Professional Development Plan For HR Graduate Scheme At Tesco

Background of the organization

The effective management of people working in an organization is known as the human resource management. In a broader sense, it includes organizing, controlling and planning for the development and integration of the human resources so that the targets of the organizations are met and satisfaction level of the employees are attained. This report discusses the goals and strategies of the human resource management of the largest retailer in The UK, Tesco (Tesco.com 2018). It further highlights the job role of Human resource manager at Tesco and the key strengths and skills the company is looking for that position. The report explains the level of difficulty, the responsibilities, the strengths and other relevant qualities the company seeks from an individual for the position of an HR manager at Tesco (Otaye-Ebede, Priola and Yerby 2014). In this report, I mainly focused on the key strengths and skills that need to be acquired and developed to become an HR manager at Tesco. My goal is to understand the organization, its culture and the functions and responsibilities of the job role I want to apply for and how I should target my weakness to achieve an effective development of my personal action plan for improvement.

Currently, Tesco is the largest and a highly significant retailer in the world market. It is operating in 13 countries throughout the world and there are more than 7000 Tesco stores in the global market (Tesco.com 2018). Tesco has its global market on its core business in the grocery sector. Besides that, in the recent years, Tesco is offering some other services like personal finance services and technology-related services (Lin and Peng 2018). The business strategy of the company has enabled it to develop, expand and strengthen the company’s position in the UK grocery market and enlarge to relevant new markets as well. Tesco’s main business encircles the domestic grocery market of The United States along with services like telecommunication and financial marketing (Cooke, Wood and Horwitz 2015). Some of the noted retail services of Tesco in the UK include Tesco telecommunications, Tesco.com and Tesco Bank (Tesco.com 2018). One of the most successful chains of supermarket bank in the UK is Tesco Bank, which contributes to the growth and success of the organization (Wood, Coe and Wrigley 2016). Employment in Tesco is divided into five different store categories which are: Superstore, Tesco Extra, Metro, Express and One Stop (Bingham and Druker 2016). Tesco has been developing and expanding its business model in the recent years and aims to expand its business enterprise into Asia and Other major parts of the globe in the upcoming years.

Area of activity

The man five sectors where the company focuses are: The core grocery business market of UK, operational communities, off store products which are non-food in nature, global markets and retaining services (Tesco.com 2018). The major target of the company is to become a successful retailer in the global market, facilitate the expansion of the business in the UK grocery market, expand in the non-food market sector and develop other related services like telecommunication and retailing. Some of the basic strategies of the company in the light of its development in the modern era include promotion of value range; people prefer more value for their money and do not want to compromise on the quality of the products (Felgate and Fearne 2015). Besides the Clubcard loyalty programme of Tesco has resulted in substantial growth and fulfillment of corporate responsibilities of the organization in the long run (Price 2016). The area of activity of the organization also includes corporate responsibilities that provide support to the communities by providing them job opportunities and chances to improve their social standards. Besides, Tesco aims to promote carbon-free stores in the near future and contribute to the safekeeping policy of the environment.

The human resource management strategy of Tesco revolves around the modules of the development and training programs for the employees of the organization. The consultation, communication and the ways of reaching the targets are the main focus of the training modules (Felgate and Fearne 2015). This approach of the human resource management of Tesco towards its employees has helped the company to succeed and recruit efficient employees for the organization who are well motivated and holds a professional appearance before the customers.

The function of a manager of human resource is to accelerate the contribution of the employees working in the organization so that the goals and objective of the company can be attained (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung 2016). HR managers play a very crucial role in maximizing the productivity of the organization. One of the major challenges faced in this job role is to provide innovative solutions to the various problems of the organization for ensuring a continuous growth of the company. In Tesco, a manager plays a very important role and the company expects a bunch of responsibilities from an HR manager (Haddock-Millar and Rigby 2015). In the advertisement for the post of HR manager, the company is looking for numerous set of skills and knowledges apart from the essential academic qualification from the candidates. This is because the market is demanding and ever-changing and the managers of the HR need to be on their toes and be ready for any upcoming issues (Kim and Hallsworth 2016). 

Functions of the role advertised

An assessment of what Tesco is looking for in applicants:

• Maintenance of the structure of work. Modifying job descriptions and requirements for all the available positions in the company.
• Organizing the recruitment process by testing, interviewing the candidates (The Guardian 2018)
• Conducting and organizing the exit interviews and suggesting any changes if required.
• Conducting the orientation programs for the new joiners
• Conduct on job training programs for the employees  
• Maintaining a daily plan of the periodic pay surveys (McSorley 2018).
• Preparing the payment budgets and implementing the revision of the pay structures on time to time basis
• Maintain and inform employees about the employee benefit programs and appraisals
• Ensuring legal compliance (Cahill 2018).

It has been my dream to work for a multinational organization for long. Working for Tesco, the leading multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer has been in my eye for long. I have been waiting long for the recruitment advertisement from the company and this time it is for the role of a human resource manager. Though I have previous experience in the field of human resource in a local supermarket, this is the first time I am approaching to work for a big brand.

