Introduction
The importance of HR Strategies in Unilever has been analysed in this article. Business strategies help to achieve the vision of a company. HR practices are determined in the light of business strategies. HR practices play a significant role to achieve business strategies. This report has critically evaluated the importance of HR practices to the business strategies of a company. This report has used the stance of Unilever which is a multinational company having business in 190 countries with 400 plus brands used by 2.5 billion people each day (Unilever-2, 2020). In the beginning, the perspectives of HR practices and business strategies have been analyzed, then the evaluation has been presented in the following section. Finally, the conclusion has been advised.
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Definition of HR practices
Human Resource Management (HRM) refers to the maximization of business competitiveness through hiring, acquiring, training and retaining suitable and best-fit talents for the business (Noe et al., 2015). On the other hand, HR practices refer to the generally agreed practices that a noble organization practices to manage the employees of an organization (Buller and McEvoy, 2012). Such practices should aim at maximization of skills and benefits of the employees in all possible ways through the achievement of business objectives. Armstrong and Taylor (2020) have revealed a set of HR practices that ensures the maximization of skills and benefits of the employees in all possible ways through the achievement of business objectives: HR should ensure securities of the employees; HR should hire the best-fit people; HR should ensure that teams as self-managed and effective; compensation should be fair and performance-based; should provide training in needed skills; make information readily available, and finally ensuring a flat organization. All these practices have a huge impact on a business.
Definition of Business strategy
Business Strategies refer to the tactics and philosophies that lead the business activities related to R&D, production, sales, marketing, distribution channels, CSR, employee management etc. (Wright and McMahan, 2011). HR is a part of business strategies because it comes first. Based on the business strategies, HR strategies are determined, and in return, HR practices help the organization achieve its business objectives. Unsilver has a number of business strategies: growing the business in new markets and in the existing market; improving health and well-being through nutrition and hygiene; enhancing fairness in the workplace, equal employment opportunities for all; reducing environmental impact; introducing innovative and new products; attracting, developing and retaining talents; and lowering operational cost & speeding-up communication process (Unilever, 2020).
Importance of HR practices in Unilever’s business strategies:
HR practices are compiled in the light of broader business strategies. Therefore, HR practices must play key roles in implementing business strategies of Unilever. In the below section, the importance of HR practices to business strategies is critically evaluated.
HR should ensure securities of the employees- helps develop and retain talents: Ensuring safety and security (in terms of job security or workplace safety) is one of the ideal HR practices, this practice helps a company to develop and retain the best talents (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang, 2014). When employees and workers of Unilever are sure about workplace-related safety, they will work with utmost concentration, which will make them better learners as well as contributors. At the same time, job security will give them a higher level of confidence and the impression that Unilever is a good company for job safety. This impression will make employees motivated not to switch the company. Furthermore, this will also ensure that the best talents are retained. As a result, the business objectives of retaining the best talents are achieved because the best talents can contribute the most to innovation, sales, market share, profitability and efficiency.
HR should hire the best-fit people- helping introduce innovative and new products: Another important HR practice is to hire the best-fit people for the company because the attitude, experience, education, and expertise should match the job requirement, professional requirements and company’s philosophies (Kehoe and Wright, 2013). Unilever needs the best-fit people to meet the business objective: “introduce innovative and new value-added products and improve the systems”. This is about best-fit (not best-talented people) who have the ability to run research and creative work to bring in new and value-added products and services. Value-added products/ services and innovative products will help Unilever to expand the business to new customers and to existing ones. So, the mentioned HR practices of “hiring the best-fit people” will really be effective in achieving the business objectives of Unilever.
HR should ensure that teams are self-managed and effective- helping to grow business in new and existing markets: Another effective and best HR practice is to ensure that teams are self-managed and effective, which means teams can make the perfect decisions themselves and the decision and themselves both are effective (Bratton and Gold, 2017). The first feature of such HR practice will help the teams to make quick decisions and not to wait and waste time for others; the second feature will help the company to execute the plans which are supposed to be. Unilever has business strategies to grow business among existing customers and to expand the business to new markets. Mentioned HR practice of a self-managed team will ensure that the team is capable of making quick and right decisions which is needed to make such value as to grow the customer base in the new and existing markets. Thus, the HR practice plays a significant role in achieving the business strategies of Unilever.
Compensation should be fair and performance-based- enhancing fairness in the workplace: Another vital HR practice is that the compensation should be fair and should be based on the performance of the employees (Jackson et al., 2011). This practice will help any company ensure fair practices in the workplace in all respects. Fair and performance-based compensation at Unilever will make sure that the best performers are paid better and are rightly promoted as per their experience and performance. It will make sure that fairness in the workplace is ensured, which is a business strategy of Unilever. This will also promote integrity, honesty and a passionate and dedicated workforce, making the employed more motivated and engaged. As a combined effect, these will help the company to achieve other business objectives as well because motivated employees will yield their best.
Should provide training in needed skills- improving health and well-being through nutrition and hygiene: One potential HR practice is to provide training in needed skills and such training and development activities always play significant roles in all areas of a company (Mello, 2014). Such training and development also help Unilever to improve the health and well-being of the community which the company has been serving. Health, personal care and nutritive food materials cover a large portion of product portfolios of Unilever because it has 60 personal care brands (Unilever-2, 2020); improvement in these areas requires extensive training and development for the employees to help them contribute in these areas. Training and development on these skills will play a significant role in achieving the business strategies of improving health and well-being through nutrition and hygiene. Thus business strategies are achieved through HR practices.
Make information readily available- ensuring transparent communication and quick decision: Making the information readily available is another important HR practice; they ensure transparent communication and quick decision by reducing the wastage of time when asking other colleagues for the information (Renwick, Redman and Maguire, 2013). This HR practice helps Unilever to ensure transparent communication and implement quick decisions. Making the information readily available will ensure that employees can check the validity of taking a decision based on that particular information; at the same time, teams can make a quick decision because they do not need to ask someone for the information because the information is uploaded in the database.
Finally, ensuring a flat organization- lowers operational costs, and speed-up communication process: This is a significant HR practice: flattening the organization structure- will significantly reduce the operational cost by removing the unnecessary layers in the mid-levels; it will also speed up the communication process (Boxall and Purcell, 2011). This HR practice will contribute to Unilever achieving its business strategy of lowing the operational cost because the mid-levels layers are removed and speeding up the communication process.
Conclusion
HR practices and business strategies are closely linked, the first term is compiled based on the philosophies of the second term. Therefore, HR practices are meant to help to achieve business strategies. Unilever also has a set of business strategies. HR practices help the company to achieve a number of business strategies, such as reducing the cost through introducing the flat organization, making the workplace fair through a fair and performance-based compensation system etc. A company should compile the HR practices based on the business strategies so that HR practices do not contradict the business strategies.
References
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2020. Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Unilever-2, 2020. About Unilever. Retrieved from: https://www.unilever.com/about/who-we-are/about-Unilever/ [Assessed on 31 March 2020]
Unilever-2, 2020. Our Brand. Retrieved from: https://www.unilever.com/brands/?category=408114 [Assessed on 30 March 2020]
Wright, P.M. and McMahan, G.C., 2011. Exploring human capital: putting ‘human’back into strategic human resource management. Human resource management journal, 21(2)