Executive Summary:
At the beginning, it is important to say that Riva is one of the famous multinational brands. It is one of the well-known brands under the umbrella of Armada Group. The company was established in 1997. Currently, Riva is operational in five countries of the Gulf region; Kuwait, United Arab of Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabian and Bahrain. Riva has more than thirty outlet stores in the region with an aim to expand to 150 by the end of 2017. The company faces extensive competition globally thus needs continuos development to match the trends in the fashion industry. Riva is considered a unique brand in provision of fashion styles for women and men beside the children clothes. The company is known as the combination of bold colors with special details and fresh new silhouettes. The collections that are presented by Riva allow a mix of Western and Eastern inspirations to present a unique look with a special appeal. The collections ate out of outstanding creativity. The collections allow women to express themselves through the definition of the unique and beautiful colors, patterns and special themes. It is also noted that Riva cosndiers and respects people across all the cultural boundaries. Riva operates in a niche fashion market following the existence of extensive differences between the high street European labels and the international appealing collections. The administration ensures the market is only supplied with the products in the latest fashion. It is evident that Riva is a contemporary brand for the women clothes. Riva is passionate in empowering its customers and clients through the creative, selective and confident collection in every season. It is known that at the beginning of each season the rate of sales is always high. Riva fashion stores are famous since they stock different sizes of clothes. The main target of Riva is the satisfaction for all the customers. Also, the company designs clothes suitable for all ages. The collection of Riva Fashion store is offering elegant and stylish designs. Also, it is important to say that the fashion stylists provide the markets with varied colors. The Riva fashion stores also charge reasonable prices for tehri products.
History and background of Riva:
Riva is one of the most well-known brands in the fashion industry. It has been among the extensively successful internationalbrands. The Riva company has deep history in the fashion industry. It was established in Paris, France. The company intended to invest more across the gulf in its first ten years of opeartions. The franchising strategy is the most convincing strategy to ensure business expansion for Riva fashion. Riva has established itself as a great successful fashion brand in the Middle East since its establishment in 2001. It is clear that Riva had witnessed a great progress during the last five years with sales exceeding the targets. On average, Riva Fashion Stores had managed a 25% increase in its annual sales (Moore 2000).This success has motivated the founders in expanding the businesses in the branches. Kris Barber who is working as Business Development Manager of Riva stated that the organization will advance its operations as a brand in the fashion market to extend growth. Riva Fashion Stores is owned by the Kuwait based Armada Retail Corporation Group; Riva had many outlets in Kuwait reach to ten outlets. These stores are spread around Kuwait. The administration of Riva aims at establishing a number of outlets to a maximum of one hundred outlets across the Gulf Countries in the following years. In 2017 see many stores shall be opened in the cities of Kuwait, Centre of Burjuman Dubai and Al Wadha Mall that is located in Abu Dhabi.
COMPANY PHILOSOPHY
All the companies have special philosophies and each member in the companies should abide by the specific philosophies. In the case of Riva, the company is one Family and all the employees who are working in Riva Fashion Stores are loyal to the organization. It is possible to say that the loyalty of the employees is one of the reasons behind the success of Riva Fashion. The staff members are working hard to ensures Riva Fashion Stores in the highest position in the fashion market (Moore 2000).
The administration of Riva realized that keeping its promises to the clients is one of the undertakings that it can explore fearlessly. It would be a guideline for the administration to offer solutions to some of the problems that may get along with the company. All the employees working in Riva Company work extra hard to ensure they deliver the best services to the clients. It is possible to have the clients as the best promoters when they are provided with the best services. The creativity is one of the essential elements has been considered a priority to the administration of Riva Fashion.
BRAND VISION
Riva aims to be the leading Brand in the retailing market throughout the Gulf region. It is clear that the company is working hard in the market to attract more customers. Riva Fashion has becomea famous name in the Kuwait market following its many branches as the administration aims to increases the number of branches around Kuwait. The vision of Riva in the next decade is being the top brand not only in Kuwait but also in the whole Gulf Area. The brand is one of the most innovative brands in the fashion market and it became the leading clothes company. The company will focus more on the quality standards, technical perfection and the innovative effects to be more unique (Moore 2000).
