case study global human resource management at coca cola

Coca-Cola BIG Re-Defines HR Strategy To Meet Needs Of A Changing Workforce

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The pandemic has unquestionably inspired executives to digitalize at least some parts of their business. But what about companies already underway in their transformation journey? According to TeeJay Gonzales, HR Transformation Director at Coca-Cola BIG, it's the right time to reassess, reset, and redefine the path ahead.

TeeJay Gonzales, HR Transformation Director at Coca-Cola BIG

While many businesses were taking their first step toward digitalization, TeeJay Gonzales faced an entirely different challenge at Coca-Cola Bottling Investments Group (Coca-Cola BIG). A three-year-long transformation across its HR operations needed to be revisited – and possibly reimagined – to respond to sudden changes in work practices, business operations, and foreign markets.

If this experience sounds familiar, you're not alone. The pandemic has exposed critical gaps in HR processes, work experiences, data, and technologies in most organizations. For HR leaders, this unusual transformational era is challenging them to go beyond their comfort zone to deliver HR services that are relevant now – not a year ago.

The Customer Enrichment and Community team from SAP SuccessFactors recently caught up with Gonzales to better understand what HR executives, like him, are facing and how this experience is inspiring a new perspective on the role and power of HR transformation. 

Like most companies, Coca-Cola BIG is experiencing significant change across its workforce. The only difference is that you have 28,000 employees in 39 plants across 16 countries. How have your HR goals and priorities changed since the initial start of your transformation three years ago?

Gonzales: The pandemic allowed us to rethink everything from how we recruit and onboard new hires to nurture every employee's skills, talent, and potential. After three years, we realized that our strategy for deploying our HR system across all 16 countries was not viable. Only a handful of plants could adopt it well.

Until now, we didn't realize that our approach to HR transformation strategy was rooted in siloed thinking, even though each bottling location operates as a separate entity. Every country has different priorities, budget restrictions, digital maturity levels, and compliance standards. So, when every aspect of our bottling operations significantly shifted within the first 120 days of 2020, we knew we had to reassess our HR digitalization agenda and rediscover what matters to the management team and workforce at each individual site. 

A move like this can be a bitter pill for transformation leaders to swallow– I know it was for me. However, it is also a great opportunity to become a more networked organization, allowing us to absorb new requirements and capabilities for HR processes and the employee experience and deliver them in the middle of a transformation initiative. Plus, we can collaborate with business process owners from 39 locations with unique needs. Luckily, our investment in SAP SuccessFactors solutions is flexible enough to support such a significant transformation. 

How were you able to bring your individual systems and business process owners together and agree on processes? Did you start with a prescriptive approach?

The effort, time, and money needed to evaluate 16 individual markets is too much for any business to take on. Instead, we conducted a cost-benefit analysis of our investment in SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Then, we looked at the other side of the fence, comparing our plans against how each site operated and the capabilities they needed to run optimally. 

We discovered our contracted subscription model for the cloud-based HR solutions was affordable and flexible enough to deliver the changes that each plant needed. Plus, we learned that the solutions provided the capabilities required to comply with our policies and standards. Before the pandemic, core HR and recruitment processes were considered more important to transform. But for our company's survival during a time of immense disruption, we needed to shift gears and act in ways that matter most to the workforce.

Plus, when asking 11,000 people in the Philippines, 8,000 in India, 300 in Bangladesh, 650 in Nepal, and countless others to adopt a substantial human capital management platform, it's always best to deliver the right capabilities at the right moment. And during the pandemic, compensation and total rewards management were the right ones.

It's always challenging to read the business and know which capabilities should go live, when they are most relevant, and which locations should acquire them first. The key is being flexible enough to have those difficult conversations and change the road map when needed. I even anticipate making another set of changes if the vaccine proves to be successful, perhaps even expediting the transformation altogether.

Leveraging best practices across 16 regional organizations is a monumental undertaking. How do you plan to utilize data and people analytics across BIG to help with business decisions?

For us, HR transformation is more than just workflows, trainings, request and timesheet approvals. We also need to give everyone in the organization permission to ask tough questions about the current state of our operations and performance, hear honest answers, and act on those insights in tangible ways.

By having real-time data, we can better understand the bigger picture of our group and identify ways we can make it even better. For example, our leaders could use reporting dashboards to make procurement decisions, hire the right candidates, and augment the labor force with external resources – on a global and country-specific basis.

In past conversations, you mentioned how the SAP Store helps your business quickly access the innovative, scalable product solutions that your workforce needs. Can you share how these solutions are helping Coca-Cola BIG solve its challenges? 

