Understanding and knowledge of HR theories and practices:
A Case Study of Aldi
Table of Contents
Flexibility in operations and working at Aldi 4
Recommendation to improve Flexibility in operations and working at Aldi 8
Recommendations to improve employee engagement at Aldi 12
List of Figures
Introduction
This report aims to critically evaluate talent planning practices and Aldi's resourcing and make recommendations for enhancing the company’s working culture in areas like flexibility and employee engagement. Therefore, Aldi's overall approach to improving human resource management will be examined in this case study. Considering this, the recommendations for improving the working culture at the company as well as enhancing employee engagement at the organizational level will also be assessed during the study of Aldi's human resourcing and planning practices.
(Source: aldi.co.uk, 2024)
Critical Evaluation
Flexibility in operations and working at Aldi
Organizational Efficiency
The organizational efficiency at Aldi has been seen for many years through the flexibility in the operational flow of the business and the company’s working culture. Hence, it is observed that when any employee or individual with associative necessary skills is more likely to work in the environment, it helps to achieve continuous improvement. As a result, the consistent improvement made in working at the workplace drives the organization towards achieving operational efficiency and makes that employee an efficiency geek as well. Therefore, considering the example of Aldi, operational excellence is rightly achieved and maintained in the organisation as the company is one biggest supermarkets in the retail sector on a global level and offers delight to customers for shopping based on their preferences at Aldi for many years. Aldi is a retailer which has entirely set up operational efficiency at its peak with a positive value proposition and a good position in the company's most effective marketplaces. Aldi is a very intellectual organisation and it has been working for many years on accomplishing the best-fit practices and resourcing for the business. In addition to this, the business has developed a very profitable and sustainable business that all organisations could learn from Aldi, for example, a profitable business delivery, effective and efficient supply of company service to its identified customers and so on. In addition to this, Aldi is committed to being better every day by working on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), providing resources to the company's suppliers, investing in commercial property and building good business partnerships (aldi.co.uk, 2024).
(Source: aldi.co.uk, 2024)
Resourcing
At Aldi supermarkets, it is also seen that the company is making the business profitable every day by making the required changes to become better and better with each passing day. Currently, the resourcing and planning at Aldi to achieve flexibility in company operations has been undertaken very efficiently and led the company to accomplish its goal as well; however, for maintaining the production of fresh products and the position of the company in marketplaces like the United Kingdom, Aldi should become a supplier for more businesses and provide more resources to company's existing suppliers in the long run for surviving in the market based on flexibility in operations (Felsberger and Reiner, 2020). In addition to this, to develop an effective and flexible working culture at Aldi, the company should apply the working model based on company values. Since then, the company has shown its commitment to the strongest three principles, which are openness, fairness and honesty. Considering this, honesty is seen in Aldi's business model. As a result, customers have also developed their trust in the company as business is observed to be time after time selling its products at very low prices to its targeted audiences.
Figure 3: Existing Resource Planning at Aldi
(Source: aldi.co.uk, 2024)
Promoting a Value Management System
In addition to this, Aldi should promote the principle of company for improving the working culture based on value system and effectively pull it by maintaining flexible approach within managing volumes of company stock and gauging volumes of consumers at tills. The reason behind this recommendation is the fluctuation observed in these two volumes at Aldi that causes the business to work under the old old-fashioned model of working to have skilled managers back in the company, shelf stackers, warehouse people and turn-over operators who could be a threat to business in longer run. In addition to this, Aldi should also ensure a flexible approach towards operational efficiency while maintaining the rate of market for business to achieve a win-win market position for both the company and employees, which eventually also tends to enhance employee engagement at Aldi. Furthermore, Since Aldi is carrying approximately 5% to 10% of the supermarket volume considering the large and growing retail supermarkets (linkedin.com, 2019); the company should offer more than a few versions of quality products to customers to improve their involvement in business and reach in the market as well. As a result, it will help the company to maintain flexible volumes of stock, low transportation costs and simple, non-complicated pricing. So that, it will also lead the organization to speed up the in-store time for customers that Aldi is lacking these days.