THE MISSION OF RIVA:
Riva’s mission is working very hard in the provision of the best products as well as unique services to all the customers through adoption of the timely delivery. Riva Fashion Stores are also working to enhance the satisfaction of the clients satisfaction by paying more attention for the quality and the best prices. Riva has also managed to gain some loyalty from the customers and they will work more to sustain this loyalty by offering wide range of products and excellent services.It has been noted that most of its clients who visiting the outlets are of different shapes and varied size (Moore 2000). Also, the company serves each customers based on their special preferences. Riva provides varied collections basd on different designs which have been made to attract a lot of customers and they suit different lifestyles of the customers.
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
Like any other businesses, Riva Fashion store has special strategy for its Human Resource Management. The department ensures that all of the objectives are matched with the vision, mission and the philosophy of the organization. The department guides the rest of the departments to keep in the the line of the company’s objectives (Fernie et al, 1997). The department is responsible for the recruitment, training and compensating the skillful employees to achieve the organizational goals.The human resource management's role is planning, developing and administering the programs and policies which are made to ensure the best use of the company’s resources (Jackson et al, 2014).The human resource management is concerned with the staff at work and their relationship within Riva which is considered a part from the management strategy. The human resource management plays critical role by encouraging the suggested candidates by providing the higher incentives.
The main activity of Human Resource Management is strengthening the relationships between the members of the company and the administration. It is important to satisfy the needs of the employees to encourage them to offer extensive efforts to the development of the company. The second activity is to develop and improve the employees' capabilities to elevate the efficiency of the work (Jackson et al, 2014).
The functional issues in human resource management are:
The planning process,
Selecting the suitable staff
Developing the abilities of employees
Elevating the performance of the employees.
JOB ANALYSIS PROCESS
In Riva fashion, the process of job analysis starts when the organization needs additional employees to fill some vacancies in the organization. The human resource department would identify and inform the employees of the main tasks for the free vacancies and sensitize them of the main goal of the departments that need more employees.
It is essential to say that the desired needs that should be available in the potential employees shall be gathered and collected through the personal interviews and observation (Christian & Ehrenstorfer, 2015). During this process, Riva Fashion will create the job description which it describes the main tasks, responsibilities and duties that need to be managed by the effective performance of the employees. Riva shall present the job specification on the vacant positions with the identification of the required personal qualities, traits, skills, and qualifications.
The job analysis process in Riva Fashion should be conducted in a special and logical manner, following the professional practices and appropriate management. Therefore, a multi-stage process has to be followed, regardless of the job analysis methods to be used. The stages for the typical job analysis are outlined in this picture, but the methods which are used can be varied and the number of jobs should be taken in the considerations.
PERSONNEL PLANNING AND RECRUITING PROCESS
Plan and forecast the needed positions
Posting for the new jobs
Sourcing of the candidates
Internal and external pooling of the candidates
Candidates shall be screened
The basic goal of Human Resource department is hiring and training the suitable employees to work in Riva Fashion Stores. The department plans and forecasts special abilities of the staff members. It is essential for the department to perform these issues in the best way to put Riva Fashion Stores in a higher position in the fashion market. Riva Fashion Stores should manage the process of planning in the best way to attract the best candidates to improve its services which are presented for the customers and increase its rate of income.
TESTING AND SELECTION PROCESS
It is important for the human resources department to screen all the applications and select the most qualified to work in Riva. The candidates shall be called to start their initial process. This step shall be undertaken by the recruitment officer because he will be the responsible for the process of recruitment in cooperation with the members of HR department. The testing process will depend on the position the potential applicant is applying for in the company (Marler & Fisher, 2013). If he is applying for an accounting position, then he will need to undergo specific test which measure his abilities and capabilities for managing the calculations in the best way. He should have the ability to use excel program and other mathematical programs. If he is applying for a position in sales, he will undergo some tests related to his ability to attract the clients to purchase from the store (Christian & Ehrenstorfer, 2015). These tests shall help the employer to determine if the employee is fit for this position in Riva organization or not.
CANDIDATES INTERVIEWING PROCESS
After pooling, screening and testing process end, the applicant will undergo a series of interviews. The initial interview shall be conducted by the recruitment officer. The questions normally are asked from the written CV of the applicants or from the application forms. The recruitment officer shall take some notes to be provided in the applicant’s document so that the hiring officer in the next interview can relate to what happened in the first interview. Next stage would be the interview of the head of department; he will ask the potential employee of his experiences from the previous work.