Understandably, a business cannot get every unique need addressed from a standard solution. The way companies must navigate change and the pace at which it happens makes it unaffordable to purchase completely new foundational technology every couple of years. However, SAP Store has helped us overcome this reality by providing access to advanced, forward-looking applications that can be integrated and implemented quickly into the SAP SuccessFactors solutions that we have implemented.

The beauty of the SAP Store is that it doesn't let change get in the way of our transformation success. We never want to leave any of our bottling plants behind. The site allows every location to access capabilities that address their unique requirements in an affordable, responsive, and quick way.

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Your perspective on how significant disruption can help improve a transformation in progress is inspiring. Do you have any lessons learned from this experience you would like to share?

The bottom line for any transformation project is the employee experience. By embracing a people-first mind-set, we are always discovering new ways to improve how our people work in every aspect of our transformation.

One of the most exciting breakthroughs for us was the decision to survey our bottlers in their local dialect – some that I never heard of myself. Most businesses provide surveys in 17 major languages. But in some regions, such as India, as many as 21 languages could be spoken across the workforce.

The ability to speak to our employees in their native tongue goes a long way in establishing the trust and support we need for our transformation to be successful. Engagement is remarkably high across all 39 plants. Our employees usually do not hesitate to point out good aspects of their transformation experience and areas for improvement.

Our executives are happy with the price point, and our employees are satisfied with the data they access. And most of all, we're excited because we have a technology partnership that can grow with us and deliver the things we need now and in the future – no matter what happens next.

TeeJay Gonzalez is a member of the  SAP SuccessFactors Executive Innovation Board. Learn more about SAP SuccessFactors and how the SAP SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite is helping businesses create more flexible, end-to-end experiences for employees here .

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Coca-Cola: International Human Resource Management

Executive summery.

International HR departments are mandated to recruit and train employees for foreign duties. In this provision, selected employees are transferred abroad to serve in foreign subsidiaries. This paper focuses on Coca-Cola Company (as a case study) in regard to its expatriate recruitment and selection processes. Concurrently, Coca-Cola can improve its current expatriate selection and recruitment criteria using a ‘whole-person’ assessment approach.

Contextually, this report describes viable practices that an organisation can embrace when selecting employees to serve in foreign countries (International Human Resource). This regards various aspects of expatriation (Aswathappa, 2005). Using ‘whole-person assessment’ in improving the current HR practices is important. There are critical advantages and disadvantages characterizing the use of whole-person assessment method. In addition, there are reasons why some organisations hardly embrace this method in selecting appropriate individuals for international job provisions.

Introduction

Coca-Cola Company is among the victorious MNCs globally (Workaholic, 2012). It embraces the provisions of expatriation to enhance its international operations. This allows it to remain strategic in the market and augment its global presence. The company practices a viable recruitment and selection process for expatriates prospected to handle foreign assignments. The concerned expatriates are acquired through pre-set selection procedures, training, and expatriation provisions for enhanced international performances.

Considering these factors, it becomes very important for the company to adopt proper selection methods to be able to find the right expatriate. This provision should also consider familial aspects. Proper selection of an expatriate is the role of the International HRM (Dowling, Festing & Engle, 2008). Consequently, the company can employ ‘whole-person’ assessment method to enhance its selection procedures in regard to expatriation. Most people consider this technique to be very effective. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of this method are investigated. Using Coca-Cola Company as the case study, the methods of selecting the right employees and whole-person approach will be analyzed (Dash, 2007).

Definition of the Whole-Person Concept

‘Whole-person’ assessment concept refers to a comprehensive evaluation of an individual’s characters/abilities (Forbes, 2010). In regard to expatriation, this is helpful in determining the suitability of an individual (in regard to his/her body, mind, heart, and spirit) for a given international job. IHRM assesses an individual to ascertain motivation, performance, and ultimate success among the prospected expatriates (Forbes, 2010).

Advantages of Whole-Person Method in Selecting a Suitable Expatriate

It is costly to higher competent expatriates. Without proper selection of expatriates, a company might succeed in a foreign country in the business realms. A whole-person method presents the most thorough method of assessing the suitability of an individual to this kind of task (Dowling, Festing & Engle, 2008). Considering only few factors such as the level of expertise and ability to communicate in a foreign language is not enough to make the person suitable to work overseas. Precisely, the process ensures that the selected candidates are suitable for the concerned foreign duties.

