Employee Retention As An Challenge For Human Resource Management-A Case Of Tesco Plc

Employee Retention As An Challenge For Human Resource Management-A Case Of Tesco Plc

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION - Employee Retention As An Challenge For Human Resource Management

Get free samples written by our Top-Notch subject experts for taking assignment help.

Background

Retaining employees had become an important thing for the employers as the human resource is affecting the overall business performance. In the highly competitive business world, the organizations are focusing on having effective workforce that is highly skilled, knowledgeable, and highly trained. Businesses need to make effective strategic decisions for attracting and retaining the employees for a longer period in an effective manner. This section of the research report will provide detailed knowledge related to the different factors affecting employee retention (Madhani, 2021).

 Related to the employees retention there is a popular quote that "Retention is the single most important thing for growth". Especially during the pandemic all the businesses are facing issues in the retaining the employees. The retail sector is the one which is experiencing shift demands of the customer. Along with this the companies are also facing issues in managing their employees. The increasing issues related to employees retention and the changing business environment due to the pandemic had created major issues for the companies to retain their employees (Costa Dias et. al. 2020).

During the pandemic the need of human resource in the Tesco had increased to a greater extent as they have started managing their business operations online. For this they have hired large number of permanent and temporary workers during the pandemic. Along with this due to the increased demand of human resource it has become crucial for them to focus on staff retention. According to the news published by HR News Tesco had stated that they have hired 50,000 temporary workers and had hired 20,000 permanent employees (HR World, 2021). This is because the company is focusing on making sure that they can offer better service to their customers while making a purchase during the pandemic. Because of all this the company is paying more attention on retaining the employees.When the company is shifting their business operations to online completely during the pandemic the human resource needs are changing. The company needs to make sure that they are having enough employees to have better delivery service for their customers. For all this hiring the new employees and retaining them is an challenging task for Tesco. The company had hired alot of new employee on an urgent base and then managing and retaining them would not be easy for them. During the pandemic the perspective of the employees towards their employer is also changing. The company need to make sure that they are satisfying their employees and managing them in an appropriate manner during the hard times of covid-19 pandemic.

Aim and Objectives

Aim

The aim of the study is to explore that how Tesco is retaining employees for meeting their human resource need during the pandemic.

Objectives

• To study the impact of covid-19 pandemic on jobs situation in Tesco.
• To explore the challenges faced by retailers in meeting their human resource needs and in retaining the employees.
• To understand that why staff retention has become more importnat during the pandemic.

Research Questions

• Why retaining the staff had become more important during the pandemic?
• How the increasing sales of online retailers had increased the need for human resource?
• What lessons are learned from the pandemic to examine the strategic implications for staff retention in Tesco in post covid era.

Rationale of the study

This research study would allow the researcher in understand that how the need of human resource had increased for Tesco when they have started working on through the online mode only during the pandemic. This will help the students in understanding that the demand of labor or human resource affects the employees retention and recruitment in the firms. This will help the students in gaining better knowledge related to the influence of the covid-19 pandemic on the different areas of businesses. Along with this it would also allow the researcher in developing some of the important researching skills which are very important for the researcher. (Cho et. al. 2020).

For this companies need to use better strategies for attracting and retaining the talented employees in an effective manner. Employee retention is an important research topic as it helps the researcher in understanding that how the businesses are using different strategies for retaining the employees. This study will help the retailers in understanding that how to retain the employees effectively during the pandemic. It can be said that this research study would be providing knowledge to all the retailers, researchers and all other stakeholders in understanding the important of employee retention and factors affecting it. This would also help them in keeping the employees motivated and engaged which can help them in leading the firm towards success.

Significance of the study

This research study would be having great value for all the stakeholders. In the context of the researcher and the reader it would provide better knowledge that how the different strategies are being used by the companies for retaining the employees. In the context of the retailers it would help them in understanding that how the different organisational factors are affecting the employee retention and their performance within the firm. Thus it can be said that this research study is having higher significance for all the stakeholders.

Structure of the report

This research study is having different chapters for better presentation of the research study. Along with this different chapters would help the readers in easily understanding the results of the study in a systematic manner. The literature review section will include the critical evaluation of the different views of the researchers towards the research topic. The methodology section would be explaining the different types of methodological choices made in this study would also be discussed. Results section would be interpreting the results for further analysis. The data analysis section would be analyzing the data in an effective manner. Conclusion would be the last section which would provide the concluding statement for the research study.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This section of the report will include the information from the different literature sources which would help in understanding the research topic detail. The literature review would allow in understanding that how businesses are being affected by the pandemic in the context of employees retention and hiring new employee due to increasing demand of human resource in some of the important areas.

Employee retention and quality of service

In the contemporary and fast changing business environment firms needs to focus on retaining the employees. According to this study of Kundu and Lata (2017) it is important for the firms needs to have employees with better skills and knowledge as in the competitive business world it is essential for the employers to have better employees. In contrast to this if the firm is not having efficient workforce, then it would affect the overall performance of the firm. The report had concluded that for using latest technologies and being effective in the changing business world it is important for the firms to have effective workforce. Hence, the companies need to have better retention policies that can help them in having more productive workforce.

