Recruitment and Retention as a Challenge Facing the Management of a Global Workforce - Coursework Example

International Human Resource Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecturer Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 22nd August, 2012 Recruitment and retention as a challenge facing the management of a global workforce There seems to be many challenges that are been associated with the management of a global workforce. This essay will deal with the recruitment and retention and it will be discussed from a human resource manager perspective who is operating in a global business world. Almost all companies recognize the need to adhere to sound business practices for them to remain competitive in this increasingly competitive business world (Analoui 2007, p. 44). In addition to this they also realize the critical as well as increasing role that is been played by employees in the management and maintenance of their operations all over the globe. Retention and recruitment of employees seem to be critical factors that are used in the determination of whether an organization will be able to achieve its performance targets through the available skills (Armstrong 2000, p. 55). In spite of how much an organization may invest on other aspects that are related to the business such as in money, machines, production or in materials competitors may be able to overtake the organization if the organization ignore the important role that is played by effective recruitment as well as retention strategies in an organization. In instances where recruitment and retention are done effectively, costly errors are avoided such as the loose of loyal employee this is mainly attributed to voluntary separation, under performance as well as to psychological disengagement. Nature and implication of the recruitment and retention of employees As various countries around the globe experience unparalleled demographic, financial as well as other competitive challenges, recruitment and retention is seen as a major concern to all of them. By the adequate recognition of the critical role that talent acquisition plays in organizations, almost all leading organizations are majoring on the focus of attracting and retaining capable people in their organizations. The aspect of finding, recruiting and retaining the right employees still remains a major challenge in almost all economic climates and at the same time presenting new and even more paradoxical challenges. Most organization and their workforce are in a process of major transformation this is mainly attributed to the global competition that is taking place as well as to the technological advancements. Globalization has in itself changed the ways in which most businesses and organizations operate. When organizations are entering the market they need to consider both the local as well as the global environment in which they are operating in. Based on the aspect of globalization most organization are adopting a smaller and operating units that are been staffed with employees who have been recruited from a global pool. Most organizations are now striving on having an empowered workforce. Been driven by the demands of a global workforce and the major role that is played by human resource, they have become a major business activity in almost all organizations. The achievement of goals in the competitive global market currently hinges on people. The human resource function is related to the aspect of developing, finding, maintaining, retaining the right type as well as number of people in the organization. Recruitment is termed as the process through which an organization searches and at the same time obtains a suitable candidate for a certain post that is available within the organization. Retention on the other hand is seen as the process of keeping the employees in the organization. Senior business leaders identify recruitment and retention of employee as being among the top challenges and the highest in the priority list for human resource managers. Although the global economy is been seen as contracting the labor poll is also said to be contracting and at a faster rate too. A number of studies also indicate that as the labor pool contracts countries such as Japan, United States and Australia will be affected by the labor contract. Emigrants will not only be invaluable but they will also be irreplaceable. The recruitment problem is basically brought about by the current labor market competition, ability to select right and the shortage in talents. A number of companies are aware of the fact that good compensation as well as benefits is seen as major determinants of the productivity of the employee, satisfaction as well as retention of the available skills and talents. In support of this statement the survey that was conducted by Mercer survey found out that most companies that were surveyed considered the provision of benefits for the employees as been a high or a medium priority in their business (Shah & Burke 2005, p.66). There exist a number of methods through which organizations are able to recruit their employees some of the methods includes newspaper adverts and referrals. After the recruitment process an organization needs to aim at retaining the employees in the organization. An organization can adopt various strategies that will be aimed at retaining the employees. In ensuring that the levels of retention in an organization are high there are a number of strategies that need to be adopted and implemented in an organization. These strategies are related to the working environment, employee relationships, employee support, employee growth and employee compensation (Atchison 1991, P. 56). In regard to the working environment, an organization needs to create and at the same time maintain a working environment that attract, nourishes and retains good individuals. This aspect covers a range of issues such as a clear corporate strategy, logical and concise operating procedure and policies and a safe working environment (Rudin, Byrd & Fleming 2009, p. 8). The environmental retention strategy that international HRM needs to consider deals with three important aspects that is the policies that are in the organization, the physical environment and ethics upon which the organization depends on at all times. Another category of strategies is related to employee relationships. These strategies mainly deals with the how people are treated within the organization and how they treat each other. Strategies that are considered under this category includes strategies such as the building of mentorship relationship with individuals within the organization and that of increasing ties that exist in the organization, encouragement of humor within the organization and recognition need to be given in a strategic and deliberate manner (Atchison 1991, P. 78). The various employee relationship strategies that are applied in the organization assist a lot in the creation of a sense of tie within the organization. The employees come up with way to deal with the disagreements and conflicts that may arise in the organization. Another strategy that can be adopted so as to increase