Disadvantages of using whole-person approach

Although this method is considered to be the best criterion of selecting the most appropriate person for a foreign duty, it has some shortcomings. Firstly, it is rather expensive. Additionally, it needs time to know the in-depth characters, feelings, and family issues of the preferred candidate (McCourt & Eldridge, 2003). Without proper understanding of the whole-person a less competent individual can be selected and this could result into failure by the company. This is a vital provision when considered critically in various contexts.

Criteria used by Coca-Cola Company in Selecting Expatriates

According to Sharon, Steven & Corinne (2002), Coca-Cola has set selection standards to be used by its HR management when selecting expatriates. The aspects of job analysis, work design, recruitment, and selections are applicable in the context of expatriation (GBSG, 2003). Coca-Cola considers the following provisions when recruiting expatriates. These incorporate career development, political conditions, living conditions, spousal adjustment, and assignment duration (Sharon, Steven & Corinne, 2002). Prospective candidates must meet such provisions in order to expect any consideration into the expatriation dockets (Sharon, Steven & Corinne 2002).

The first step adopted by the company is the selection of appropriate expatriates. This occurs through viable mechanisms including structured interviews, a panel of interviewers, and a predetermined score guide (GBSG, 2003). The criteria have been standardized to ensure equality, viability, and appropriateness of the prospected expatriates. At this stage, the company assesses extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, meticulousness, and tolerance to diversity among the interested applicants (Dlabay, Scott & Calvert, 2010).

Concurrently, the company considers biographical information in order to evaluate the appropriateness of the concerned expatriate (Sharon, Steven & Corinne 2002). Bio-data inventories encompass information pertaining to preceding experiences, beliefs, and considerable virtues (Sharon, Steven & Corinne 2002). From this information, Coca-Cola can easily determine appropriate candidates for expatriate jobs. These are helpful in recruiting and hiring the right employee for foreign duties (Onkvisit, 2008).This helps the company to find the most suited person for any position within the organisation.

Sharon, Steven & Corinne (2002) indicate that training is an important provision for the Coca-Cola’s expatriate acquisition. The selected candidates who meet the required standards for expatriation must be trained to induct them into the company and define the concerned job roles. This is a critical provision when considered critically. Training occurs not only in the technical aspects but also in the concerned cultural environment where the selected expatriate will work. Training helps the concerned expatriates to know rules and regulations of Coca-Cola regarding expatriate jobs. According to Sharon, Steven & Corinne (2002), training is a continuous process in Coca-Cola and it depends on various contexts. The company defines the job roles, conducts a periodic appraisal, and provides an accurate feedback plus viable recommendations.

Since Coca-Cola is a company that operates globally, it prefers to work with people who are able to communicate in multiple languages. Because they are fluent in foreign languages, they are able to work effectively in their prospected work stations. The board of directors demonstrates this standard very clearly. Only 4 individuals out of 21 are from America (Vance & Paik 2010). Concurrently, Coca-Cola Company uses a recruitment program intended to identify potential individuals. This occurs right from colleges (Aswathappa, 2005).

For example, Coca-Cola continues to look for college students from foreign countries either in local universities in the United States or those who are studying abroad (McCourt & Eldridge, 2003). The student who is recruited into the program is trained then sent back to their homeland. In addition, the company has an internship program that is aimed at foreign students who seek to work during their holidays either at home or within the United States. For example, during the internship period, the interns are allocated work in projects that requires them to discuss their likes as well as their dislikes of that kind of work (Stahl & Bjorkman, 2006). Evaluation of each and every intern then follows. This is useful to the management as they are able to select a potential worker for their company. These standards really help Coca-Cola Company to find the most talented and suitable expatriates that can work worldwide (Aswathappa, 2005).

How Whole-Person Assessment will improve the Practices of Coca-Cola Company

Critically, there are several factors to be considered in determining if an individual (an expatriate) is the best candidate for a given foreign job (McCourt & Eldridge, 2003). It is also important to improve expatriate selection by using whole-person method. This can be done by emphasizing on factors including skills for the job, fluency in the foreign language, self-esteem, family issues, and relationship skills (NeelanKavil & Rai, 2009). For example, it is critical to understand that viable selection structures for an individual to work in a foreign country incorporate practical skills.

For instance, Coca-Cola Company selects an expatriate with management skills. It is likely that such individuals will advance very well in a foreign location. Additionally, if he or she has strong relationship skills, he or she is likely to develop good relations with the host country as well as the headquarters of the company. This will help in making the assignments of this individual even more productive (Perkins & Shortland, 2006).The dexterity for conflict resolution should also be considered. An individual selected to work overseas can only be successful to the extent that they advance their careers. Critically, these indicate how it is possible to improve expatriate selection by using whole-person method.

