The Impact of Social Media on the Psychological Contract

The earliest idea of psychological contract dates back to a study conducted by Argyris in 1960, in which the term “psychological work contract” was used to describe the implicit relationship existing between a foreman and the employees this was in charge of supervising. The concept was later developed by Levinson, Price, Munden, Mandl and Solley (1962), who referred to the term “psychological contract” to outline the set of mutual expectations the two parties involved in the employment relationship might be at best just vaguely aware of, but which exerts a controlling influence on their relationship. Ever since, several definitions of psychological contract have been formulated by many academics and sociologists; amongst these that of Schein (1965) who, drawing from Argyris and Levinson et al studies, stressed the circumstance that this type of contract unrelentingly produces effects throughout the employment relationship.

The reason why the psychological contract has invariably aroused academics keen interest lays in the fact that it is supposed to considerably influence and govern each individual employment relationship. Albeit unwritten, the effects this contract produces are pervasive and profound in that it essentially relies on the employee and employer mutual trust and respect.

The psychological contract is underpinned by a set of obligations and expectations, which are habitually established by employees and employers only once the legal, written contract of employment has been signed and the employee has actually started to work with the new employer. Employees traditionally commenced establishing and raising their expectations, which more strongly influence their behaviour vis-à-vis their obligations, after having gained some experience in the new workplace. As contended by Schein (1965), the psychological contract needs to be constantly renegotiated, but this does not typically happen in the first weeks or months of employment, but rather later on, once individuals become acquainted with the new organizational environment and become fully aware of the practices and culture driving the organization.

Up till a few years ago, individuals chose their employer on the basis of companies’ reputation and, whether possible, according to the information obtained by means of their relatives, friends, acquaintances and eventually media. The material collected thanks to media, nonetheless, more often than not, was mostly financial-related rather than concerned with the businesses working conditions, never mind with the culture and HRM practices fostered and implemented within the organization.

Since it was not difficult for individuals to imagine what their employer expectations and their obligations in the workplace would have most likely been, people essentially joined organizations having a rough idea of the employer side of the psychological contract, but were utterly unable to establish their own expectations before joining an organization.

Things are working considerably differently nowadays. The growing number of social media and professional networks available online enable employers to widely introduce their organizations to potential candidates and talented individuals so as to relatively easily woo and lure them. Social media and social networks like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Twitter, Google Plus and facebook, just to name a few of them, enable employers to create company pages where these can post videos, photos, stories, interviews and whatever else can help them to effectively promote their employer brand. Glassdoor also enables employees to rate their companies and express their thoughts about literally every aspect and feature of their current or former employer. Potential candidates and applicants can then easily access these reviews, which are clearly very helpful for them to pinpoint which organization may suit them the most and can enable them to achieve their ambitions and aspirations, before eventually applying for a job.

These platforms offer newly graduates seeking their first job and experienced professionals looking for a new challenge much more than just some pieces of information about the companies these are interested in; it can be maintained that in many ways social media provide potential candidates a real taste of what working with a company, actively and effectively promoting its employer brand, might be. Particularly punchy prove to be the videos recorded and the photos shot in the workplace during company, CSR and work well events and initiatives, but even more powerful are the comments posted by former and current employees of an organization. Potential applicants want to listen to real stories told by employees rather than craftily devised statements read by top managers and HR professionals.

                                                                

Social media definitely offer employers great opportunities in terms of promoting their employer brand; thanks to them organizations can in fact easily reach and attract talented individuals in what can be nowadays regarded as the global labour market. Company pages, and the different options employers choose to build and develop these (videos, pictures, posts, animations, employee interviews and so forth), enable employers to provide potential applicants (and sometimes investors): an overview of the way things are done within their business (that is to say of corporate culture), some details about what employers value the most, an outline of the career and international mobility prospects offered by employers and an overarching view of the businesses premises and offices layout.

The tremendous advantages offered by social media and professional networks to organizations which want to actively promote their employer brand are clearly unparalleled, insofar as a considerable number of companies are nowadays intensely competing in social media and professional networks to attract talented individuals’ attention and hopefully applications. Employer branding can be definitely regarded as a good practice but, whether not properly and most of all honestly and transparently managed, it may also cause employers some considerable drawbacks.

