Executive Summary OF THE ARTICLE
The article revolves around the HR function and the remolding of HR function at Home Depot. With ineffective HR personnel working towards the organizational success, Home Depot surely witnessed failure despite several employees working towards the accomplishment of goals and objectives.
Introduction
The objective of this assignment is to evaluate the remolding of HR function at Home Depot along with its pros and cons. In addition, the study aims to seek answer regarding the factors or dimensions of the retail industry that can significantly impact the delivery of HR at Home Depot desirable and undesirable. In addition, the study aims to provide critique on the elimination of HR function and HR manager position at Home Depot. Lastly, the study focuses on evaluating the feasibility of transferring experience from one country to another (i.e. Kuwaiti Organization) along with obstacles and problems that are to be encountered, while devising ways to overcome the problems in the most suitable way.
Pros and Cons of Revamping HR Function at Home Depot
The revamping of HR function at Home Depot surely had some pros and cons. The dominant pros and cons that the organization witnessed due to the restoration of HR function are as follows:
Pros
The changes brought into the HR function surely had some dominant benefits which are as follows (Grossman, 2008):
- Accurate and timely feedback
- In-sourced transactional activities
With in-sourced transactional activities, the HR personnel would have significant ability to reduce the legal violations within the store in terms of safety, security and employee relations to ultimately influence the customers to interact with the staff members. As a result, the organization was provided with significantly ability to communicate effectively while gaining their reviews and opinions.
- Significant ability to measure performance
With the changes in the HR function, Home Depot was able to set key performance indicators. By doing so, the organization was provided with an ability to assess its performance on the basis of staffing, learning, performance management and associate relations.
Cons
Although the company was able to grab some benefits due to the restoration of HR function, but the company also witnessed several cons or disadvantages that are as follows (Grossman, 2008):
- Lost good people
The restoration of HR function led to the termination of several key employees. The terminated employees were provided with an opportunity to apply back for new position but ultimately the organization lost some valuable employees that did not turn back to the organization once being fired.
- Resistance to change by the key personnel
The doubts regarding the restoration or the change of HR function at Home Depot eventually resulted in the resistance of several key personnel. The organization witnessed significant increase in the level of sales but the lingering doubts about the changes significantly raised questions about the leadership and the organization’s success in the forthcoming years.
Dimensions in the Retail Industry and Home Depot Delivery of HR
The comparison of remolding of HR function at Home Depot provided significant insight. For instance, having a full-time HR personnel present at the store was eventually accepted as an innovative idea, whereas some retailers considered this idea to be unimportant.
On the other hand, the remolding of HR function would significantly impact the HR jobs within the retail industry. If an organization aims to distribute the workload of HR personnel, the transactional HR would significantly decline, whereas the remaining jobs within the retail store would become more influential. As a result of such changes, the retail industry would become liable to hire personnel that are sophisticated with significant insight regarding the business.
With such changes in the HR function at Home Depot, it was clearly witnessed that the District HR Managers (DRHMs) and their assistants would be provided with significant opportunities to distinguish themselves from the cluster of HR personnel on the basis of skills, competencies and decision making ability. In addition, they would be provided with an ability to develop their skills to significant level. On the other hand, the lingering doubts regarding the change significantly implies that the Home Depot made a mistake by giving up its HR management and core HR functions (Grossman, 2008).
Elimination of HR Positions at Home Depot
Personally, I believe that the step taken by Home Depot was a mistake that it gave up its HR function due to the obsession of sales enhancement. An organization that aims to achieve success can only do so, if it is equipped with empowered employees. Without HR function and the HR managers, Home Depot might have enhanced its profits and level of sales in the short-run, but in the long-run the organization would witness lack of motivation level among the employees as well as frustration. This would be the result of giving up the core functions of HR managers (i.e. recruitment and selection).
Transferring Experience of Home Depot to Kuwaiti Organization
Transferring the experience of Home Depot to Kuwaiti organization would surely be a distressful step as the employees would to face several problems and difficulties. Some of the prominent difficulties and problems that the workforce would have to face include (Martin, 2006):
- Organizational Culture
Transferring the experience of one organization to another would surely result in the failure of business. For instance, transferring the experience of Home Depot would surely be undermined by the Kuwaiti organization due to its perception of superiority.
- Resistance to Operational Change
Implementing the experience of Home Depot on Kuwaiti Organization would surely impact the employees. As a result of such change, the employees would surely resist to change. As a result, the resistance to change would neglect the transfer of experience.
Conclusion
This has become quite clear that the restoration of HR function at Home Depot surely provided it with a unique opportunity to resolve the legal violations in terms of safety, security and employee relation. The remolding of HR function significantly allowed the organization to gain accurate and timely feedback; resulting in the organization to become proactive rather than reactive. In short, the benefits of remolding the HR function at Home Depot surely outclassed the negatives. This clearly reflects that the organization was able to become a benchmark for organizations that wish to transfer experience in the retailing industry.
References
Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2009). Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, 4th edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Grossman, R. (2008). Remolding HR at Home Depot. HR Magazine, 53(11), 67-72
Martin, G. (2006). Managing people and organizations in changing context. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
