Executive Summary
Human resources (HR) is thought to be the most valuable asset of a company, but only a few companies can utilize all of their potential. This paper will explore two Fortune companies that appear to be ranked as the best in exercising HR practices. First is Walmart Retail Company, an international American retail business that operates a chain of groceries, hypermarkets, and inexpensive department stores. Walmart is the largest firm in the world by revenue and therefore ranks first in the list of Fortune 500 companies; for this reason, it is the best for use in benchmarking. Second is Amazon.com E-commerce, an online retail business with several shopping outlets in significant global markets. The company ranks the second best in HR management and business performance in the list of the 500 Fortunes companies and, therefore, the best to use in benchmarking.
Introduction
Human resource management assists a company in developing and implementing sustainable business practices by emphasizing organizational responsibility as a crucial element of corporate performance assessment. Giving close attention to the best HRM practices is essential to enhance organizational sustainability (Jayabalan et al., 2020). The best HRM practices will vary from organization to organization, depending on the business’s specific needs. Additionally, the best HRM practices are effectively employed in the company environment. While some firms treat all employees equally, others have differing standards for senior personnel vs. non-executive staff. Several businesses have different standards for their service and administrative departments. HRM procedures must be established for the organization to function smoothly and efficiently. The procedures must meet the operational requirements of the company.
The procedures are also taken to fulfill legal and regulatory requirements. The practices should be developed in a way that, when implemented, significantly improves both the internal business operations of the company and the standard of the workplace within the organization. Recruiting, training, development, labor relations, performance evaluation, and payment are all part of HRM practices. There is not one best HRM strategy that works for every firm. Every firm has its unique set of efficient HRM practices (Satyendra, 2020). Since each organization operates in a distinct type of environment, the practices that work well for one organization might not meet the demands of another. Successful HRM practices are a strategy for organizational management rather than a collection of isolated tasks. Every company must therefore create a unique set of HRM practices that are exclusive to that organization. This paper, therefore, explores the best HRM practices used by Walmart Retail Company and Amazon.com E-commerce company to be tabled before the Board of Trustees of our company to assist in benchmarking.
Walmart Retail Company and Best HRM Practices
Walmart is a retail company that operates in many countries around the world. The company has a substantial workforce and has several best practices in human resources management. The company has a clear and concise vision and mission statement. The vision statement is “to be the best retailer in the world” (Garcia & Red, 2020). The mission is “to provide quality products at everyday low prices.” These statements provide a clear direction for the company and its employees. Walmart strongly focuses on employee development and training, offering many online and in-person training programs. The company’s diverse workforce is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees. Walmart strongly focuses on performance management and has a process for setting goals and measuring progress. Walmart takes a proactive approach to safety and health, as it has a health and wellness program for employees. The company also has several initiatives to reduce its environmental impact and sources for sustainable products.
Walmart Retail Company Recruitment of Employees Method
Walmart prefers to use a mix of external and internal recruitment sources to seek employees for various posts in the company. The mix of both sources helps the company be flexible in satisfying needs. Based on the company’s source of recruitment, direct and indirect recruitment methods are used. In the direct method, Walmart’s Human Resources department contacts applicants for the designated posts. The direct method sounds advantageous as it enables the company to contact personnel with somewhat desired skills. However, it is disadvantageous since it limits potential applicants who are not contacted and are left out of the recruitment (Thompson, 2017). In the indirect method, Walmart advertises the positions through their websites and other social media platforms, and anyone who gets reached and qualifies proceeds to apply. The method is cost-effective and has a worldwide reach, bringing more significant support to the needs of the company’s Human resources.
Walmart Retail Company Training and Development of Employees
Training and development form part of the critical strategies that Walmart Company uses to ensure the potential of its employees is exercised to enhance the company’s success. On the one hand, the company relies on on-the-job training where various leaders in the company share their experiences and knowledge with the newly recruited employees in workshops and their departments. One of the pros of the on-the-job training method is that it can be customized to the employer’s specific needs and tailor-made to the employees’ needs. In addition, the on-the-job training method is cheap, effective, and can be delivered quickly (Thompson, 2017). The disadvantage of on-the-job training is that it disrupts the work environment and sounds boring to employees. The Walmart corporation, on the other hand, also used off-the-job training techniques to educate and develop staff, particularly for those working a distance from the training workshops. Workers can learn at their own rate and in their own schedule, which is an advantage, but it is disadvantageous because it is challenging to apply the skills and knowledge acquired during training to the job.
