Human Resource Management at Topshop

Human Resource Management at Topshop

Part A: Task 1

Since every organization, whether small or large, comprises of people, human resource management (HRM) focuses on acquiring services of the employees

(the people), developing their on-work (professional) skills, motivating them (boosting their morale) to the highest level, and ensuring that they continually maintain their commitment and loyalty towards the organization (Terjesen, 2005). On the outset, HRM deals with the management of the company’s workforce in different areas, from recruitment to retirement.

Every company undertakes HRM, and Topshop is no different. Formerly Top Shop, Topshop is a UK-headquartered multinational fashion company. It is a retailer of accessories, make-ups, shoes, and clothing. 300of its 500 shops across the globe are based in the UK. Topshop is a constituent of the Sir Phillip Green’s Arcadia Group. The current CEO of Topshop is Grabiner Ian. For a company with more than 10,000 employees, Topshop considers HRM one of the core aspects of driving its operations. The following is a detailed overview of the role and functions of HRM at the Topshop Company.

Selection and Recruitment

Recruitment involves captivating, evaluating, and selecting both potential and qualified hires based on the particular criteria of the job vacancy (Lim, Wang, & Lee, 2017). Primarily, this process aims at attracting qualified applicants (candidates) and urging their unqualified counterparts to look for job opportunities elsewhere.

At Topshop, the execution of proper staffing plans and grading of the right candidates to fill the job vacancies at the company often comes before the start of the recruitment process. It also forecasts the employees in line with its annual budgets as well as short- and long-term strategies. Since Topshop reckons the importance of recruitment, it strives to utilize its recruitment process to cut costs that come with hiring under-qualified, incompetent, and unmotivated candidates.  Topshop looks out for the indicators of such factors in the job applicants during the recruitment process. In addition to that, it often fires underperforming workers or those who have proved that they are unfit for the company (Arcadia, 2019).

Orientation

Not many organizations provide a thorough orientation when they hire new employees. Often they expect the existing employees to help with the orientation process by telling the newcomers what their new place of work entails and demands of them. Orientation is a fundamental step towards improving the recruits to adapt to their new environment and move towards attaining the set goals of the company.  Given its massive workforce, Topshop is not one of the top proponents of orientation to the new employees (Kramar, 2014). When giving orientation to the workers, the company should shed light on its goals and objectives and explain to the new employees how they are expected to help the company attain both the set short- and long-term targets.

Topshop reckons that giving proper orientation to the recruits is one of the major tenets of HRM. Therefore, it focuses on helping its workforce know the assigned duties, job role, job description, the link between the position assigned to the new employee, and the other position in his/her department or the entire company (Lengnick-hall & Moritz, 2003). Topshop also uses orientation to clarify to the new workers how they can take active roles in the workplace.

Maintaining Good Work Environment

Usually, the HRM is responsible for providing favorable working conditions to make the employees like both their workplace and the job itself. Part of this responsibility extends to motivating the employees. Unless the company adequately stimulates them, employees do not actively contribute to the attainment of the company’s goals and objectives. Topshop understands this factor, so it motivates its workforce through both monetary and non-monetary incentives (Warner, 2005). In addition to employee motivation, the HRM has the responsibility of managing the welfare of the employees.  Proper management of employee welfare, coupled with employee motivation, ensures job satisfaction.

Training and Development

Just like the other functions of HRM, development, and training are considered indispensable. They help the company improve the overall performance of its workforce by increasing their on-job abilities by educating them on how to gain more skills or knowledge for handling different tasks. Topshop hires employees with the right mix of skills, expertise, and experience required for particular jobs, but also imparts the proper knowledge and skillsets in the employees through training (Harris & Bay, 2005).

The Strengths and Weaknesses of Topshop’s HRM Activities

Topshop uses three recruitment and selection strategies for employees – online application, in-person application, and employee referral (Glassdoor UK, 2019). Regardless of the procedure through which the candidate uses to make an appointment for being hired by Topshop Company, personal interviews are the only route through which applicants can land a job at this fashion powerhouse. The following a detailed review of each of Topshop’s recruitment and selection strategies, with the sole focus directed at their strengths and weaknesses.

Online Application

In-person Application

Employee Referrals

Task 2

The goals and objectives of Topshop fall under two categories – international business and the need to increase sales. In the case of the latter, the company focuses on expanding its marketing outreach and improving its brand promotion with the other fashion designers across the globe.  In efforts to expand its international business, Topshop aims at building at least 100 stores in different parts of the world within 5 years. With the help of the functions of its human resource management, Topshop can successfully attain these goals. In particular, it has to undertake the following activities:

• Select and recruit the right candidates for its job opportunities
• Take the recruits through proper orientation
• Maintaining a pleasant work environment for both the new and existing employees
• Training and developing its workforce

Part B: Task 1

Trade unions refer to the group of workers and leaders interested in protecting and promoting their common interests. They are designed for the following purposes:

• Negotiating wages/salaries and working conditions for the employees
• Regulating the relationships between employers/workers (the members of trade unions) and their bosses
• Taking collective action when enforcing the terms for collective bargaining
• Raising new demands as representatives of the union members
• Helping its members settle grievances

Task 2

If the staff member throws blames on the company for the accident, then it has two options after the accident. It could ask the ABC Company to cater to his medical bills or compensate him for the damages, especially if he wants to settle the issue in-house. The second option would involve seeking justice through the legal authorities, in which case he would sue the ABC Company on the claims of negligence and endangering the lives of its employees.

