Case Study Specsavers: developing HR's strategic role (Based on an...

Case Study Specsavers: developing HR's strategic role
(Based on an interview with Mark Moorton. International HR Director, Specsavers Ltd)
Specsavers is an international. family owned and run business based in Guernsey, the Channel Islands, providing eyecare and bearing services The business employs around 20.000 staff worldwide, most of whom work in the Spec savers stores, which are run as joint ventures rather than franchises. In addition to the stores, the group also inc ludes manufacturing sites for lens production and coating most of which, like its stores, are based in the UK and Ireland, although manufacturing also takes place in Hungary and Australia. The company pursues a strategy of active growth and now has a network of over 1.500 stores worldwide. Due to its ownership structure Specsavers still has a family-based, paternalistic feel to its culture. SHRM is a relatively new concept within the company Prior to 2008, the HR function was small: and largely operated n a reactive way responding to the needs of the line. In 2008, a Group HR Director was recruited tasked with moving the function towards a more strategic role. The function is now structured with HR business partners working alongside line managers. and two small centres of expertise in recruitment, development and rescurcing, and reward. The development of an HR strategy has been a relatively recent undertaking for the organization and has focused on the core areas of performance management. reward and recruitment. The international HR funation is even more recent, and one focus has been how to develop an overarching strategic framework werldwide, whilst also allowing for flexibility at the national level to ensure that policies and practices fit with local needs. The HR challenges faced by the company vary between countries, and the HR team work hard to ensure that solutions are consistent whilst not necessary identical. actoss locations. For instance, whilst in the UK. performance review is linked with pay, the process being launched in the Netherlands and Finland is based around behaviours and competencies. Ajob family system is being introduced to the Netherlands as this fits well within the cuiture, although this is not used in other countries. At the heart of the HR agenda are the company's core vision and values which have developed from a situation where they varied between countries to one where there is a consistent message around the world identifying what is unique about Specsavers. HR strategy development has been embedded in the business planning cycle. 50 that senior HR managers are involved from the outset in setting the overall business strategy. In developing its approach to HR, Specsavers has considered some of the generic frameworks and models for structuring the HR function and developing an HR strategy. but has not found them to be helpful. as there is little fit between these and the company's unique ownership structure and the way the stores are set up. The approach has very much been to establish a high-level framework and set of aims, and then to allow local flexiblity in how to achieve these. The success of the HR operation is evaluated through customer feedback, alongside the more traditional quantitative measures such as turnover. salary levels, and allendance. A strong emphasis is placed on personal relationships and the need to talk to people face-to-face to get their views. The idea of developing shared service HR call centres is not one that would fit well with the culture at Specsavers.

Case study questions
1. What do you see as being the key challenges faced by Specsavers in developing an international HR strategy?
2. How can the interests of the company overall be balanced with those of different country locations?