Management of Human Resources in Vodafone's Call Center in Guildford

MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
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Executive Summary
This report presents an HR strategy for Vodafone as it sets up its call centre in the UK. The proposed HR strategy incorporates the use of the best-fit approach, which is preferred when the HR strategy needs to support the business strategy. The strategic objectives of the HR strategy are to:
* Attract, identify, and recruit the best talent for the new call centre roles
* Provide training and career development opportunities for employees in the new roles
* Develop performance management systems that encourage high-quality customer services at the new call centre
* Develop a reward system that motivates employees and enhances the achievement of organisational objectives at the new call centre.
* Foster an inclusive culture that facilitates diversity in the new call centre
Four HR functions are analysed; resourcing, recruitment and selection, reward, performance management, and human resource development. In addition, the report examines diversity management as part of effective HR management. The report finds that Vodafone can set up the call centres using an HR strategy that incorporates the following perspectives:
* A systematic approach in recruitment and selection of employees
* A total reward approach in reward management
* A merit-based approach in performance management
* A hybrid approach of formal and informal learning in HRD
* A diversity management program integrated within the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Executive Summary PAGEREF _Toc86423481 \h 2Introduction PAGEREF _Toc86423482 \h 4HR Strategy: Best Fit Approach PAGEREF _Toc86423483 \h 4Resourcing, Recruitment and Selection PAGEREF _Toc86423484 \h 5Reward PAGEREF _Toc86423485 \h 7Performance Management PAGEREF _Toc86423486 \h 8Human Resource Development PAGEREF _Toc86423487 \h 10Diversity Management PAGEREF _Toc86423488 \h 11Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc86423489 \h 12References PAGEREF _Toc86423490 \h 13Appendix PAGEREF _Toc86423491 \h 15
Introduction
Human resources are some of the best and most crucial assets of an organisation. As such, human resource (HR) practices should focus on building skills and competency and encouraging employee behaviour that meets the goals of the business. The purpose of this report is to develop an HR strategy for Vodafone’s new call centre in Guildford. Vodafone recently made a strategic business move to open a new call centre by announcing 2,100 call centre roles in the UK. The goal of this business strategy is to improve Vodafone’s customer service systems and outcomes. This has necessitated the development of an HR strategy that will address recruitment and selection, rewards, performance management, HR development, and diversity management issues to support the business strategy. A best-fit approach will be adopted to ensure that the strategy is relevant to the UK context. According to Reiche et al. (2019, p.55), looking at contextual differences of markets ensures the best HR strategies are applied for a specific context, hence the need for a best fit approach. Vodafone has always offshored its customer services to emerging and developing economies that have different labour market characteristics and laws than the UK. This report will provide a detailed, general approach to HR activities that will help Vodafone’s transition, with a specific focus on the newly developed call centre roles. It will not focus on providing specific or step-by-step strategies for the specific areas of HRM.
HR Strategy: Best Fit Approach
In a best fit approach, the HR strategy is usually developed in alignment with the business strategy. According to Wilton (2019, p.69), a best-fit approach is developed to reinforce the organisation’s corporate strategy. As such, this approach responds to the business strategy of the organisation and provides the necessary support to ensure the organisation achieves its business objectives. It is important to ensure that the HR strategy objectives are aligned with the company’s business objectives, vision, and mission. The overall strategic objectives of the HR strategy are to:
* Attract, identify, and recruit the best talent for the new call centre roles
* Provide training and career development opportunities for employees in the new roles
* Develop performance management systems that encourage high-quality customer services at the new call centre
* Develop a reward system that motivates employees and enhances the achievement of organisational objectives at the new call centre.
* Foster an inclusive culture that facilitates diversity in the new call centre
To achieve these objectives, the HR strategy will be centred on five key areas below:
Resourcing, Recruitment and Selection
Appropriate resourcing, recruitment and selection ensure that organisations have the right human resources in terms of quality and quantity (Wilton 2019, p.168). As Vodafone moves its customer service function to the UK, it needs to consider ways in which it can source and select the best talents to fill the new call centre roles. Thus, the strategic objective of resourcing, recruitment and selection is to attract, identify, and recruit the right mix of talent for the new call centre. In a best fit approach, organisations have to consider not only the internal organisational environment but also the external environment. Since the call centre will be based in the UK, it is important to consider the external factors such as the demographics of the labour market. According to a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2018), the UK, like many other high-income countries, is characterised by an ageing population which affects the composition of the labour force. As a result of the ageing workforce, HR managers are being forced to make changes to their HR policies to match the reality in the labour market. The report reveals that one of the areas that require changes in HR policies and practices is the area of recruitment and selection.
In Vodafone’s context, recruitment and selection will have to be designed in a way that considers the characteristics of the workforce as well as the existing labour laws in the UK. In emerging and developing countries where Vodafone has offshored its customer service function in the past, age discrimination is common because the focus is usually on providing young people with employment opportunities. However, in the UK, the Equality Act of 2010 protects employees from age discrimination and as such, HR managers need to adopt age-neutral resourcing, recruitment and selection practices (Cebulla & Wilkinson 2019, p.128). This report recommends the use of a systematic approach in recruitment and selection of employees for the new call centre roles. According to Wilton (2019, p.180), the systematic approach involves identifying what kind of human resources the organisation needs, how to attract and identify them, and how to select the right candidate. This offers a structured system that is not only effective but also ensures fairness in the selection process. This approach will ensure that Vodafone incorporates age-neutral hiring practices by ensuring that the vacancies for the new roles are open for all to promote age diversity. However, job descriptions and specifications should be updated regularly to match the changing internal and external environments (Wilton, 2019, p.181). Applicants should also not be expected to declare their age in the job application forms nor during the interview process because according to Cebulla and Wilkinson (2019, p.128), this ensures that applicants are given a fair chance without consideration of their age.
Reward
Reward refers to the financial, non-financial, and benefits that employees receive from their employer in exchange for work done (Wilton, 2019, p. 242). Rewards are often associated with the increased motivation of employees. The best fit approach recognises the need to match HR practices and activities with an organisation’s environment (Wilton, 2019, p.69). Vodafone, being an international organisation with call centres in many regions such as Egypt, has to consider the various rates of pay as well as minimum wage in different regions. When it comes to reward systems for the new call centre in Guildford, it has to match its HR practices to the UK’s rates of pay and minimum wage, all of which are external factors that affect the organisation. The strategic objective for this specific function is to develop a reward system that motivates employees and enhances the achievement of organisational objectives.
Since effective reward management focuses on both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of employees, this report proposes that Vodafone should employ a total reward approach in reward management. According to Shields et al. (2020, p.13), a total reward approach involves balancing extrinsic and intrinsic rewards by providing employees with financial, social, and developmental rewards as well as intrinsic rewards such as autonomy and responsibility. To successfully implement this approach as part of the HR strategy, it will be important to examine what role intrinsic and extrinsic rewards play in motivating call centre employees. As Shields et al. (2020, p.15) reveal, the role of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards varies depending on the type of work the employees are doing. For in...