Impact of employee retention on company performance

Employees and the work delivered by the employees to the company are having an major role to play for the company success. According to Prasetyo et. al. (2021) if the employee of the company is working efficiently and offering high quality service to the company then it would enhance the company performance. The employees are having an direct impact on the company performance. Due to this reason it is very important for the company to ensure that they must invest better capital in keeping the employees motivated and inspiring them to work in an appropriate manner. Along with this better strategies related to enhancing the motivation level of the company is also very significant. Regular check of the company performance and the employees performance is very important as it is having an influence on the company productivity. With the regular check of the quality of work delivered by the employees the company can make better decisions. The HRM department of the company is having an significant role to play in the management of the employees in the company. The HR department need to make better strategies and invest in the programs which can help them in attracting and retaining the talented pool of employees which is important for having better performance.

Influence of covid-19 on employee retention and hiring

Covid-19 had led an significant influence on the way the businesses are operating and doing business in their respective industries. The economic consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic had affected the business and different economic factors significant. As a result of it the companies had faced alot of issues in managing their business operations and had faced great financial loss(Zhong et. al. 2021). The situation of pandemic had created the economic crisis and this is having an adverse effects all the small and large firms operating in the different industries. The labour market is highly affected during the pandemic. Major reason behind this is the increasing unemployment during the pandemic.

Mateescu et. al. (2020) had stated that as a result of the pandemic the businesses are facing alot of issues and challenges. The companies are working on different areas which can help them in reducing the cost in an appropriate manner. Majority of the businesses are working kn cutting the cost by reducing the employees as the sales and workload has been decreased for the company in an effective manner. Large number of employees working in different large firms are losing their jobs and this is very bad. As an eocnomic consequences of the pandemic employment opportunities had been decreased. Along with this the businesses are focus on reducing the labour which is increasing the unemployment to a greater extent.

As the business world is becoming more complex during the pandemic the business need to work on different strategies. According to Bufquin et. al. (2021) the businesses need to work on different areas for retaining the employees in an appropriate manner during the pandemic. Healthcare of the employees need to be the top most priority of the employers. This is one of the most important factor which can help the companies in retaining the employees. If the company focuses on the healthcare and well-being of their employees then it would help them in number of ways. There are different types of safety measures which are required to be followed when the employees are working in the organisation. The companies need to pay attention towards the overall health of their employees in an appropriate manner.

During the pandemic different factors had been developed due to which the employees are leaving their jobs. According to the report mentioned by Jeff Cox, (2021) had stated that although the employment issues are increasing the employees are leaving the jobs due to the health concern. As the risk of covid-19 disease had increase the employees are leaving the jobs from the different sectors which include retails, bar and restaurant staff. In this context it had become very important for the employers to take care of healthcare of their employees otherwise they might face issues related to higher turnover and employee retention as well.

In the view of Wilson, et. al. (2020) the issues related to the financial issues are the major issues which are affecting the mental health of the employees at the workplace significantly. The study had highlighted that the job insecurity is also an important issue which is creating an major stress on the employee and affecting their mental health and performance negatively. In this context the businesses need to make sure that the employees should trust their company and should reduce the risk of job insecurity. This can help the employers in reducing the stress factors for their employees and keeping them mental health in a good condition which is important for working in the stressful situations in an appropriate manner.

Strategies for retaining the employees for longer period of time

Employees are always the most important resource for the company. Due to this reason it is very significant for the firms to retain them. There are different types of strategies and practices which are being used by the firms for retaining the employees in an effective manner. Aguenza and Som (2018) stated that businesses need to focus on applying different motivational theories and strategies in the firm that can help them in influencing positive behavior of the employees and motivating them to deliver better perform in the workplace. The study recommended that motivational theories such as Maslow’s theory of needs and Herzberg’s motivational theories can be used by the businesses for retaining the employees. If the company focuses on applying Maslow’s theory of needs, then they should focus on satisfying all the needs of the employees(Bufquin et. al. 2021). When the needs of employees are satisfied then it increases employee engagement and motivates them to work with longer period. It can be said that motivational theories are effective in retaining the employees.

Tian et. al. (2020) had mentioned that leadership is also having a higher influence on employee retention. The leader of the company needs to have better relations with the employees of the company as this would help them in retaining the employees in an effective manner. If the employers and the leaders are not having better relations, then it demotivates the employees to work effectively. Along with this lack of better relations affect the overall organizationalbehavior and is having negative impact on the employee retention. It can be said that the leader needs to be effective and must focus on developing better relations with the employees. This would help them in motivating the employees to work effectively for the firm and increasing employee satisfaction. Thus, it decreases employee turnover and helps the firm in retaining the valuable employees of firm.

Satyanarayana and Bhaskar (2020) had stated that the human resource management of Ford motors focuses on retaining the employees in an effective manner by developing attractive strategies. The study had mentioned that Ford is focusing on satisfying the employees so that they can retain them for longer duration. The company is also offering rewards and better training to their employees for improving their performance and motivating them. Along with this the company is also having effective talent management strategies, leadership and employee engagement strategies that are helping them in retaining their employees. It can be said that companies need to focus on developing multiple strategies for retaining the employees and decreasing the turnover.

Managing the employees during the pandemic

The pandemic had changed an alot of things for the businesses. In the covid-19 times managing the employees in an appropriate manner had become an challenging task for the businesses. There are different factors related to the workplace and the employees which are being changed due to the pandemic. As a result of all this the employers are facing different challenges in managing the human resource in an effective manner. According to this study of Judson et. al. (2020) the health of the employees needs to be the major concern for the employer during the pandemic. When the employees are working in an high risk environment of the workforce with the higher risk of covid-19 disease then it is very important for the firm to manage this risk. The businesses are working on different areas for improvement the safety measures of the employees. For this the businesses are adding better value for the employees for making the workplaces more safe and secure. It is very important for the employees to keep them satisfied in an appropriate manner.

Managing the remote work is an challenging task for the businesses. In the view of Prasad et. al. (2020) during the pandemic majority of the companies had went online or remote during the pandemic for continuing the business operations and managing the firm in an appropriate manner. In this context the businesses need to have an strong human resource management with better strategies and policies which can help them in managing the employees in the hard times. Managing the remote teams is an challenging task due to lack of proper communication, cooperation and team work. Working as an remote team is completely different from the physical workplaces. The companies need to ensure that they are managing the remote teams in an appropriate manner by offering better flexibility to their employees.

Pandemic had affecting the different factors which are having an influence on the productivity of the company in an effective manner. Mental health of the employees is an important thing which is having an influence on the company performance. The individuals are living in complex and challenges situation due to the unpredictable risks associated with the spread of the covid-19 pandemic(Hamouche, 2020). This had creating an major issue for the mental health. Along with this while managing the work during the pandemic situation is quite challenging and had created alot of issues related to the mental stress and had affected the overall health. During this time it has become very significant for the businesses to make sure that they are managing the mental stress and taking care of mental health of the employees at the workplaces.

In the view of Greenberg (2020) there are different factors which had affected the mental health of the employees in an effective manner. The research study had found that covid-19 had affected the mental health of the employees negatively. There are different stress factors which are affecting the mental health of the employees. The factors such as quarantine, financial loss, job insecurity and several other factors are important and had affected the mental health of the employees. The study had found that the businesses or the employer need to focus on ensuring that the company should work effectively for improving the mental health of the employees during the pandemic. It can be recommended that the company should try to reduce the stress factors in the workplace all these things would help them in managing the mental stress in an effective manner.

Wang et. al. (2021) had mentioned that during the pandemic the things are going online which is having both positive and negative impact. When the businesses are using something new then it is very important for them to make sure that they are investing better capital for making the things work. The report had explained that during the pandemic the business world and the workplace environment had being changed significantly. In this context it has become very important for the firms to make sure that they must invest better capital in training and development of the employees. With the changing situations it is very important to change or update the skills and knowledge of the employees which can help them in remain effective during the different situations(Elsafty and Ragheb, 2020). The company needs to prepare their employees for the new normal. For this better skills and knowledge need to be developed. Thus it can be said that the businesses need to focus on enhancing their skills and abilities of their employees in an appropriate manner.

Increase in human resource of Tesco during the pandemic

Butler, (2020) had stated about the way Tesco is facing challenges in meeting the increased customer demand. For meeting the surge in the online sales during the pandemic it is very important to increase number of employees. Tesco is focusing on increasing the number of temporary employees for making it possible for them to deliver the products to the customers in an appropriate manner. But after the pandemic the company has increased the number of permanent Tesco employees. After pandemic Tesco has decided to give permanent jobs to 1000 pickers, 3000 drivers and 3000 other employees which are hired at the time of pandemic. This will help the company in meeting the future needs of increasing online sales even after the pandemic. Due to the increasing risk of spreadable diseases now Tesco had given fixed jobs to the employees who have been hired during the pandemic.

The report mentioned by economic times, (2020) Tesco one of the leading retailer of UK has an sudden increase in their sales. For meeting the growing demands the company needs to focus on ensuring that they must have enough supply of human resource which can help them in meeting the increasing human resource need. For this the company had decided to hire alot of temporary employees which can help them in satisfying the increased sales and ensuring that the customer should not face issues in meeting the demands.

