1. Introduction

Many business administrations in the current modern and competitive market value their workforce’s welfare to realize a competitive advantage. Proper policies in an organization that focusses on the prosperity of the workforces contribute to perfect cohesion and achievement of organizational goals. An adequately managed firm is bound to succeed in a competitive market since the human resource is a crucial department in any business venture.  Several global organization value human resource department as a determinant of the relevancy and stability in the market. Nestle Malaysia is an example of such a firm that values employees’ welfare by providing several incentives to reduce employee turnover and improve creativity, innovation and cohesion. The company is one of the top and most recognized firms in Malaysia and other global nation due to its role in ensuring the proper human resource management aspects. The report will mainly focus on human resource management strategies applied in Nestle Malaysia firm and its effects and changes required for its competitive advantage in the market environment.

• Background Information

Henri Nestle founded this multinational consumer goods company in 1866.  Nestle Malaysia has been in the commercial front since 1912. Its head office is at Mutiara Damansara, Selangor. The firm has seven factories and a national distribution centre. The company also values innovation by setting up R&D and Technology Centers in Malaysia. Its large employee base requires the ideal management to realize cohesion adherence to its policies and achievement of the missions. The company has been listed in on Bursa Malaysia, a stock exchange forum, since 1989. It employs over 5800 employees, making it one of the top employers in Malaysia.

• Company’s vision

To enhance the quality of life and contributing to a healthier future

• Mission

The company aims to be the prominent multinational firm dealing in food, health and wellness aspects. It also aims to be innovative and creative to achieve perfect consumer and human resource management in a competitive consumer goods market. Philosophy

The company manufacture and yield globally accepted products that take quality, reliability and convenience-based into consideration. Maximizing an application of a perfect variety of raw materials and applying ideal human resource strategies in management are also some of the principles o this firm. The motto, Management Commitment and People Involvement” has been guiding this company due to its emphasis on employees’ welfare. The firm also applies for perfect corporate citizenship by adhering to all the laws set by the government, stakeholders and shareholders. Preserving the environment by using clean energy and adhering to necessary emission policies aids in the fulfilling of corporate social responsibility, a role that this company upholds. All products must be certified by HALAL, a certified Islamic body that aims to achieve the quality of both imported and exported goods.

• Products and Services

It deals in Beverages, Dairy, Liquid Drinks, Infant and Maternal Nutrition, Performance Nutrition, HealthCare Nutrition, Breakfast Cereals, Chilled Dairy, Ice Cream, Confectionery. It also offers quality business advice and solutions through Nestlé Professional. It also engages in corporate social responsibly by providing clean energy and water to the communities.

2. Human resource management at Nestle Malaysia
   • Staffing

Nestle Malaysia performs its recruitment in any channels to promote transparency and appreciate technology in the current market. The company perform its hiring on its website through posting of the available jobs and offline through interviews (Zafirah, 2016). In the process of their recruitment, the company dwells on the local talented job seekers who have the ideology of the local market. In Malaysia, specifically, the firm employs Malaysians to nurture and harness the local talent. The company further applies for internship programs, trains fresh graduates recruit professional with high-level expertise and value gender diversity in the society. It ensures the balance in gender during the recruitment process (Rodrigo, 2012). The provision of a two-year management training if the fresh graduates is a perfect initiative at Nestle Malaysia since it leads to competence and future innovative leaders.

In the succession plan, Nestle Malaysia encourages women employees to move up the ladder in the management by putting more effort into the program such as Key Performance Index. The process aims to nurture female employers with the leadership skills that can enable them to be at the top hierarchy of the management. The process is a perfect way since it ensures gender equality (Zafirah, 2016). At least one women must be at a vital position in the company. The company also uphold the government directive that aims at providing more women in the corporate workforce. Employee retention is critical to a company since it leads to the loss of expertise and skills of employees (Othman, 2009). Nestle Malaysia applies several programs to realize employee retention and cohesion. Training on unconscious bias, mentoring programs, comprehensive leadership framework mainly entailing Nestle philosophy and personal effectiveness are some of the programs that aid in the achievement of employees loyalty ay Nestle Malaysia.

• Compensation

Nestle Malaysia care for the welfare of employees through perfect consideration of their plights. The philosophy of good labor relations and ideal working conditions prompt the company to treat its employees nobly. Nestle Employees relationship policy is a type of body established by Nestle Company to promote a perfect relationship with its employees. The company also apply a Collective Bargaining and Freedom of Association Nestle Culture as a tool of ensuring complete compensation and ensuring prompt payment of wages (Li, 2015). The company further allows the specification of the salaries of non-management employees to realize sanity and peace among employees of any position and gender. The company also has a board of directors that manages the compensation of employees regardless of the trade union terms. The company further ensures employees and their families and allocates the retirement benefits through retirement schemes.

• Benefits

The total reward policy in Nestle Malaysia aims at employees’ retention and attraction of new talented and professional employers that will move the company forward. Bonuses, incentives and awards are some examples of the rearward aspect that Nestle Malaysia issues to improve productivity among employees. All the listed Rewards are based majorly on employee performance and effort placed for the achievement of the organizational goals.  The rewards also aim at ensuring loyalty among employees and improve the reputation of the company as a venture of trust to the stakeholders (Othman, 2009).  The application of the innovative awards by the Nestle Malaysia aims at the creative aspect of the employees. Since the consumer goods market is very competitive, employees’ innovation and creativity are vital for the realization of the competitive advantage. Maintaining a brand image is essential for this company. It must, therefore, invest in perfect strategies such as technology to support the positive brand image.  The Nestle recognition program also aims at appreciating the effort of employees at Nestle Malaysia to improve their productivity and creativity in the market.

• Performance Appraisal

Every organization aims to obtain and retain perfect employees’ base to realize the success and competence in the achievement of its goals. Nestle Malaysia is such a company that values employees continued learning. It has borrowed the idea from the parent Nestle group (Li, 2015). It applies relationship-based, experience bases, and education-based appraisal to gauge employees and improve their skills. It mainly dwells on the experienced-based approach by appraising the projects and tasks of the experienced members of staff. Employees must perform their tasks amicably through personal effort, and experience gained in Nestle. Perfect mentoring and networking among employees and the external environment factors is vitally essential in the process of management of Nestle Malaysia. The situation explains relationship-based appraisal. It focusses on the teamwork, cohesion and perfect presentation of every regardless of the difference in position and level of expertise. The employment-based approach enables the training of employees on aspects such as skills improvement and competence.

• Training

A company must ensure the sharpening of skills among employees to enable the competence and expertise required. It has several programs that dwell on the aspect of the training of the employees to adapt to Nestle and the entire consumer goods market. The first 100 days as a new employee is perfect but challenging since there are training to aid in recognition of Nestle as an ideal company globally. It also integrates new employees in the Nestle Malaysia culture (Li, 2015). The mentoring program is another training program employees undergo. It lasts for 12 months. It majorly entails the interaction with the senior leaders through nurturing talents of the recruits. Coaching skills also apply in this training aspect to enable managers to use their perfect leadership and manage employees with intelligence and harmony. All these training programs aim at realizing the growth, and development along career paths of the Nestle employees. Training is therefore vital in Nestle Malaysia.

• Technology

Innovation improves the effectiveness of Human resource management and ensures the success of the objectives set. Nestle Malaysia introduced the Knowledge Management system and Human Resource Information system to promote perfect relationship among employees and the performance of the tasks.   Knowledge Management system enables the ease of access to information by the new and existing employees at Nestle Malaysia (Li, 2015). It allows the smooth transition in details from the old to the new employees. It further improves the quality of the service offered due to its non-reliance o personal knowledge. It further contributes to motivation due to the access to expertise shared in the open platform. Human Resource Information system is also vita. It allows the management of a large group of employees, such as present in Nestle Malaysia. Payment, information related to HR, leave, performance, training and performance appraisal. It makes everything readily available for human resource department due to the inclusion of all information about employees and the entire business on a single system (Li, 2015). It further allows for the ease of communication between employees and human resource management. It also saves operational coast since a large amount of data stored in the clouds enable ease in access that is less costly. Technology is, therefore, a vital aspect of human resource management strategy in Nestle Malaysia.