Critically, in selecting expatriates, Coca-Cola Company (for example) considers the aspects of self-esteem as indicated earlier. Concurrently, the right person for a foreign task should be prepared to acquire new attitudes as well as behavioural patterns to suit the kind of working conditions he or she is likely to face. An expatriate will consequently be more successful if they are up to the task of working in a completely new environment. In addition, they should be comfortable in developing networks and making new social contacts (Sparrow, 2010). Good motivation is not only important to an expatriate but also his or her family. If Coca-Cola company this factor into consideration they are more likely to be successful in their foreign missions (McCourt & Eldridge, 2003).

For example, for Coca-Cola Company to avoid chances of terminating an assignment prematurely, it selects individuals with strong relationship skills (Martin & Chaney, 2012). Critically, there are some characteristics they should look at in an individual. Individuals who are likely to be successful are tolerant to ambiguous situations, flexible, and possess strong social skills and outgoing characters (Stahl & Bjorkman, 2006). Additionally, having high cultural compassion also contributes to the effectiveness of expatriates. If an individual believes that his or her own culture is superior to other cultures, then he or she is described as Ethnocentric. People who are ethnocentric will have more difficulties to adjust to the cultures of foreign countries. Consequently, they will be perceived negatively by the local people of that particular country.

Another important factor that Coca-Cola considers is communication skills. An individual who can serve as an expatriate successfully should be fluent in the working language of the host country. Nonverbal communication is equally more essential for an expatriate. Besides, the company understands that an expatriate should understand that different kinds of cultures have different kinds of nonverbal communications. Therefore, they should be prepared to learn and get acquainted with the kind of common practices of nonverbal communication of the different country (Stahl & Bjorkman, 2006).

Coca-Cola Company realizes that family cohesion is important. This can help in enhancing the performance of an expatriate (Stahl & Bjorkman, 2006). The transition of the family of an expatriate should be considered thoroughly. On his or her personal capacity, an expatriate have to be comfortable with the kind of arrangement for transition to a foreign country. Something that is considered very petty (for example, moving with a family pet) can result into a serious stress for the whole family of the concerned expatriate. On the other hand, the spouse of an expatriate should be absolutely willing to live in the foreign country. Precisely, whole-person assessment approach in selecting the right person for a foreign assignment is very important. Simple factors ignored by the company can result into diminished productivity.

Areas that require further research

Benefits of making a preliminary stay in the foreign land.

Expatriates might not be aware of the cultures and the living conditions in the foreign countries. This area needs further research to unveil its coherency, appropriateness, and relevancy in regard to foreign expatriates. Evidently, it is crucial to determine whether staying in a foreign land can affect an individual’s performance or not (Aswathappa, 2005). This could affect his or her initial adjustments. Consequently his/her level of motivation can be low and can affect successful completion of the assigned work. Critically, it is crucial to unveil this in regard to foreign expatriates. Additionally, it is important to know why there is need for an expatriate to make a pre-visit to the foreign land to access the living conditions.

Performance in a New Environment

Some individuals perform poorly in new environments. It is important to research why this phenomenon happens. Since a foreign country could be a new environment to an expatriate, the most suitable expatriate should be able to perform under strange working conditions (Stahl & Bjorkman, 2006). Also a different culture can make an individual acquire different characters. This might him/her more competent (Ahlstrom & Burton, 2009). Limited research has been done to help in assessing how each and every individual can perform in unusual working environment.

Area of Controversy

Controversy in assessing the whole family of an expatriate.

Critically, it is controversial to apply the ‘whole-person assessment’ approach on the entire family of an expatriate. The solution can emerge from using other viable methods that can cater for family issues in regard to whole-person assessment method. It is critical to understand that since family conditions of an expatriate determines his or her success in work (foreign assignment), comfort and adaptability should be considered (Briscoe, 2008).

However, there are numerous discussions as to whether members of the expatriate families should accompany them abroad. For example, some argue that if an expatriate is accompanied with their family members, who cannot adapt or do not have the right characteristics of living in foreign country, performance might be compromised (Vance & Paik 2010). Critically, an expatriate should be accompanied with his or her entire family without any screening as this will enable him or her to work comfortably. This is a crucial provision when considering various controversies that might emerge when discerning IHRM’s provisions.