The huge quantity of information collected by means of social media and professional networks, whose power is indeed magnified by the videos and pictures employed by organizations in their company pages so as to more effectively convey the message, ultimately account for individuals creating expectations even before applying for a job. Differently from what it actually occurred in the past, nowadays candidates apply for a job having already established a clear, broad set of expectations. These have learned from company videos that after having entered the organization they will have: great career prospects; the chance to travel around the world, thanks to the company international mobility policy; access to competitive pay rates and significant flexible benefits and perquisites; and the chance to grow and develop so as to meet their ambitions and achieve their full potential.

Individual expectations are created on the basis of the wealth of information gathered online; notwithstanding, it is likely that these expectations will not be the object of specific discussion and agreement with the employer at a later stage, that is, during the talent acquisition phase. As suggested by Armstrong (2009), nonetheless, the main problem with the psychological contract is that, being unwritten, it is essentially based on assumptions and, worse still, on unarticulated assumptions; whether these are not discussed and agreed between employer and employee, the inevitable consequence is a later huge disappointment. When preparing the content of their company pages, employers should hence adopt a cautious approach so as to avert individuals misreading and overestimating their proposition. It is hardly believable, for instance, that an organization may offer to every employee, irrespective of his/her role, career prospects and international mobility opportunities as depicted in the captivating videos posted in its company pages; this clearly depends on a series of requirements that each individual will be expected to meet (role, tenure, seniority, grade, skills, etc.).

The effects produced by an individual perception that the psychological contract has been breached by his/her employer can be very harmful and long-lasting; by reason of their pervasiveness these effects will be evident in every individual action and behaviour. According to Sims (1994), the breach of the psychological contract entails that the parties involved in the employment relationship no longer share, or never indeed shared, an agreed set of values and objectives. More often than not, the breach of the psychological contract is due to the existence of the latter circumstance; this type of contract is in fact essentially based on tacit agreements so that reciprocal expectations, whether not appropriately discussed, are never clearly expressed.

Employees typically create expectations on the basis of what they observe in the workplace and consider fair. When an employee gets a promotion, the colleagues who consider their level of contribution equal or even superior to that of the employee who has been given the promotion establish expectations. Whether the videos posted in a company page should showcase success stories only, this might account for individuals creating excessive career expectations. Employers should take extra care when divulging information about their companies’ practices and value proposition; the risk to raise unrealistic expectations is very high and the consequences they may later suffer severe.

Social media can prove to be a double-edged sword, they can in fact make or break an organization employer brand. Inasmuch as these can effectually help employers luring and attracting the best talent in the labour market, regardless of its geographical boundaries, social media may also play against employers whether the information disseminated are not accurate and do not provide a clear view of the real circumstances. Yet disappointed individuals can indeed use social media to denigrate their former employer and post comments outlining how their initial expectations, created on the basis of the information divulged by the organization in its company pages, vanished into thin air after having joined the business.

When managing their company employer branding activities, HR departments should thus definitely avoid overselling and overstating; for instance, showcasing opportunities and prospects which cannot be offered to everyone as if these are the norm. It can be ultimately argued that by providing an excessively detailed and overarching view of the value proposition and career prospects offered by their organization, HR would essentially outline the best possible scenario; individuals who later join cannot thus expect any better. Focusing more on corporate culture, organizational climate and CSR initiatives, by contrast, would definitely enable employers to still take newcomers unawares and provide them the pleasant feeling that the employer they have joined is even capable to exceed their expectations. Also in this case employees would indeed establish and raise their expectations but if anything by reason of how things really are and safe in the knowledge that to grow and develop within the business they have to fulfil some specific criteria.

Employers should invariably take heed of the psychological contract in that, as suggested by Guest et al (1996), this deeply influences: individual commitment to the organization, employee satisfaction and ultimately employee relations. A positive psychological contract can be regarded as the precondition for individuals going the extra mile, engage in discretionary behaviour and put discretionary effort into their work.

