Resource and Talent Planning

This section of the assignment reviews good practices in recruitment and selection, and I will illustrate it and complement it with TESCO´s case study, as the biggest private sector employer in the UK, and I will compare it with my current company INDITEX GRUOP, acting under my personal view as an employee, as well as in an objective way.

By following good practices in this matter, companies may avoid issues such turnover, high costs in recruitment and selection or low morale of the workforce, which could lead into voluntary or involuntary leavings. Employees will end up not offering commintment and they will not be envolved within the company values. ACAS points out 3 main features that might be standardized in orden to get best results in any recruitment system: • efficient – cost effective in methods and sources • effective – producing enough suitable candidates without excess and ensuring the identification of the best fitted for the job and the organisation • fair – ensuring that right through the process decisions are made on merit alone.

According with Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, “The employer has the legal responsibility to ensure that no unlawful discrimination occurs in the recruitment and selection process on the grounds of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, and religion or belief.”(ACAS, 2013)

Once decided that a new vacancy is needed , employers have to write the job description. Generally the content will include the main purpose, tasks, and scope of the job, including here, for instance, the number of persons to be responsible of, of reporting to whom. While reviewing job descriptions at TESCO and INDITEX websites, I found that these 3 minimuns standards are followed in both companies, having the first one a few more fields: deadline, kind of position (permanent/ temporal) and naming benefits or salary, altought not specifying amounts or range of salary. I think that including this information in the job specification can help the process by reducing the pool of applicants for the role, whom may have a different salary expectations than offered.

By including this practice, they could minimise cost and time in the process. INDITEX, moreover, is more detailed when describing all the tasks and responsibilities, perhaps excessive. This point may do the potential candidate think that her/his skills are not enough to comply with the company requirements, limiting the pool of candidates in doing so. Any of them name whether they will respond all the candidates or only the sucess ones. Afterwards, it is necessary to establish what will constitute the personal specifications. This process will facilitate the creation of a profile with the skills and requirements that the organisation is expecting from the good candidate. ACAS advice the following when drawing up the person specification: • skills, knowledge, aptitudes directly related to the job • the type of experience necessary

• the competencies necessary
• education and training but only so far as is necessary for satisfactory job performance, unless the person is being recruited on the basis of future potential (eg graduate trainees), when a higher level of education may be specified • any criteria relating to personal qualities or circumstances which must be essential and directly related to the job, and must be applied equally to all groups irrespective of age, sex, race, age, nationality, religion or belief, disability, membership or non-membership of a trade union. To do otherwise is potentially discriminatory. In this matter, it drew my attention the number of personal specifications that each company have. TESCO listed 7, vs. INDITEX, listing 18, for similar roles. This might face both advantages or difficulties when attracting candidates. In on side, TESCO may incur with this “not so specific” list in attracting a huge pool of candidates, doing more complicate the selection process because of the large number of applicants, however is a more open opportunity for those who don´t feel that is an overskilled position.

INDITEX, in the other side, is more restrictive when specifying the skills required, I think they are mixing the 2 different terms: “ required” or “desirable” skills, being the first ones, the essential ones for the role, and the seconds ones, the extra expectations they may have for the ideal candidate. Giving a different interpretation to this topic, is good to be specific so is focused to capture determined pool of people. A good practice they follow is that they include “Inditex is an equal opportunities employer. All applicants will be treated fairly and not discriminated against on the grounds of gender, ethnic origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age”(www.joinfashion.com). TESCO is not including this is its advertisements. Competency framework

The CIPD fact sheet in competence and competency framework (revised in July 2012), established that “the “competency” and “competencies” might be defined as the behaviours that the individuals must have, or must acquire, to perform effectively at work”. To complete that definition, I would add that the competencies are that set of skills and attibutes that employees need to reach the company values. TESCO have created its own competency framework based in nine behaviours:

Customer Focus

Analysis and Decision Making

Managing Change

Developing Self/Others

Team Working

Managing Performance

Gaining Commitment

Drive

Personal Integrity

By doing this, the company ensure that all the employees are commited to gain the same values and work together to reach the same goals.

The competencies must be clear enough and must be relevant for the role. the communication of this values is an important part of the process where management team have to explain accuarately whats are the behaviours valued for the company.

No information was found in this matter for the INDITEX group.

4.2
When an employer is involved in a recruitment and selection process, there are a range of aspect that must be taking into account in order to avoid falling into discrimination. there are a series of protected characteristics that have to be respected in the whole process: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil parternship, pregancy and maternity, race, religios or felief, sex and sexual orientation. Not compliance of one of this aspects is a direct discrimination. Unlawful discrimination may have different forms:

• doing something that wich has a worse impact in one employee than in another. • discriminate because of disability
• discriminate because association with another person with a protected characteristic. • perception of the interviewers
• viscimisation
• harrassment
An example of this can be when an empoyer does not shortlist a candidate because of his/her perception that the candidate may be gay.

Questions about health or disability are not allowed to do in the process until the candidate has been offered a job or is inlcuded in a pool of successful candidates. Only questions in this matter are allow when is the purpose of the employee do some adjustment in the process, such a alternative format, or when employers wants to guarantee the diversity or interview schemes are in equal of opportunities for all the applicants. If the process is being unlawful The Equality and Human Rights Commission can take legal actions, as well as the candidates feel unfair conditions may make a complaint against the employer. There are some exeptions related to recruitment wich apply to all employers (age, occupatinal requirements, obeying another law, national security) where are fairly and objectively justified.

References:

• Acas – Recruitment and selection. 2013. Acas – Recruitment and selection. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=746. [Accessed 09 May 2013].

• Competency Framework – Tesco Careers. 2013. Competency Framework – Tesco Careers. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.tesco-graduates.com/home/how-to-apply/what-we-are-looking-for/competency-framework. [Accessed 09 May 2013].

• Developing a Competency Framework – Learning Skills from MindTools.com. 2013. Developing a Competency Framework – Learning Skills from MindTools.com. [ONLINE]

• Introduction – Recruitment and selection – Tesco | Tesco case studies, videos, social media and information | The Times 100. 2013. Introduction – Recruitment and selection – Tesco | Tesco case studies, videos, social media and information | The Times 100. [ONLINE] Available at: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tesco/recruitment-and-selection/introduction.html#axzz2SmybPuMF. [Accessed 09 May 2013].

• JOINFASHION – Oferta empleo – Deputy Manager Ladieswear – Tiendas – Reino Unido – Zara – Greater London . 2013. JOINFASHION – Oferta empleo – Deputy Manager Ladieswear – Tiendas – Reino Unido – Zara – Greater London . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.joinfashioninditex.com/joinfashion/es/oferta-detalle?id=15785&start=0&country=-1&categorias=-1&brand=-1&localidad=LONDON&keyword=&backsearch=true. [Accessed 09 May 2013].

• F&F Clothing – Head of Buying – Sportswear at Tesco. 2013. F&F Clothing – Head of Buying – Sportswear at Tesco. [ONLINE] Available at: