Recursos humanos

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Recruitment and selection at Tesco
Introduction
Tesco is the biggest private sector employer in the UK. The company has more than 360,000 employees worldwide. In the UK, Tesco stores range from small local Tesco Express sites to large Tesco Extras and superstores. Around 86% of all sales are from the UK.

CURRICULUM TOPICS • Workforce planning • Recruitment • Skills •Selection

GLOSSARY Strategy: long-term business plan of an organisation. Market leader: the business that has the largest share of the market, measured by sales (value or volume). Logistics: the orderly movement and storage of goods throughout the supply chain i.e. from raw materials to finished goods. Infrastructure: the structure of an organisation – its people, systems, organisation andprocesses. Human resources: the function within business responsible for an organisation's people. This function deals with workforce planning, recruitment, training and pay issues. Business objectives: the ends which an organisation seeks to achieve by means such as budgeting tools and strategies. Workforce planning: estimating future human resource requirements and ensuring the firm has rightnumber of people, in the right place, with the right skills at the right time.

Tesco also operates in 12 countries outside the UK, including China, Japan and Turkey. The company has recently opened stores in the United States. This international expansion is part of Tesco’s strategy to diversify and grow the business. In its non-UK operations Tesco builds on the strengths it has developed as marketleader in the UK supermarket sector. However, it also caters for local needs. In Thailand, for example, customers are used to shopping in ‘wet markets’ where the produce is not packaged. Tesco uses this approach in its Bangkok store rather than offering pre-packaged goods as it would in UK stores. Tesco needs people across a wide range of both store-based and non-store jobs: • In stores, it needscheckout staff, stock handlers, supervisors as well as many specialists, such as pharmacists and bakers. • Its distribution depots require people skilled in stock management and logistics. • Head office provides the infrastructure to run Tesco efficiently. Roles here include human resources, legal services, property management, marketing, accounting and information technology. Tesco aims to ensureall roles work together to drive its business objectives. It needs to ensure it has the right number of people in the right jobs at the right time. To do this, it has a structured process for recruitment and selection to attract applicants for both managerial and operational roles.

Workforce planning
Workforce planning is the process of analysing an organisation’s likely future needs forpeople in terms of numbers, skills and locations. It allows the organisation to plan how those needs can be met through recruitment and training. It is vital for a company like Tesco to plan ahead. Because the company is growing, Tesco needs to recruit on a regular basis for both the food and non-food parts of the business. Positions become available because: • jobs are created as the company opensnew stores in the UK and expands internationally • vacancies arise as employees leave the company – when they retire or resign – or get promotion to other positions within Tesco • new types of jobs can be created as the company changes its processes and technology.

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Tesco uses a workforce planning table to establish the likely demand for new staff. This considers both managerialand non-managerial positions. In 2008/09, for example, Tesco calculates that to support its business growth there will be a demand for around 4,000 new managers. www.thetimes100.co.uk This planning process runs each year from the last week in February. There are quarterly reviews in May, August and November, so Tesco can adjust staffing levels and recruit where necessary. This allows Tesco...