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Methodology is an important part of the research study. For conducting an high quality research the researcher need to develop an high quality reset for which better methodological choices are required to be made. The research methodology is having different sections which provide detailed knowledge related to the different methods which are used for collecting and analysis the data in the research study(Pandey and Pandey, 2021). There are different sub sections of the research methodology which focuses on exploring all the different types of alternative options available for the researcher. Along with this it focuses on explaining that why the researcher had made a specific methodological choice from all the alternative options. Moreover the ethics would also be discussed in this research which would help in understanding that how authentically the study is being conducted.

Research Philosophy

Philosophy of the researcher while conducting the research study is having an major role to play in the way the study is being conducted. Research philosophy is generally explained as the way the scholar focuses on gathering the data and analyzing it to be used for the research study. There are four diverse types of philosophies which can be used by the for the study. Positivism, interpretivisim, pragmatism and realism are four different types of research philosophy. All these philosophies are having different ideologies which differentiate them from one another. According to the positivism it is important to focus on the facts and actual knowledge which during the research(Snyder, 2019). The scholars having the positivism philosophy emphasis more on gathering more actual and the factual data related to the study. In contrast to this the researcher using the interpretivisim focuses on gathering the information which focuses more on the interest of the researcher and try to mold the results as per the personal biasness or the personal views of the researcher related to the research topic.

In pragmatism the research focuses on the reasons and logics while doing the research. If the researcher uses the pragmatism philosophy then it became quite challenging and complex for the researcher to conduct the research. In the current study the researcher focuses on using the positivism research philosophy. This would help the researcher in explaining the current situation of employee retention in Tesco which is being faced by the case company during the pandemic. This will also help the researcher in researcher in getting the exact knowledge and reducing the chances of personal biasness. Along with this the positivism philosophy would help in better representation and understanding the different patterns and trends in an appropriate manner. Thus it can be said that the selected methodology is appropriate for this study.

Research Approach

Research approach is an important part of the methodology which focuses on explaining that how the researcher would be approaching towards the research study. This methodological choice of the researcher is having an influence on all the different factors of the study in an significant way. The researcher approaches are being classified as the inductive, deductive and abductive(Dougherty et. al. 2019). Majority the researcher focuses on making use of inductive and deductive research approachs as they are easy to use. In inductive research approach the researcher focuses on doing the study on the basis of the aim and objective of the study. In contrast to this the for the deductive research the researcher focuses on creating hypothesis and the premises are known in this type of research.

For the existing research study the researcher had used the inductive research study. The different aim, objectives and the researcher questions are being developed in the context of the research topic. Further in this entire research study the researcher would try to find out the answer of the research questions and will make sure that aim and objectives of the study are fully satisfied through this report. This research approach is easy to use and will help in doing the study in more systematic and appropriate manner. Thus it can be said that the selected approach would be helpful in doing the study in an appropriate manner.

Research Design

Research design plays an major role in the overall presentation of the research study. It is is the way or the manner in which the scholar or the researcher focuses on integrating all the different parts of the research study in an systematic manner. There are different types of research designs which can be used by the researcher. Some of the most common types of research designs are being explained below such as:

Descriptive research design: in descriptive research design the researcher need to make sure that they are focusing on describing a particular situation in detail. All the different factors, theories and concepts related to the research topic are required to be implemented in an effective manner.

Experimental research design: this is an experiment in which the researcher tries to figure out the relationship between the two or more independent. In this type of study the researcher tried to apply the different analysis model and methods which can help the researcher in identifying the relationship between two different variables on which no study is being conducted before.

Diagnostic research design: for this study the researcher the identifies the reasons or the root cause behind the different concepts and their existence.

Correlational research design: in this type of research design the researcher focuses on identifying the relationship between the two or more variables for which the statistical methods are being used.

Exploratory research design: In such studies the researcher focuses on exploring all the different concepts, theories and factors which are associated with the research questions, aim and objective. Along with this an in depth research is being conducted for gathering the information and doing detailed research study related to the research questions.

On the basis of the above mentioned different types of research designs it can be said that the type of the research study and the research questions are the major factors which affects the choice of the research design by the researcher.The present study is focusing on explaining the issue of employee retention which is being faced by the case company during the pandemic which is an particular situation(Moon et. al. 2019). In this context it had been selected that descriptive research design would be used for this research study. This would help the researcher in ensuring that the particular situation and the consequences faced by the company related to employee retention and managing the employees during the pandemic are well managed in an appropriate manner. This research design aligns well with other methodological choices of the study so this study is being selected by the researcher.

Research Method

While conducting the research the researcher needs to make use of different research methods. These methods are broadly classified as qualitative and quantitative research methods. The major difference among both the methods is that in qualitative the research collects more textual data but in the case of quantitative research methods the numeric data is being collected for the study. These methods are further more classified into different methods. The choice of the method completely depends on the aim and objectives of the research study. In the present study the researcher would be using qualitative research method for collecting the data. For this secondary method would be used for collecting the information related to the research topic in an effective manner. The research topic is based on the recent event and due to this reason the study would focus on conducting an qualitative research so that better data related to the company and the research topic can be received.