In today’s world, the human resource is a fast-growing sector with various lucrative opportunities (Peeroo, Samy and Jones 2015). Like all other people, I am also interested to use my soft skills and experiences in the field of human resource management where I can help others in the organization I work. One of the major reason for applying for the post of an HR manager is that I can showcase organizing, planning, development of programs, labor relations and other skills like accounting, conduct training and utilize my effective communication skills for the betterment of the organization. 

Strengths: I have relevant experience in the field of human resource management. I pose effective communication skills which are the major tool in any human resource job role. Certain other skills like accounting, keeping records of the data in the spreadsheets and relevant knowledge of HR system and databases are some of my strengths.

Weakness: I lack the knowledge of certain corporate labor laws and best HR practices since I have never worked for a multinational chain previously. The working structure of a multinational company differs a lot from the other local organization and I lack the knowledge of the structure of work.

Company requirement for the position	Personal Strengths
1. Good computer and tech savvy skills	Though I know computers but I need to improve my technical skills and learn all the updated computer skills for the job role (Newsnow.co.uk 2018).
2. Good organizational skills	I have had experience as an HR representative previously at a local supermarket and I believe I have good organizational skills. I know to organize different teams and encourage the team members to work efficiently.
3. Previous work experience as HR executive	Yes, I had 4 years of experience as an HR representative
4. Excellent negotiation skills (Tesco.com 2018).	This is the field I need to improve, though I believe I m pretty good in negotiation with the salary structure of the employees.
5. Presentation skills	I pose effective and good presentation skills and I got an appreciation for my skills in my last working place.
6. BS/MS degree in Human Resource or related field of study	I have studied bachelor’s degree in human resource from a UK university and have done 3 internships during the course of my academic years.
7. Knowledge of corporate laws (Page 2015)	I have studied a portion of labor law in the curriculum of my studies. But I do need to learn and gain some more information and knowledge regarding corporate laws and ethics at workplace
8. Staying back at the office for extra time during workloads	I have done extra timing and long hours of work since I believe to give the most of me and give what my job role requires.
9. Leadership skills	I have leadership skills and organizing and leading the entire human resource team as the HR manager will be challenging and new for me.
10. Team management	It is the duty of the HR manager to maintain a good work culture and balance in the team in the organization. My past experience at the supermarket has enabled me to learn how to create a good team management strategy and eliminate all the negativity from the workplace culture.
11. Conduct training and recruitment (Nobrega 2014).	It is the basic duty of the HR department to find relevant locations, reach out to the maximum number of job seekers using mass communication mediums, sort and filter out the applications which are not suitable and co-ordinate with the candidates to get them interviewed and trained after selection (Trojanowska 2015). I have done this before.

I found out some of the noteworthy areas to improve after assessing my personal strengths against the key skills Tesco is looking for in the job role of HR manager.Development of these key skills will higher the chances of my selection as an HR manager at Tesco.The areas of development are:

• Having a clear and right vision
• Being a strategic thinker
• Becoming a good communicator
• Becoming tech-savvy and updated to the modern technologies
• Becoming a flexible worker at the workplace
• Becoming a risk taker
• Imparting excellent judgments
• Having self-confidence
• Carrying a sensible and honest ethics
• Having strong multitasking skills 

Working in an organization as an HR manager needs lots of key skills, knowledge, and understanding of the work procedure.HR manager of Tesco does not only hire and train employees but also takes care of the entire organization and its employees throughout their working period. It the duty of the HR manager to look for any issues or problems an employee is facing and resolve the issue so that the employee can work without having any stress.

Assessment of what Tesco is looking for in applicants

Developing an action plan helps in achieving the personal targets. A personal development plan helps in structuring the thoughts. It is the process that defines what is important to me, what I want to achieve, what strengths I already have and what are the improvements I need to make for achieving my goals and targets in life.  An action plan describes the way how I can target my personal weakness and become an efficient employee. It describes the ways the personal strategies meet the personal objectives. A good action plan consists of a number of action steps or the required changes for an effective growth of the development skills. 

Conclusion

Formulation of an action plan is necessary for the improvement of my skills and knowledge to reach my personal development goals. These are the necessary steps to acquire the key skills that are required for the position of HR manager of Tesco. 