The circumstance nowadays individuals, by virtue of social media, are put in a situation to establish expectations about their employment relationship before actually joining an employer, should prompt HR professionals to take extra care with the process individuals create expectations and the way these change over time.

So as to develop and maintain a positive psychological contract and completely avert later disappointment, HR professionals should discuss and clearly define candidates’ expectations during the acquisition and induction phases. Since individual expectations are due to change with the passing of time, this dialogue should be kept open and embedded in the performance management practices of every organization as a crucial part of it. Yet organization policies and procedures, especially those enabling managers to make decisions affecting their staff, should be extremely clear and transparent (Armstrong, 2009).

The psychological contract is underpinned by tacit assumptions and unwritten expectations so that it can be by nature extremely easily misread. The employer branding activity performed by organizations, thanks to the growing pervasiveness of social media, albeit properly managed, can contribute to make things worse; applicants may in fact misinterpret some of the information provided by employers. To avert individuals creating unrealistic expectations about their employment relationship communication is key (Guest and Conway, 2002). Since the very beginning, that is, during the acquisition and induction phases, employers need to establish an open, transparent two-way communication with individuals about their expectations and clearly state what they can actually promise and what it is expected from them in exchange so as to also be clear about the employer expectations. This communication channel should be left open throughout the employment relationship in that individual expectations are subject to change over time and with these the content of their psychological contract. This clearly is a daunting task for employers and HR, but definitely worth the efforts it entails whether the employer wants to effectually promote its employer brand, attain sustained competitive edge and successfully pursue its strategy by recruiting the appropriate talents and establishing with them a relationship underpinned by a clear reciprocal understanding and trust.

Longo, R., (2017), The Impact of Social Media on the Psychological Contract; Milan: HR Professionals, [online].

Jumping For The Jellybeans - Frederick Herzberg

Frederick Herzberg explain the two-factor theory and job enrichment movement objectives in his own words (BBC documentary, 1973).

Employee’s Loyalty: Can Be It Still Regarded As An Individual Significant Value?

Once upon a time there was a psychological contract, underpinned by the idea of “a job for life”, according to which employers offered their employees a sum of money in exchange for their loyalty and contribution to organizational success. The content of the psychological contract has ever since been subject to a slow but unrelenting evolution. At first, to meet individual wants, employers started to gradually replace their compensation arrangements with reward packages programmes, that is to say pay schemes based on appropriate combinations of financial and non-financial rewards; then individuals increasingly began to establish expectations about career prospects and opportunities for professional development and growth. More recently, employees have concentrated their attention on gaining additional skills and competencies, and on considerably expanding their knowledge and expertise, with the ultimate aim of increasing their marketability.

Increasing employee marketability, notwithstanding, more than favouring individual’s loyalty is likely to favour employee mobility in the labour market. It could be thus contended that whereas the original version of the psychological contract essentially aimed at fostering individual’s loyalty, it tends nowadays to ease employee transferability.

With respect to this point, employers seem to take an ambiguous position. They are aware of the circumstance that retaining employees in general and talented individuals in particular represents a daunting feat to perform. Individuals attach great importance to broadening their experience so that many employers have introduced internal and international mobility programmes within their organization, with the ultimate aim of retaining their talents. On the other hand, nonetheless, organizations constantly seek talented individuals in the relevant labour market and offer them generous reward packages and career prospects. The former activity clearly supports loyalty, whereas the latter definitely plays a detrimental role in this respect.

Whilst some individuals, especially young people, literally struggle to find a job, some others find it relatively easy to change job rather frequently. It is not thus uncommon for talent acquisition specialists coming into contact with individuals whose résumé contains an employment history clearly showing that these candidates change employer very often and sometimes even too often. Organizations, nonetheless, are usually keen and enthusiastic to recruit these individuals, sometimes with a pinch of satisfaction for the candidate acceptance of their offer, overlooking that whether an individual has easily and heartlessly left his current employer for a more attractive reward package this might do it again and again in the future. It clearly depends on how the person will fit in at his/her new company, but it regrettably also depends on the opportunities which other employers may offer to the individual. In the incoming future, the new employer might hence turn to be victim of this individual behaviour, too.

