Recruitment And Selection Procedure In Retail Industry: A Case Study Of Woolworths

Recruitment and Selection Procedure: Strategies

Recently, the most important development in the field of organization is the increasing importance of human resource. People are considered as most important sources of the organization because they offer values, attributes, and perspectives to the life of organization. If these resources are managed effectively then it can provide considerable benefit to the organization. As stated by Djabatey (2012), it is necessary that organization must pay increasing attention to the people aspect of organizational wealth, because development of people, competencies of people, and process development in any organization is considered as important functions human resource management. As stated by National University of Ireland (2006), continuous growth of the enterprise mainly depends on the ability of the organization to recruit and select high quality personnel at all levels. Recruitment is considered as process of identifying and attracting potential candidates from within the organization and from outside the organization, and evaluation such employees for preparing them for future employment. On the other hand, selection includes the identification of right caliber of candidates (Ekwoaba, Ikeiji & Ufoma, 2015).

In this report, recruitment and selection procedure of retail industry is discussed, and for the purpose of understanding the aspects of recruitment and selection procedure, example of Woolworths is taken. This report also states the issues faced by management while planning and recruiting the workforce for conducting the operations of retail industry. This report states various aspects of recruitment and selection process such as strategies framed by HR department in retail industry, and issues faced by this industry in recruiting the employees. Lastly, paper is concluded with brief conclusion which also contains recommendations.

Strategies:

Recruitment and selection are considered as most important functions of human resource department in any type of organization, and these terms literally means attracting and choosing the candidates from the employment. Quality of human resource in the organization mainly depends on fact how effectively recruitment and selection procedure is conducted by organization (Gamage, 2014).  As stated by Ofori & Aryeetey (2011), in case organization recruits and selects wrong candidates then it can cost negatively to the business organization. Therefore, actual aim of recruitment and selection procedure is to obtain the right quantity and quality of employees for the purpose of meeting the goals of the organization.

In retail industry, availability of jobs and position in the organization decides the process of recruitment and selection. This can be understood through the example of Woolworths, for evaluating the available jobs and positions in the organization, human resource department of Woolworths examine the availability of candidates for any particular position. HRM department also evaluate the competencies and expertise of the candidates.

Key Issues: Supply of Labor

HR department must consider both internal and external factors of the organization for the purpose of ensuring success of recruitment and selection process of the organization. Successful recruitment and selection procedure not only saves the time but it also facilitates the entry of fresh and new talent in the organization. Additionally, this policy is important for filling up the gaps related to human resources in the organization which ultimately increase the productivity and also helps in conducting the operations in smooth manner.

Recruitment policy of the Woolworths identifies the Woolworths objectives, determined goals of the Woolworth, and policies and procedures adopted by the Woolworths. These factors of Woolworth recruitment policy helps the department of human resource management in   understanding and identifying the requirement of human resource of the organization, and it also affects the policy of recruitment in Woolworths. Initially, framework is defined by the recruitment policy which helps the organization in completing the recruitment process of the organization in effective manner. As stated by Nkhungulu Mulenga and Van Lill (2007), recruitment program is implemented by the HR department of the Woolworth for the purpose of appointing deserving candidates on the empty positions in the organization. Woolworth fairly applied this recruitment process in the organization and also follows the policy in prominent manner for the purpose of attracting the candidates to attain the recruitment session.

Supply of Labor:

Retail industry gets the labor from different sources, and these sources include the graduates from educational organizations and some employees through school based programs. Retail industry does not state any pre-requisite qualification, but for important positions it states the required qualifications. This scenario is also shown in present profile of workforce, such as in 201171% of workers in retail industry does not hold a post-school qualification (ABS, 2012). Therefore, those people get attracted towards the retail industry who wants casual and part time job, because this industry does not require any particular or high degree qualification. It must be noted that, many employees still working in the retail industry as part time workers and also at same time conducting their studies. This issue is considered as biggest challenge faced by retail industry, as employees does not consider this field for future aspects and take it for granted.

Generally, manager develops the procedure of recruitment and selection through their internal programs, and these internal programs are developed by the management after evaluating the requirement of the organization (Hart & Stachow 2007).

Key Issues: Ageing Workforce

After considering the above facts, it can be said that the most important issue faced by retail industry is lack of qualification requirement which make this industry less preferable for those who are looking for long term and permanent employment.

Ageing Workforce:

As estimated by UN, almost one people in three living in the developed world will be over 60 by 2050, and in Australia almost one in four people is older than 55 and this number will increase to one in three by the next decade. As demography in Australia shifted continuously, increase in support of paid workforce reduces the dependence of non-working population on the working population to the level which is manageable. Various aspects related to ageing workforce are discussed such as cost related to health care, impact of social welfare system, retirement savings, and the broader economy (Gahan & Healy, n.d.; Kulik, Ryan, Harper, and George, 2014).