the retention levels of the employee in an organization is the employee support strategies. These strategies offer the equipments as well as tool to the employees so as to enable them perform their duties in an effective manner. When employees feels that what they need to perform their tasks and responsibilities, their job satisfaction will ultimately increase (Nankervis et al. 2011, p. 89). Employee support strategies are seen to stem from the organization and from its managers attitudes organization need to view employees as valuable resources. In regard to these the employee need to be aware of what is happening in the organization for example the sales figures and performance measurements that affect their tasks. With this the employees will be aware of aspect that went wrong and they will be willing to rectify and thus they will tend to remain in the organization longer (Williams 1999, p. 90). An organization also needs to employ employee growth strategies. These strategies are more concerned with the professional and personal growth of the employees. A large number of employees who are working in today’s business environment need to constantly develop their skills and knowledge so as to improve their core values in the market and at the same time enhance their self esteem (Walker 2001, p. 9). In regard to this the training and education ought to be offered is an orderly and systematic manner so as to make sure that it makes sense to those company employees. Human resource managers need to take some time so as to analyze the diverse needs that are possessed by their employees and they should also find the best ways in which the needs can be met. By the education the employee will not only achieve personal growth but they will also feel more bond to the organization. When these kinds of learning opportunities are offered to the employees, the organization sets itself apart from other organization who do not offer the learning to their employees and it instills a feeling of been cared for in the employees (Walter, D 2001, p. 79). the training that will be offered assist the employees a lot in performing their duties and responsibilities in a more responsible manner and thus the organization will in turn benefit from that (McFarland, Ryan & Kriska 2003, p. 650). Since most employees do not expect such offers form the organization the provision of such an offer will make them remain in the organization for a longer period of time. The other common strategy that can be adopted in the aim of retaining the employee in the organization is the employee compensation strategies. Most effective compensation strategies are strongly based on one concept that money alone cannot make an employee stay in an organization. During the older days employees were paid for the time they have dedicated to the organization, in the current business world a greater number of companies tend to compensate their employees based on their performance and this applies to almost all the positions that are available in the organization (Beardwell Holden & Claydon 2004, p. 88). Thus for an organization to retain the employee, the compensation plans that are been implemented in the organization need to integrate this trend. A good example of such plans is the pay for performance plans. In regard to this employers need to keep a look at the employees and in instance when the employee’s performance exceeds the expectations the employers ought to give them bonuses (Lepak & Snell 1999, p. 44). The bonuses help a great deal in laying a clear plan of what your expectations are and the employee are motivated to work so as to receive bonuses. Thus an organization need to use a variety of both soft and hard monetary compensation strategies so as to make it difficult for other organization to attracts their employees. A combination of all the above strategies will ultimately lead to the achievement of high retention rates in an organization and this human resource managers operating in the modern day business world need to inter-twin the strategies in effective and efficient manner so as to reduce recruitment since with high retention levels the aspect of recruitment will seen unnecessary since there will be no vacant positions to fill in the organization (Mondy 2010, p. 77). Conclusion As claim earlier, employee recruitment and retention is therefore seen as a persistent challenge that is facing most organization around the globe. After recruitment organization needs to come up with certain models so as to retain the employees. An organization mission is said to attract employees to the views of the organization and it will be able to retain them. Nevertheless, a diversification in the mission of the organization may ultimately lead to the turnover among the employees. With the increased competition in the world in regard to global talent organizations ought to adopt long term measures and strategies that will be aimed at embracing solutions that will enable the management and administration of functions that will be critical to international human resource management. with the adoption of a global workforce management strategy they will be able to serve and improve recruitment and retention within the organization this will over time lead to a win-win situation for both the organization and the employees in that the organizational will enjoy the profits as well as the survival which will be brought about by the employees working in the organization and they employees will also benefit in that they will be offered better salaries. References Analoui, F 2007, Strategic human resource management, Thomson, Sydney. Armstrong, M 2000, Strategic human resource management: A guide to action, Kogan Page Publishers. Atchison, T. J. 1991, The Employment Relationship: Untied or Re-Tied, Academy of Management Executive, vol 5, pp. 52–62. Beardwell, I., Holden, L., & Claydon, T. 2004, Human resource management: a contemporary Approach, Prentice Hall, Harlow. Lepak, D. P., & Snell, S. A., 1999. The human resource architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and development. Academy of Management Review, vol .24, p. 31-48. McFarland, L. A., Ryan, A. M., & Kriska, S. D., 2003. Impression management use and effectiveness across assessment methods. Journal of Management, vol. 29 p. 641-661. Mondy, R. W. 2010, Human Resource Management, 11th edn, Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Nankervis, A., Compton, R., Baird, M. & Coffey, J. 2011, Human Resource Management: Strategy and Practice, 7th edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne. Rudin, J., Byrd, K., & Fleming, R., 2009. Assessing HRM-specific knowledge. Journal of Human Resources Management, 3(2), p. 1-10. Shah, C. & Burke, G. 2005, Skills shortages: concepts measurement and policy responses, Australian Bulletin of Labor, vol 31, no 1, pp. 44-71. Walker, J. 2001, ‘Perspectives’, Human resource planning, Vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 6-10. Walter, D 2001, Training on the job, ASTD Press, Alexandria. Williams, K. 1999, Rewards encourage loyalty increase performance, Journal of strategic finance, Vol. 81, no 6, pp. 75-82. Read More