Whether the one size does hardly fit all in general, it definitely fits even less all in this instance. Individuals may leave their employer for countless reasons so that it sorely depends on the circumstances; organizations cannot be wary of candidates only because these change employer frequently. The first step to take in order to favour individual’s loyalty is never ever making promises which might be hardly kept, describe the workplace and the role differently from what these actually are and undertake unrealistic career prospects.

Individuals are increasingly keen and eager to broad their knowledge and gain valuable, useful experience. Yet, employees are growingly fascinated by the idea of working in an international environment and of being offered the chance to move abroad for short and long assignments or even permanently. The generous reward packages and the more favourable terms and conditions of employment habitually offered by the new employer, nonetheless, clearly do also play a role in individual decisions to leave or stay with an organization.

People who often change employer dramatically increase their marketability; their résumés look typically impressive and especially whether their marketability has been gained in renowned organizations, their chances to receive new employment offers grow significantly. These individuals are essentially “trapped” in somewhat of a virtuous circle: more frequently they change their job, more considerable, valuable and wider their experience and more numerous their chances to receive new job offers from different employers. More often than not, these individuals do not even need to look for a new opportunity, but just await recruiters to find them. Social networks are powerful from this point of view; many recruiters incessantly look for passive candidates, that is to say individuals who are not actively searching for a new role, but who would be sorely interested in new good employment opportunities whether offered to them.

It can be argued that, by actively looking for active and passive candidates and making these attractive employment offers, employers in many respects encourage and favour competition in the labour market to the detriment of employee’s loyalty, which may be no longer perceived by employers as an individual asset and consequently by applicants as something to be proud of. Whereas in the past job seekers tended to limit the number of employers listed in their résumés, eventually extending, according to the role filled, the length of employment with those considered most relevant to the position they were applying for, this does no longer occur nowadays. Recruiters in fact, unless of conspicuous exaggerations, tend to pay lip service to the quantitative aspect of past employment. By contrast, in some instances this seems to add value to the overall quality of the curriculum vitae in that the considerable number of records contributes to depict the candidate as a person who has gained a broad experience in different contexts and under different circumstances.

Employees aim at gaining new experience and broadening their knowledge, and relentlessly look for new employment opportunities enabling them to attain their objective. Employers on the other hand unremittingly search for people who have gained a relevant and considerable expertise under different circumstances and in diverse organizational settings, preferably in countries with different cultures. It can be hence inferred that employers are perfectly at ease with résumés rich of employment records; perhaps in that each employer labours under the illusion that things will work differently in its case.

Can be therefore contended that employee’s loyalty is no longer regarded by employers as a significant employee value? Definitely not, the costs associated with recruiting external candidates, especially talented individuals, are definitely high. Yet, the risk that after having left the organization an individual might continue to use the information gained during his/her previous employment relationship is considerable. All in all, employee’s loyalty can and should be thus still considered by employers as an individual significant and desirable trait.

Employee’s loyalty seems to be destined to stay high at the top of employers’ and HR professionals’ agenda also for the years to come. Corporate loyalty seems in fact not to be perceived as an important value by Millennials. Whereas some studies show that Generation Y represents the most loyal generation to their favourite brands, the findings of several investigations of a different type, conducted over the last years, reveal and confirm that the majority of Millennials do not regard employer loyalty as a value and let alone as a priority.

The results of the different surveys, both as regards the rate of people claiming to have plans to stay or leave their employer and the idea Millennials have about loyalty, are at times sorely conflicting. Yet, some remarkable divergences also emerge when comparing the answers provided by Millennials and HR professionals to the same questions. Notwithstanding, these studies at large suggest that these individuals are mainly interested in work/life balance, professional growth and success, career prospects and in pursuing personal interests. Millennials appear to be resolute and ruthless in the accomplishment of their purpose and seem to have no hesitation in leaving their employer whether this cannot ensure them the attainment of their objectives and the fulfilment of their aspirations.

To enhance employees’ loyalty, employers should invariably take heed of all of these individual wants, which are not exclusively typical of Millennials, but rather of all of today’s employees, and should hence constantly adapt their human capital practices so as to meet their expectations and needs. The real problem is that nurturing employee’s loyalty proves to be a daunting task to perform for every employer.

