H&M Case

H&M is a multinational clothing retailer headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with presence in

over 33 countries and in excess of 53,000 employees. The company’s values include having a
commercial mindset, simplicity, constant improvement, cost-consciousness, and
entrepreneurship. Its long-term goal is to make fashion available to everyone through both
increasing the number of stores and sales within each store and maintaining a focus on quality
and profi tability. The company’s HR strategy states that it seeks to be a good employer,
including in those countries where employment law falls below the company’s expectations.
There are therefore global guidelines on diversity, equality, and discrimination. The company
has an open-door policy giving all employees the right to discuss any work-related issue directly
with management and it also supports employees’ rights to organize and decide who should
represent them in the workplace. It has agreements with a wide range of trade unions around the
world. The company’s underpinning values and strategy are global and upheld around the world.

H&M aims to have high levels of employee commitment and responsibility and places emphasis
on the ‘H&M spirit’, where employees are committed to their work and are prepared to take on
new challenges, work hard, and collaborate in teams. The structure at H&M is fl at, but
employees are encouraged to take on new roles and to take personal responsibility for their
careers and development within the company. The selection process is aimed at fi nding
individuals who are able to cope with the fast pace of work and who appreciate responsibility
and decision making. Training takes place largely in-house; for example, when a new store was
opened in Japan, locally recruited staff was sent to stores in Norway and Germany for training.
The reward strategy focuses on benefits such as staff discounts and private health care rather
than on titles and status. However, store managers have considerable delegated power.

Activity

In light of the discussion above concerning universalist approaches to HRM, what elements of
HRM ‘best practice’ can you detect at H&M? Which elements of its HRM approach are
contingent to the company?