Human Resource Management Report

Executive Summary

This report was commissioned to identify, explore and analyze various techniques of retaining the best talented pool of employees in Coca Cola Amatil. Selected methods have been evaluated and examined to see their applicability to meet the desired results. This report is specifically based on the employers of Coca Cola Amatil Ltd, Australia.

The report is divided in to two main sections the first section gives an overview of the Coca Cola Amatil Company and solely draws focus on the external environment, considering elements like new technology and market competitors, and how these external forces are exerting a positive or negative impact on the company.

In the next section of the report the foremost features for retaining employees for long run are discussed. Among all just two options, working environment and certain benefits for retaining an employee are thoroughly discussed and developed for resolving an issue.

The assessment of the options showed that maintaining an attractive working environment that nourishes and retains good people should be the primary and foremost employee retention strategies. This covers a lot of issues ranging from maintaining and evolving a corporate mission, creating consistent, clear and logical operating procedures and policies, values and cultural system that insist on a safe working environment. This will result in an increase in employee satisfaction thus encouraging them to work more vigilantly and securing them for long term commitment with Coca Cola Amatil. Nevertheless it is only assumed that all the employees are willing and accept any change that the company brings about in their work environment. The second option of providing the employees with a better and attractive benefit program not only attracts new employers that also have the potential to increase motivation and job satisfaction.

Based on the two options discussed in the paper it is recommended that Coca Cola Amatil should focus in building a better workplace for its employees and offer them attractive employee benefits for retaining them with the company.

 

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this report is to identify, explore and analyze various techniques of retaining the best talented pool of employees in Coca Cola Amatil, and gather the information and the environment in which Coca Cola Amatil is operated will also be discussed and analyzed.

1.2 Aim

The basic aim of this report is to familiarize Coca Cola Amatil with various techniques of human resource management (HRM) that can help in retaining the best employees without laying too much cost on the company.

1.3 Scope

This report focuses on HR activities specifically such activities that can help in retaining best employees in Coca Cola  particularly benefits and working environment. In addition to that the environmental issues that affect the working, operations and profit making such as technology and competition will be seen.

1.4 Plan

The report is designed in two main sections the first section of the report will give an overview of Coca Cola Amatil and the environment in which it operates. In the second section it will discuss identify, applied and evaluate two HR activities that can help Coca Cola Amatil to retain its employees.

1.5 Limitations

Due to the limited access to the information about Coca Cola Amatil’s human resource practices, the recommendations provided in this report are entirely based on assumptions as stated earlier.

As there is a specific word limit so this report is unable to fully cover all the environmental factors that influence the operations of Coca Cola Amatil, also only two HR activities that can help in retaining the best talented employees will be discussed.

2 Overview of Coca Cola Amatil

Coca Cola Amatil is an Australian company though it owes 29% of shares to Coca Cola Company. It is one of the world’s top five Coca Cola bottlers and the leading bottlers of ready to drink nonalcoholic beverages in Asia Pacific region (Mark, 2013). It operates in six countries like Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Coca Cola Amatil has an access to over 270 million consumers among which more than 740,000 are active customers. The company employees 15,000 people across the group (Keng-Liang, Chaikomin, Doran, Horowitz, & Ryner, 2006).

Coca Cola Amatil manufactures, distributes and sells a diversified range of product portfolio that includes carbonated soft drinks, energy and sports drinks, water, flavored milk, coffee, fruit juices and ready to eat packaged vegetable and fruit products. It also distributes and sells cider, beer and Beam Global premium spirits, includes Canadian Club, Jim Beam, The Macallan and Makers Mark (Sandona & Miller).

2.1 Functioning of HR department of Coca Cola Amatil

Coca Cola Amatil’s human resource team has an expertise in providing HR advice and consultation on every aspect of their employee agenda to drive positive business results (Raymond, 2010). Every member of the team is dedicated in delivering an HR plan that is affiliated with the business strategy of Coca Cola Amatil with a focus on (Lynn & James, 2004).

  • Building organizational capability
  • Providing a healthy and safe work place
  • Driving HR efficiency
  • Creating a great place to work

With a specialist team in HR department Coca Cola Amatil focuses on following HR activities (Raymond, 2010)

  • Recruitment
  • Occupational health and safety
  • Learning and organizational development
  • Remuneration and benefits

2.2 Competitors

Coca Cola Amatil is the leader in the beverage industry by forty three percent. Its main competitors are PepsiCo, Nudie foods Australia, Schweppes, Kirks, Golden Circle, Bundaberg, Heinz and Saxbys these are just the few on top. All of these companies fall in the beverage industry and competing against one another (Christophe, 2011).

