HR Practices in John Lewis Company

In this report, the practices of human resource management will be discussed. For that various concepts of human resource management will be selected. Three main HR practices of John Lewis’s HR practices are listed. Training, learning and development, reward strategy, and employee relations. For that, the first part of this report will explain the training, learning, and development process of John Lewis company. To improve training, learning, and development various types of training methods will be explained. The second part of this report will explain the reward strategy of the company. In that reward strategy, certain types of reward strategies will be suggested for the improvement of the reward strategy of John Lewis company. After that, the report will explain the concept of employee relations in the company. For that, the description will be inclusive of the ways by which the organization can enhance and improvise its employee relations. In the last a concluding statement will be provided based on the description of the report.

John Lewis company

Figure 1: John Lewis company

Source: (ET Retail, 2021)

John Lewis Partnership is a British company that operates the John Lewis and partners departmental stores, supermarkets of Waitrose, and financial services. It is a company that is owned by a trust on behalf of all its employees. John Lewis is a company which owns 74000, employees in the current period. John Lewis opened as a drapery shop in 1864 at London Oxford Street. John Lewis Partnership is considered the biggest partnership business in the UK. John Lewis is a person who is a leader in civil rights and a politician (Lewis, 2024). John Lewis is best known for its chairmanship of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Training, learning, and development

Training

Training is the process by which the individual gains the skills and knowledge necessary for the work of that individual. General training is how an individual can increase their capability, capacity, performance, and overall productivity. In context with organizational training, it is the process by which an organization implements a tactical approach to the learning of skills. These organizational skills will help the individuals directly in their job performance. Training is a crucial skill for employees because it helps them to grow themselves and can grab the opportunity to enhance and improve their knowledge base. Training is the process that makes the employee more capable in such a way that they can deal with the higher responsibilities in the organization. In the case of the training process of John Lewis company, it has been seen that they are using the made-to-fit training method. It is the method by which the company has implemented the training procedure by which the employee will be able to get the learning from the beginning of the concept to the advanced level. For that, the company has organized different types of modules through which the employees will carry the book. From the learning procedure of carrying a book and getting the learning up to watching the DVDs by which employees attend the week-long courses. Training is the process by which the organization enhances the skillset of the employees for the improvement of job performance (Bao et al., 2021). It is a process in which the employees will have two different types of learning materials by which they customize their learning process. The guide that has been provided to the employees is a simple way of learning and understanding the training process. In this training method of John Lewis company, the employee will not learn the practical skills and knowledge necessary for their work. Learning from guides and modules will provide an effective way of learning but the knowledge employees will get from the actual field will be the lacking factor. There are two major types of training methods that every organization has to follow which is the on-the-job training and off-the-job training.

On-the-job and off-the-job training

The job training method is the one in which the employee will get the training while performing their job in the organization. It is the type of training method that is used for providing the actual on-field knowledge to the employees. Off-the-job training is a method in which the employee gets the training apart from the original field of training. In context with the John Lewis company, it has been seen that they were providing the training in which the employees will learn the theoretical techniques but not the actual knowledge of doing the work. Every organization must have suitable resources of knowledge so that they train their employees more effectively and efficiently (Shahzad et al., 2020). This makes the employee less productive in their work. This is because the employees will perform their jobs based on their theoretical knowledge. Due to this, there will be imperfections in the performance of the employee's job. So, training must be provided according to the nature of the business. Relying on a method which not so effective will decrease the overall effectiveness of the employee’s work.

Learning and development

Learning and development is a process by which the employees in the organization make themselves more productive in their work. It is a process by which employees in the organization learn new skills and knowledge so that they handle new roles and responsibilities. Learning is a never-ending process that will directly reflect the development of an individual in the organization. Learning and development concepts are interrelated and interdependent. If there is no learning concept then no individual can move to the process of development. In the case of the learning and development process of employees in John Lewis Company, it has been seen that the employees are dependent on the theoretical knowledge of the training procedure. The theoretical knowledge provided to the employees is not enough for the perfection of their work in the organization and outside the organization. Learning and development were shaped by the interactions with the learning opportunities and emotional processes created by the organization (Darling-Hammond et al., 2020). Learning and development for an individual employee is the human resource process that enables the employees the upgrade their competencies. According to this, the organization makes themselves stronger in the market. It has been observed that John Lewis has businesses that need learning from the field of work. Based on theoretical learning, the employee will only learn the concepts but not the utilization of those concepts. The employees of John Lewis Company will only develop their competencies and capabilities when they can put themselves in real-world scenarios. This makes them more confident about their work and customer dealing. This will be more beneficial for the organization. If the employees do not learn the on-field techniques of dealing with the customer this will make the company less distinctive in the market.