3. Nestle Malaysia Application of Stages of Human Resource Management

The company has progressed over the years to provide perfect human resource management strategies. In the industrial revolution management system, Malaysia Nestle has applied the aspect of the training of its employees to become well conversant with the company’s culture. Engaging new and old employees in the process of training to realize the up to date employee base is a method used in the industrial system although the employees in Nestle do not work for longer hours with minimum pay (Taylor, 2019). Personnel management is also another human resource management aspect applied in Nestle Malaysia. Nestle Malaysia uses Human Resource Information system to track the employee records such as performance appraisals, level, payment and rewards. The simplification of the jobs by employing many employees to work as a team is also another vital personnel management that led to proper management practices (Crawshaw, Preston & Hatch, 2017). The company also apply gender balance as a non-discriminatory strategy.  It trains its employees and ensures workplace safety.

Behavioral perspective is also applicable in Nestle Malaysia. Self-actualisation, need for success and affiliation are behavioral factors the employees must obtain (Stone, 2014). Nestle Malaysia achieves the mentioned aspects through providing yearly awards, insurance to employees, training and promotion of cohesion among employees. A motivated employee body will complete the set goals without close supervision. Taking part in the clean energy is another method Nestle Company applies to realize the adoption of behavioral perspective in human resource management. The final aspect is a strategic human resource that entails the manager’s role in ensuring adherence to the company’s policy. Creativity innovation and close supervision also aid in comprehensive strategic management (Crawshaw, Preston & Hatch, 2017). The recruitment of diverse employees, explanation of business culture and promotion of gender balance also form part of this final factor. Nestle Malaysia has conducted all those above aspects through the guidance of Shazerd Umar. Its roles in the adherence to human resource management require contributes to its perfect reputation and increased loyalty by the employees, consumers, shareholders and other stakeholders of the company. It, therefore, leads to employee motivation due to the emphasis on employees’ welfare.

4. Recruitment

Employees are the critical success factors at Nestle Company. They form the Nestle Malaysia family. Therefore, their recruitment must be thorough but fair to create a competent and reasonable family (Zafirah, 2016). There are several stages of recruitment by Nestle Malaysian Company. It mainly recruits fresh graduates with a degree in a relevant field and the experiences people who obtain a degree as the lowest level of education. New graduates from Malaysia have added advantage in the recruitment process (Graduate First Limited, 2015). Internship for the fresh graduates regardless of gender and difference in religion is also applicable in the recruitment process. Online application, assessment online aptitude test, first-round interview, Nestle Malaysia assessment centre and final interview are examples of the recruitment process at Nestle Malaysia.

• Online Application

A job seeker must complete the online registration form. The form contains several questions on background education and the reasons for the application of the job. Items such as, describe your motivation for working at Nestle Malaysia, describe your skills and give the background of the Nestle Malaysia are relevant in this part (Graduate First Limited, 2015). An applicant must respond to such questions to aid the recruiters to have the general feeling and information about their soon- to- be employees. The recruiters check the application on a rolling basis. The inclusion of the resume in this stage is also vital since it will provide a general idea of a job seeker (Graduate First Limited, 2015). Nestle Malaysia recruitment department emphasizes on attaching of the resume.

• Assessment Online aptitude test

After the online application, some tests gauge an applicant regarding the practical situations at Nestle Malaysia after employment. The firm terms it as situational judgment tests (Graduate First Limited, 2015). The recruiters provide commercial scenarios to the job applicant and seek their response to such a situation. They then gauge the applicants’ abilities regarding the answers issued. The company further provides the numerical test to the applicants to assess their mathematical skills since Nestle Malaysia is a commercial centre that must deal with numbers. Reading off charts, calculating the ratio and the percentages are examples of the online numerical tests that Nestle Malaysia recruiters apply (Graduate First Limited, 2015). A job applicant must, therefore, be well equipped with the online statistical testing and situational judgment to asps the process of job-seeking in Nestle Malaysia.

• First-round interview

After the successful completion and success in the online tests, a successful job applicant faces the telephone interviews through innovation by the recruiters. The phone interview mainly tests on the recognition of the Nestle Malaysia values, the general skills and the motivating factors are also examined in this type of interview (Graduate First Limited, 2015). The questions are competence bases since the test on the skills, determination and the motivation of a job applicant. It further forces the interviews to reminisce on their past roles in the commercial centres due to the technical questions issued about the business environment abs the entire consumer goods industry.

