Recruitment And Selection At Tesco - Assignment Example

Recruitment And Selection At Tesco 1.0 Introduction Tesco is considered as one of the biggest general merchandise and grocery retailers worldwide. It has its humble beginning as a group of market stalls headquartered in United Kingdom. The company swiftly expanded in different countries including Japan, Turkey, and China. Recently, it has unveiled its stores in the U.S. Tesco considers its international expansion as an attempt to diversify and strengthen its business. It has approximately 360,000 employees throughout different countries in the world (“Recruitment,” n.d.). The paper highlights the fundamental issues confronting the company. It discusses human resource planning as a means to address these fundamental issues. Lastly, this paper outlines the recruitment and selection processes that support the growth and development of the company. 2.0 Fundamental Issue/s Tesco’s local and international expansion has given rise to demands for employees who will fill numerous managerial and non-managerial positions. The company is driven to offer its customers with high quality products and services. It recognizes the importance of retaining old customers and attracting new ones. Thus, the company is confronted with the need to look for individuals that possess the behaviors and skills necessary for the current growth and development of the company. Tesco has six work levels. The first work level involves front-line jobs that directly deal with customers. These jobs require the ability to enthusiastically interact with customers. Meanwhile, work level 2 encompasses individuals that train group of employees who directly interact with customers. Individuals with this job need to possess the ability to set targets, motivate, and manage others (“Recruitment,” n.d.). Work level 3 involves running a particular operating unit. This particular job necessitates management skills which include target setting, reporting, and planning. Work level 4 focuses on individuals that are relegated with the responsibility of recommending strategic change and providing aid for each operating unit (“Recruitment,” n.d.). Work level 5 encompasses jobs that are mainly concern with the overall performance of the company. This job necessitates the ability to manage and lead others. Lastly, work level 6 involves jobs that are mainly responsible for outlining values, goals, and purposes of the company. Individuals relegated with this job must possess the ability to forecast the long-term condition of the company and propel the company towards success (“Recruitment,” n.d.). Thus, the company is driven to determine if it is necessary to conduct human resource planning. In addition, Tesco is confronted with the need to find effective means of attracting and selecting individuals that fit each of these six levels. 3.0 Alternative Course of Action 3.1 Human Resource Planning Tesco will benefit from human resource planning in ensuring that employees possess knowledge, skill, and ability necessary for the job position. Tesco’s “workforce planning” is proven effective in forecasting the company’s future needs for employees in terms of skills, location, and number. Workforce planning allows the company to have flexibility and sufficient time to meet demands for staff. However, human resource planning may be too costly for the company. Nevertheless, the benefits of utilizing human resource planning outweigh its costs. It also important for the company to undertake job analysis. Job analysis is a systematic process of identifying the responsibilities and duties associated with a particular job. This offers description of the services and tasks undertaken by employees in a certain job. It is beneficial for Tesco to allot a great amount of time in job analysis as it serves as a basis for job description, job specification, recruitment, and selection. Tesco can employ critical incident method in undertaking job analysis. However, job analysis may be too costly for the company as it needs to be updated annually. There is also no assurance that it will accurately outline the tasks and responsibilities of a particular job. 3.2 Recruitment It is highly beneficial for Tesco to utilize external and internal recruiting sources. The company can capitalize on these two means of recruitment. Tesco can provide employees with the opportunity for career advancement and personal development with internal recruitment. The company can attract highly qualified applicants if it establishes its reputation for providing opportunities for personal development. Internal recruitment is also less costly compared to external recruitment. In contrary, the company is presented with numerous choices in determining the applicant suitable for a job position in external recruitment. External recruitment serves as a means to infuse new ideas and perspectives into the organization. In addition, it drives internal employees to constantly perform well with the knowledge that they can be replaced by applicants outside the company. The company can post job vacancies inside the company, in schools, and Internet. Job posting in schools can attract fresh graduates who are qualified for the vacant positions. Tesco can incur lesser cost in advertising job vacancies through the Internet. It may concentrate in posting job vacancies in Internet job boards and company website. However, posting in these domains may not attract high number of applicants. Thus, it is necessary for the company to place ads in newspapers even if it is costly. 3.3 Selection The company can screen applicants through tests and interviews. I.Q., ability, and Personality tests are commonly employed to assess if applicants possess the competencies essential in the job position. Researchers stress that tests provide insufficient information to determine if applicants are suitable for the vacant job positions. It is beneficial for Tesco to supplement these tests with interviews to ensure that highly qualified applicants get chosen for the job position. Structured interviews commonly rely on clearly defined criteria and set of questions. Meanwhile, the unstructured interviews involve free range discussion. However, researches argued that it is inaccurate, subjective, and ineffective compared to the structured interviews. The company can combine structured and unstructured interview in screening applicants. 4.0 Conclusion The local and international expansion of Tesco has driven the need for applicants who will fill numerous vacant positions. The company’s goal to offer high quality services among customers can be attained through attracting and selecting applicants that possess the knowledge, skill, and ability necessary for the vacant positions. Thus, Tesco must conduct human resource planning to forecast future staffing needs of the company. In addition, the company must provide a thorough job description and job specification. It will provide applicants an idea of their tasks and responsibilities for a vacant position. The company can attract highly qualified applicants through internal and external recruitment. Lastly, Tesco can screen applicants through a combination of tests and interviews. Reference Recruitment and selection at Tesco. n.d. The Times 100. Read More