Controversy in Using Women Expatriates

Critically, using women expatriates is a considerable controversy in the Coca Cola Company. Presently, the number of women expatriates is quite low (Stroh, Varma & Valy-Durbin, 2000). For example, most people feel that foreigners might be unfair to women. As such, they might hardly complete the company assignments successfully. However, it is arguable that, women, if endorsed with foreign assignments, can change the perception of the local people regarding the roles of women in the society. Thus, women should be given a fair chance to serve in foreign assignments just like men. Additionally, most societies have not accepted women to work on critical positions due to cultural issues and prejudicial provisions (Stahl & Bjorkman, 2006).

Conclusively, International HRM departments promote viable expatriation provisions in the realms of recruitment, training, and evaluation of prospective employees. This paper focused on Coca-Cola Company as a case study discerning recruitment and selection processes for expatriates. Concurrently, Coca-Cola endeavors to improve its current selection and recruitment criteria using whole-person assessment.

Whole-person assessment approach is an important consideration in selecting workers for international duties. As indicated earlier, Coca-Cola Company has been taken as a case study to demonstrate the aspects whole-person assessment approach in selecting the right expatriates for foreign assignments. Without proper selection and induction of expatriates, Coca-Cola might hardly achieve proper implementation of its aims and objectives in a foreign country. A whole-person method presented the most painstaking method of assessing the suitability of an individual for foreign duties.

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Coca-Cola Case Analysis

Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink  manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company. Originally intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton and was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. The drink’s name refers to two of its original ingredients: coca leaves, and kola nuts. The current formula of Coca-Cola remains a trade secret, although a variety of reported recipes and experimental recreations have been published.

The Coca-Cola Company produces concentrate, which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold exclusive territory contracts with the company, produce the finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate, in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. A typical 12-US-fluid-ounce can contains 38 grams of sugar. The bottlers then sell, distribute, and merchandise Coca-Cola to retail stores, restaurants, and vending machines throughout the world. The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains of major restaurants and foodservice distributors.

The Coca-Cola Company has on occasion introduced other cola drinks under the Coke name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, along with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special versions with lemon, lime, and coffee. Based on Interbrand’s “best global brand” study of 2015, Coca-Cola was the world’s third most valuable brand, after Apple and Google.  In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day.  Coca-Cola ranked No. 87 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

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Case Study Analysis on Coca Cola: Recruitment and Selection of Expatriates and International Managers

Summary: This is the sixth edition of the book 'International Human Resource Management' by Peter J. Dowling, Marion Festing, and Allen D. Engle, Sr. The book provides information on various aspects of international human resource management.

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Human Resource Management of Coca-Cola Company

Section 1 – HR Management

1a) Personnel Management Approach vs. HR Management Approach

Personnel management and HR management are two different concepts; the latter is a new concept which developed from the former. Human resource management is a strategic approach of planning and controlling human resource activities of an organisation and aligning them with the overall business strategies of the organisation. On the other hand, personnel management refers to the practice of managing employees. Human resource management is concerned with strategic approach to human resources while personnel management is concerned with the selection and welfare of employees. HR management approach also considers human resources as the most strategic resources of an organisation (Tyson & York, 2000). Personnel management considers people to be just like any other resources of the organisation which are utilized to run normal business activities. Human Resource Management involves planning, staffing, development and evaluation, and compensation.

The Human Resource Management of today involves the management of various activities that are aimed at improving the performance of an organisation’s workforce in order to achieve organisational goals and objectivities. This requires the organisation to align its human resource management objectives with the overall objectives of the organisation. Human Resource Management can also be used by organisations to achieve competitive advantage in a number of ways. First, HRM leverages corporate intangible assets quickly and efficiently to enhance competitive advantage and earn benefits for the organisation. HRM is also used as a strategic tool to manage change. Lastly, Human Resource Management promotes innovation by incorporating employees’ knowledge and skills into the workforce innovative culture.

The Coca Cola Company fits its human resource management approach into the business overall objectives in order to achieve high performance and obtain competitive advantage in the highly competitive beverage industry. In every country where it operates, Coca Cola has a business planning director who plans various business activities in order to achieve the company’s objectives. This requires effective human resource management to ensure that all business activities run smoothly according the planned time, budget and other resource requirements. This ensures that resources are utilised efficiently and less costs are incurred in order to achieve a competitive edge in the market through good pricing.

