Flexible Working Practices on Shop Floor Staff Motivation - Case Study Example

Flexible Working Practices on Shop Floor Staff Motivation Name Course Tutor Date Institution Flexible Working Practices on Shop Floor Staff Motivation Flexible working practices are popular and adverse at Waitrose due to a number of factors. Working practices are necessarily inevitable for a company that has risen against the odds to win the market in groceries and food products (Hackney, 2014). The modern world has unique needs in diet for children, the elderly, sick, or disabled members of the society. The increases in the demographics of the population also contribute to the rise in demand for high quality foods and products. Waitrose has put in extra effort to create employment in society and provide ready goods for its target market. Research indicates that employees and employers who have worked flexibly experienced a positive impact on their lives as nurtured by Waitrose (Womack, 2012). Political, Environmental Social, Technological Legislation The political set up of the UK has nurtured the presence and growth of the company in numerous ways. The policies concerning running a similar business have enabled Waitrose to grow from groceries a variety of other products. The licensing processes ensure that the quality groceries each their market effectively. Being that Waitrose has been allowed to supply wines and special foods to Queen Elizabeth and this has provided the company with an upper hand over its completion (Womack, 2012).. Political stability in the UK has allowed business operations to run smoothly and Waitrose has taken advantage of this feature to ensure that the goods reach its consumers ideally. The circumstances of conducting the business are conducive and this allows Waitrose to establish ideal HR and inventory systems for growth (The Waitrose Press Centre 2012). Political situation of any business environment is very important as it determines the heights that the company will reach. HR Practice The presence of ideal HR practices in Waitrose has been able to create a structure that has established a culture of industriousness within its workforce. This culture has been passed on to the new staff joining the organization (John, 2012). The HR department has established policies and practices that look into employee satisfaction. This is achieved through imposing the best practices and techniques that suit the needs of the workers as well as the employees. Striking a balance between the employees and the organizational goals has demanded a lot of dedication to management practices that have brought out the best of the teams (Wood, 2011). The results of the flexible working practices reveal that there is general improvement in employees’ productivity and returns (Womack, 2012). When the workers are offered convenient workers that allow them to dedicate to their assignment, they give their best in pursuit of the company’s goals. Waitrose has embarked on awarding their staff with pleasant remuneration packages that will motivate the team players and increase customer service (Hackney, 2014). There are irregularities that have occurred in the HR department and the leaders have put in the professional skills to ensure that the parties involved are settled. The occurrences of internal feuds within the workforce are treated with a professional approach and quality is applied. In the event of rampant conflicts among the team players, he HR team encourages people to uphold their commitment to the company and resolve their differences. There have been disagreements with the employees and some workers have chosen to resign (Ruddick, 2013). The company through the HR department has encouraged who would have quit for the same contrary reason to seek professional help from the HR heads (Womack, 2012). Flexibility of work improves employees’ has enabled the team to boost their morale and achieve a better balance between work and social life. Employers can increase operating hours when not all employees are working at the same time. Workers who work flexibly gain a greater level of commitment to their work and organization and this increases benefits to the team players and the organization. The HR department has ensured that the Waitrose equips its work force withal resources and tools to ensure that its objectives are achieved fully and effectively (Hackney, 2014). The HR practices have come a long way in enabling Waitrose to develop its brands from high quality groceries to foods, wines, and spirits (John, 2012). Waitrose has also been able to grow in number of stores and this means that their client base has increased (Womack, 2012). The concept of HR is applicable in all outlets and the organization has reaped from the practices through the evident results. HR Analysis in Relation to Flexibility Competition Waitrose has been facing stiff competition from Marks and Spencer. Waitrose has, however gained a competitive advantage over Marks by improving its brand image. There has been a major shift in the market and the preferences of consumers. This has made the HR team to motivate the workers to carry out the strategies with aggressiveness to outdo the competition embark on mechanisms to improve the brands and introduce more products to satisfy the needs of the market. Marks and Spencer have equally improved its variety of products, but Waitrose has used innovative ideas to ensure that the brand remains top among all the competitors. The customer service skills possessed by the sales persons are excellent (Womack, 2012). This is the case the customer service representatives is top notch. This is part of the brand identity and many customers have been attracted by the services provided and introduced others. Waitrose has printed advertisements to reach out a wide scope of audience. Efforts to conduct promotions of regular basis have played a vital role in increasing the awareness of the brand over the competition. Online sales are part of the business practices by Waitrose and this allows people to access information and purchase products from their locations. The delivery services are an added advantage that makes Waitrose to win more customers over the competition. The marketing strategies applied are unique and relevant to the market and these strategies have improved with time to increase the brand acceptability. Staff Motivation The motivation efforts by the HR team works together with the HR practices ensure that the workforce is motivated to achieve the organization’s objective. Part of the motivational forces include team building activities that have enabled the team to create rapport and passion for their assignments. Attractive remuneration packages are part of the motivational activities that the HR department applies to the employees (Womack, 2012). Provision of incentives and attractive payment patterns has made the team in their outlets to work with dedication in their assignment. Regular training and provision go health and other necessities have ensured that all team players improve their input for achievement of the company’s objectives. Waitrose has ensured through its HR department that all employees receive a sense of appreciation and their value to the company is elevated. The interactions between the leaders and the junior members of the work force are friendly and this ensures that all parties enjoy each other as they work. The increase in stores in different locations indicates that there is room for more improvement in the HR practices (John, 2012). These improvements are intended to create a culture that considers employees needs for excellent output from the team. Motivational features sued have yielded fruit with the establishment of a culture of hard work and honest among the workers. Motivation for the workers is a necessary procedure in any organization that ensures that the company gets the most from the teams and the workers eventually reap from their efforts at Waitrose (Hackney, 2014). Waitrose has invested into creating a motivated team for success and growth. Bibliography Hackney Citizen 2014 "Supermarket wars: Now up market Waitrose wants to open branch in Stoke Newington". . 18 September 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014. John Lewis, 2012 "Head Office Location". Waitrose Limited Doncastle Road Southern Industrial Area Bracknell Berkshire RG12 8YA Ruddick, Graham 2013. "Changing the 'upmarket' perception of Waitrose". The Daily Telegraph(London). Retrieved 8 January 2014. The Waitrose Press Centre , 2012.Another Royal Warrant for Waitrose". Waitrose.presscentre.com. Retrieved25 December 2012. Womack, Sarah 2002. "Waitrose awarded a royal warrant". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved25 February 2009.  Wood, Zoe 2011. "Waitrose or Lidl? Shoppers in a divided Britain compare supermarkets deals". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 8 January 2014. Read More