Recommendation to improve Flexibility in operations and working at Aldi
For Aldi, it could be highly recommended that Aldi practice efficiency by undertaking a flexible approach to business operations in society and amending the environmental practices so that the business can reach more customers by improving employee engagement activities on business levels. Henceforth, Aldi is recommended to establish Sustainable Development Goals so that prospective recruits and employees prospective recruits would value the company’s purpose over profit, because, one of the biggest attractions to work flexibly for Aldi is the company’s readiness for achieving sustainable development goals. In addition to this, it could be also recommended that the company should continue to follow this working culture and improve its leadership approach as it is seen to be encouraging a larger portion of support to charity programs and local communities. Moreover, considering the statistical facts about local sourcing distributed in the last year which has reached about 50% local sourcing to charity in the UK; Aldi should do more partnerships with local communities and charities in the coming years through visual system management (linkedin.com, 2019). At last, it could be also suggested that Aldi embrace the company's ethical values by sourcing more than 50% of company products from local suppliers, local sources, which would be guaranteed to lead the company towards maintaining flexible operational flow at the workplace and build very strong relationships at low costing in business.
Employee Engagement
The operational efficiency of Aldi has been suspected to revolve just around the employees, which creates potential challenges and opportunities in terms of engagement amongst the employees. Although Aldi has been recently identified to be able to attract an expertise talent workforce through mediums involving competitive wages, and a well-structured career path specifically for the positions that consist of managerial roles, on the contrary, it has been found that there still exist major gaps in areas such as good opportunities for personal and professional development along with having a fine balance in work-life, followed by offering recognition to each individual. It is safe to mention that if the mentioned areas aren't addressed promptly, it can lead to disengagement amongst the workforce, maximized turnover rates as well as minimized productivity.
Work-life Balance and Employee burnout
The efficiency of Aldi's operations has been identified to come at the massive cost of not having a balance in work-life for most of the individuals working, especially the ones who work in Aldi's physical stores. The approach of lean staffing has led to a major load of work wherein the individuals need to multitask to fulfil expectations (linkedin.com, 2016). It mostly results in stress which is one of the major contributors towards disengagement amongst the employees.
While the wages are competitive, and the potential benefits initially paid attention towards being able to attract, the sustained engagement amongst them has now become quite challenging since the balance of work and personal life is not being prioritized. A study by Salama et al., (2022) also stated that significant leaders of Human Resources believed that employee burnout is sabotaging employee retention.
For instance, Google offers support for mental health to its workforce and has also incorporated factors involving flexible working and wellness programs (linkedin.com, 2023). The stated initiatives are advantageous for stress management and burnout of employees, also resulting in drastically increased productivity.
Potential opportunities for career growth.
While Aldi offers a well-structured career development path for a wide variety of positions that involve managerial responsibilities such as graduate manager programs and many more, there are still very stagnant and limited options for individuals who don't possess any managerial positions. Furthermore, the business organizations that do not reach out for a defined path, might witness major gaps in the existing position, eventually resulting in a low level of employee engagement.
It has been discussed that the potential growth opportunities in terms of professional careers are quite crucial for the purpose of long-term engagement amongst the workforce. One of the significant research by linkedin.com, (2024) has proved that the employees who identify learning opportunities are 2.9 times more likely to be retained in the respective organization. Currently, the emphasis of Aldi specifically on creating the talent and expertise of a few managerial positions, leaves other individuals with quite a progression space.
For instance, Unilever offers continuous space and appropriate opportunities for the employees such as providing open access to all of its learning hubs with major subjects such as sustainability (Mirvis, Googins and Kinnicutt, 2010). On the contrary, it is also safe to mention that Starbucks has recently launched a plan named as “College Achievement Plan” that allows employees to earn educational degrees through a university, further reflecting its immense commitment towards employee development.
Employee Recognition
The emphasis of Aldi on operational efficiency leads to not being able to recognize each individual's contribution towards a smooth operation (Pastuh, 2019). The workforce and the individuals who feel that their contribution is not being noticed or identified might witness drastically decreased motivation. Furthermore, employee recognition is stated to be one of the crucial factors in being able to foster a wide variety of areas such as job satisfaction and employee engagement.
