Human Resource Management Case Study - Wasabi

Introduction to Wasabi sushi and bento restaurant

Wasabi is a fast food chain that is present in United Kingdom and lay emphasis on Japanese cuisine being sushi and bento. The restaurant was found in the year 2003 by a Korean entrepreneur named Dong Hyun Kim. Its sushi has been known to be a good one and is made from fresh ingredients without any compromises (Wasabi Sushi and Bento, 2018). The management has always ensured that the staff members work as a team and hence the managers have created a positive and harmonious spirit throughout the company. Focus is always given on churning the skill set of employees through proper training sessions so that they can meet up the varying demand of consumers.

Task 1 - Understanding human resource management

1.1 Purpose and function of HRM in Wasabi sushi and bento restaurant

The purpose and function of HRM in Wasabi Sushi and Bento restaurant is as follows:

From the report it is clear that the company is undergoing some technological changes in the kitchen and consumer service section hence the role of Hr. is to build the overall morale of employees and make them more efficient while they work on the new technology. There is further a need to forecast the exact number of workforce that may be required so as to carry out the work activities within Wasabi restaurant (Lane, Armin and Gordon, 2015). The supervisors of respective divisions are thus required to arrange a meeting with hr. and tell them there exact need. The hr. manager can then forecast the employees to be recruited as per the annual budget of company and also keeping in mind the long and short term plans.

Other than this, it will also perform the work of recruiting new staff members in the organization. It will also set selection criteria for the same followed by taking induction session so that they are well acquainted with the overall work culture of organization (Crawford and et.al., 2014).

The hr. team at Wasabi restaurant will also ensure that there is a provision of better facilities as well as work atmosphere for the employees so that overall employment stability can be maintained. This is a must as employees are already tensed about their performance due to coming of new technology hence the need is to make them feel comfortable in the work culture (Chmiel, Fraccaroli and Sverke, 2017).

Other than this, the Hr. will also perform the work of properly designing the organizational structure by establishing proper communication channels and assigning authority for supervising the work flow of employees.

It is also the responsibility of HR to ensure that technology usage is done in a safe and sound manner by the employees. This is especially true for the kitchen staff hence they are required to provide proper training sessions for them and also maintaining a log of any injury or fatality that takes place within the firm while working on new technology.

1.2 Approaches to recruitment and selection and explain their strength and weakness

Various approaches can be used by Wasabi so as to recruit and select new staff members in kitchen and consumer service section of the company. The techniques have however got their own set of strengths and weaknesses that are as follows;

First is putting the notice for requirement of new candidates on notice board. This technique can help the staff members to recommend there friends and family members to the management thereby saving the time and money factor. However the strategy can back fire the employees as the manager may think that the employee is searching for better job opportunities elsewhere as well (Goma and et.al., 2014).

Next technique is to post the advertisement on website of the company which seems to be a good technique to save time and money for employee and also provide increased credibility to ad. This will also ensure that only sincere candidates post there resume on the website. However, there may not be a generation of large pool of candidates as very few employees search the website when recruitment is concerned.

It is also true that Wasabi restaurant has a good presence on social media sites such as Facebook hence one strategy can be posting the ads on these sites. It will help to attract large pool of candidates towards company whose credibility can be checked by their account. However there can also be a generation of many unwanted application whose scrutinisation is to done by the hr. members (Tripathi and Ghosh, 2017).

Selection techniques

Amongst the selection techniques the most basic ones out of them is interview session which helps the interview to get an overall view about his or her personality. Phone interview can also be set in the person to be interviewed is far away (Cumming, Wood and Zahra, 2016). This strategy is more convenient for both the parties. However, any kind of interview session requires time hence the HR manager must reserve slot for interview sessions.

The candidates to be interviewed for kitchen and consumer service staff can also be selected by use of Psychometric test. This strategy will ensure that there is no human biasness involved and there is also an increased chance of accuracy and appropriateness. On a negative note, the interpreter is required to have full knowledge about assessment else issues may arise. In this regard, the best strategy in the hands of Wasabi management is to combine this test with other selection strategies.