Data Collection

Collecting the data in a systematic manner is very important for the research study. The research need to use the skills and knowledge properly while selecting the data collection method for the research study. The data collection methods are of two diverse types which are primary data collection and secondary data collection. In primary collection method the information is being collected by the researcher itself by doing the field research. But in the case of secondary research the data is being collected from the previous work of other scholars without doing field research(Allan, 2020). In the existing research secondary data collection method would be used in which literature sources will be used for data collection.

For secondary data the researcher would be gathering the information through the journals, books and other online literature sources. The secondary data collection method would help in collecting high quality data specific to the research aim and objective. This would help in getting better results for the research study. As the research topic is new and having a lot of relevant information available onlineit will be easier for the researcher to gather information in detail. This would allow the researcher to gather better information related to the research topic in detail. Also this would allow understanding that why the human resource need had increased for Tesco and for this how they are recruiting the employees and retaining the existing employees.

Data Analysis

After collecting the data, it is essential to analyze the data in a systematic manner. In data analysis section the researcher uses different models and techniques for analyzing the collected data in a systematic manner. The type of method used for the analysis depends on the time and nature of the data which is being conducted for the study. In this study the researcher would be using thematic analysis for analyzing the data. This is because the data collected is qualitative and this analysis method is effective for analyzing the qualitative data. Also this would allow the researcher and the readers in easily understanding that how the pandemic had affected the retention and the new hiring process of the case company.

Ethical considerations

Ethics are having a major role to play in every sector of life. Similarly in the research study also ethics are very important. It is essential for the researcher to make sure that they might focus on using the ethical and follow all the rules and regulations which might affect the authenticity of the research study. Ethical considerations of the research study are basically the set of ethics which are essential to follow while conducting the research. Along with this the different set of research ethics which are being made important for the research study as per the University guidelines are also important for the researcher. Some of the most common and important research ethics on which the researcher would be focusing on the existing study are being stated below such as:

Plagiarism: this is the most important factor or the ethics which is required to be followed during the research study. Under this ethics the researcher need to focus on ensuring that no work need to be copied from any of the research or the literate sources. Especially the work does not need to exact quote or copy the words of any other author which is published online and offline in their research study, research paper or any other documents. For this the researcher would pay attention on not copied the work of any other researcher and will make sure that if any of the content or information is being taken them proper citation would be done. The researcher would be making use of the appropriate referencing style which is being suggested by the University. Along with this proper referencing and citations would be done for avoiding any kind of the ethical claims related to the research study or the author themselves(Iphofen and Tolich, 2018).

The researcher needs to take care of the respect and dignity of all the research participants and stakeholders. In this context the research would make sure that the benefit, respect and interest of any of the researcher should not be compromised in any of the way. For this the researcher would make sure that the language, work, data collection or any of the other factor related to the research should not affect any of the internal or the external stakeholders negatively. Respect, privacy and dignity of all the researcher participants would be taken in care by the researcher in an appropriate manner(Aspers and Corte, 2019). The researcher would also make sure that the collected data should be stored and used in an ethical manner. It can be said that the researcher is pay attention on all the different types of ethics which are important. Along with this the University guidelines related to the study would also be taken in concern by the company.

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS

On the basis of the results of the gathering through the literature review stated above it can be said that there are some of the common themes which are being identified. Those these are represented and explained below in an systematic manner such as:

Retaining the employees during the pandemic

The businesses are facing great challenge in managing the employees in an appropriate manner. During the pandemic the situations the businesses need to focus more on their retention policies and had to take care of the different factors which are affecting the employee retention during the pandemic(Madhani, 2021). As a result of the increasing risk of the spread of pandemic the employees are much concerned for their heath. If the company is not offering an safe, hygiene and security workplace environment to their employees during the pandemic then the employees are not ready to work(Li et. al. 2021). In this context it had become very important for the firms to take care that they are working efficiently towards healthcare measures. The graph mentioned below shows that the comparison of the employees in year 2020 and 2021 in different regions. The graph showed that for some of the region's the number of employees had increased and some of the places it is the same.

(Source: BedFord, 2022)

Proper sanitizing, social distance and all the other important things related to safety of employees is taken in concern. Along with this the company is facing issues related to poor mental health of the employees during the pandemic. Similar to the physical wellbeing the mental well-being of the employees are also having an very crucial role to play for the employees. In this context Tesco is paying attention towards managing the employees in an appropriate manner(Mulligan, 2020). Along with this managing the remote workplace had also developed some of the important challenge for the businesses. Issues related to communication are very important for the company and this is affecting the performance of the company. Tesco is focusing on ensuring that they must develop better communication and collaboration among the teams while working as an remote workplace.

Leadership is having an major role to play for the businesses in all the different situations. The leader need to focus on communicating well with their employees. Along with this the leader should try to use better skills and effective leadership style during the pandemic. Supportive leadership can be used by the leader for taking care that all the employees should focus on taking care that it is essential to support the employees during the pandemic which can help them in keeping the employees motivated and satisfied with their jobs(Forbes et. al. 2020).