Walmart Retail Company Employee /Labor Relations
One aspect of employee or labor relations within the Walmart Retail Company is employee retention. The organization uses a variety of retention tactics, including rewards, recognition, promotions, training and development opportunities, and educational credits. Walmart honors exceptional staff members, such as the extremely highly employees in every shop, without providing monetary incentive. Despite the fact that these strategies are frequently used in administrative roles, bonuses are based on business performance. Walmart’s human resource management approach includes training, development, and promotions, which meets the company’s staffing requirements and raises morale among employees (Thompson, 2017). The organization elevates hourly salesperson to executive and supervisory capacities. The company’s collaboration with American University to award academic credit for employable talents at Walmart serves as a long-term retention strategy for staff workers wishing to progress their careers and climb the career ladder at the organization.
Walmart Retail Company Performance Management and Compensation
Walmart’s performance management practices constitute the first performance planning grounded in three dimensions. To start with is the customer service orientation that requires the customers to be satisfied with Walmart’s services. Decision-making orientation is critical to those holding managers’ and supervisors’ posts. Analysis and problem-solving are the third ones requiring the manager to provide answers to the company’s challenges (Thompson, 2017). The company has different measurement standards for different works. Those standards for salespeople are different from those of managers. The company suffers from performance issues such as decreased productivity, inaccuracy in records, and negativisms from customers. The compensation of human resources at Walmart is centered on lowering costs. Some of the compensation strategies put in place are the basic pay that comprises low wages that meet all the needs of workers. However, the company has a list of benefits that are given to the employees, including discounts, and health insurance coverage plans, among others (Thompson, 2017). The company also has a list of incentives, including academic credit to those with the potential for further studies.
Amazon.com E-commerce company Best HRM practices
Amazon.com E-commerce is an internet retail business that informs, motivates, and enlightens its clients about the things they sell. The business has opened several outlets in significant global markets (Warrier et al., 2021). The goal of HRM in Amazon Inc. is to encourage respectful professional relationships with the workers. By fostering a positive workplace culture, HRM managers strive to meet the unique needs of each worker. Amazon.com integrates strategic and operational employee engagement to achieve its immediate and long-term goals. By predicting and preparing for its workforce, the company can make sure that the right people are available at the right time to carry out the tasks that will aid it achieve its objectives and goals. The operational planning process used by Amazon.com also identifies the flaws at various operational levels. In this case, the corporation has succeeded in acquiring the necessary knowledge and abilities to deal with the operational challenges it is currently facing. To address upcoming staffing needs, the company hasn’t done much, though.
Amazon.com E-commerce Employee Recruitment, Training, and Development
Amazon Inc. is aware of employees’ importance to the company’s success. In this situation, they use techniques of external recruitment to hire people to fill a variety of positions. The company can attract people with the skills needed to fill diverse posts by using external recruitment. The company has the chance to choose the top applicant from the pool of applicants (Priyanga & Ramu, 2018). Prior selecting the best candidate to fill the position, HR diligently reviews each individual’s application. While using internal recruitment, Amazon Inc. offers opportunities for advancement to staff members who have excelled in their current positions. The employees now have the chance to grow in their respective careers.
Internal recruitment is a tactic that tries to promote exceptional performance and encourage staff retention. Despite the strategies employed by the company to entice top talent, Amazon.com has not taken gender or ethnicity into account when recruiting new staff. The company didn’t offer women a fair chance at employment. Men make up most Amazon Inc. employees (Priyanga & Ramu, 2018). In addition, the company has not prioritized racial balance in its hiring practices. White people make up the majority of its workforce. Amazon Inc. has implemented practical training and development strategies to increase the workforce’s expertise, and abilities in various operational areas.Amazon.com should, however, put training programs in to enable personnel to adapt to the globalized world.
Amazon.com E-commerce Employee Performance Management and Compensation
Amazon Inc.’s performance management is customized to meet its unique requirements. Aligning performances with critical goals and objectives is a crucial component of its performance management approach. The company uses performance management techniques to encourage positive employee behavior. The policies are adaptable and give the staff the assistance they need to accomplish the aims and objectives of the company. On the other hand, Amazon Inc.’s compensation management systems aim to increase employee motivation, retention, and performance. For example, the business pays handsomely, especially for IT personnel who are significantly involved in the making and overseeing the technological tools of an e-commerce firm (Ferguson, 2017). The company offers bonuses, retirement perks, and coverage for health insurance to encourage workers.
