed Christmas party at the last quarter. Restaurants are closed early during these days especially on Decembers for Nandocas to enjoy festivities and celebrate before the customers. Annual family fun day are also available with all the members of the family of the Nandoca are invited for a party in the par k (Nando’s online, 2009).             Nandocas who are working in management positions are given the opportunity to attend annual conference as well. Other than the opportunity to progress to Patrao, after 18 months of being successful as a Patrao they will be entitled to join partnership scheme provided that KPIs are met and Nando’s values are lived. When a Patrao becomes a partner, they are benefited to input key decisions and a financial reward for being a key stakeholder at Nando’s (Nando’s online, 2009).        3.0  HR Planning and Development Methods at Nando’s Strategic management of human resources focuses on planning for the people as well as for the whole company or organization. HR plans involve the global market place and the future.  Planning begins with the assurance that the right number of individuals is properly placed at the proper position (Graton, 1999, p.118). Pride, Hughes and Kapoor (p. 315) maintain that human resource planning is the development of strategies for matching the size and skills of the workforce to organisational needs. For Nando’s, ensuring that the right people is in the right job at the right time encompasses three processes that include strategic plan-based forecasting of personnel requirements, skills inventory to analyse personnel supply and buddy system to match personnel requirements with the supply. Strategic planning of Nando’s is often built on ongoing roll-out of stores hence rapid growth programme. Such a programme requires that there is a need for Nando’s to build leadership and delegation competencies fast. There are challenges to including the risks of losing the five core values as well as managerial issues that center on preserving the Nando’s culture. Through the HR team, human resources demand are forecasted based on the numbers of stores to be rolled-out and in what specific places of the UK. Personnel requirements are aligned with projected sales revenue of that particular Nando’s store. As such, if there is 15% increase in sales volume is projected, there will be also a 15% increase in personnel requirements. Human resources supply, on the other hand, takes into account both the present workforce and the changes that may occur within it. There are approximately 6,000 Nandocas in the UK with its 214 restaurants as of August 2009 (Nando’s online, 2009). When it is opening at the rate of 30 restaurants annually, there is a need for at least 840 new Nandocas for operational year 2010. Nevertheless, Agran (2006) noted that 21 to 24% of managerial positions are recruited internally hence 176 to 201 Nandocas will be promoted from within. Nando’s HR planners relied on analysing the existing workforce to determine who among the Nandocas will be able to perform the required tasks at hand. This being said, a skills inventory is often being employed at Nando’s. Nando’s relies on the GROW model, which was developed by former racing driver John Whitmore, to determine the necessary skills and competence needed to elevate a Nandoca to other positions such as MD and supervisors. GROW stands for Goal, Current Reality, Options and Will. Such a process aims at discovering the strengths and weaknesses of each Nandoca through one-on-one reviews so that trainings and courses to be taken up could fill the void. Also, Nando’s HR Director Julia Claydon despised the fact that some of their rivals are resorting to poaching or stealing Nandocas to work for them since it devalues the integrity of any organisation (Thomas, 2008).     A course of action for matching the required personnel with that of the supply, Nando’s employs the buddy system. Each restaurant has two buddies who are in charge of training at that outlet. Politt (2006) relates that the buddy system aims at learning how to run, interactive and fun training sessions for restaurant staff. This system represents a stepping stone towards supervisory and management positions. As such, 80% of supervisors in Nando’s UK are products of this buddy system as it furthers talents that do not only put in center the work in the restaurants but also being part of Nando’s growth. By being able to train people in professional way, personnel requirements are effectively addressed and Nando’s will not experience oversupply of workers. It is in this sense that the processes are able to create a workforce that embraces and lives the values of Nando’s at each area where Nando’s is located. Development is facilitated by the people they know and trust within the environment that is familiar with them - at each store. Strategically, this is in line with the goal of Nando’s which is the individualism of each store. While buddies learn the Nando’s culture that is applied on all Nando’s worldwide, they are able to tap the diversity of their own respective workforce by bringing in knowledge and inputs unique to that store.   4.0  HR Performance of Nando’s Virtually all organisations are allotting at least 30% of their total revenue for employee compensation. While compensation expenditures are evaluate to determine their effectiveness, performance that is the basis of compensation should be also assessed. HR performance is not an exemption and also that of Nando’s. Basically, Nando’s is using a market leader strategy when it comes to compensating workers. Such a strategy enables the organisation to attract and retain workers with the required capabilities as well as to acquire the opportunity to increase the productivity of the workers (Mathis and Jackson, 2007, p. 366) Nando’s also recognises the strategic role of the HR people and key to Nando’s success. They are given the responsibility to develop, implement and ensure that HRM strategies achieve the business goals and delivers commercial objectives. The priority of the HR people is to successfully provide a high quality HR service to the business. People-related issues are dealt with in systematic way through the implementing group HR strategy at