Increase in Human resource in Tesco during the pandemic

Appropriate amount of human resource is required in the company for meeting the growing customer demands in an appropriate manner. The covid-19 pandemic had changed the entire landscape to a greater extent. The way the businesses are operating and customers are making the purchase has changed drastically. Due to this reason it has become very important for the firms to ensure that they are having appropriate human resource which can meet the customer demands. Tesco being one of the most important market player of retail industry of UK has experienced an effective increase in the sales. During the pandemic the online purchase and the e-commerce sector has expired an sudden increase in the sales which has added great value to the profitability of the companies like Tesco. But as the sales has increased in UK it has become important for the company to have large number of employees for delivery the products to the customers within the least possible time.

Tesco initially has struggle in meeting the customer demand at the time of pandemic. The sale of the company has increased in millions and for this there is an immediate need to increase the human resource of the company. Tesco had decided to hire alot of temporary staff which can help them in managing the increased sales. This is one of the most effective action which is being taken by the company.Different reports and the articles mentioned in the literature review clearly shows that the company had increased the number of workers for meeting the increased demand. This has helped the company in number of ways. While hiring new temporary employees the company had continued to ensure that they must manage the existing employees in an appropriate manner. For this the company has taken care of the mental health and well being of their employees. This had helped them in ensuring that the employees of the company are delivering better performance and adding value to the productivity of the company.

After the pandemic, online sales have experienced a lot of importance which is affecting the retail industry to a greater extent. Now in the post pandemic era also the customers are willing to make online purchase rather than focusing on in store sales. Due to this reason the companies like Marks and Spencer are also investing in their online sales and enhancing their online presence. In response to this Tesco had also decided that they should give the permanent jobs to the temporary employees which are being hired during the pandemic. This is one of the most important strategic action of the company. This will allow the company in getting competitive advantage over others and managing their performance in the retail market in an effective manner. Thus it can be said that the company has managed the pandemic in an appropriate manner by ensuring appropriate amount of human resource in the company which had helped them in satisfying the customers during the pandemic also.

Employee retention at Tesco during the pandemic

Tesco had focused on developing different strategies which can help them in retaining the employees in an appropriate manner during the pandemic. Tesco had focused on offering different resources to support their employees in managing their mental health in an appropriate manner during the pandemic. Along with this the company had focused on creating an supportive workplace environment which can help the employees in managing the changing workplace situations and working patterns in an effective manner. Along with this the company had enhances the skills and knowledge of the employees in an appropriate manner(Fragala et. al. 2021). The company had invested better capital to better training of the employees and managers which can help them in developing the skills which are required to manage the pandemic in an appropriate manner.

Cole, (2020)has stated about Tesco that the company is focusing alot on the wellbeing and mental health of their students. For this they are working on different initiatives for ensuring that the mental health of the employees is managed in an appropriate manner. They are helping the employees in managing stress and anxiety in an appropriate manner. For this the company is having three important areas which is creating an supportive workplace experience, using great intervention and resources which are helping their employees in managing their mental health in an appropriate manner.

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS(900)

The above mentioned report had focused on explaining that how the businesses are retaining the employees in an appropriate manner. Along with this the study had considered the case of Tesco which had increases the number of employees and hired the new employees during the pandemic. Along with this it is well understood that the company had increase the number of employees as the demand of the online sales had increased significantly. In this context the company had hired large number of temporary employees which had helped them in managing and satisfying the human resource needs of the company in an effective manner.

Retaining the talented employees is very important for the businesses. For the retail sector firms employees are an important resource which are having an direct impact on the company performance which is well explained in the research study. Along with this the study had focused on exploring that the businesses need to focus on ensuring that they are having better strategies related to employee satisfaction and keeping their highly inspired towards their work. During the pandemic different factors related to the management of the employees had been changed to a greater extent. In this context the businesses are required to invest better capital in the human resource management and offering better training to their employees. Along with this the businesses operating in different industries had to focus on the safety and security of their employees from the spread of the novel coronavirus disease. The employers need to make sure that they are investing better capital for keeping the employees safe for which better health and safety measures are required to be taken. Moreover from the research it can be said that Tesco had focused on their employees in an effective manner. The company is having the ideology that for fighting the pandemic it is very essential for the company to have better support from their employees. Along with this the company had tried to take care of mental health of their employees. Also the company is developing the skills and knowledge of their employees as per the new normal which can help them in remaining effective during the pandemic and in the post pandemic situation as well.

On the basis of the report it can be recommended that there are different factors on which the companies need to focus while managing and retaining the employees in an appropriate manner during the crisis situations. The company need to focus on getting the feedback from their employees while managing them during the pandemic. The situation is completely new and the employees and the managers are not having knowledge how to manage it. If the company would be taking regular feedbacks from the employees. This would be very helpful for them in developing better strategy for managing the employees. Health and well-being of the employees need to be most important thing for the company. They just need to focus on taking care of healthcare of their employees. For this proper social distancing, masks, sanitizer and all the other safety measures are required to be taken in concern. While delivering the products, production process, inventory and in all the other departments Tesco need to ensure that the health and safety of their employees should not be compromised.