The most effectual approach to encourage and foster individual’s loyalty in the workplace is arguably that to timely plan and favour employee development and growth from within the organization. Nonetheless, not all of the professional and strategic roles within a business can be actually developed internally, whether there are no employees having the basic attributes so that this approach cannot be invariably adopted irrespective of the circumstances and roles. Moreover, regardless of the way individuals fit in their organization, these might sometimes find it objectively difficult to resist the temptation to change organization, colleagues, workplace, location and corporate culture. Whether on top of this it is also offered them an attractive reward package, it is virtually impossible for individuals do not accept a new offer of employment.

Whether employers, also by means of scenario planning methodologies, accurately plan their current and future staff needs and rigorously map the existing organizational roles in order to find out which of these are due to gain further strength and strategic significance in the future, these will be in a position to identify the internal candidates matching the organizational needs, that is, the employees who can effectually fill those roles and timely plan for their growth and development.

Offering people, who have the traits and attributes to take further responsibilities and fill strategic roles in the future, internal and international mobility opportunities and the chance to participate in local and international projects would enable employers to develop talent from within the business, whilst offering these individuals the opportunity to broad their experience in different contexts and environments.

Buying talent off the shelf clearly demands little effort, but not necessarily less resources, whereas developing and building it internally definitely takes more time and efforts. Both options essentially pose challenges and offer opportunities; nonetheless, whenever employers decide to opt for the former method these should be prepared to eventually start back the recruitment process anytime. By adopting the latter approach, by contrast, the likelihood that an employee might leave the organization should result considerably reduced. Yet, the adoption of an approach aiming at developing talent internally should help employers to retain quality individuals and to straightforwardly attract from the exogenous environment, and subsequently retain, the individuals having the skills and expertise unavailable within the business.

Employee’s loyalty at large can still continue to be regarded as an important organizational asset; nonetheless, its significance has in recent times apparently considerably weakened. The incessant changing circumstances and the organizational ever-varying wants and woes account for employers having to suddenly, quickly make decisions so as to tackle and address as early as possible the arising problems. More often than not, the adoption of this approach entails employers to acquire in the exogenous environment, that is, the external labour market the talent necessary to support the organization. The lack of a people resourcing strategy and of an accurate succession plan can clearly contribute to make matters worse.

Employee’s loyalty might no longer be universally perceived as a significant value but employers, by means of their recruiters in the first place and of their managers and HR function subsequently, should do whatever they can to ensure that a new recruit stays with the organization at great length or, if the worst comes to the worst, at least for the time enabling them to identify and develop internally the individual who fits the role the most and can ultimately perform it for the foreseeable future.

Longo, R., (2016), Employee’s Loyalty: Can Be It Still Regarded As An Individual Significant Value?; Milan: HR Professionals, [online].

From Recruitment to Succession Planning: A Constructive Approach to Human Capital Development

The primary concern of recruiters is that of attracting and selecting the right person for the appropriate position, that is to say seeking, finding and hiring the so-called perfect match or best fit for each role. To successfully attain their objectives recruiters need, first and foremost, to pinpoint what the real organizational need is and hence meet the employer, or rather, as it usually occurs in practice, the hiring manager expectations.

 

 

 

Recruiters and hiring managers habitually formulate job posts on the basis of the unit current needs and of the requirements necessary to properly perform the vacant role, but in some others instances these aim at recruiting individuals who, in addition to properly fill the current vacancy, have the qualities and the potential to perform more demanding and complex activities in the future.

 

 

Individuals on the other hand do no longer aim at finding just a job, but rather at being hired by organizations which can offer them a meaningful role, a pleasant workplace, flexible working arrangements, a competitive salary, valuable benefits and opportunities for growth. More often than not, recruiters’ task, especially whether not supported by a strong employer branding, may hence prove to be particularly daunting to perform. Employers, albeit with some difficulties, can virtually fulfil all of these expectations, but can hardly ensure to all of their employees what they care for the most, to wit: genuine, practical and valuable career prospects.