It was discussed by Markos and Sridevi, (2010) that the employees who keep receiving continuous recognition are much more likely to be retained. Although Aldi has maintained its productivity, it significantly lacks recognition programs that must emphasize celebrating employee achievement. For instance, Zappos has incorporated a culture and a workplace filled with identification, so that each individual celebrates achievements through medium involving rewards and titles (zappos.com, 2024).
Recommendations to improve employee engagement at Aldi
It is recommended that Aldi incorporate a positive working environment for the individuals working in the stores as they have a lot of workloads throughout the year, and therefore it results in employee burnout. If offered with flexible working conditions it will be beneficial for Aldi in straining the long working hours. The brand must mandatorily incorporate wellness initiatives through the help of varied programs to pay more focus to the mental health of the workforce.
One of the initiatives can include ensuring that there are extra employees during peak hours so that no individual will be left with a lot of work. As far as career opportunities are concerned it can adopt skill development programs for the employees so that they can benefit from witnessing internal promotions. To make the workforce feel immensely valued, they can develop a talent pipeline that will allow the individuals to transition into various other higher roles within a specified span. Lastly, since one of the major concerns also involves employee recognition, it can develop a formal employee recognition program wherein the individuals who have positively contributed to the operations will get rewards in the form of monetary or non-monetary benefits. One of the recommendations also involves adopting a peer-to-peer platform for identifying each other contribution. This initiative will further foster an inclusive workplace and a positive environment in Aldi.
Conclusion
The report concluded by discussing that although talent planning followed by resourcing has been quite critical for the operational success of Aldi, there still exist major opportunities to improve employee engagement. Addressing the issues promptly, such as having a fine balance in work-life and career growth, followed by employee identification, won't just dramatically improve employee engagement, but will also emphasize retaining the employees and witnessing productivity. By incorporating the mentioned practices as adopted by Google, Unilever, and Starbucks, Aldi can likewise emphasize fostering engagement amongst the workforce, eventually resulting in its long-term success.
Reference List
aldi.co.uk, (2024) [Online] Available at: https://www.aldi.co.uk/ [Accessed on 09th Sept 2024]
aldi.co.uk, (2024) [Online] Available at: https://www.aldi.co.uk/corporate [Accessed on 09th Sept 2024]
Felsberger, A. and Reiner, G., (2020). Sustainable industry 4.0 in production and operations management: a systematic literature review. Sustainability, 12(19), p.7982.
linkedin.com, (2016) Lean Enterprise: How is how Aldi using Lean to become a force in the grocery industry? [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lean-enterprise-how-aldi-using-become-force-grocery-industry-soni/ [ Accessed on 09th Sept 2024]
linkedin.com, (2019) [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lessons-organisational-efficiency-aldi-supermarkets-dave-bishton [Accessed on 09th Sept 2024]
linkedin.com, (2023) Considering Work-Life Balance Factors Before Choosing Your Career Path! [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/considering-work-life-balance-factors-before-choosing-paul-emmanuel/ [Accessed on 09th Sept 2024]
linkedin.com, (2024) Developing Employees and Improving Performance [Online] Available at: https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/career-development/develop-employees [Accessed on 09th Sept 2024]
Markos, S. and Sridevi, M.S., (2010). Employee engagement: The key to improving performance. International journal of business and management, 5(12), p.89.
Mirvis, P., Googins, B. and Kinnicutt, S., (2010). Vision, mission, values: Guideposts to sustainability. Organizational dynamics, 39(4), pp.316-324.
Pastuh, D., (2019). Dynamics of power & managerial control in the contemporary service sector: safeguarding organizational value creation within & beyond conventional workplaces (Doctoral dissertation, Dissertation, Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 2019).
Salama, W., Abdou, A.H., Mohamed, S.A.K. and Shehata, H.S., (2022). Impact of work stress and job burnout on turnover intentions among hotel employees. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), p.9724.
zappos.com, (2024) Zappos Insights (Online) Available at: https://www.zappos.com/c/zappos-insights [Accessed on 09th Sept 2024]