Recommendations And Evaluations
First, the recommended HRM practice for recruiting employees would entail a mix of external and internal sources and indirect methods. The evaluations using the mix of external and internal sources show that the two Fortune companies were able to gain flexibility in the recruitment process and satisfy the needs of all the applicants for the various posts. Priyanga & Ramu (2018) found that when the sourcing is done through a mix of internal and external sources, there is the pooling of skills and knowledge in which the company can choose the most suitable candidate for the job. In the case of the direct method, the employers may utilize the basis of whom they know other than recruiting a suitable candidate. The indirect method is recommended, and the board of Trustees should commend it for its use in the company’s recruitment process.
Secondly, the strategy that the board of trustees in the company may need to consider and recommend for its adoption in the company is on-the-job training to facilitate the training and development of employees. The goal of training and development is to increase the employee’s expertise to bring success to the organization. Thompson (2017) reveals that the method ensures that the recruits are acquainted with their responsibilities in their respective jobs by keeping intimate relations with their seniors. In evaluating on-the-job and off-the-job training, Walmart’s adoption of on-the-job training yields more benefits than the off-the-job training strategy. New workers learn very well when in contact with others as opposed to when there are far away and not at the workplace. Though there are demerits associated with the method of on-the-job training, such as disruptions during working and the creation of boredom among employees, the method is the best HRM practice to adopt to train and develop company employees.
Thirdly, the best HRM practice the company needs to develop is effective employee retention strategies to enhance employee relations. Thompson (2017) records that after being recruited, employees are required to be promoted to senior posts after a while, a strategy that is found to boost the workers’ morale. Other employee retention strategies that the board of Trustees may consider are bonuses, recommendations for academic credit, recognition, and programs geared towards enhancing the training and development of the workers. The fourth recommended HR practice that the board of trustees should adopt is the performance planning technique. The company needs to ensure customers are served to satisfaction, both supervisors and managers make decisions, and solutions are found to any challenge in the company. The measuring performance standards should be such that they show positivism from most customers.
The fifth recommendation is that the company should offer enough wages to its workers for compensation and should not be low or much high. Low wages offered to Walmart employees demoralized them, leading to low performance (Thompson, 2017). The compensation should be progressive, as in the case of Amazon.com, where workers like those in the IT department receive high wages due to their colossal workload (Ferguson, 2017). The company is recommended to provide enough basic pay to the workers and give bonuses to appreciate the workers. Other recommended HR practices include offering retirement benefits to retiring workers and ensuring all workers are covered through a health insurance plan.
Conclusion
The evaluation of the HRM practices used by both Walmart and Amazon companies provides a guideline on the route the board of trustees should follow to ensure the implementation of the best HRM practices. A mix of external and internal sources during recruitment, indirect methods to recruit as opposed to direct methods, and the incorporation of on-job training methods to train and develop workers are among the best HRM practices. Promotion of workers is another practice that goes hand in hand with ensuring that there is positivism from the company’s clients. Enough basic pay for compensation increases workers’ morale in addition to bonuses, retirement plans, and health insurance covers.
References
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Priyanga, D., & Ramu, M. (2018). A Study on Training and Development in Amazon. International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, 120(5), 395-405. http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/
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Garcia, G. J. V., & Red, E. R. (2020). Information Systems Utilization of an Organization: The Case of Walmart Inc. College of Computer and Information Science.
Thompson, A. (2017, January 28). Walmart’s HRM: Recruitment, selection, employee retention. Panmure Institute. https://panmore.com/walmart-human-resource-management-recruitment-selection-employee-retention
Thompson, A. (2017, January 28). Walmart’s HRM: Compensation, career development. Panmure Institute. https://panmore.com/walmart-human-resource-management-compensation-career-development
Thompson, A. (2017, January 28). Walmart’s HRM: Training, performance management. Panmure Institute. https://panmore.com/walmart-human-resource-management-training-performance-management
Ferguson, E. (2017, February 20). Amazon.com Inc. Stakeholders, corporate social responsibility (An analysis). Panmure Institute. https://panmore.com/amazon-com-inc-stakeholders-corporate-social-responsibility-analysis
Satyendra. (2020, April 17). Human resource management practices and organizational performance – IspatGuru. https://www.ispatguru.com/human-resource-management-practices-and-organizational-performance/
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