Vaccination need to be done in an appropriate manner which would help in ensuring that all the employees are free from the issue related to the risk of pandemic. Along with this the company need to focus that all the different rules and regulations made by the government in this context are being considered in an appropriate manner. This would help them in ensuring the safety of employees and avoiding the risk of any of the legal issues. Also this is important for better safety of their customers as the employees are directly or indirectly getting in touch with the employees. In this context it can be recommended that the company need to work on this factor. It can be recommended that Tesco need to focus on developing skills and knowledge of their managers and leaders.

During the pandemic it is very important that the leaders and managers should have better skills for managing the remote teams in an appropriate manner. Along with this it is essential for the leader to communicate well with the team which can help them in managing the team in an appropriate manner and motivating the employees. The leader needs to work with their employees and make sure that they are doing well. Also the leader need to make sure that during the pandemic also the employees are delivered better work and offering fast delivery of the food and service. This is important for the positive company performance in an appropriate manner.

References

Aguenza, B.B. and Som, A.P.M., 2018. Motivational factors of employee retention and engagement in organizations. International Journal of Advances in Agriculture Sciences.

Allan, G., 2020. Qualitative research. In Handbook for research students in the social sciences (pp. 177-189). Routledge.

Aspers, P. and Corte, U., 2019. What is qualitative in qualitative research. Qualitative sociology, 42(2), pp.139-160.

BedFord, E., 2022. Average number of employees at Tesco worldwide in 2020 and 2021, by region [Online]. Available through:<https://www.statista.com/statistics/490890/tesco-group-number-of-employees-worldwide/>.

Bufquin, D., Park, J.Y., Back, R.M., de Souza Meira, J.V. and Hight, S.K., 2021. Employee work status, mental health, substance use, and career turnover intentions: An examination of restaurant employees during COVID-19. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 93, p.102764.

Bufquin, D., Park, J.Y., Back, R.M., de Souza Meira, J.V. and Hight, S.K., 2021. Employee work status, mental health, substance use, and career turnover intentions: An examination of restaurant employees during COVID-19. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 93, p.102764.

Butler, S. 2020. Tesco gives permanent jobs to 16,000 staff taken on in Covid crisis [Online]. Available through: <https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/24/tesco-gives-permanent-jobs-to-16000-staff-taken-on-in-covid-crisis>.

Cho, S.J., Lee, J.Y. and Winters, J.V., 2020. COVID-19 Employment status impacts on food sector workers.

Cole, C., 2020. Tesco: the importance of employee wellbeing strategies in the retail sector [Online]. Available through:<https://diversityq.com/tesco-the-importance-of-employee-wellbeing-strategies-in-the-retail-sector-1510749/>.

Costa Dias, M., Joyce, R., Postel?Vinay, F. and Xu, X., 2020. The challenges for labour market policy during the Covid?19 pandemic. Fiscal Studies, 41(2), pp.371-382.

De Winne, S., Marescaux, E., Sels, L., Van Beveren, I. and Vanormelingen, S., 2019. The impact of employee turnover and turnover volatility on labor productivity: a flexible non-linear approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(21), pp.3049-3079.

Dougherty, M.R., Slevc, L.R. and Grand, J.A., 2019. Making research evaluation more transparent: Aligning research philosophy, institutional values, and reporting. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(3), pp.361-375.

Elsafty, A.S. and Ragheb, M., 2020. The role of human resource management towards employees retention during Covid-19 pandemic in medical supplies sector-Egypt. Business and Management Studies, 6(2), pp.5059-5059.

Elsafty, A.S. and Ragheb, M., 2020. The role of human resource management towards employees retention during Covid-19 pandemic in medical supplies sector-Egypt. Business and Management Studies, 6(2), pp.5059-5059.

Forbes, S., Birkett, H., Evans, L., Chung, H. and Whiteman, J., 2020. Managing employees during the COVID-19 pandemic: Flexible working and the future of work.

Fragala, M.S., Goldberg, Z.N. and Goldberg, S.E., 2021. Return to work: managing employee population health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Population Health Management, 24(S1), pp.S-3.

Greenberg, N., 2020. Mental health of health-care workers in the COVID-19 era. Nature Reviews Nephrology, 16(8), pp.425-426.

Hamouche, S., 2020. COVID-19 and employees’ mental health: stressors, moderators and agenda for organizational actions. Emerald Open Research, 2.

HR World, 2021. UK supermarket giant Tesco hired 20,000 permanent workers during pandemic [Online]. Available through: < https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/workplace-4-0/recruitment/uk-supermarket-giant-tesco-hired-20000-permanent-workers-during-pandemic/82064664>. [Accessed on 26^th November 2021].