Human Resource Management is referred to as People Function Management in Coca Cola Company. One of the strategies of Coca Cola is to be able to connect with consumers and enable them to meet their needs, lifestyle choices and desires. In order to achieve this, the company utilizes and manages its people strategically to execute effectively, everyday (The Coca Cola Company, 2012). The goal of the company is also to use its assets to become more competitive and increase its growth in order to create value for shareholders. This is supported by a vision of sustainable growth which puts the organisation’s people at the top of the company’s strategic priorities. The vision of sustainable growth in Coca cola begins with a phrase about its people; the company aims at creating the best work place where people are inspired to be the best they can be. This forms a platform of enhancing good portfolio, partnership, planet (sustainability), profitability and productivity in the company. In terms of productivity, Coca Cola manages its people, time and money to achieve the greatest effectiveness. The people are therefore the main agents who execute the strategic objectives, vision and strategic priorities of the organisation in order to enhance sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

Apart from incorporating its Human Resource Management to its business objectives, Coca Cola also delegates some HR related activities to line managers’ jobs. For instance, the business planning director carries out the HR activities of planning human activities within the business planning department. Furthermore, the marketing director is involved with the training and development of sales representatives and marketers of the organisation.

1b) Impact of Change in employment legislation

The change in UK’s employment legislation also affects Coca Cola Company because the company operates and hires people within UK, so it will stick to the employment legislations of the country. Employment legislations ensure that the company’s employees are treated fairly and equally without any discrimination. If the employee feels that he/she is not treated fairly according to the current employment legislation he/she may quit the company and/or file a case against the company in a court or an employment tribunal.

The impact of the recent legislation which allows employees to request for flexible working will have certain impacts on the company’s Human Resource Management. First, the company will have to comply with the legislation and if an employee requests for a flexible working the company has to accept. This will affect the planning role of Human Resource department because the company will start planning its activities to allow for the flexibility. Coordination of activities with other employees will be enhanced through the HRM in order to comply with the law.

Legislation also empowers an employee’s right in the employment contract with the company. The employee may leave the company if the company does not comply with the legislation. The employment terms for the company’s employees need to be in line with the employee’s expectations, and if the employee does not achieve that he may quit. High employee turnover will impact negatively on the company’s operations, and may also reduce the effectiveness of the company’s Human Resource Management.

Section 2 – Recruitment and Selection

2a) Flow Diagram – HR planning process of Coca Cola

Coca cola’s Human Resource Management involves HR planning and forecasting process which includes deciding the position that needs to be filled and how to fill it. HR planning in the company is carried out by the People Functions department which is also involved in the overall strategic planning of the company. The HR manager engages with the other company executives and line managers to plan for the hiring of new employees to fill vacant positions in the organisation. HR planning also involves predicting employees’ needs and the level of productivity expected from them. HR planning in Coca Cola also involves the management of employees’ exit from the company. It therefore balances the demand and supply of employees in the company so that the right number of people with the right knowledge and skills are selected for the right jobs at the right places, time and cost. The stages of HR planning process in Coca Cola are not well defined, but it generally follows the following stages: Analysis of current staff in the organisation, analysis of the future employment plans of the company, determination of the surplus or deficit of employees, Evaluation of alternative solutions to the surplus or deficit, and selection of the best alternatives. These are represented in a flow diagram as shown below.

In stage 1, Coca Cola Company examines the information about the current workforce of the company including age and gender, job grades, duration of work, job titles, turnover rates, working hours, and productivity rates. Depending on the findings of stage1 analysis, the company then develops plans to get the right people with the right type of skills. Future employment plans for the company are analysed in stage 2. These plans determine the number of staff that will be required in future. In the third stage, the company determines the mismatch between the surplus and shortage of human resource requirements. If there is a shortage, the company examines whether the shortage will affect the company’s future success or not. In stage 4, the company identifies some alternative courses of action. If there is a surplus of staff the company’s options include early retirement, redundancy, retraining, part time working, and overtime ban. In case of a shortage, the company recruits new staff, redeploys existing staff, uses temporary or freelance staff, promoting existing staff, or existing staff work overtime. The last stage involves selecting the best alternative from the above alternatives.

2b) Comparison of Recruitment and Selection Processes

If from the HR planning the company determines that there is a shortage of staff and new staff is required, an effective and efficient recruitment and selection approach is used to acquire the right people for the company. Recruitment involves matching the qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience of a person with the requirements of the job to be filled (Compton et al, 2002). Selection involves elimination of unsuitable candidates.

In this section, the recruitment and selection process of Coca Cola is compared with that of Tesco. Tesco is a UK-based retail industry whose recruitment and retention process is different in some ways with the recruitment and selection process of Coca Cola. The two companies’ recruitment and selection processes are also similar in other ways. The flow charts below show the differences and similarities between the recruitment and selection processes of the two companies.