 

 

 

In many instances, after the initial excitement generated by the new position vanishes into thin air and individuals realize that their current employer cannot offer them any further opportunities for growth, people make the drastic decision to leave their employer. “I’m looking for a new challenge” is a phrase recruiters are very acquainted with. In some cases it hides a different true, but in the vast majority of the circumstances people do leave their employer in that they genuinely aim at working in a different, more varied and challenging environment.

 

 

 

Offering genuine opportunities for growth to all of its employees clearly represents a virtually impossible task for any employer; yet, all too often individuals overestimate their abilities and potential so that these easily establish unrealistic expectations, which employers can hardly fulfil. This clearly represents a conundrum for many employers, but the adoption of a forward-looking and in many respects creative approach to human capital management can indeed help employers to meet the increasingly challenging expectations of both talented and less talented individuals.

 

 

 

Inasmuch as employers need talented individuals, that is to say people who possess, typically but not necessarily inborn, remarkable capabilities, which enable these to effectually perform complex tasks and take high degrees of responsibility; employers need less talented but capable and reliable individuals who perform less complex activities not entailing any particularly considerable degree of responsibility, but which are equally important for the organization to attain its performance objectives. It clearly emerges that employers need the genuine contribution of all their employees; investing and retaining them, albeit at two different levels, is thus crucially important.

 

 

 

In order for employers to attain this particularly significant and ambitious objective, these should adopt a constructive approach to human capital development aiming at meeting, albeit in a different fashion, the expectations of all of their employees.

 

Table 1

 

The final objective of this model is that to invariably ensure employers to properly fill the key positions necessary to help them to identify the appropriate organizational direction, whereas being able to bank on the right individuals for pursuing it. The underpinning assumption is that for an employer to attain competitive edge over its competitors this needs to obtain the genuine contribution of all of its employees and ensure and secure to all of them a compelling, interesting and varied job.

 

 

 

In some instances, the abilities and skills of an individual might not immediately emerge so that taking care of all of the employees may enable organizations to identify talents anytime. Conversely, individuals who seem to have some innate abilities may later prove not to have the skills and qualities to fill roles entailing higher level of responsibility. Employers must hence be extremely prudent and careful when preparing their employees’ career path. An employee of the shop floor would perform much better whether his/her employer should suddenly propose this a different role or career prospects, whereas it is highly likely that an individual already classified as a talent would completely lose his/her interest in the organizational success whether an employer should not keep the career undertaking previously given.

 

 

 

Career planning

Once an employer has identified, or has recruited, the individuals who possess the organization’s most sough-after qualities, the first activity the relevant HR specialists should perform, in order to mould and nurture these qualities, is that to discuss and plan with these individuals their plan of development. Since organizations are nowadays subject to an incessant process of change, career planning should be left rather “open.” The plan agreed by employers with the identified individuals must clearly meet their expectations but should not be preferably necessarily aimed at covering a specific, pre-identified role or position. The adoption of such an approach enables employers to develop individuals who, rather than being prepared to only fill a specific role, have gained the skills, abilities and experience to fill a set or range of different roles.

 

Career planning should invariably meet individuals’ aspirations, be compatible with their traits and potentials, but should also definitely ensure employers to duly fill the roles, not exclusively concerned with leadership and executive positions, these consider as most strategic and demanding to be properly filled.

 

 

 

This activity might clearly also be seen as a pre-stage of succession planning; it can in fact constantly offer employers fresh insights into the individual potential.

 

 

 

Vertical and horizontal internal mobility

Internal mobility enables employers to attain some particularly significant objectives, to wit: enable individuals to gain and broaden their experience, develop their skills and enhance their capability.

 

 

 

Since vertical mobility entails an increased level of responsibility and individuals undertaking more complex activities, which according to the local legislation may require a grade and pay increase, employers should be careful in the adoption of this unquestionably valuable approach. Repeated short-term assignments, during which individuals are coached and supervised by senior managers, should in general protect employers against legal action.