There are always many pressures that you have to face as a business. Coca Cola Amatil has to face three main pressures (Jay, 2005)

  • Price pressure from major competitors including on top is PepsiCo
  • Competition in Australian supermarket
  • Labels owned by supermarket chains

2.3 Technology

Coca Cola Amatil is using a technology of Blow Fill in production of plant that will continue to light weight packaging ranges that includes PET, glass, aluminum, labels, closures and shrinks film within commercial and technological constraints. Industries like this consumes large amount of energy and requires machinery and factories to convert raw materials into products and goods. A lot of waste material and heat may cause pollution or pose environmental problems (Groover, 2012).

3. Retaining best talented employees for Coca Cola Amatil

3.1 HR activities that can help in retaining employees

There are a lot of human resource strategies that can help in retaining the best talented employees such as

  • Working environment
  • Employee support strategies
  • Employee relationship strategies
  • Employee compensation and benefit strategies
  • Employee growth strategies

Among these only two strategies will be discussed and analyzed in this report i-e working environment and employee compensation and benefit strategies (Terence, Brooks, & Lee, 2001).

3.1.1 Working Environment

Marinating an attractive working environment that nourishes and retains good people is the primary and foremost employee retention strategies. This covers a lot of issues ranging from maintaining and evolving a corporate mission, creating consistent, clear and logical operating procedures and policies, values and cultural system that insist on a safe working environment (Nicholas, 2006).

The overall goal of creating an impressive and smart working environment is to provide your employees with a place where they want to work and consider themselves as a valuable part of the company (Lynn & James, 2004). According to some HR experts it is observed that most people do not keep impressive salaries, less workloads or vacation time on top of their lists instead they have a preference for workplace perks and more long term compensation and benefits.

Here are some of the basic points that can enhance the working environment.

  • Be flexible: With the advancement in technology many multinational companies are no longer following the traditional 9-5 working hours. They are now offering flexibility in working hours (Christopher, 2003)
  • Communicate: Frequent communication with your employees not only keeps them in a loop that also reminds them that they are a valuable part of the company. Companies should implement an “open door policy” at work (Christophe, 2011).
  • Build trust: The most treasured elements in the workplace relationships are trust, honesty and fairness.
  • Recognize success: that’s the most valued aspect for an employee. The top 5 practices of awarding recognition are cash, certificates, gift certificates, company merchandise and food (Riccardo, 2004).
  • Provide sense of purpose: Those employees who find purpose and meaning within their work are happier, healthier and more productive.
  • Give and receive feedback: Timey and focused feedback addressing current issues and avoiding too much criticism of the past lets employees know their performance and how they are accomplishing and meeting their goals (Anil, 2005).

3.1.2 Employee Benefits to encourage employee retention

The most important human resource processes is giving benefits to employees. This process is considered to be the most critical part for the modern HR organizations.  Today employees are not interested in working only for the cash, they expect something ‘extra’. This extra can be called as employee benefits or fringe benefits these are non-financial method of compensation that are offered to workers in addition to their cash salary, in order to enrich their lives (Nicholas C. , 2008). Benefits and perks can make a company capable of attracting the brightest and the best in the industry and can help in retaining the most talented pool of employees for long term. Employee benefits are not given on the basis of performance. These benefits have no direct impact on the performance of employee, on the contrary inadequate or poor benefits can contribute to absenteeism, low satisfaction level and turnover (Hall & Moritz, 2003).

3.2 Identification of how chosen HR activities could be applied to achieve CEO’s assumed objectives

Working environment

Coca Cola Amatil can implement different polices in their company that can create a better and attractive working environment thus satisfying majority of employees and increasing the probability of their long term commitment with the company. The company can make different teams of their workers and keep observing their performance this will not only make an employee to work harder it will also make them develop loyalty with Coca Cola Amatil (Nicholas C. , 2008).

‘One company, one team, one passion’

A unique mixture of flexible, communicative, trustworthy, success recognition, providing sense of purpose and giving and receiving feedback can allow the workers of Coca Cola Amatil to relish an atmosphere where support is close at hand, ideas are open and free to find their way and pride is all that inspires the employees to grow (Lynn & James, 2004). The company should focus on fostering a workplace that can embrace the exceptional abilities of its people.

