Google has risen over the years to become a tech giant and globally renowned organization. To achieve these feats, google has had to effectively strategize its recruitment process to deal with its extensive and demanding operations (Passy 2019). For these reasons, the company offers different employment contracts to the different classes of employees.
Google utilizes permanent full-time contracts to keep operations at its various offices running smoothly. The company has numerous offices around the globe which need to be operational throughout the calendar year. Most individuals who work in these offices are employed on a permanent full-time basis, and they include persons like office secretaries, assistants, the different level of office managers and customer service personnel. Additionally, individuals working on long-term projects that take long durations, normally more than a year to be completed, are contracted on a permanent full-time basis. Google uses this approach to give the projects a sense of continuity, flow and to deliver the projects within the agreed time schedules. Already established projects and subsets of the company such as YouTube have dedicated engineers who are employed on the permanent full-time contracts to ensure there are always operational. Similarly, the company’s directors like the finance director and top managers such as the human resource manager are contracted on this basis to give the overall direction of the company including planning, research and allocation of resources.
The company contracts individuals on a permanent part-time basis to deal with functions that require specific expertise such as doctors and not needed for the entirety of the time. These also include troubleshooting and special coding for certain projects which are offered to talented software engineers and products developers. Google benefits from having such contracts as it allows the company to deal with new releases of products or services.
In google, those hired on fixed-term contracts are referred to as TVC’s and are usually hired through agencies. The company hires TVC’s with several motives. One is to fill temporary posts that open up during emergencies like maternity leave. Last, is to cater to those types of jobs that require less expertise like catering services, construction works around the premises and vendors. Hiring on this basis grants google the ability to keep its headcount low and reduces employees wage bill since most of the TVC’s do not enjoy the same perks as those contracted directly by the company. At the same time, it helps to retain professionals who demand high salaries.
ASDA
ASDA is among the largest supermarket retailers in the U.K. A subsidiary of Wal-Mart, the firm accounts for almost half of the company’s international sales. ASDA prides itself as one of the best discounters in the U.K, which makes it to attract about 18million clients a year in its 369 stores across the country (Norbrega 2014). The company employs approximately 175,000 employees to work on its various premises and serve its huge client base. Different employees are employed on various types of contracts which mainly include permanent full-time, permanent part-time, temporary and fixed-term contracts.
Permanent full-time contracts are handed to individuals occupying instrumental positions which the organization cannot function without. These include important functions that require dedicated employees to constantly make key decisions of how the company will be operated and those who oversee the daily running of the company. Company directors, like finance directors and branches managers, are involved in give the company strategic moves in the industry and are thus hired on a permanent full-time contract. Similarly, store managers, line managers, are given permanent full-time contracts to help organize how work is done in the stores.
About 62% of ASDA employees are contracted on a permanent part-time basis (Norbrega 2014). The store employs warehouse workers and supermarket staff on a permanent part-time basis to work around the clock to ensure that supplies are replenished, and stock is UpToDate. Employees with this type of contracts are assigned and can choose the specific times to work. This allows ASDA stores to remain open throughout the day with some employees taking on night shift hours while others take the day hours. Job titles in ASDA on this type of contract include warehouse, store and retail operatives. Additionally
ASDA employs a sizeable number of its workforce on temporary contracts which have a fixed term. During highs peak seasons, especially holiday seasons and Christmas festivities this type of contract allows ASDA to access additional support to help deal with a surge in traffic in its stores. On the back of the COVID-19 pandemic and initiation of lockdown sparked a stockpiling frenzy ASDA had to employ around 5,000 individuals to assist with replenishing of stocks on the shelves, carryout online food requests and manage checkout. Additionally, the fixed-term contract allows ASDA to recruit employees to replace employees out for a period of time. For instance, during the pandemic, some of the individuals hired were to take up positions occupied by permanent ASDA employees who were put on isolation.