Strategic Hrm

Whole Foods Market Incorporated is the world 's leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America 's first national "Certified Organic" grocer. It originated in 1980 as a small organic health food store in Texas, US, at a time when there were very few natural food stores in America. It has now been in business for 30 years and has become the benchmark for organic food retailers, in terms of customer service, product quality, and traceability. Their website states that they are a “mission-driven company that aims to set the standards of excellence for food retailers. We are building a business in which high standards permeate all aspects of our company. Quality is a state of mind at Whole Foods Market. Our motto — Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet — emphasizes that our vision reaches far beyond just being a food retailer. Our success in fulfilling our vision is measured by customer satisfaction, Team Member excellence and happiness, return on capital investment, improvement in the state of the environment, and local and larger community support” www.wholefoodsmarket.com ( accessed on 21 march 2013).

Currently, Whole Foods is expanding into the UK market and is trying to raise standards with their trademark customer service. As such, they hire at a competitive wage (it was £7.10 when the store opened in 2007 but dropped to £6.75 due to the recession) and therefore expect more from their team members than many other businesses of this nature. They encourage a positive work atmosphere by having democratic principles-team members can vote on their benefits package and participate in a “gain sharing” program, which results in extra money on their pay check if they achieve higher department sales. The Human Resources department at Whole Foods actively recruits a higher level of team member than many of its food-store counterparts, with the view that these will be long-term employees with a real interest in the business and what they are selling, rather

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