• Nestle Malaysia Assessment center

After the successful phone interview, the applicant undergoes a rigorous process that involves interaction with the human resource department, mainly the recruitment section. The test includes written and group exercise. In the group exercise, an applicant must communicate with the recruitment team. It tests the communication precision and team leadership since Nestle Malaysia is a family that values teamwork and full involvement in its objectives (Graduate First Limited, 2015). The recruiter carefully observes the job applicant determine his or her ability to perform tasks rendered to him or her after passing all the process of recruitment. An applicant must, therefore, be confident and inquisitive about obtaining complete and detailed information on the company and the team members. A confident job applicant will pass the test since communication is critical in commercial centers. After the group assessment, the job seeker will take an unseen case study about the business centers and their involvement to gauge their writing and interpretation skills (Graduate First Limited, 2015). The recruiters provide such an assessment in the candidates brief. The recruiters offer the timed question to gauge the time management and perfect interpretation of the idea within a short time. They argue that an employee must make the ultimate decision within a short time to solve a business dilemma that might arise in the process of duty performance. An applicant must, therefore, be time conscious of being successful in this stage.

• Final Interview

After the successful completion of group and writing assessment, an employee undertakes the final stage. He or she must undergo pre-employment testing with the manager and the director from the respective department relevant to job seeker’s skills. The senior manager or the director allows for several questions from the job seeker for autonomy confidence (Graduate First Limited, 2015). It is the last stage of the recruitment process. An applicant must, therefore, apply calmness and show high-level confidence and expertise to secure the job. Exciting and thought-provoking questions to earn an advantage to the job seekers due to many people applying for jobs in Nestle Malaysia. The final interview is a determinant of the successful attainment of the slot in Nestle Company by an applicant.

5. Pros, Cons and Recommendations

Nestle Malaysia has several advantages and disadvantages, leading to the need for mitigation procedures to improve the functioning of this company. The cons act as a challenge to this organization.

• Pros

Strong financial base due to its stability in the Malaysian market leads to the achievement of its goals. Since the company mainly focusses on human resource, its involvement in this department is one of its strength (Zafirah, 2016). The training of employees and rewards issued to the employment body motivates them, leading to high productivity among employees. Productive and motivated members will surely achieve the objectives set. The company further involves in the corporate social responsibility by engaging in athletics in Malaysian schools, provide clean energy, and realizes environmental preservation and engaging members of the society in sports. The processes lead to the appreciation of the company in the Malaysian market environment. Such a process leads to the active participation of a firm in the competitive market environment (Zafirah, 2016). The company also applies technology to ease works in the process of management. The use of a Knowledge Management system and Human Resource Information system are an example of the technological innovation used in this firm. They enable ideal connection among employees, the management and the entire marketing community.

• Cons

The resistance to change among the older employees leads to the laxity in the introduction of technological innovations such as a Knowledge Management system and Human Resource Information system (Zafirah, 2016). The large employee base leads to a difference in options among them due to the difference in ideologies about technology and the modern perspectives of the consumer goods market. High operation expenses in the firm contribute to the crippling of some departments and inequality in the distribution of funds to manage all factor of production in the firm. The payment of technological innovation is every year, increasing the cost operation to almost 84%.

• Recommendations

The management should form a board that deals with conflicts in management and intensifies it through proper funding. The roles of such a committee will be identifying the problem that arises due to the transition in the organizational factors. The committee will further define the issues of contract and employees’ opinion on the management procedures in the market. The company can also motivate members to accept changes for their better working relationships. In the aspect of technology, the firm should connect with other technological survey firms in Malaysia to aid the company gain access to the cost-effective technical system. Such an approach will reduce the funds spent on technological changes.

6. Conclusion

Conclusively, human resource management is, therefore, a vital aspect in the market, such as consumer goods. Nestle Malaysia company is an example of such a firm that values the human effort. The employee base acts as a family to this company. Nestle Malaysia company applies training, perfect recruitment, comprehensive technology, ideal appraisal, benefits and compensation are some of the strategies the company use to motivate employees and achieve an ideal marketing environment. The industrial revolution, behavioral perspectives, strategic human resource, and performance assessment are some of the human resource issues applied in the company.  The company undergoes changes in technology and topics such as resistance by employees and high operation costs. It is, therefore, so that it engages other tech survey companies in Malaysia to access low costs technology. It also requires the formation of a board that will reduce the cases of disputes and misunderstanding among employees. Nestle Malaysia is, therefore, a successful consumer goods company that values human resource aspect.

 

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