Task 3

From a general standpoint, the employee is likely to throw blames at ABC Company for failing to safely connection wires behind a computer. One of the options for ABC Company is to cater to his medical bills or compensate the employee for the damages, especially if it wants to settle the issue in-house or avoid being sued. Should the company feel that the employee should bear, the blames for the accident for carelessness or maliciously tripping over the wires to bring losses to the company. It could ask the employee to compensate for the damages, sue or even fire him for such intent. However, the last two options appear harsh, so ABC Company should avoid them, meaning that it could only consider the first options.  On the other hand, the company’s responsibilities in the accident include fixing the loose wires to ensure the safety of its employees and machines. The company is also responsible for treating the injured employee or even compensating him for the injuries

Task 4

The HRM functions that informed ABC Company, in this case, included safety, employee relations, and compensation/benefits. In the case of the latter, for example, ABC Company appropriately compensates the work of its workforce by paying salaries, wages, rewards, or compensations for their loses. For that reason, it is likely to cover the costs to be incurred by the employee as a way of compensating him for the injury.

ABC Company would also help the employee settle his medical bills for the treatment of the injuries as a way to maintain its relationship with him. The company strives to maintain a healthy relationship with its workforce, and attaining such a goal requires that it settles any scores between it and the employees. For that reason, it would compensate the employee for burying the hatchet. For a company that ensures the safety of its workers, ABC Company would also fix the hanging wires and treat the injured employee to ensure that he remains safe as the other employees.

Part C: Task 3

During the interview process, all the candidates will have equal opportunity and an open position to land ay of the job vacancies at the “Preview Boutique.” Nonetheless, I will focus on hiring the candidates who would not only handle the job responsibilities but also bode well with the other members of the company’s workforce when handling their duties. The following are some of the strategies that I would use to select the right candidates for the job vacancies at the “Preview Boutique:”

Envisioning the Ideal Candidate 

The first approach to taking this step involves having a proper understanding of the competencies required for each of the job vacancies and the responsibilities of each job. I would also review the descriptions for each job position while thinking about the experience, skill, and personal competencies of the employees in the workplace, especially those who excelled in the same positions in the past. Part of reviewing the vacancies would also involve learning from the past situations in which some of the employees who assumed the same role for which I intend to fill with a new recruit, were unsuccessful.

Getting to know the Selected Candidates

Unless I have more information about the candidates, I might struggle to make an informed decision about their suitability to the job vacancy. For that reason, I would do the following activities:

• Start the interview with a formal conversation to enable the candidate to feel comfortable and relaxed
• Allow the candidate to talk as much as he/she wants
• Give room for questions from the candidate
• Use active and attentive listening skills such as eye-contact, upright sitting posture, and nodding, while also restating the candidate’s response to enable him/her realize that I am following through his/her conversations

Asking the Right Questions

With the help of the right questions, I would unravel various detailed information about each candidate, including his/her work ethic, attitude, personality, experience, and skills. For that reason, I would have to use question-asking skills to encourage the candidates to open up when explaining how they handled or would handle particular on-job situations.

Work Cited

Arcadia. (2019). Arcadia -Topshop. Retrieved Dec 21, 2019, from Arcadia: https://www.arcadiagroup.co.uk/brands/topshop

Glassdoor UK. (2019). Topshop Overview. Retrieved Dec 21, 2019, from Glassdoor UK: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-Topshop-EI_IE35934.11,18.htm

Harris, P., & Bay, S. (2005). Managing Knowledge Culture. HRD Press, Inc.

Kramar, R. (2014). Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human resource management, the next approach? The International Journal of Human Resource Management; 1069.

Lengnick-hall, M. L., & Moritz, S. (2003). The impact of e-HR on the human resource management function. International Journal of Manpower.

Lim, S., Wang, T. K., & Lee, S.-Y. (2017). Shedding New Light on Strategic Human Resource Management: The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices and Human Resources on the Perception of Federal Agency Mission Accomplishment. Public Personnel Management; 91-117.

Terjesen, S. (2005). International Human Resource Management: A Review of Three Texts/International Human Resource Management/International Human Resource Management: Managing People in a Multinational Context/Human Resource Management in Europe: Evidence of Convergence? Management Revue; 140-145.

Warner, M. (2005). Human Resource Management at Work: People Management and Development; Globalizing Human Resource Management; The Global Evolution of Industrial Relations; International Comparative Industrial Relations. Journal of General Management; 107-109.