Task 2

2.1 Organizations approaches to workforce planning, recruitment, selection, training, performance management and reward systems.

Wasabi restaurant has been in UK since a long span of time and has been following many strategies in the area of Hr. For example, in order to ensure towards a good workforce planning the company is in constant touch with the team heads of various departments being Hr., marketing, IT among others (Kew and Stredwick, 2016). Both of them then judge if there is need of any new staff in the present or coming future and the strategies are thus framed accordingly. Then comes the recruitment and selection strategies where decision for same in made by discussions with team heads, hr. staff and the management. For instance, in the selection round, two interviews are usually taken where one is by the hr. manager/staff and other by team head that is in a need of a new member (Kew and Stredwick, 2016). Other than this, combined decision is also taken while preparing questions and answer for the psychometric test so as to ensure that the assessment is done in the best manner.

As the restaurant is in service sector and there is direct involve t with the consumers hence the need is to ensure that trainings are taken properly. The hr. thus arranges general training sessions and also specific ones as per the needs of employees (Lane, Armin and Gordon, 2015). Also, one on one training sessions is also given as per the need of employees. It has been found that the presence of training initiatives within the company has further made the staff members quite productive and they have started working hard so as to enhance the overall profits of the company.

The restaurant chain is also adhering with several performance management approaches such as Attribute Approachwhere the staff is ranked on a predefined set of trait such as quality, team work, punctuality, and creativity among others (Cumming, Wood and Zahra, 2016). Then there is also an adherence to Behavioral Approach where several techniques are used to set right behavior for the employees so as to deliver an effective performance.

As a part of employee reward strategy, the company has launched Perk box which offers up to 8 percent off in 20000 retail stores and 50 brands throughout the nation. There is also a presence of free access to recreational perks; free mobile phone insurance; heavily discounted theatre tickets and many other benefits.

Overall it can be said that wasabi restaurant has implemented several techniques in the area of workforce planning, recruitment, selection, training, performance management and reward systems etc. so as to support the life cycle of employees within the firm.

2.2 Organizations approaches and effectiveness to employee relations, engagement as well as adoption of flexible organizational practices.

In order to take care of its staff members in a best possible manner, the company has appointed an employee relations manager at the restaurant. An approach used in this area is of collective consultation where management listens to the issues, queries and feedback of employee's thereby increasing overall connection with them (Lent, 2013). It also helps to motivate the employees and make them feel that staff is thoughtful towards them. Focus is also given on handling grievance so as to add to overall comfort of the staff. The company also adheres with effective negotiation skills so that employee relations can be maintained and morale can also be improved to a great extent. It further assists in maintaining a culture of harmony and fair competition.

In order to engage the employees in the best possible manner, the company also has a presence of engagement platform that is there to meet the financial, emotional and physical wellbeing. It is done by the presence of wellness hub that offers online classes in the area of yoga; healthy cooking; meditation as well as financial advice (Groen, Wouters and Wilderom, 2017). Other than this, there is also a need to maintain effective communication with the employees especially those who are quite dissatisfied with the work environment. This can assist in generation of a positive feedback and steps can then be taken accordingly. There is further a need to carry out team building activities so that employees can be informed about the overall importance of team work. Flexible working environment is also promoted as well as practiced by the management where in flexible work hours are provided to the employees so as to help them maintain the other responsibilities as well.

