¶ … Human Resource Function a Retail Store Traditional stores experiencing a significant shift retail shopping. Customers specialization convenience making purchases.
The human resource function of a retail store
The human resource manager's function has changed considerably over the years. Once, HR was called the 'personnel department,' and its primary role was issuing paychecks and managing employee issues such as pensions, bonuses, and vacation time from a purely administrative perspective. Today, HR has many additional, important tasks, including deciding what employees to hire that embody the company's values; the nurturing of top talent, and dealing with interpersonal conflicts between employees. "The role of the HR manager, director, or executive must parallel the needs of his or her changing organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptive, resilient, quick to change direction and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR professional, who is considered necessary by managers and executives, is a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate and a change mentor" (Heathfield 2012).
HR has an active role in setting the priorities of the organization, and the people the organization chooses to employee are seen as directly linked to the quality of output. This is particularly true of retail-based industries. America is no longer a manufacturing nation: providing service has become the core function of many industries, given that customer service cannot be outsourced or transferred online.
One of the greatest challenges of a retail store is the hiring and retention of lower-level staff -- the employees who actually 'meet and greet' customers and inform customers about the product and try to understand customer needs. These workers the customer's first 'point of contact' with the business, yet the hiring process can be very perfunctory. These jobs often pay minimum wage, and after a quick background check and a submitted paper resume, someone may be hired. This approach, which does not take into consideration employee interests or personal attributes and how they gel with the company, can be disastrous. Worse yet, after...
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