From the two flow diagrams above, it is clear that Tesco has a shorter recruitment and selection process involving few steps. On the other hand, the recruitment and selection process of Coca Cola is a long process that involves more steps than Tesco. Tesco focuses mainly on CV screening and interviews while Coca Cola follows other steps to determine other qualities of employees which cannot be determined from just interviews. For instance, role plays and situational exercises are used to determine how employees can react to certain situations. Coca Cola also uses group exercises to determine whether the candidate can be able to work effectively in a team, because Coca Cola is actually a team. Tesco carries out two interviews, and is therefore able to question applicants effectively to determine their knowledge and physical attributes. The main similarity between the two companies in terms of recruitment and selection is that their first step involves job advertisement. Both companies advertise their job vacancies in their websites, job placement websites, and the media.

Section 3 – Reward and Motivation

3a) Job Evaluation Process

Job evaluation is a process that links performance measurement and reward management to determine the level of performance hence the pay for the workforce (Scheuer, 2000). In this case, employees are motivated and rewarded based on their performance. Pay and other reward schemes are used to recognise the performance of the workforce. Such rewards are used to reward the employees.

Job evaluation in Coca Cola is carried out in four steps: annual performance review, performance plan for the year, reward and motivation, and midterm review (Coca Cola, 2012). In the first stage, the company assesses the results of the workforce performance. In the second stage, the company develops a development plan to ensure that there is enough payment for employees based on their performance. The third stage involves the development of a performance-based pay and recognition of top performers. Lastly, the company reviews the results and the pay to ensure that the pay is indeed worth the performance of employees.

The reward system of Coca Cola is differentiated in order to build high performance culture. For the purpose of rewarding its employees in a differentiated manner, the company has developed two types of categorization of its employees (associates); Successful Performance (SP) and Exceptional Performance (EP). SP associates are categorized as SP-, SP and SP+ while EP associates are categorised as EP and EP*. EP associates are recognised with greater rewards than SP associates. This differentiated payment motivates employees to perform better in order to attain higher categorization for a better pay. However, this system can be challenged by the equity theory of motivation which suggests that employees are motivated to resolve inequitable situation such as differentiated payment (Latham, 2007). In the case of unequal payment, employees may choose to persuade the manager to increase their salary or reduce the salary of others, or abstain from work in order to achieve equity (Latham, 2007).

Apart from differentiated compensation, Coca Cola Company also recognizes top performers by assigning them work in regional and national levels, sponsoring them to attend conferences and visit foreign countries, providing them with career development and learning opportunities, and offering them appreciation letters and certificates (Coca Cola Company, 2012) These rewards make the employees do better at their jobs as suggested by the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This theory categorizes human needs into biological needs, safety needs, affiliation needs, esteem needs, knowledge needs, aesthetic, transcendence, freedom, and self-actualisation (Scheuer, 2000). Coca Cola satisfies its employees’ needs in this order from the most basic (biological) to the least basic (self-actualisation). By offering learning and career development to associates, the company enables them to meet their knowledge needs; hence motivating them to perform better.

3b) Methods used to monitor the performance of employees

Monitoring performance involves the assessment of employees’ performance in order to determine whether they meet the organisation’s expectations, goals and objectives (Noe & Noe, 2012). One of the methods of monitoring employees’ performance is performance appraisal. This refers to the process of establishing the contributions or value of each employee to the organisation (Scheuer, 2000). Performance appraisal at Coca Cola Company takes three steps: defining the job, appraising the performance, and providing feedback.

Defining the job involves identifying the duties and work standards of employees (Tyson & York, 2000). Appraising the performance are then carried out using appraisal interviews and appraisal forms to determine the level of performance of employees measured against set standards. Lastly, providing feedback means discussing the performance of each employee and suggesting specific courses of actions to take including job improvement plan, salary review, and promotion or demotion.

Appraisal interviews are carried out by asking employees and managers specific questions about their performance. In some situations, an appraisal form is filled by employees to demonstrate the level of performance by each employee. Scores of each employee’s performance is recorded against the performance standards of the organisation. In order to accelerate performance, one of the key action plans that the company pursues is to build on the strengths of each employee – leveraging the best performance. Performance improvement plan is also provided for bottom performers. The performance improvement plan is again monitored and if the results are on track, the employees are assigned back to their routine duties. If the results are not on track but the employee shows an indication of commitment and drive to improve, the performance improvement plan is revised to include a shorter timeline.