2.3 Key areas of employee legislation within Wasabi restaurant

There is a presence of various employee legislations that are to be followed by Wasabi sushi and bento restaurant in order to handle the human resources in the best possible manner. These are described below;

The very first is equality where there is a need to adhere with equal pay act 1970 where all the staff members working on same position are entitled to receive the same salary irrespective of the gender or social class. Then comes the disability Discrimination Act 1995, were the need on part of management at Wasabi is to make sure that no discrimination in practiced against the employees who are suffering from one or other kind of disability (Cumming, Wood and Zahra, 2016). It should also ensure that the staff is also saved from activities such as bullying and harassment. Then comes the data protection act where the management is required to maintain transparency with the employees as to how their data is being used. All data processing details etc. should be done through a separate consent form that is required to be signed by the employees. The crucial data must also be encrypted properly through the use of secured format. This is a most essential requirement as government of UK treats the security breaches very severely. If not managed by the restaurant then it can hamper reputation and also make the officials as well as the owner land into legal consequences (Lane, Armin and Gordon, 2015). There is further the need to have an awareness of and also adhere with health, safety as well as welfare of employees who are working in the company. Steps should be taken to avoid any form of personal injury for the employees such as one caused due to faulty equipment in kitchen among others.it should also be ensured that employees who are under the age of 16 do not perform any hazardous jobs such as working on bakery equipment; meat-processing equipment or power-driven equipment like slicers, grinders, mixers.

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Task 3

3.1 Brief evaluation of recruitment process and rationale for conducting appropriate hr practices

The recruitment process to be used by the company for appointing employees in kitchen and consumer service desk will be inclusive of preparing a job description as well as person specification for the same. The job description will be inclusive of the roles and responsibilities to be performed by the applicant within wasabi restaurant (Kew and Stredwick, 2016). On the other hand, person specification will include the skills, attributes as well as educational qualification that are required in the staff members.

Then comes posting the ad in newspaper, on website, notice board of restaurant as well as social media page of wasabi restaurant. This is required so as to attract applicants towards the company. It will be most beneficial if the ad is posted in ate last three of the above-mentioned areas so that a good type and number of applicant is received. Next stage is to prepare interview questions for the same, formulate the selection criteria as well as interview decision sheet so that best applicant can be selected. It is required that this step should be done by two members so as to exclude the chances of biasness and also help in selecting the most suitable candidate for the job (Lane, Armin and Gordon, 2015). A proper job offer is then required to be given to the candidate who should clearly specify the post as well as salary that will be given to him or her. Extra perks if there should also be mentioned in the offer so as to have clarity over the job.

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Conclusion

From the above report it can be concluded that human resource management practices are quite essential for the overall functioning of Wasabi restaurant. This is as the company belongs to service sector industry hence the need is to focus on consumers in the best manner. This is only possible when well-qualified applicants are recruited and selected, trained followed by managing their overall performance and reward systems. The company has further laid emphasis on maintaining good relations with the employees by engaging them to the organization and also adopting flexible organizational practices. It has also been adhering with many employee legislations so as to avoid any legal penalties.

References

• Chmiel, N., Fraccaroli, F. and Sverke, M., 2017. An Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology: An International Perspective. John Wiley & Sons.
• Crawford, E.R. and et.al., 2014. The antecedents and drivers of employee engagement.Employee engagement in theory and practice. pp.57-81
• Cumming, D.J., Wood, G. and Zahra, S.A., 2016. The Rise of Right Wing Populism and Its Effect on HRM.
• Goma, F. M. & et.al., (2014). Evaluation of recruitment and retention strategies for health workers in rural Zambia.Human resources for health,12(1), S1.
• Groen, B.A., Wouters, M.J. and Wilderom, C.P., 2017. Employee participation, performance metrics, and job performance: A survey study based on self-determination theory. Management accounting research. 36. pp.51-66.
• Kew, J. and Stredwick, J., 2016.Human resource management in a business context. Kogan Page Publishers.
• Lane, T. S., Armin, J., & Gordon, J. S. (2015). Online recruitment methods for web-based and mobile health studies: a review of the literature.Journal of medical Internet research,17(7).
• Laschinger, H.S. and Read, E., 2017. Workplace empowerment and employee health and wellbeing. The Routledge.
• Lent, R.W., 2013. Careerlife preparedness: Revisiting career planning and adjustment in the new workplace.The Career Development Quarterly. 61(1). pp.2-14.
• Tripathi, N. and Ghosh, V., 2017. Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice.Springer.
• Wasabi Sushi and Bento,UK. 

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