Introduction
There are multiple issues that a giant multinational company should consider when developing and implementing a certain strategy. The most important factors are the rapid evolution of the labor market and the changing types of motivation that stand behind the excellent performance of hardworking employees. Moreover, strategies that multinational companies seek to employ have to differ depending on the market they operate in. Therefore, a dedicated analysis is needed in order to detect the most efficient approaches to HR strategies that should be utilized under various circumstances in a fast-changing world.
Strong Brand
Coca-Cola is regarded as a great brand that is recognizable all around the world. About 94% of the world’s population recognizes its red-and-white logo (Tien, N. H. Vu and Tien, N. V., 2019). The brand culture of Coca-Cola has established a distinct brand positioning, and customers eventually form strong brand loyalty (Chu, 2020). Therefore, all its product lines possess a significant competitive edge. Moreover, Coca-Cola is generally perceived as a great place to work, as the company has always provided competitive salaries, great working conditions, and an opportunity to make an impact in a particular region.
Coca-Cola is one of the largest companies worldwide, meaning that it is highly diversified, with multiple teams working in different parts of the globe. The departments in the US operate in all spheres, from enhancing the production process to finance. At the same time, multiple departments and subsidiaries in other regions should concentrate predominantly on marketing efforts and logistics. According to Singaram et al. (2019), Coca-Cola’s strategies have always been centered around happiness, positivity, and the good life with its products. The company should continue to focus primarily on acquiring talents with excellent communication skills and substantial experience working in the so-called real sector of the economy in this or that country.
Talent Acquisition
Finding new talents has become central to efficient HR managers’ work. According to Juneja and Matharu (2022), induction HR strategy, performance appraisal and feedback HR strategy, employee engagement HR strategy, employee welfare HR strategy, and HR strategic fit are used to measure a company’s HR strategies. Thus, Coca-Cola will benefit enormously if it manages to find workers in different regions that can provide an entirely new perspective on its values and objectives.
Different cultures may have symbols and associations related to the legendary drink and can help further enhance brand image and increase sales. Therefore, HR managers working in overseas departments should focus on finding young talents that can boast creative thinking and unique cultural experiences as their competitive edge. The same approach is applicable in the case of the logistics department. Nationals of a particular country always better understand all the features that may undermine or enhance the routes and alter delivery time. Thus, trusting local candidates that claim to have enough experience working in the sphere is worth the risk.
Different Approaches to HR
At the same time, the company should be more conservative when hiring new employees for its US departments. Education’s human resource management approach that emphasizes an “employee-centered” philosophy to enhance teachers’ experience and engagement has become extremely popular in recent years (Tran, 2020). Therefore, the responsibilities of employees tend to be greater due to the number of spheres they operate in. In many cases, they have demonstrated expertise in a variety of fields related to the production process and various business operations. Thus, HR managers should still prioritize the employment of top university graduates that demonstrate high proficiency in areas that are directly connected with the quality of the product and finances.
Employee Motivation and Job Satisfaction
One of the issues that large multinational corporations often encounter is the diminished motivation to perform great and provide ingenious new solutions that can boost the company’s performance. The main factor that stands behind the issue is the high basic salaries combined with a lack of KPIs or other efficient frameworks that can objectively evaluate employee performance. Mahmood et al. (2019) state that remuneration strategies are positively related to job satisfaction and employee commitment. Therefore, senior managers in departments worldwide should focus on the necessity to copy the strategies of technocrats, as in some cases, they are not applicable at all. It is crucial to take the responsibility of giving a subjective evaluation of various employees. Whenever sales figures cannot directly prove the enhanced performance of a specific team, a senior manager should get involved and estimate the efficiency of the efforts himself/herself.
Modern Approach
Millennials already constitute the majority of the workforce, leading to serious corporate culture changes. The factors that motivate these workers differ significantly from the incentives that used to work with previous generations. Junita (2021) claims that agile HR strategies include a set of policies that can provide collaborative work culture, learning organizations, design work teams oriented, and practices oriented to empower workers. Moreover, according to Al Ahad, Khan, and Rahman (2020), employee retention should be increasingly perceived as a network of strategies rather than the outcome. Millennials are willing to contribute to its image only when genuinely inspired by its mission, values, and working atmosphere. Therefore, traditional strategies that rely primarily on pay raises and bonuses should be substituted with an opportunity to work independently and be creative.
Health Issues
The main challenge that Coca-Cola has been facing for years is the public’s changing attitude to soda. Therefore, the company has consistently tried to prove the drink’s relative safety. Nevertheless, according to Wood, Ruskin, and Sacks (2020), Coca-Cola’s intent and ability to use PR campaigns to market to children should cause public-health severe concerns. Moreover, a total of 74 health organizations received funding from Coca-Cola between 2010 and 2016 (Rey-López and Gonzalez, 2019). Such an approach has proven to be inefficient in the modern world, as the public is extremely sensitive about the corporations’ influence over research teams worldwide.
Such an approach should be considered outdated, as it signals a structural problem concerning the employment of people with a type of thinking or education that do not match the high standards of modern society. Therefore, the company should allocate more resources to R&D and create safer drinks. HR managers should focus on hiring professionals that seek to enhance the overall quality of the product, not to manipulate the public’s perception of it.
Conclusion
There are numerous strategies that can be successfully applied by Coca-Cola’s HR managers. The company’s size implies a diverse set of tasks that are to be performed daily. Therefore, various departments and subsidiaries may employ different approaches. Nevertheless, they should focus predominantly on tailoring their motivation framework to suit Millennials. Moreover, the company should capitalize on its strong brand and jump at the opportunity to promote its culture among employees. In the 21st century, new marketing efforts emphasizing the social impact the company makes are to be aimed not only at customers but at the company workers as well.
References
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Chu, B. (2020) ‘Analysis on the success of Coca-Cola marketing strategy, Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2020), Chengdu, China.
Juneja, D. and Matharu, S. K. (2022) ‘A valid and reliable scale development for measuring HR strategies of start-ups’, SEDME (Small Enterprises Development, Management & Extension Journal).
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Wood, B., Ruskin, G. and Sacks, G. (2020) ‘Targeting children and their mothers, building allies and marginalising opposition: an analysis of two Coca-Cola public relations requests for proposals’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1), pp. 12–16.