1 The experience at Strathmore Foods is a positive one, but there are potential pitfalls with this type of employment strategy. What issues should organisations employing migrant workers focus on in order to achieve a positive outcome? Strathmore Foods is a producer of quality Scottish foods, such as Scotch pies, both under its own brands and supplied to supermarkets under their brand names. Strathmore Foods is located in the east of Scotland in an area where about 3,000 people are employed in the food industry. Strathmore Foods employs 150 staff in its production factory. In the mid-

2000s, the supply of labour became tight, due to economic growth in the UK providing a range of alternative employment and also to the ageing population, according to Liz Jackson, former Director of HRM. This meant that it was difficult to recruit sufficient staff to meet the demand for produce. The answer for Strathmore Foods was to employ migrant labour, and by 2008 the workforce came from other European countries that had joined the EU or ‘accession states’ that were on the route to joining the EU. The result for Strathmore Foods was not just to replace one source of labour with another, but it also had a significant positive impact on the way the factory operated. However, in order to accrue this benefit, Strathmore Foods had to employ a holistic and innovative HRM approach.