 

 

 

Internal mobility must be planned to pursue a specific and functional objective, that is, enable individuals to expand their experience and gain the skills necessary for these to perform the activities and fill the roles required and identified by the employer. For leadership and executive positions, for instance, having experience of how the different units and functions of the organizations are managed and operated may prove to be extremely beneficial. What matters the most is that every phase and stage of each individual career path serves the identified scope so that each individual can establish a clear line-of-sight between his/her activities and the final objective of his/her career path.

 

 

 

International Mobility

The old stereotype of people resisting traveling and moving abroad, with some rare exceptions, can be nowadays considered completely overcome. People are now very keen and eager to move abroad and experience new lifestyles and different cultures. International mobility would be hence absolutely welcomed by employees and in many respects it is also very likely that individuals decide to join a specific organization hoping that his may offer them such type of opportunity.

 

In terms of personal and professional development, international mobility unquestionably represents a priceless asset for individuals and for employers, too. The introduction of international mobility practises can in fact contribute to effectually enhance the employer branding, that is, its capability to attract talents from the exogenous environment and heighten the effectiveness of its retention programmes. The findings of a recent study conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and L’Oréal UK and Ireland (Uppala and Jayasuriya, 2015) revealed that global career not only positively influences retention practices, but also individual productivity.

 

 

 

The benefits of global career are indeed far-reaching also for employers. Many organizations are undergoing global restructuring plans; yet, the loss of some customers or the occurrence of other possible contingencies at large can account for employers do no longer requiring particular types of talent in some of their branches. The early introduction of international mobility programmes, by giving employers the opportunity to pinpoint how people would practically behave and feel in a different country and under different circumstances, can enable these to eventually make rapid, efficient and informed decisions.

 

 

 

The objective of international mobility programmes is basically the same as that of internal mobility, to wit: enable individuals to gain and broaden their experience under new and utterly different circumstances. The country, branch, organization, department or unit will be clearly identified according to the employer needs, but these must invariably serve the pre-identified purpose.

 

 

 

Succession planning

Career planning, internal mobility and international mobility can all be considered as pieces of the same jigsaw. To fit their position on the final picture, nonetheless, each piece must contribute a specific, but necessary, functional and valuable ability, skill and experience so that the overall picture can fully meet the initial, or deliberately later altered, employer and employee expectations.

 

 

 

Succession planning is habitually concerned with the identification of individuals who have the potential to fill executive-directors, executive non-directors and senior management positions, but employers should also accurately map their organization’s roles and identify those which whether not timely and properly filled may make a negative impact on organizational performance. The next stage is that to develop the most appropriate plan of action to prepare individuals to effectively fill the roles considered as strategic by employers.

 

Taking heed of the positions these individuals will be called to fill, a particular importance has to be given to soft-skills. It is in fact highly unlikely that the individuals identified may not be technically competent and prepared. Yet, by means of the plan of action identified and executed by employers, technical competencies will be constantly and in many respects naturally nurtured. These are indeed easier to gain, whereas soft-skills, increasingly considered of paramount importance by employers and at the same time increasingly hard to find, require much more efforts and are thus more difficult to gain, albeit being fundamental for the individuals destined to fill leadership positions. As maintained by Younger et al (2007), the main objective is to elicit individual “growth from within.”

 

 

 

Whether succession planning is concerned with technical roles which do not imply any people management activity, its focus might be mostly narrowed to concentrate on the development of technical expertise. Nonetheless, it is hardly imaginable that these individuals might work in isolation so that their soft-skills should be in any case properly developed and nurtured.

 

 

 

Different employers clearly have different needs, but at this moment in time it can be contended that leadership qualities, change management abilities and project management expertise, just to name a few examples, should invariably be at the centre of these programmes. It is up to employers to identify the ideal ability-mix according to the different roles, their content and the organization present and expected future requirements.

 

 

 

Talent management

The overall process should be clearly underpinned by sound and effective talent management practices. Implementing talent relationship management, aiming at creating a great place to work, and talent engagement programmes is definitely crucially important (Armstrong, 2009). The efforts required to build and strengthen the existing relationships are well-worth and preferable to rebuild these relationships from scratch whether and when individuals should leave the organization (Sears, 2003).

