HR Practices And Policies For Talent Retention And Recruitment In DHL Supply Chain (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

Background of DHL Supply Chain (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

Discuss about theHuman Resource Management for Malaysian Perspective.

Malaysia has been one of the progressive economies in South- East Asia. Due to its intelligent and highly skilled workforce and a   business friendly government, it attracts foreign direct investment and has been the most preferred country for the global organizations to set up their offices. More than 5000 companies from 40 countries are conducting their business operations in Malaysia and this trend continues to grow (World Business Culture, 2018).  

Due to  its strong infrastructure, political stability , sound economic management ,  well established health and education system and most importantly its population that is  multilingual and multiethnic which is the biggest  reason for its cohesive global economy, the country is able to shift its focus from  agricultural and primary commodities to  an export driven economy( BBC News,2018).

So, in this essay, the HR practices and policies regarding the retention and attracting new talent in DHL Supply Chain (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd(DHL) would be analyzed in the light of global environment . Furthermore, stakeholder analysis and SWOT would also be conducted explaining the role of HR professionals in the formulation of strategies which help the company to gain a competitive edge in the market.

DHL Supply Chain (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Is a subsidiary of Deutsche Post AG. And operates in the sector of supply chain logistics solutions such as distribution, warehousing, business process outsourcing, supply chain management, outsourcing, consulting and value added services.  It is based in Shah Alam Malaysia (DHL, 2018).

In the logistic sector, the regulation of labor and employment relationship has been affected due to globalization in Malaysia. Due to globalization, the supply of talent is low as compared to its demand and the gap is a challenge for the HR professionals in DHL. It has to emphasize on attracting more talent and employees to expand its operations to compete with the global firms entering into the market. It should focus on human capital rather than financial capital to survive in the market. It is the human resources which convert the raw materials into the desired products or services as required by the consumers. Without human capital, financial capital is of no use to the company. Since the talent of the organization can be source gain a competitive edge in the market, so it can influence crucial outcomes such as customer satisfaction level, survival and profitability (Okeudo,2012).

The challenges faced by DHL due to globalization in the context of Human Resources are lack of availability of low cost capital. Since the global firms are attracting the skilled human resources by paying high salaries to retain them, it becomes a challenge for the organization which operates in the local environment to pay high salaries to its work force because of certain limitations. Furthermore, the technological progress is higher in the organizations with international exposure, so they attract workers which are skilled due to better growth opportunities. This places a limitation for DHL because it operates in the local business environment in attracting and retaining talent (Karia and Wong, 2013).

Challenges of HR in DHL due to globalization

So, to resolve this issue, certain HR policies, strategies and practices can be followed by DHL to attract and retain more talent. Some of them are:

1. Partnership with middle and frontline management: The role of the frontline managers is to formulate and execute various employment practices so that the performance of workforce can be raised. So the frontline and middle level management should create a positive partnership with the employees so that they feel confident, secured and satisfied for their jobs which in turn will increase their performance and hence the growth of the company. Their responsibility is to procure, develop and retain the human capital for the various divisions of the company. By using modern technology, the managers can train, counsel and assist the workers so that their performance can be enhanced and they feel satisfied with their jobs (Cappelli, 2013).

1. HR role model by Dave Ulrich: Dave Ulrich defined the various roles of HR in 1997. His model explains the role of HR under two axes viz. people /processes and strategic /operational focus. The Strategic Partner and the Change Agent explains the strategic focus of the roles of HR. The crucial activity of the strategic partner is to integrate the activities of HR to the strategy of the company and also to evaluate strategies regarding the human resource. The responsibilities of change agent are directed towards people and are focused on implementing the change in the organization and making it capable to deal with the change (Thill, Venegas and Groblschegg, 2014).

The administrative expert and employee champion depict the operational aspects of the role and responsibilities of HR. The administrative expert ensures the effectiveness design and delivery of the HR procedures. The employee champion takes care of the routine problems and necessities of the employees. Until the human resource strategy is properly formulated and executed by the Change Agents and Strategic Business Partners, the success of DHL will be at risk. For example in Indian logistic sector,  the  roles and responsibilities of business partners and  change agents is to  execute the  strategies related to  human resource  to assist them in the  achievement in the goals and objectives of the business (Jhawar,  Garg and  Khera, 2014) .

Furthermore, Talent planning should also be associated with strategic planning and it should be addressed by the HR executives on a regular basis. DHL should adopt strategies which empower its leaders to generate growth opportunities by efficiently managing the work force. 

1. Timey evaluation of the workforce: The human resource personnel should periodically review the efficiency of the work force at the corporate level. It should evaluate whether the work force is skilled enough to enable the organization to have a competitive edge over its global competitors. Further, the human resource professional should analyze the present requirements and estimate the skill shortages arising in the future through strategic skill planning. For example, in the Malaysian companies, the human resource professionals use the modern tool such as scenario simulations, advanced analytics and other work force planning tools for retaining and hiring talented workforce (Okechukwu, 2017).
2. Use of Data Warehousing Systems to gain an insight about employee data: A data warehouse is data basing which supports effective decision making and it is established separately from the operational databases. The data warehousing system contains details such as total number of employees, the details related to the benefits provided to them, leaves granted, payrolls and performance appraisals.