To have better learning procedures for employee human resource management John Lewis company can apply the learning theories.

Learning and development theories

Constructivism theory

Constructivism theory reflects the method of learning in which an individual will construct the knowledge factor instead of just taking the information from different sources. This theory describes the factor in which the individual must have the experience of their working. It means that people will experience real-world scenarios and accordingly they will reflect upon them. Having the experience will help the employees to construct their level of representation and can incorporate the information into their existing knowledge base factors. The theory of constructivism is first discovered by the Swiss cognitive psychologist Piaget in the 1960’s (Gao, 2021). For John Lewis company, the human resource department can apply this theory for their employee empowerment. By focusing on this theory, the employees of John Lewis company will develop critical thinking skills which will be beneficial in their client dealings. As John Lewis company has multiple shops, this theory will help to develop social and communication skills.

Collaborative theory

The collaborative theory of learning and development describes that employees learn and develop their skills by sharing g their knowledge. It is a type of learning and development methodology in which the employees expertise their skills by sharing and teaching information with each other. In context with the John Lewis company, the employees were getting the knowledge and the skills by having their learning process and materials. Due to this, the employee will not have the perception to share the knowledge and information. In the learning and development processes of John Lewis company, employees did not have an environment that motivated them to share knowledge and information. To get motivation for knowledge sharing employees in the organization necessarily provide the atmosphere in which they deal with real-world situations. This is the only way by which the employees will open to communicate with each other. Collaborative learning theory is inclusive of the utilization of sharing ideas and information to get an understanding of different viewpoints in the organization (Qureshi et al., 2023). Slowly and gradually the employees will collaborate. If any employee does not perform correctly, then other employees provide feedback. This will help to improve the job performance and level of coordination between them.

Reward strategy

A rewards strategy is a system that is rendered as a policy for the motivation of the employees in the organization. Reward strategy is also considered as a set of policies and procedures by which an organization maintains the factor of motivation and increases the potential of employees. Reward in general terms is a type of incentive that an organization gives to their employees when they perform out of their limits. This motivates them to increase their productivity and efficiency which will be beneficial for the overall performance of the organization.

In the case of John Lewis's strategy of reward, it is observed that employees of the John Lewis Partnership were set to receive their incentives in the form of staff bonuses. The John Lewis partnership business is experiencing a loss of 26 million pounds in 2021. John Lewis’s departmental store declared the reward in which the staff will receive the bonus which is equivalent to 1.5 weeks’ pay. But last year, the company announced that they would not pay any type of reward or incentive to their employees. This is due to their loss incurred in 2021. After 2021 the company was not in profit due to which the company is not able to provide the incentives to their employees. It is the first they have not provided any type of reward to their employees in 67 years. The reward strategy can only improve when the company improves its profitability structure. Profitability can be effectively controlled by applying the mechanism of an internal control system (Alabdullah et al., 2021). When the profitability of the company is improved then John Lewis Company can improve their reward strategy by implementing the various types of reward strategy.

Reward strategies

Monetary rewards

Monetary rewards are simply the financial form of rewards by which the employees in the organization motivate themselves. The most common example of monetary rewards is the bonus which is distributed annually and on an annual basis. This is the most common strategy by which John Lewis Company can enhance its monetary structure. When the company earns a small amount of profit, then at that time company has to adopt this policy. In this type of case, the company can distribute a small amount of bonus on an annual basis. This will motivate the employee to work with the company long period. Otherwise, the employees of the company will not have the motivation to work more collaboratively with the organization.

Stock options

Stock options are the systems that give a right to the investor but not the obligation for the purchasing and selling of the stock. A stock option is the contract between the parties which gives the buyer a right to sell and buy the stock that is underlying. John Lewis company can introduce their stock in the market and increase their value factor. Stock options were exercised before the maturity and also when the dividend would not be paid (Klein and Maug, 2020). In the current scenario, if a company wants to retain their employees for a long period, then they have to provide the options of stock. This will increase the satisfaction of their current job in the organization.

Intrinsic rewards

Intrinsic rewards are the system by which the organization always tries to increase the job satisfaction of the employees. The satisfaction of the job can be increased by engaging them in various types of activities. Employee engagement can be done effectively by facilitating the goals and values that match the personal values of the employees in the organization. This will help to increase the internal motivation of the employees to work with more potential. Employees will contribute their full efforts in their work to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. This will be the most beneficial reward strategy for the company because the company will not incur type of cost and the employees will also be satisfied with the organization.

