professor yehuda baruch uea norwich

Managing careers to win the Managing careers to win the war for talent: Innovative war for talent: Innovative

career models for a variety career models for a variety of organizational contextsof organizational contexts

Professor Yehuda BaruchUEA Norwich

Our peopleOur people

“Our people are our most important asset”The cliché that reflect truism

BUTDo they really believe in it?

And if so,What should organizations do about it?

Careers in organizational Careers in organizational contextscontexts

‘Career’: “a process of development of the employee

along a path of experience and jobs in one or more organizations” (Baruch & Rosenstein, 1992)

Change : the span and pace Change : the span and pace

The Boundaryless Career (Arthur, 1994)New Deals (Herriot & Pemberton, 1995)The Protean Career (Hall, 1996; Hall & Moss,

1998)The Intelligent Career (Arthur et al., 1995;

Jones &Defillippi 1996)The Post-corporate Career (Peiperl & Baruch

1997)

Present trendsPresent trends

RationalisingDelayeringDownsizingRightsizingFlatteningRestructuringShaping up for the future

The boundaryless careerThe boundaryless career Boundaryless

Organization:

Vertical Horizontal External Geographical

Boundaryless Career:

Demolition of old structure

Multidirectional paths and system

Holistic system Global system

Psychological contractPsychological contract

"The unspoken promise, not to be present in the small print of employment contract, of what employer gives, and what employees give in return"

An exchange transactionStronger than the legalChanged with the new system

New Deals New Deals Herriot and Pemberton 1995Herriot and Pemberton 1995

The old deal was: employee offer:

loyalty, conformity, commitment;

employer offer security of employment, career prospects, training and development and care in trouble.

The new deal is: employee offer long

hours, added responsibility, broader skills, and tolerance of change and ambiguity;

employer offer high pay, reward for performance, and above all, having a job

New Psychological contractsNew Psychological contracts

The breaking of old notion of careersA transition or transformation of

relationshipsNot always welcomed by employeesReality rather than rhetoric

Individual careersIndividual careers

A life journeySearch for identitySource of:

– Extrinsic (e.g. Income)– Intrinsic (e.g. Meaning)– Much more

Organizational careersOrganizational careers

The landscape for the journey The playground for the gameThe system where careers occur

Trends from the 1990sTrends from the 1990s

From climbing the organizational ladder to a new fluid and dynamic system.

The individual as the new ‘owner’ of career.

ThusThe war for talent spreadThe front-line is unclear

Intelligent careersIntelligent careersDeFillippi & Arthur (1994); Arthur, Claman & DeFillippi & Arthur (1994); Arthur, Claman &

DeFillippi (1995)DeFillippi (1995)

Knowing Why – values, attitudes, internal needs (motivation) identity

Knowing How – competencies: skills, expertise, capabilities; Tacit & explicit knowledge

Knowing Whom – networking, connections, relationships

Intelligent careers Intelligent careers (developed)(developed)Jones & DeFillippi (1996)Jones & DeFillippi (1996)

Knowing What – opportunities, threatsKnowing Where – entering, training,

advancingKnowing When – timing of choices and

activities

The Post-corporate CareerThe Post-corporate Career

From individual and relationship perspective

To organizational and system perspective

Career anchors Career anchors Schein, 1978; 1985Schein, 1978; 1985

the perceived abilities, values, attitudes and motives people have

determine career aspiration and direction. These guide, constrain, stabilise, reinforce

and develop people’s career

Derr’s (1986) five measures Derr’s (1986) five measures for career successfor career success

Getting ahead: Motivation derives from need to advance on both professional stand and the organizational ladder.

Getting secure: Having a solid position within the organization.

Getting high: Being inspired by the nature and content of the work performed.

Getting free: Motivated by need for autonomy and ability to create own work environment.

Getting balanced: Attaching equal or grater value on non-work interests.

The protean career The protean career (Hall, 1976, 1998)(Hall, 1976, 1998) “The protean career is a process which the person,

not the organization, is managing. It consists of all the person’s varied experience in education, training, work in several organizations, changes in occupational field, etc…The protean person’s own personal career choices and search for self-fulfilment are the unifying or integrative elements in his or her life”. (Hall 1976: p. 201).

The Protean CareerThe Protean Career

the person, not the organization manage itcareer age, not chronological age

self directed, continuous learningnew success dimensions

Organizational Career Organizational Career SystemsSystems

Traditional – structural related– control mechanism– mostly – retaining talent

Current– war for talent– reflecting socio, techno, economic changes– include releasing talent

Futurist– virtual careers

Organizational Career Organizational Career SystemsSystems

Challenge of integrationChallenge of responsiveness Challenge of pro-activityChallenge of managing dynamic system

Career system and career Career system and career anchors anchors

the organization needs to recognise those abilities, values, attitudes and motives, and subsequent career aspiration

the organization needs to provide direction, offer options, support and monitor and develop people’s career

Career systems and career Career systems and career successsuccess

The organization need to provide options for the variety of: – Getting ahead– Getting secure – Getting high– Getting free – Getting balanced

The organization need to realise that different people need different options

Career systems and the Career systems and the Protean CareerProtean Career

How to share career management with the individuals

How to align self direction with organizational needs

How to enable continuous learningHow to integrate new success dimensions

into the system

Career systems and Intelligent Career systems and Intelligent careerscareers

Knowing Why – understanding valuesKnowing How – managing competenciesKnowing Whom – developing networksKnowing What – opportunities, threatsKnowing Where – (where you want them)Knowing When – timing

Competitive advantage and Competitive advantage and redundancyredundancy

Labour costs are usually the major organizational costs

They may be manipulated for management of numerical flexibility

The ‘cutting-fat’ metaphor is appealing Short term financial performance tend to improve

following redundancy

BUT in long term Financial performance deteriorate The ‘Survivor Syndrome’ persists

Need for strategic alignmentNeed for strategic alignment

Organizational Strategy

Highly developed Developed Exists No strategy

HRM Strategy

Highly developed Developed Exists No strategy

Example of a strategy - Example of a strategy - OutsourcingOutsourcing

Strategic responseFlexible managementFocus on core operation, building on

strength competenceLetting others do what they can do best

TrendsTrends

Employability- a new deal?The Desert Generation?

– Not really – But… 

The academic career model The academic career model (Baruch & Hall, JVB, 2003)(Baruch & Hall, JVB, 2003)

psychological contracts and career systems in academia resemble new psychological contracts

– professional challenge– learning environment– social status– professional development– self-management (autonomy) and flexibility –networking within and across organizations

The academic career model The academic career model cont.cont.

career advancement is subject to performance rather than tenure career is self-initiated, self-managed a very flat hierarchyBUT characterized by stability, long-term employment relationships (tenure track), job security, and rigid structure rare cross-functional moves

Individual Implications:Individual Implications: Individual careers:

– More self managed– Short term planning

Individual advice: – Count on yourself – Expect the unexpected – Be resilient– Think the unthinkable  

Institutional Implications:Institutional Implications:

Organizational careers– Functional and managerial flexibility– Proactivity– Exploring alternative models

Organizational advice: – Give up control – Provide support – Invest in people – Think the unthinkable

National Implications:National Implications:   

Changing nature of society and economy

New labour markets  

Global systems