Our project is about the use of Information Technology in the Human Resource department (HR) of Primark. Primark is a clothing retailer the company launched in Dublin Ireland, in 1969. Today Primark owns 253 stores across the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Holland and Belgium and employs over 70,000 people across the globe.
Current use of IT in the HR department
During the recruitment, Primark asks the candidates to make an online assessment test. When candidates pass the test they are invited to an interview. There is a mandatory online safety training once a year and an online employee satisfaction survey is being. Every month every Primark store sends a newsletter to all its employees. Primark owns a website where customers are asked to fill out a survey about their shopping experience and the employee who helped them. On each receipt, a unique employee number is mentioned, which has to be filled in at the first page of the survey. This is fairly simple compare to competitors like H&M and Zara which have integrated IT in their business more effectively.
The New Technology
Nowadays it is old fashioned to use paper for these HR practices. We suggest the development of an closed online platform, where every current process will be digitalized. Employees and management do not need to work with papers anymore. As a result, forms cannot be lost again and a clear overview of pay checks and other employee information will be provided. The processes between HR and employees will be optimized, accelerated and user-friendly. Each employee will receive an account on this platform and with this account a dashboard will be visible where not only the monthly newsletter and other information can be accessed, but also HR relates practices. Employees will be able to see their work and availability schedule, pay check, sick hours and day offs. Swapping shifts will be much easier and just a few clicks away.
Managerial recommendations
The goal of our report was to examine how digital transformation can accommodate the work relationship between the Primark HR department and the employees. If we take a look at the impact the platform on the processes between HR and employees we can see that: it contributes to employee satisfaction, which indirectly leads to better company performance because time will be spent more in the store working, instead of walking between different departments to deliver forms or get approvals. By providing good training and informative user guides the employees will understand the system quickly. However this process can take time and can be tricky for the company this is why the company will have to carefully plan and monitor this change. Overall the new technology will change the company greatly and provide a platform to share information, these information will make communication clearer and improve the satisfaction of the employees, for the management it means that the company will have access to more data that it can use to improve process.