Section 4 – Employment Cessation

4a) Reasons for leaving and exit procedure

Employment cessation refers to the termination of an employee’s work with an organisation through various mechanisms including dismissal, resignation, termination of contract and retirement (Chanda & Shen, 2009). There are various reasons why employees leave their organisations. First, an employee may leave by way of retirement because they have reached the statutory retirement age or due to early retirement occasioned by physical or psychological challenges. Secondly, an employee may decide to leave an organisation through resignation due to dissatisfaction in the current job. A person may resign as long as he/she has adhered to the requirements of the terms of employment (Noe & Noe, 2012). For instance, an employee is given a specific notice period before resigning. Another reason why someone may leave employment is because of the termination of fixed term contract with the organisation.

The exit procedure of Coca Cola Company is mainly characterised by exit interviews which are carried out to determine the reasons why an employee is leaving the organisation. This will enable the company to establish some of the issues that need to be addressed in the organisation in order to prevent employees from leaving. Coca Cola uses an exit interview involving third parties who track Equal Employment Opportunities in the organisation. This exit strategy is proactive and allows for better people management for the remaining employees (Noe & Noe, 2012). The exiting employees are also handled with care, often sent with good packages and the most human ways to ensure that their feelings are not completely affected. Coca Cola also provides counseling to employees who leave the organisation so that the existing employees can feel secure and safe. Before leaving, Coca Cola offers employees retirement benefits and other payments due to them on the date of exit.

Tesco, a UK company in the retail industry provides a good pay and leave options to retain employees who are about to leave the company through resignation. Like Coca Cola, the company also conducts an exit interview to find out the reason why the employee wants to leave. Tesco also offers a recommendation letter to help him/her in getting the next job. The company also pays leaving employees any amount due to them and assets owned by the leaving employees but held by the company. Retirement benefits are also given if any. When redundancy occurs, Tesco Company redeploys affected employees. In this case, employees are offered other jobs within Tesco so that they do not lose their income completely.

4b) Current Legislation Relating to Unfair Dismissal in USA

Since Coca Cola is a US-based organisation, it is affected by US legislations relating to unfair dismissal. Dismissal ends the employment contract between an employer and an employee. There are circumstances in which dismissal is legally accepted and other circumstances when dismissal is illegal. When it is unlawful, the employee may file a case on the basis of unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal. In the US, there is no specific law on wrongful or unfair dismissal; but there is a law on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) alongside other state and federal laws which are considered in instances of unfair dismissal. EEO prohibits employment discriminations at the workplace (United States Department of Labour, 2014). Generally, it is illegal to dismiss an employee on a basis that is legally prohibited in UK, e.g. through discrimination in terms of gender, age or race.

Labour laws on termination also suggest that if an employee is dismissed unfairly – without their own mistakes, they are eligible to unemployment benefits from their former employers. Unfairly dismissed labour is also entitled to severance pay in the US, and they can file cases on the basis of unfair dismissal in United States courts (United States Department of Labour, 2014). Whistleblower protection laws also require employers not to retaliate against people who complain about their employers for the sake of the majority employees. Unfair dismissal as a result of whistleblower should be filed within 30 days.

These laws on unfair dismissal affect Coca Cola because the company needs to comply with the law; hence it has to be very careful in dismissal of employees. Due to the power and rights conferred by the law to employees, employers such as Coca cola may be taken to court at any time on the basis of unfair dismissal. This will be costly and lengthy process to the company. Furthermore, Coca Cola is able to maintain diversity and promote the Equal Employment Opportunity culture in the company by complying with the law.

References list

Chanda, A., & Shen, J. (2009). HRM strategic integration and organizational performance . Los Angeles: Response Books.

Coca Cola (2012). Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Washington, DC: SEC.

Compton, R. L., Nankervis, A. R., & Morrissey, W. J. (2002). Effective recruitment & selection practices . North Ryde, NSW: CCH Australia.

Latham, G. P. (2007). Work motivation: History, theory, research, and practice . Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.

Noe, R. A., & Noe, R. A. (2012). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage . New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Scheuer, S. (2000). Social and economic motivation at work: Theories of work motivation reassessed . Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press.

Steen, S., Gerhart, B. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Noe, R. A., & Wright, P. M. (2013). HRM

Tyson, S., & York, A. (2000). Essentials of HRM . Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

United States Department of Labour (2014). Fair Labour Standards . Accessed August 9, 2014 from http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/.

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Strategic Resources Management: A case study of Coca Cola Company

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