Unit 2 – Business Resources
In this assignment I will discuss the business resources used within organisations. I have chosen to
look at the Co-operative (Co-op), a well-known diverse retail business based in the UK. Co-operative
provides several services such as funeral care, health care, food, insurance, and legal services. The
Co-op Group believes in open and voluntary membership, democracy, and member economic
participation.
The Co-op Group was founded in 1844 in Rochdale, Lancashire. The Co-op is one of the biggest food
retailers operating across the UK with around 2,500 local, convenience and medium-sized stores.
Today the Co-op Group is the UK’s largest mutual business, owned by millions of UK consumers.
Amongst its other wholly owned businesses are the UK’s number one funeral services provider, a
major general insurer, and Co-op Legal Services.
Source:
https://www.co-operative.coop/about-us
P1 – describe the recruitment documentation used in a selected organisation.
Recruitment refers to the action of taking on employees within an organisation. It involves
identifying, attracting, and interviewing people to decide on their suitability for the job role.
Job Adverts
Job adverts for Co-operative can be found in many tabloid Newspapers including the Metro on the
back. Job adverts can also be found on the internet, television and radio adverts, and posters on
shop windows. Businesses like Co-operative make use of job adverts when they require more
workers. In some cases, it is effective to some extent as many people use the internet everyday
which means that they will take notice of the advert and might possibly apply for it if they are
interested in working for Co-op. However, some job adverts may not be as effective as other
strategies. For example, newspapers be ineffective as the use of newspapers are decreasing due to
the increasing use of news online and televisions. The use of job adverts incurs costs such as
payment to the newspaper publisher to occupy a space in the paper.
Job Application
An application form is a form an employer requires the candidate to fill in to apply for a job role. On
an application form, the applicant must give information which includes, education, place of work
experience, skills, personal statements, and personal information. This information is used to assist
the employer to see whether the applicant is suitable or not to have the job.
Job Description
A job description is a document or page that gives the job applicant an overview of key information
about the role, such as contract details (temporary, permanent, full-time, part-time, pay etc) and
information about the position such as the main duties and responsibilities for the role that they are
applying for. The job that I have chosen for Co-operative is a customer assistant (retail). This job
requires employees to be well co-ordinated, have good communication and to be hard working. It is
very important to have a job description so that the applicant can see what they require to perform
the job and what they would be doing in the job.
,CV
A CV (Curriculum vitae) It is a paged description of your work experience, skills, education,
qualifications, hobbies, and interests (if relevant to the job) and past references. A CV benefits the
employer because it is a quick and easy way of deciding if the applicant is suitable for the job or not
such as whether they have the skills and experience required.
Contract of employment
A contract of employment is a legally binding agreement between an employer and employee. On
the other hand, a breach of the contract is when either the employer or the employee breaches the
conditions in the contract. In the Co-operative, there will be a contract of employment when you
pass the interview and trial.
P2 – describe the main employability, personal and communication skills required when applying for
a specific job role.
The job I’d like to pursue is a customer assistant. This job requires the employee to help customers,
clean the store and arrange stocks and restock shelves.
To get this job one of the key skills I need is time management. Being able to keep manage my time
at work will help me to complete all my set tasks to a good standard in the fast-paced environment
of retail. This would have a positive impact to co-operative because it would improve the overall
productive efficiency of the Co-op store.
To work as a customer assistant, I also need communication. This is extremely important because
without communication, the business would not be able to run efficiently due to misinterpretations
between customers and staff, and there would be reduced clarity of operations in the workplace
which would slow down the rate of work in the Co-op. With good communication skills, it would be
easier for staff to understand how and what their colleagues are doing and how they are performing
which would lead to faster and more efficient business operations. In addition, good communication
can also have a positive effect on the customers. If you provide easy, understandable information to
the customers, not only will the customer what they are looking for, but it can also leave a good
impression due to the swiftness of the assistance and any complaints can be easily dealt with. This
would potentially encourage more existing customers to recommend Co-op to their friends and
family which would increase the demand for their goods and services.
I have demonstrated these skills and characteristics through my past experiences which makes it far
more likely that I would be accepted for the job. In the customer assistant role, I am expected to get
to work on time to receive my training. Once I have finished my training, I will be expected to have
good communication and teamwork with my colleagues resulting in the workplace becoming more
efficient and customer friendly. By doing this, I must have an approachable and friendly attitude so
that the customers and colleagues will feel more comfortable around me. I would also need to be
regularly involved in replacing stock on the shelves. Stock replenishment is important for Co-perative
as they deal with a lot of food and clothes supplies on a day-to-day basis. This leaves a good
impression to customers as they will observe and see how co-operative is always stocked up with
goods they may need.
Therefore, with the skills needed to attract an employer to hire me and the potential improvements I
can fulfil, I believe that I would be a great candidate to work for Co-operative because with these
skills, I can help increase the productivity in the business which would show customers how well
stocked and the variety of goods Co-operative has to offer but it would also help generate more
, sales revenue as social skills will help attract and keep more customers which would therefore
increase demand n the future. With demand and supply increasing, I can help generate more sales
revenue for Co-Operative which would not only benefit the business but also me as I could
potentially receive a promotion or an increased wage due to the increased level of profit Co-
operative is making as a reward for work.
M2 - assess the importance of employability, and personal skills in the recruitment and retention of
staff in a selected organisation.
Employability is the attribute of a person that enables someone to gain and maintain employment.
This can be measured using a CV, personal statements, or references from other businesses. When
Co-operative employs new employees, they can use this information to measure the employability
of the person and how well they would contribute to the selected store with the given tasks. If a
person’s employability is very high, then they are more likely to succeed in getting the job due to
their past positive work experiences and the high level of commitment. The CV is widely recognised
as very important when employing people because it holds key information about the person which
allows employers to make reasonable, informed, and quick decisions instead of wasting more time
finding out about the person which could be spent on other tasks.
When retaining an existing employee, Co-operative can use their own personal experience of their
employee to see whether the person is suitable to work in the store again. This can be checked by
looking at their attendance and punctuality, how efficient and organised they have been while
helping at the store etc. This will speed up the process of co-operative with wisely picking the
workers they want to have in working in the business. For example, if Co-operative has an existing
worker that wants to continue to work in the business, the employer will look at the employee’s
feedback and attendance. This is to be able to see whether the employee is really dedicated to
his/her job and how well they execute their tasks in hope to generate more income for the business.
Personal skills are also important for recruiting in Co-operative. This is due to personal skills
influencing behaviour and attitude to the working environment. If the Co-operative is looking for a
new manager, then they would look for people holding the personal skills of a typical manager for
example, great leadership, highly organised etc. By having these personal skills, becoming a manager
to the store will become second nature to the person as they have already experienced and know
how to operate and manage, so less time is spent gaining the required experience and skills. This
would help Co-operative to generate more sales revenue in their stores as the production rate of the
business will be increased due to more experienced and skilled workers.
For existing employees, Co-operative would want to see how you have evolved and built upon your
own personal skills during your employment to make them even more effective at achieving the
business goal. By observing improvements, Co-operative can be reassured to see that you are
progressing forward in your job and not falling behind everyone else. For example, if a previous
employee had been improving in terms of time keeping and/or great customer assistance, Co-
operative would be more likely to keep the existing employee due to their good performance and
improvements. Whilst if an existing employee were a good asset to the business at the beginning of
their contract but their work performance and quality of their customer service, Co-operative would
be less likely to hire the worker again because the business wants to utilise all their workers to
maximise their production which would generate more profit for co-operative.