During these two meetings, it is important to analyze the character of the potential employee and te willingness to participate in the growth of the organization.The last interview will be with the owner of the company or the regional manager which is considered the last stage in interviewing.
EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Riva aims to attract the high skilled persons and it will be more oustanding if the potential employees are professional and have experience in thei career. Before the potential employee is hired, they will undergo a special one week training. The employees shall be sent to the Head Office to organize for the training programs. The Training and Development officer shall be responsible of feeding the newly hired employee with all the information that they need. Processes and Product Guidelines will be provided as well. Also, there will be some training on personal care for the positions that require customer service (Marler & Fisher, 2013). They must know how to provide good and quality service to the customers, which is one of the philosophies of Riva Fashion.
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AND APPRAISAL PROCESS
The performance and appraisal step is important in the role of recruiting new employees. It is also referred to as the evaluation process which is applied after the probation period that extends for one hundred days. It is used to document and evaluate the performance of the potential employees and it consists of regular reviews of employee within Riva sites.
After the probation period, the head of the department shall give a report on how to conduct performance and evaluation tests for the potential employees. He should discuss this report with the employee himself. The discussion enables the employee to understand his his strengths and weaknesses and how to improve on various areas (Fernie et al, 1997). Following up the appraisal will be continued for six months to identify the performance of the employee.
COMPENSATION, INCENTIVES, AND BENEFITS PROGRAM
Offering special salaries for the professional employees will attract them. The majority of the organizations would discuss the market to realize the level of salaries in existence so that the company may provide higher salaries to attract the skilled persons. (Jackson et al, 2014). It is noted also that the salaries of each employee shall be varied according to the process of recruitment in the company:
1. Overseas Recruitment (Asia and Europe Union)
2. Local Recruitment (Kuwait).
The below figure shows the reward programs for various method sof recruitment.
Incentives and Reward Program:
a. Daily Sales Target Achieved = monetary reward per staff
b. Monthly Sales Target Achieved = monetary reward per staff
c. Monthly Commision = applied to Shop Managers
d. Quarterly Bonus per shop = monetary reward per staff
e. Special Holiday Target Achieved = monetary reward per staff
f. Special Holidays (Eid Season) = daily allowance per staff
g. Exemplary Attendance = certificate
h. Perfect Inventory Audit = certificate
Would you interested in joining Riva organization:
I would be interested to be one of the staff members who are working in a great organization like Riva in the fashin industry following its special strategy in business which ensure all the employees are equal in terms of the benefits. It would be encouraging to work in Riva since growth is assured when one is determined and undertakes his duties responsibly.
Recommendations:
The great organizations obtain value from the recommendations given to the administration. Riva had specified a hot line and special email to receive recommendations from the clients in different stores. I had provided some of recommendations for the head of HR department in Riva such as opening more stores in State of Kuwait to take advantage of the wide range of customers in Kuwait. I had also recommended for promotions in the celebrations and festivals of Kuwait that happen in February. It is known that the majority of Kuwait people go out in the malls during these days to purchase the latest fashionable clothes. It is clear that all the job seasons are not the same. It would be recoemmdnable for the Riva administration to enhance propmotional campaigns when the sales seem to decline. The promotional campaigns will will refresh the fashion market and Riva will be assured of business success.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Riva is one of the most famous fashion stores around the world but with a major market in the Gulf region. The company is extremely careful in its recruitment process as it enablest the companyto access the right employees who contribute to the excellence of the organization. Selection and recruitment of skillful employees enables the company to achieve a predictable future with exclusive performance. Therefore, the recruitment process has to be undertaken with the relavant energy and targets. As such, the company will remain relevant in the fashion industry.
References:
Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.
Marler, J. H., & Fisher, S. L. (2013). An evidence-based review of e-HRM and strategic human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 23(1), 18-36.
Christian, S, & Ehrenstorfer, B. (2015). The importance of automotive services in the distribution business and their critical factors for success. Issn 2045-810x, 133.
Fernie, J., Moore, C., Lawrie, A., & Hallsworth, A. (1997). The internationalization of the high fashion brand: the case of central London.Journal of Product & Brand Management, 6(3), 151-162.
Moore, C. M., Fernie, J., & Burt, S. (2000). Brands without boundaries–the internationalisation of the designer retailer’s brand. European Journal of Marketing, 34(8), 919-937.