Wellness programs

Wellness programs are the ones in which the organization arranges certain specific programs for the employees of the organization. This is another good advantage for the company to motivate the employees of the organization by not investing any money. These are the programs by which the organization. With the help of these programs, John Lewis Company can leverage and encourage the mental health and physical health of their employees in the organization. Due to this, the employees will not feel positive about the organization. Wellness programs in organizations can be proven as the best remedy for the prevention of mental health diseases (Peñalvo et al., 2021). Employees will not feel dissatisfied with the organization and they will think that the organization is doing something for their employees.

Employee relations

Employee relation is a practice that refers to the organization will always maintain positive relations with the employees. This can be done by applying flexible communication, reducing the chances of conflicts in the organization. If there is an environment in which the relationship of the employees with the organization is not at all good then it will impact the overall image of the organization in the market. For John Lewis company employee relations can be improved by implementing several strategies.

Provide feedback

Feedback is a mechanism that allows an individual to improve their skills and knowledge. In an organization, feedback is an important concept that must be provided to every employee in the organization regularly. By generating feedback, they will employees will be focused on their self-improvement traits. Feedback can be generated more systematically in the form of checks and balances. Feedback can also be in the constructive form in which the employee will receive information about maintaining the relation with other employees in the organization. John Lewis company can apply this strategy for the improvement of employee relations. Feedback is a system that allows the employees to compare their actual performance e with the standardized performance in the organization (Atkinson et al., 2022). Organizations can teach them skills like interpersonal skills and behavioral skills which will be the most appropriate skills for employee relations.

Communication

Communication is the most common technique which is described as the transfer of information from one person to another. Communication must be done with full clarity in the organization otherwise it will create hurdles between the employees and the organization. It has been shown that the John Lewis company is struggling in their employee relations. This can be done due to the communication gap between the employees and the organization. For that organizations have to facilitate clarity over their communication process. If an organization is suffering from any type of loss, then every organization must have the information about that. This will keep the employees up to date about their current situation in the organization. This makes the relationship between the employees with the organization stronger. Another way by which the organization can reduce the communication gap is the participation of employees in decision-making. If employees are allowed to take part in the process of decision-making of the organization, then employees will be valued in the organization. Also, the employee must be allowed to share their views on certain problems of the organization. This will increase employee confidence and an emotional factor will be created in the minds of the employees for the organization. This will improve the overall process of employee relations in the organization. Intergenerational communication is an effective way of enhancing communication between colleagues in the organization (Noor and Patah, 2023). One of the major types of communication is the open communication. This is the communication type which is the most effective type of communication which creates a healthy lifeline of employee relationships in the organization. This can be done by establishing an open channel for the employees of the company.

Facilitating a professional and healthy work atmosphere

This is another strategy for the improvement of employee relations in organizations. Every organization must promote a healthy work atmosphere for their employee so that they can openly communicate with the organization. This will also help to maintain employee satisfaction which will be the most beneficial factor for the organization. By providing a healthy environment for the employees of the organization, employees will feel supported by the organization. Due to this, the employees will remain with the organization in the tough times of the organization. John Lewis company can adopt this strategy so that employees will focus on their work efficiently and efficiently.

Offering career development

Career development is the system in which the organization offers opportunities to their employees to increase their roles and responsibilities by working on their skills and knowledge factor. Most of the employee in the organization always seeks to have the development of their career. This motivates them to work more effectively in the organization. Career development is a long-term process by which an organization improves the ability and motivation of the employees. Every organization must offer professional development to their employees so that they can be productive in their work. If the employee does not see any type of growth opportunity in their organization, then they will soon leave the company. This will slowly increase the attrition rate of the company which will be a negative aspect for the company. When an employee will see career opportunities in their working organization they will work more happily in the organization. John Lewis company can work on offering career development opportunities to the employees by providing them with productive work which is beneficial for their future growth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it has been observed that John Lewis company is suffering from a lack of human resource practices. Due to this, the overall productivity of the company decreases. For that certain specific recommendations have been provided based on the chosen problem. By working on those problems, the company will be able to increase its overall productivity. Several things have been observed in the overall process of John Lewis company. According to that, the recommendation has been given so that the company improve its human resource operations of the company. If all the recommendations are followed and implemented correctly, then the organization will be able to have a smooth flow of human resource operations. Human resources of every company reflect the overall performance and productivity of the organization. Specifically human resource department plays a crucial role in directing the overall success of the organization.

References

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Human Resource Management Practices in John Lewis Company

Table of Contents

Introduction