HRM PRACTICES IN BP: CASE STUDY

Current HR Practices at BP and the Best HRM Practices which are Applicable to the organization (Case Study)

Current HR Practices at BP and the Best HRM Practices which are Applicable to the organization (Case Study)

Introduction

Human Resource Management (HRM) has existed in one form or another since beginning of time. Certain HR functions, even though informal in nature, were performed whenever people came together for the common purpose. (Cabrera, 2009) During this century, processes of managing people have become more formalized and specialized. Firms are now focusing more on their human resource as researches has disclosed the importance of this function. On the other hand in today's globalized world the world in now turning to knowledge economy and managing quality human resource has become of top priorities for employers. In this study we will analyze the current HR practices at British Petroleum (BP) and would suggest best feasible HR model for the company to follow.

HR Practices at BP

The competition and petroleum industry has increased in the last decade, and now people working in petroleum industries have now more chances to turn to any other company, if they are not satisfied with their job. That is why like every other competitors in the industry; BP is also focusing and investing on the human resource management, in order to retain its potential employees so that competitive advantage could be taken. The current HR policies of BP include, recruitment and retention of potential employees, recognizing their efforts, and valuing them by providing non-cash benefits as well. The HR policy of the BP is considered one of the best practices followed in the industry however; there is still capacity of change in the policies for further enhancement of the said policy (Mueller, 1996).

Challenges of HR faced by British Petroleum Industry

Manpower projections for the oil and gas industry predict a substantial demand for oil and gas professionals over the next five years. The company needs to tide over the challenges of attraction and retention efficiently to support current operations and execute planned growth. Existing academic institutes are not sufficient to ensure industry stability in terms of manpower supply. The gap between the demand for trained manpower and its supply is widening annually. Some of the key issues of human resource faced in petroleum sector include an aging workforce, retirement, attrition, and talent acquisition and supply, thus it also affects BP.

Aging workforce

Aging workforce has become the major issue in nearly all most of the industries. Same situation is being faced by BP, as its work force is growing old, and most of its key players are about to retire in the next 5-10 years. Thus it would left a vacuum which the company should focused to fill by applying the Best Practice model as to find the best practices to ensure that in future company would not be loose its competitive advantage in future.

Attrition

Attrition is another major reason for the loss of talent in England's Petroleum ...