various levels across England as well. With all the works and responsibilities that are vested on the HR people, it would only be plausible to determine how their performance is being measured. HR performance at Nando’s is measured by a 360-degree appraisal for the purpose of highlighting the strengths and development areas of these people. Bohlander and Snell (2009, p. 374) define 360-degree performance review as the process of gathering feedback from a review panel of eight to twelve people which include co-workers, supervisors, team members, subordinates and sometimes customers. The training intended for them is tailor made based on the results of this performance appraisal but depending on the preferred learning style of them. Aside from this, Nando’s also conduct staff survey to determine the effectiveness of the performance of the HR people. Part of the rewards of HR people is the result of these review and survey other than their basic salary.    While 360-degree feedback and staff surveying are comprehensive in that responses are gathered from multiple perspectives and provides inputs for both outcomes and behaviour, they lack objectivity as well as they conjure invalid evaluations. As Armstrong (2006) put it, performance management is also a strategy that relates organizational endeavors embedded in the context of human resource (HR) policies. It would be plausible to implement a critical incident file and behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) so that HR performance appraisal would be more objective and precise. Critical incident file refers to the performance appraisal method wherein the manager jots down the positive and negative performance behaviors of employees throughout the performance period. The file is a form of documentation it contains brief commentaries regarding noteworthy events in the working life of an employee. Drawbacks are that it tends to be bias because of its individualistic nature and dependent on the competence of the appraiser. For Nando’s, this requires a position higher than the HR people to conduct the documentation. However, this person should be also working closely with the HR people, which may be a challenge. Further, strengths of BARS are it is more accurate and objective than critical incident file. BARS has its legitimacy under scrutiny because the effectiveness of performance is being measured by several statements that describe the performance of an HR employee. It is the superior who will select one that best describes that HR employee thereby having bias while doing so. Nonetheless, this could be address by assigning a competent superior to do the job and devising HR metrics and standards wherein best statement will be chosen based on these metrics and standards.       5.0  Conclusion and Recommendation In sum, the report discusses the various HR strategies implemented inside Nando’s particularly that complements with the basic function of the HR like recruitment, training and development, compensation and performance appraisal. As Nando’s aim for individualism of each store, the five core values are carefully integrated in their processes. The responsibility to do such is mainly vested on the HR department to put people that reflect the distinctiveness goal. Relevant to this is the spontaneity of the processes hence Nando’s aimed at cultivating a people culture through the HR department. Having said this, it would be only right for Nando’s to devise a succession planning that aligns the people culture and the five core values with its strategic direction. Nando’s goal is to obtain and retain a quality workforce and skills audit would be a starting point of the succession planning process. Skills auditing results in the understanding of the skills required and the gaps that the organisation currently possesses; the targeted analysis of the development needs; the list of people of who need development; the data that can be utilised for internal selection and the information that can be used for dynamic succession planning.   Career pathing is another course of action necessary for an effective succession planning. Career pathing can be defined as a sequence of developmental activities involving informal and formal education, training, and job experiences that help make an individual capable of holding jobs that are more advanced. Formalised career paths lead to precise descriptions of chronological work experiences as well as how the different sequences relate to one another. The organization must use career pathing activities that will enhance skills, competencies, and knowledge of employees.           6.0  Reference and Bibliography   Agran, L 2006, ‘Nando’s spices up its leadership style,’ Personnel Today, retrieved on 2 February 2010, from http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2006/10/10/37622/nandos-spices-up-its-leadership-style.html. Armstrong, M 2006,  A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page, Ltd, London, UK. Braton, J 2001, ‘Strategic human resource management in J Bratton and J Gold,’ Human Resource Management, pp. 37-71. Bohlander, G W & Snell, S 2009, Managing Human Resources, Cengage Learning. Gratton, L 1999, Strategic Human Resource Management: Corporate Rhetoric and Human Reality, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Guest, D E 1987, ‘Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations,’ Journal of Management Studies, vol. 24, pp. 503-505. Mathis, R L & Jackson, J H 2007, Human Resource Management, 12th edn, Cengage Learning. Pride, W M, Hughes, R J & Kapoor, J R 2008, Business, 9th edn, Cengage Learning. Pycraft, M 2000, Operations Management, Pearson South Africa. Taylor, S 2005, People resourcing, CIPD Publishing. Thomas, D 2008, ‘Nando’s HR directors slams staff poachers,’ Cater Search online, retrieved on 2 February 2010, from http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2008/09/18/323527/nandos-hr-directors-slams-staff-poachers.html.                 7.0  Appendices Figure 1 Sustained Competitive Model of HRM (Braton, 2001)

Human Resources Planning and Development - Case of Nando’s

Human Resources Planning and Development - Case of Nando’s Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction . 2 2.0 HRM A...