As working population gets older, pressure is increased on families, industries, government, and community, but if everyone deals with issue in constructive manner then it will pay off various obligations such as it reduce the obligation of social welfare,  higher organizational productivity by the retention of skilled workers  and fulfilling the personal needs of the older workers. Obligation to manage the balance is on the organizations, business leaders, colleagues and other individuals who are facing issues in labor market of retail industry.

HRM department of Woolworths is also under obligation to maintain the balance between the young and older employees. There are number of challenges faced by older employees because of the advancement of technology such as there is requirement to re-skill or up-skill the older employee. Older employees also face some other challenges such as social bias and stereotyping, and effect on health and family expectations (BHWA, n.d.). Following are some issues which must be considered by the HR department:

• There are number of older workers who feel that their managers do not respect them and their co-workers because of their age, and this led to feel them undervalued.
• For the purpose of managing the team which is multi-generational in nature and has more number of older numbers, require more flexible approach to work in the organization, task management, and shifts.
• It must be noted that not all the workers face the issue related to health, and as per the forecast made by the Work Foundation almost one in three workers will face the issue of chronic ill health by 2020. Organizations that provide the services of early intervention and take the solution focused approach in particular solution, involve the staff in the planning and discussion help the organization in retaining the employment, and proved as effective techniques.
• It is necessary that organization must prepared for the fact that they must serve the communities which include their workforce such as workforce experience the ill health, disabilities, and impairment. If organizations retain the staff with these lived experiences then it ultimately provides benefit to the organization (NHS, 2017; Munnell, and Wu, 2012).

Woolworth conduct the procedure of recruitment and selection with same potential as they conduct other important functions of the organization, and for this purpose they posed the candidates applied for job through evaluation process, and this process help the organization in finding best. Woolworth’s recruitment strategy takes the time of 2-8 weeks for this purpose.

As stated by Wheatley (2010), size of the firm directly affects the recruitment and selection procedure of the company, and if organization plan to diversify and expands its business then organization recruits more people for expanding their products and services. According to Van den Brink et al. (2006), Woolworth has good recruitment and selection procedure for expanding its business and products.

Recruitment Strategies

Conclusion:

After considering the above facts, it can be said that retail industry face various issues in recruiting the employees such as issue related to supply of labor and ageing workforce. It is recommended to HR department of Woolworth to conduct the recruitment and selection in best possible manner for the purpose of retains and selects the best employees for the organization. HR department also consider some other important factors in recruitment policies such as incentives, appraisals, etc. However, organization also focuses on strengthen these policies for the purpose of ensuring fair process of recruitment in the organization.

References:

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012). Survey of education and work, cat. no. 6227.0, ABS, Canberra; Deloitte Access Economics, 2012, unpublished data.

BHWA. Ageing workforce means rethinking expectations of “working life”. Retrieved on 15^th December 2017 from: https://bhwa.org.uk/news/ageing-workforce-means-rethinking-expectations-%E2%80%9Cworking-life%E2%80%9D.

Djabatey E. N. (2012). Recruitment and selection practices of organizations: A case study of HFC Bank (GH) Ltd. Unpublished thesis submitted to the Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Ekwoaba, J. Ikeiji, U. & Ufoma, N. (2015). The Impact Of Recruitment And Selection Criteria On Organizational Performance. Global Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume3(2), pp.22-33.

Gahan, P. & healy, J. The Challenge And Opportunity Of An Ageing Workforce. Retrieved on 15^th December 2017 from: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-challenge-and-opportunity-of-an-ageing-workforce.

Gamage, A. S. (2014). Recruitment and selection practices in manufacturing SMEs in Japan: An analysis of the link with business performance. Ruhuna Journal of Management and Finance, Volume 1(1), 37-52.

Hart C & Stachow G, (2007). Employer perceptions of skills gaps in retail: Issues and implications for UK retailers. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Volume 35, No. 4, p. 281.

NHS, (2017). An ageing workforce - the key issues. Retrieved on 15^th December 2017 from: https://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/need-to-know/working-longer-group/working-longer-group-tools-and-resources/the-ageing-workforce-a-resource-for-staff-and-their-representatives/an-ageing-workforce-the-key-issues.

Munnell, A., and Wu, A. Y. (2012). “Are Aging Baby Boomers Squeezing Young Workers Out of Jobs?” Centre for Retirement Research Journal, Volume 12 (18).

Nkhungulu Mulenga, C. and Van Lill, B. (2007) “Recruitment and Selection of Foreign Professionals In the South African Job Market: Procedures and Processes”, SA j. hum. resource. manag., Volume 5(3), pp. 78-96.

Kulik, C. T., Ryan, S. Harper, S. and George, G. (2014). “Aging Populations and Management.” Academy of Management Journal. Volume 57 (4)

Ofori, D., & Aryeetey, M. (2011). Recruitment and selection practices in small and medium enterprises. International Journal of Business Administration, Volume 2(3):45-60.

Van den Brink, M., Brouns, M. & Waslander, S. (2006). Does excellence have a gender?”,Employee Relations. Volume 28(6), pp.523-539.

Wheatley, S. (2010). Making the Right Investment – Recruitment and Selection”, Legal Information Management. Volume 10(04), pp.279-282.