Iphofen, R. and Tolich, M. eds., 2018. The SAGE handbook of qualitative research ethics. Sage.

Jeff Cox, 2021. A record 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in August, led by food and retail industries [Online]. Available through: < https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/12/a-record-4point3-million-workers-quit-their-jobs-in-august-led-by-food-and-retail-industries.html>. [Accessed on 25^th Dec 2021].

Judson, T.J., Odisho, A.Y., Young, J.J., Bigazzi, O., Steuer, D., Gonzales, R. and Neinstein, A.B., 2020. Implementation of a digital chatbot to screen health system employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 27(9), pp.1450-1455.

Kundu, S.C. and Lata, K., 2017. Effects of supportive work environment on employee retention: Mediating role of organizational engagement. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.

Kundu, S.C. and Lata, K., 2017. Effects of supportive work environment on employee retention. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.

Li, J.Y., Sun, R., Tao, W. and Lee, Y., 2021. Employee coping with organizational change in the face of a pandemic: The role of transparent internal communication. Public Relations Review, 47(1), p.101984.

Madhani, P.M., 2021. Enhancing retail workforce performance with real options approach. The Journal of Total Rewards, 30(3), pp.77-93.

Madhani, P.M., 2021. ENHANCING RETAIL WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE WITH A REAL-OPTIONS APPROACH. The Journal of Total Rewards, 30(3), pp.77-93.

Mateescu, M.A., Muscalu, M.S. and Baleanu, D., 2020. Human Resource Dynamics in the Context of the Pandemic. Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, 20(1), pp.415-421.

Moon, K., Blackman, D.A., Adams, V.M., Colvin, R.M., Davila, F., Evans, M.C., Januchowski?Hartley, S.R., Bennett, N.J., Dickinson, H., Sandbrook, C. and Sherren, K., 2019. Expanding the role of social science in conservation through an engagement with philosophy, methodology, and methods. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 10(3), pp.294-302.

Mulligan, S., 2020. How you can help those hit by coronavirus pandemic. St. Helens Star (St. Helens, England), pp.NA-NA.

Pandey, P. and Pandey, M.M., 2021. Research Methodology Tools and Techniques.

Prasad, D.K., Mangipudi, D.M.R., Vaidya, D.R. and Muralidhar, B., 2020. Organizational climate, opportunities, challenges and psychological wellbeing of the remote working employees during COVID-19 pandemic: a general linear model approach with reference to information technology industry in hyderabad. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), 11(4).

Prasetyo, I., Aliyyah, N., Rusdiyanto, R., Utari, W., Suprapti, S., Winarko, R., Chamariyah, C., Muninghar, M., Halimah, N., Aminatuzzuhro, A. and Indrawati, M., 2021. Effects of organizational communication climate and employee retention toward employee performance. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 24(1), pp.1-11.

Ridgway, M., 2019. Brexit: human resourcing implications. Employee Relations: The International Journal.

Satyanarayana, P.N.V.V. and Bhaskar, N.U., 2020. BEYOND ETHICS–TOWARDS DHARMA & ETHOS–A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY ON CORRELATION BETWEEN ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE & IMPROVED PERFORMANCE–A CASE OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY.

Shipton, H., Whysall, Z. and Abe, C., 2021. Turnover and Retention in the United Kingdom: Change, Uncertainty and Opportunity. In Global Talent Retention: Understanding Employee Turnover Around the World. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Snyder, H., 2019. Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of business research, 104, pp.333-339.

Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Clarke, V. and Braun, V., 2017. Thematic analysis. The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology, 2, pp.17-37.

The Economic Times, 2020. Tesco recruits 45,000 UK staff over soaring demand amid outbreak [Online]. Available through: <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/tesco-recruits-45000-uk-staff-over-soaring-demand-amid-outbreak/articleshow/75043338.cms>.

Tian, H., Shuja Iqbal, S.A., Qalati, S.A., Anwar, F. and Khan, M.A.S., 2020. The impact of transformational leadership on employee retention: Mediation and moderation through organizational citizenship behavior and communication. Frontiers in psychology, 11.

Wang, B., Liu, Y., Qian, J. and Parker, S.K., 2021. Achieving effective remote working during the COVID?19 pandemic: A work design perspective. Applied psychology, 70(1), pp.16-59.

Wilson, J.M., Lee, J., Fitzgerald, H.N., Oosterhoff, B., Sevi, B. and Shook, N.J., 2020. Job insecurity and financial concern during the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with worse mental health. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 62(9), pp.686-691.

Zangirolami-Raimundo, J., Echeimberg, J.D.O. and Leone, C., 2018. Research methodology topics: Cross-sectional studies. Journal of Human Growth and Development, 28(3), pp.356-360.

Zhong, Y., Li, Y., Ding, J. and Liao, Y., 2021. Risk Management: Exploring Emerging Human Resource Issues during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(5), p.228.