 

 

 

Career planning, performance management and learning and development are all essential part of the process, but organizations should also avert overlooking to adequately reward and recognize people. Employers should hence constantly monitor the relevant labour market rates and trends in order to offer their talents competitive pay rates and valuable flexible and voluntary benefits programmes.

 

Talent management does not represent a daunting feat only for employees, but for employers too, it in fact requires “high quality management and leadership from the top and from senior managers and the HR function” (Armstrong, 2009).

 

 

 

As discussed earlier, employers also need to bank on skilled and engaged individuals to ensure the regular unfolding of their business operations and secure the constant attainment of the required level of organizational performance.

 

 

 

Recruitment and selection is clearly important also in this case; not only have individuals to fit the organization’s culture, but these also need to possess the technical skills or the potential required by the employer and exhibit and maintain the desired standard of behaviour.

 

 

 

Horizontal internal mobility

As a general rule, whether individuals have not showed to have the capabilities and abilities required to fill leadership roles, employers should preferably offer these employees lateral mobility opportunities. Management decisions should invariably be impartial and completely free from every form of bias; yet, whether individuals should manifest with the passing of time to have developed the abilities required by the employer, these should be enabled to have access to the career programmes implemented within the organization.

 

 

 

Horizontal mobility enables employees to broad their experience and expand their abilities, without any need to fil more complex roles or positions carrying higher degrees of responsibility. Nonetheless, these opportunities habitually account for individuals to derive intrinsic benefits from their job and being hence more engaged and motivated. Employers on the other hand by means of these programmes can further promote their employer branding and, more importantly, multi-tasking and the flexible organization model.

 

 

Lateral movements need to be promoted and hence perceived by individuals as a form of recognition; as such, these opportunities should be offered only to those individuals who have showed genuine commitment and effectively contributed to organizational success.

 

 

 

Whether an organization, by reason of its size, is unable to offer such opportunities to its employees, this may try to negotiate a specific agreement with its suppliers, contractors and business partners, eventually offering to reciprocate the “favour.” A breath of fresh air now and then would prove to be beneficial also for the employees to whom these opportunities cannot be offered.

 

 

 

International assignments

Visiting foreigner countries on assignment represents a great experience for employees; it is highly likely that they will discuss their experience with each of their friends and post photos and comments on social media. Employees will thus inadvertently become employer’s advocates, effectively contributing to the employer branding. Individuals do prefer gaining knowledge of organizations’ culture and workplaces from employees, rather than from employers.

 

 

 

Organizations should clearly make all the necessary arrangements to ensure that during their assignment employees feel comfortable and at ease, the effects produced by their experience may otherwise prove to be particularly detrimental for the employers’ reputation.

 

 

 

The main scope of international assignments is not clearly that to offer employees a paid holiday abroad so that their experience should in any case serve the employer purpose, to wit: contribute to develop and expand individual capabilities and enhance the employer’s retention practices.

 

 

 

Participation in orientation and internal training programmes

Managers and HR daily perform countless activities, insofar as finding at times it difficult to cope with all of them. How many of these activities may be actually performed with the help of employees? Involving these, for instance, in the development and implementation of the orientation programmes offered to new recruits and in the provision of technical training can prove to be a win-win move for employers and employees.

 

 

 

HR and managers need to be creative in this sense; the workplace offers indeed several opportunities to involve individuals in a number of corporate activities to which every individual can give a valuable contribution.

 

 

 

Whereas the plan aiming at developing particularly talented individuals should be underpinned and at the same time contribute to enhance an organization talent management practices, the activities offered to the rest of the employee population should considerably help organizations to enhance their employer branding and retention practices. To gain competitive edge, employers need first and foremost a skilled and inimitable human capital so that the resources invested in these forms of programmes would definitely prove to produce a sorely appreciable return; resources invested in further strengthening the effectiveness of the most significant organizational resource.

 

 

 

To properly and consistently plan for the future and ensure employers to duly have the abilities required to develop and execute their strategy, HR and hiring managers should ideally invariably take heed of all of these aspects when planning to recruit new individuals and develop these.

 

 

Longo, R., (2015), From Recruitment to Succession Planning: A Constructive Approach to Human Capital Development; Milan: HR Professionals, [online].