 

Benefits

Coca Cola Amatil can retain their employees by increasing and putting a little more surveillance on their benefit policy. Retaining the best and quality pool of employees requires a planned strategy that rewards its workers for loyalty. Benefits or compensation policy that will focus on the seniority can give an impression to the new employees that Coca Cola Amatil values and encourage those employees who decides to remain with the company (David & Neil, 2008). Experienced and qualified workers will think twice before they plan to leave the company if they receive other openings even with higher pays. There should be a lot of benefits for full time workers like health insurance must be a top priority goal of strategic benefits plan (James, 2000).

Beside all these Coca Cola Amatil can also offer certain benefits to its employees.

  • Onsite free products every day and can also give nonalcoholic beverages allowance or the vouchers to purchase alcohol on discounted prices.
  • Can purchase additional leave up to four weeks.
  • Passes for western plain zoo or Taronga Zoo for employers having family or children.
  • Discounts to Apple, OPSM, Fitness First, Health insurance and can include some other providers on negotiable rates.

3.3 Critical evaluation of chosen HR activities “to retain the best talented pool of employees”

Working environment

Advantages

  • It is observed that a relaxed, friendly and flexible workplace culture typically raises productivity. It reduces a lot of stress and in return leaving employees with more time to work and think about themselves. Although keeping a relaxed working environment is typically difficult for large businesses but there must be some chunks of flexibility that can attract employees (Lohith & Suverna, 2009)
  • Better communication system in the company keeps the employees informed about the latest happening around them and makes them feel as the valuable and important part of the company (Jonathan & Sheehan, 2005). Otherwise there is a possibility that employees are deviated from their goals.
  • Building trust with the employees not only give them sense of security they also relate themselves with the company and are more willing to remain for long run.
  • Better working environments can also create a sense of friendly and positive competition among employees (Glenda, Burgess, & Henderson, 2007). This can result in greater production both for the business and at individual level.
  • Friendly work place can result in low absentees, if workers enjoy and like their work place that’s the best place for them where they would like to go daily (Hall & Moritz, 2003).

 

Disadvantages

  • Relaxed, flexible and open workplace apparently has a lot of advantages and can attract employees (Jay, 2005). But critics at human resource have pointed out many negative impacts also. The term flexible time is suitable for small businesses. For companies like Coca Cola Amatil it can increase overhead cost.
  • An open and friendly work environment can be at time distracting a worker it could be banter from coworker or could be an unimportant meeting (Ronald, 2001).
  • Critics has also pointed out that t is not always positive, it can give rise to unhealthy rivalries among the coworkers.

 

Employee Benefits

Advantages

  • According to the HR theories a well-designed and analyzed benefit and compensation plan can motivate attract and retain talented employees. This can result in job satisfaction workers will be more willing and happy with their work if they get fair benefits or rewards against their services and would be willing to remain with the company (Paul, 2003).
  • It is observed that these days people are not merely working for monetary benefits. A better and properly designed benefit program motivates them. They would prefer to associate themselves with companies that can offer learning and development, greater chances of promotion (Ellen, 2011).
  • Several insurances and seniority benefits, can keep employees relaxed and in peace of mind and relives them from certain fears about future.

Disadvantages

  • The most obvious disadvantage of offering a lot of benefits to employees is significant cost incurred. According to the labor statistics bureau private industries pay around $9.31 an hour per worker (James, 2000).
  • Employee benefit plans are very complex specially when there are many elements included in the package (Groover, 2012). Therefor at any time a company plans of changing any medical or insurance plan it requires significant paperwork to facilitate changes.

 

4. Conclusion

The report was designed with an objective of retaining the best talented pool of employees working with Coca Cola Amatil. Thus to assist Coca Cola Amatil the report serves by first discussing and identifying the external environment of the company and the factors by which affects the company in positive or negative way (Stassen & Templer, 2005). These factors include the strong competitors in the market and the latest technology that the company is using.

Based on the findings of the report two main options i-e the working environment of the company and the employee benefit policy were developed with an aim of retaining employees for long run (Sandona & Miller, 2000). An evaluation of both the options revealed that attractive working environment that promotes and retains employee. This will result in an increase in employee satisfaction thus encouraging them to work more vigilantly and securing them for long term commitment with Coca Cola Amatil. However such an open and relaxed environment sometimes can also lead to office politics (James, 2000).

Secondly it is analyzed that a better employee benefit policy can increase job satisfaction, it not only motivates employees it also makes them a promising asset for the company thus resulting in less turnover rates (Marie, 2003). Nevertheless the report was based on assumptions and is not generalized and may not be applicable to any individual employee.

5. Recommendations

  • Introduce a better working environment in order to satisfy employees and in turn obtaining an objective of retaining them for long term.
  • Carefully designed benefit plan. That attracts new employers and gives them a purpose to remain committed with the company.

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