Action Plan
Goals and Objectives	Action Steps	Timeline	Success	Resources
Communication and speaking skills	Reviewing latest journals. Updating to the modern general awareness. Interacting with new people	Within a month	Effective communication with leaders and managers of higher authority	Public speaking and debates. Seminars and workshops.
Co-operating skills	Willingness to change and cop up with the requirements of the organization	Within a week	Working on a team and in group Helping out other team members	Team sports Self-realization Making new friends Participating in social activities
Analyzing skills	Learning new accounting software and tools. Enthusiasm for analyzing data from spreadsheets	Within a  month	Preparing excel sheets without any help or assistance. Providing relevant statistical data in the presentation meetings	SPSS software. Basic accounting knowledge.
Planning and organizing skills	Designing a schedule. Managing a course project	Within few days	Organizing events, training programs, interview schedules and meetings	Taking part in a union. Organizing trip with friends.
Leadership skills	Leading a team project. Helping others	Within 2 weeks	Leading a team successfully. Taking care of the needs and issues of each and every member of the team	Captainship Responsible attitudes
Self-reliance	Believing in yourself	Anytime	Self assurance and confidence in self-capabilities	Taking up tough projects, short deadline, and challenging tasks
Negotiating skills	Negotiating through effective conversation	Within a month	Negotiating the cost of any product or the salary of any employee	Confident speech and conversation with clients. The motivation of drawing more productivity with fewer resources provided.
Decision-making skills	Planning out the personal targets and goals in the upcoming year	Within a few days	Gaining key skills and knowledge to attain the targets. The Decision of owns career and personal life	Clear vision and steady mind
Commercial awareness	Updating to the current affairs and news Reading newspaper, articles, business magazines	Within next day	Having a stock of sound knowledge about the current ongoings in the market.	Business magazines, financial blogs
Development of HR strategies	Understanding HR strategies, systems, tactics and procedures of an organization	Within a few months	Bridge management and employee relations by addressing demands, grievances or other issues (Peeroo, Samy and Jones 2015). Managing the recruitment and selection process	Understanding of core corporate values and rules of the HR management.
Professional Development	Developing personal soft skills. Grooming for interview Fluent conversation	Within few days	Selection in a multinational organization in the desired post. Self-confidence and increased productivity.	Training organization, Tutorials for personality development

It is important to understand the key requirements of the job opportunity offered by Tesco. I have noted down all the key areas where I need to work on and improve so that I get the selection. Managing an HR team of a multinational organization is tough and it can only be done by successful implementation of strategies and personal skills. 

References

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Cahill, H. 2018. It’s official: Tesco and Booker will merge to form UK’s largest food group. [online] Cityam.com. Available at: https://www.cityam.com/281425/its-official-tesco-and-booker-merge-form-uks-largest-food [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

Cooke, F.L., Wood, G. and Horwitz, F., 2015. Multinational firms from emerging economies in Africa: implications for research and practice in human resource management.

Felgate, M. and Fearne, A., 2015. Analyzing the Impact of Supermarket Promotions: A Case Study Using Tesco Clubcard Data in the UK. In The Sustainable Global Marketplace (pp. 471-475). Springer, Cham.

Haddock-Millar, J. and Rigby, C., 2015. Business Strategy and the Environment: Tesco PLC’s Declining Financial Performance and Underlying Issues.

Kim, W. and Hallsworth, A.G., 2016. Tesco in Korea: Regulation and retail change. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 107(3), pp.270-281.

Lin, C. and Peng, J., 2018. Analysis and Solution of the Problems in the Distribution of Suning Tesco. Transportation Management, 1(1).

Malik, S.A., Fearne, A. and Wu, S., 2015. Optimising supermarket promotions of fast moving consumer goods using disaggregated sales data: A case study of Tesco and their small and medium sized suppliers (Doctoral dissertation, University of Kent,).

McSorley, A. 2018. Storm Emma hits Ireland: Is my local shop open today?. [online] irishmirror. Available at: https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/irish-weather-local-shop-open-12107700 [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

Newsnow.co.uk. 2018. NewsNow: Tesco news | Breaking News & Search 24/7. [online] Available at: https://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Industry+Sectors/Retail/Supermarkets/Tesco [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

Nobrega, L., 2014. The effective role of recruitment and selection practices in an Strategic Planning of Human Resources.

Otaye-Ebede, L., Priola, V. and Yerby, E., 2014. Diversity in organizations: HRM and international practices.

Page, K.E.R., 2015. Transfer of HRM Practices from Parent to Host Multi-National Companies: Case Study Evidence from the Retail Sector in Malaysia (Doctoral dissertation, University of Manchester).

Peeroo, S., Samy, M. and Jones, B., 2015, December. Customer engagement manifestations on Facebook pages of Tesco and Walmart. In Computing, Communication and Security (ICCCS), 2015 International Conference on (pp. 1-8). IEEE.

Price, R., 2016. Controlling routine front line service workers: an Australian retail supermarket case. Work, employment and society, 30(6), pp.915-931.

Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016. Globalizing human resource management. Routledge.

Tesco.com. 2018. Tesco – Online Groceries, Homeware, Electricals & Clothing. [online] Available at: https://www.tesco.com/ [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

Tesco-careers.com. 2018. Home | Tesco Careers. [online] Available at: https://www.tesco-careers.com/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2018].

The Guardian. 2018. Tesco | Business | The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/tesco [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

Trojanowska, H., 2015. Managerial competences in the implementation of the Hofstede model in external and internal recruitment.

Wood, S., Coe, N.M. and Wrigley, N., 2016. Multi-scalar localization and capability transference: exploring embeddedness in the Asian retail expansion of Tesco. Regional Studies, 50(3), pp.475-495.Tesco offers a wide variety of job roles in the field of retail services.The multinational organisation encourages enthusiatic professionals with relevant work experience in the fied of retailing.The figure is an adversisemnet for the job role of a HR manager in Tesco.