Human Resource Function of a Retail Store

Human resource managers are important experts in any business organization. In any organization, it is the people who execute most of the important work activities. Human resource managers have a vital role of organizing these people in order to ensure coordination that will lead to effective performance of these activities. Human Resource Manager must view people as human asset rather than the costs to organization.

Functions of a Human Resource Manager from the Human Resource Manager’s Viewpoint

Human Resource Manager’s role in a retail store includes: recruiting suitable candidates for jobs within the retail stores, either temporarily or permanently, hiring. Human Resource Managers select and place qualified candidates in an organization. After hiring employees, the Human Resource Manager makes arrangement for training of the new employees. He has the mandate of ensuring that employees receive the necessary skills for effective performance of the retail activities. Organizing development. Human resource Manager coordinates organization development with an aim of increasing organization’s effectiveness and help the organization to achieve its strategic goals. Salary and benefits: one of the essential roles of a Human Resource Manager is to ensure that employees receive fair compensation of their work in an organization.            

The Human Resource manager in coordination with top management can vary employee’s salaries accordingly and negotiate for any other benefit that employees are entitled to. Employee relation is an important aspect in any organizations, in order for people to perform their different roles, good relationship must exist amongst them. Good relations create conducive environment where employees relate among themselves freely and communication is fostered. The information is also passed faster without undue delay. Human resource manager oversees that good relation is maintained among the employees. Other roles include:

• Communication- he ensures that important information in a retail store is passed to all employees in time.
• Performance Management.
• Coaching: Human Resource Manager organizes educative sessions and programs for employees on various aspects of the retail store management and operations.

• Policy recommendation: it is the role of Human Resource Manager to commend appropriate policies that will contribute positively to the retail store and encourage the employees to work hard.
• Team building.
• Leadership. Human resource managers influence the leadership of employees.

In addition, there have emerged new HR manager roles as a result of the developing and changing new needs of retails. With the recognizant that these retails will vie for talent in forthcoming years, it brings about the need for employee oriented workplaces and programs that meet the needs of employees for meaningful work, communication, growth challenge and effective leadership The new role includes:

• Strategic partner.
• An employee a change advisor.
• An employee supporter or advocate.

Human Resource Management Strategy for Retail Shop

Faced with prompt change, a retail store needs to have a comprehensible and more focused method to managing people (Boxall & Purcell, 2009).

Step 1. Getting the “big picture”

. The following is the driving forces of the retail shop

• Distribution
• Markets
• Competition
• Technology

Step 2. Developing a mission statement

To create a most effective and efficient teamwork for smooth running of the retail shop.

Step 3. Conducting SWOT analysis of the retail shop.

Strengths

• Good employee relation
• Low turnover rate
• Fair terms of employment
• Highly qualified personnel
• Employee satisfaction
• Performance appraisal
• Use of technology - most of the work done in the retail shop is computerized and employees have acquired necessary skills to enable them to cope with the new technology.

Weaknesses

• Long working hours- employees are forced to work extra time and are not compensated for extra time.
• Employee resistance to change- it is difficult to implement a change whenever introduced in a retail shop, as employees are often unwilling to accept the change.
• Communication-the methods used in communication are not effective. The information is not passed to all employees and the information takes unnecessarily long to reach personnel.

Opportunities

• Training. Employees are trained occasionally to equip them with necessary skills that will march the rapid changing needs of consumers. Whenever new employees join the retail store, they are trained on the processes of the retail shop.
• Incentives

Threats

• Competition

Increasing number of retail stores poses a threat of competition. Employees need to keep at par with the competition.

Methods to Improve Human Resource Function at the Retail Stores

Rules and Regulations

Every employee has a right to workstation that is free of dangers, discrimination and sexual harassment. Most of the people do not have a Human resource background; the challenge is to familiarize with all the numerous government mandated regulations and programs with which a retail store must comply (Delaney & Huselid, 2008)

Becoming Family Friendly

In order for a retail store to draw and maintain top performers, it must become “family friendly”. Being family friendly means that a retail store programming and general operational policies take into reasonable consideration the personal needs of the employees, precisely their need to balance job duties with family duties. Family oriented policies help to improve retail’s store recruiting initiatives and other benefits such as reducing absenteeism and workstation accidents. Practices and policies to pursue work and family initiatives include benefit programs that assist employees chose those benefits that are relevant to a particular need, telecommuting and individual arrangement.

Hiring Process

Hiring involves several steps, the first step is to understand the needs of a retail store. One must identify the various positions that need to be filled and the cost of doing so. After determining the needs, the following need is to be established: a written job description, minimum and maximum compensation range, experience and qualification needed to perform the job and identify how to locate new people (Miller, 2006).

Recommended Changes to Organizational Structures

Formalization

Formalization is the degree to which job description, policies and rules and procedures are written and expressed. Retail stores should consider formalization in their structure in order to be able to control the employees’ behaviors. Formalized structure leaves employees with little autonomy to make decisions. Formalization of structure will make employees behavior more predictable in a retail store. In additional to the above advantages, formalization will also enable employees to turn on to handbook or a procedure guideline whenever a problem at work arises, therefore, employees deal with the problem in similar manner across the organization thereby promoting consistency of behavior. Formalization will also reduce ambiguity and provide direction to the employees.

Decentralization

Decentralization is the degree to which decision-making is concentrated to the lower levels of the organization. Decentralizing structure of a retail shop will make employees feel comfortable and productive. Decentralization will give more authority to the employees at lower levels resulting to sense of empowerment. In this case decision-making take less time and no time is wasted. Decentralization also provides employees with greater heights of procedural fairness. Job candidates are more probable to be attracted to a retail store with decentralization structure (Gelade & Ivery, 2009).

Hierarchical Levels

Retail stores should consider flat structures, which provide a wide span of control resulting into greater levels of freedom of action for each employee. Flat structure will lead greater fulfillment and greater levels of job satisfaction of employees in a retail store. The use of a flat structure by the retail stores will help build an employee sense of job involvement and ownership.  

Conclusion

The Human Resource Manager plays a vital role in a retail store. He is a main determinant in the success of a retail store. The way he influences the performance of employees is key in improving performance to greater levels.