The data stored in the data warehousing systems can be used by DHL for strategic planning of skills, training required by the employees to upgrade themselves and the vacant positions to be filled.

1. The use of Information Delivery Systems to track the performance of the employees: The information delivery systems can be used by the human resource professionals to access the reports and to evaluate the progress of the employees at all the levels of the organization. With the help of trends, metrics and Key Performance Indexes (KPI) the details of the employees can be retrieved in the form of scorecards, dash boards and configurable information portals. 

In the Japanese companies, the organizations adapt their human resource policies according to changing global environment so that they can evaluate, attract and retain the talented employees which will help them to survive in this competitive world (National University of Singapore, 2015).

Stakeholders can be defined as the parties who affect and are affected by the human resource policies in the Malaysian logistic Industry. A stakeholder can also be identified as an actor who carries out the activities related to the policies of human resource in the logistic industry. The stakeholder analysis in the context of impact of globalization on the Human Resource of DHL is as follows:

1. Management: The management is the foremost stakeholder in the Human Resource Department in DHL. Since the goal of the human resource is to improve the productivity of the work force so that it can have a positive impact on the profitability of the company. The management is benefitted from the productivity of the work force directly and this will help the company to have a competitive edge over its global rivals (Maj, 2015).
2. Community: The responsibility of the Human resource department is to assist DHL by providing and retaining talented employees so that the employment opportunities for the community are created. Due to the emergence of the multinationals, the employees are attracted towards those companies for better employment opportunities. So DHL has to mold its HR policies to attract and retain the talent.
3. Employees: The direct shareholders could be the employees of DHL to whom the HR projects provide growth opportunities and enhanced workplace structures. By providing training to the employees, the organization is enhancing their expertise and skills which could directly affect its productivity and their marketability.
4. Insurance companies: The insurance companies and retirement fund administrators are direct stakeholders in the HR projects. Their task is to provide employee benefits and negotiate the amount of coverage of the group health insurance schemes. It is the provider of plans which suits best to the workforce of the company.
5. Customers: The clients are the direct stakeholders in the HR projects as they consume the goods or services of the company and encourage it to hire and retain new employees to fulfill their demands. They are also the stakeholders as they reap the advantages of talented employees.
6. Other business in the community: The other business operating in the same community are indirect stakeholders of the company as they contribute to the stake whether DHL will succeed or not. They can be those international firms which have established their business in Malaysia. Since the employees are attracted towards those firms in search of better employment opportunities, the affect the human resource policies of DHL.

The role of Human Resource Department monitors the policies   pertaining to HR personnel and their data protection as well it conducts a dialogue with the representatives of the employees. DHL has launched “One HR” program to rearrange the HR structures which include fair salary structures for the employees and providing good working conditions to them. It has implemented the policy of responsible training and strategic workforce management. It has always focused on promoting the development of the employees by providing proper training to them (DHL, 2013).

The SWOT analysis of DHL is as follows:

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of DHL:

• Innovation: DHL is a leading brand in the field of logistics. It provides various supply chain logistics solutions such as warehousing, managed transport, distribution, supply chain management, consulting and business process outsourcing. It has established an innovation center which provides a platform on which the customers and stakeholders can interact with the experts of DHL.

• Huge Network: Due to its huge network in Malaysia, it has gained an advantage over the other global players. Due to its effective communication and in house consultancy, it has established greater accessibility with its consumers.
• Strong Financial position: The Company has established a strong financial background. Due to the ample availability of resources, it has built a strong goodwill in the society. This also helps it in expanding its business (Liu and Wen, 2012).

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of DHL:

• Requirement of large investment: Since it is an investment driven industry, it has to procure large investment with no immediate return on investment.
• Poor Marketing Skills: AS compared to its competitors FedEx and UPS, it does not incur expenditure on its marketing and promotion. It directly affects the brand popularity and acceptance in the market.
• Dependency on the various external agencies: It is dependent upon various local agencies for its collaboration which has a direct influence on its efficiency.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of DHL:

• Developing Markets: DHL has to establish itself in the developing markets. It has to be customer centric in its approach.
• E-Commerce: With the rising market of e-commerce, DHL is exposed to an opportunity to tap the market.
• Growth Opportunities: DHL is a renowned company in the logistic industry and it can acquire the various small players to expand itself.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of DHL:

• Economic Slowdown: Logistics is one the most vulnerable sectors which is hit at its hardest when it comes to recession.
• Local Players: Due to emergence of various local couriers services, it is exposed to tough competition. Since they operate at low prices, it has to lower down its profits to cope up with the competition (Maack, 2012).

Hence, to conclude it can be said that SWOT analysis play an important role in the organization in helping it to track the areas in which improvement is needed. It plays a strategic role in the company and is part of the core business. It is important to the profile of the company as it can help DHL to differentiate its business from its global rivals, so that it can create better opportunities for the employees in order to retain them.

References

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