Question $1$

This is the latest case study in our Strategic HRM in Practice project which aims to

research whether and how employers are making a strategic approach to people

management a successful reality in today$$s fast moving and challenging contexts. Our

qualitative case study work on this project has been designed to address the $$how$$

questions in this research: How did you develop the HRM strategy? How did you decide

what to include and prioritise? How well is it working in practice? How can it be

improved? The original research included five case study employers from different

sectors and the varied methods they are using to achieve a return on their investments in

staff. We are now incrementally adding new cases to further illustrate different and

evolving strategic approaches to people management. This new report features G$$s Fresh,

one of the UK$$s largest fresh food growers. The farming sector is not perhaps the first

place you might look for examples of leading$-$edge, strategic HR management practice,

with a popular image of small$-$scale production and low cost, often migrant labour. G$$s

Group, a $500$million turnover, fully vertically integrated, major group of family farming

businesses, very much belies that image with an innovation and technology led, but most

of all people and purpose$-$focused, approach.

With over $7000$employees at peak harvest periods, the Group HR function has used its

expertise in successfully planning and delivering a labour supply, overcoming challenges

such as the current lockdown, to lead in the delivery of the group$$s $$PPV$($Promise$,$

Philosophy and Values$)$which underpins their business and HR success. The HR team

have grabbed the opportunities to challenge and change the Group culture, to drive the

farming of the future agenda; and to improve the image of the Group and the wider sector

as an employer and community partner, becoming a national leader in their ethics and

anti$-$slavery activity.As Beverly Dixon, Group HR Director, told our researchers: $$Farming today is an

innovative and capital$-$intensive industry, but it has not been seen as a great place to

work. We are changing that and traditional opinions and practices, growing through a

balance of in$-$house development and recruitment from outside the sector to get the best

out of our people, to their benefit and that of all of our stakeholders.$$We will be updating

this case study later in the year to reflect how G$$s HRM strategy has adapted to the

current Covid$-19$crisis$.$

The People Strategy: drivers and delivery One of the four action areas under G$$s Group

HR priority of $$Building a Great Culture$$is$,$with typical honesty and directness at G$$s$,$to

$$walk the talk$.$So$,$what does the Group HR function actually focus on$,$how does it

contribute to the delivery of strategy? And how does the Group ensure in such a

dispersed business that it practices what it preaches on these very clearly specified values

and people management objectives and standards? While all its activities are important,

the strategic impact and influence of the Group HR function at G$$s appears to stem from

two primary, heavily externally focused drivers: its workforce planning and labour supply

activity; and its work on ethics and compliance, neither area where UK HR functions

have historically prioritised and excelled. These are reinforced by a third driver and

common thread running through many of these HR $6$activities$,$ stemming from the

internal character and values of the business and its leaders, which is staff and

management development. b$)$ In a similar manner how is does G$$s Group capitalize on an effective reward

management system for maximised profits. $(25$ marks$)$ include APA Citations