Transcript Sustainability in Human Resouce Management
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 1
Sustainability in Human Resource Management
Norbert Thom, Robert Zaugg, Adrian Blum
Presented by
Prof Dr Dr hc mult Norbert Thom
Director of the Institute for Organisation and Human Resource Management (IOP), University of Berne www.iop.unibe.ch
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006
Model of a sustainable human resource management
Culture Attitudes Values 2
Companies Individual
Work-Life-Balance Strategies Objectives Instruments Processes Methods Structures (All diagrams and statistics from Zaugg/Blum/Thom 2001.) © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 3
Three pillars of sustainability
Work-Life-Balance ♀: Growing importance of professional career ♂: Growing importance of private and family life Individual Responsibility Increased autonomy and self-determination in questions of professional development Employability Focus on continuous development and professional agility rather than specific activity © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006
The pillars in practice
4 Survey* of 1016 European companies. Aims: • Overview of state of the art of HRM in Europe • Determining conception and stage of implementation of sustainable HRM in European companies • Cross-country comparison *The project was kindly supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Personnel and the European Association of Personnel Management (EAPM).
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 5
Sample
Country Questionnaire Mailed Questionnaires Returned Questionnaires
Switzerl.
Abs. % 3020 47
Germany
Abs. 749 73.7 45 % 4.4
Italy
Abs. 81 % 8
France
Abs. 42 % 4.1
Spain
Abs. 37 % 3.6
Netherl.
Abs. 37 % 3.6
Austria
Abs. 12 % 1.2
England
Abs. 500 7.8 500 7.8 500 7.8 500 7.8 500 7.8 400 6.2 500 13 % 7.8 1.3
Return rate 24.8% 9% 16.2% 8.4% 7.2% 6.8% 3% 2.6%
Total of mailed questionnaires Total of returned questionnaires
Total return rate
6420 1016 15.83% • Sectors: industry, service providers, trade, transport, public sector, IT, healtchcare, banking, construction, insurance • Company size: 40% >500 empl; 47% 50-500 empl; 13% <50 empl © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006
Objectives of HRM in European companies
Economic objectives Health 4 Employability 3 Social responsibility 2 Self-realisation 1 Compensation Pleasure at work 6 Social contacts Europe Quality of life Netherlands Individual responsibility France © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 7
Central objectives of HRM in European companies
• Contributing to achievement of economic objectives • Promoting individual responsibility (90% of questioned companies!) • Ensuring adequate pay and promoting employee health • Enhancing employability French companies) (strong dispersion: 68% of Dutch vs. 22% of HRM is gaining in strategic importance.
Sustainability as defined by the model is an issue.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 8
Conception of sustainability in European companies
Keywords associated by HRM responsibles with sustainability in HRM: • HR development: training, continuous education, career planning • Employee characteristics: motivation, flexibility, responsibility • Leadership: consistency, social skills, MbO • Staff retention, incentives © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 Environment Culture / Structure / Management Progress / Innovation Strategy / Planning Stability Quality Development of company Controlling Information / Communication Incentives Human resource management (excl. HRD) Human resource development (HRD) Job Working conditions Leadership / Coaching Involvement / Loyalty Characteristics of employees Well-being of employees Relationships / Stakeholder Value orientation Others 0 9 52 94 126 43 63 69 42 58 96 123 308 26 45 126 55 245 36 67 50 120 144 100 150 200 250 300 350 © IOP University of Berne 9
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006
Sustainability in European companies
10 „I am of the opinion that our company has a particularly innovative concept for sustainable human resource management .“ 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 23 37 4 agree entirely partly agree tend to agree 24 7 5 tend to disagree partly disagree do not agree at all © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006
Major instruments of sustainable HRM
11 • Recruitment : requirement & job profiles; HR marketing; labour market research • Deployment : health management; staff composition (older employees!); advanced working-time management • Development : encouraging continuous education; career planning; promoting individual responsibility & participation • HR marketing ; image analysis & improvement • Retention : sophisticated incentive systems • Disemployment : exit interviews; outplacement • Management & Leadership : participative management styles; MbO; assessment of superiors © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 12
The instruments in practice – selected results Deployment: health management
Effective health management rests on systematic collection of data on absences and health of employees.
~ 60% of questioned companies across countries charge at least 1 person or unit with employee health.
Health management more sophisticated in large (>500 empl) companies of the industry and construction sectors. Less common among service providers.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 13
Deployment: staff composition
Demographic and economic developments in Europe increase the significance of the potential of employees of advanced age.
Less than 5% of questioned companies indicate that they have recognised and made efficient use of the potential of older employees!
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 14
Deployment: working-time
Flexible working-hour models are conducive to improved work-life balance. Especially so are • Job sharing • Sabbaticals • Telework • Long-term or lifelong working time schemes Flexible working hours are used in more than two thirds of the questioned companies, though mostly for individual cases only. Systematic implementation is still very rare.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006
Advanced working-time schemes in European companies
15 © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006
Sabbaticals (long-term leaves)
16 © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 17
Development: promoting individual responsibility
Participation and/or autonomy in decision-making is a crucial feature of sustainable HR development.
Around half of the companies interviewed report that their employees can directly participate in important decisions. Also roughly half claim to promote individual responsibility & partial autonomy of their employees.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 18
Individual responsibility
Europe In our company we specifically encourage our employees to develop a sense of responsibility (e.g. by providing them with course budgets that they can administer themselves) . 3,31 Spain England Italy France Netherlands Austria Germany Switzerland 1 2 2,98 2,80 3,22 3,54 3,89 3,75 3,16 3,35 3 4 5 © IOP University of Berne 6
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 19
Management & Leadership
Management and leadership styles contribute essentially to participation and individual responsibility on the part of employees.
~ 80% of European companies claim to be using participative management styles, and also MbO seems widely implemented. Far less widespread is superior assessment, which would provide an excellent opportunity for enhancing sustainability in HRM.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 20
Staff retention
Attractive non-material incentives are an essential element of sustainable HRM.* While around four fifths of the companies questioned claim to offer generous material incentives to their employees (compensation, fringe benefits, bonuses), 40% believe that non-material incentives are "rather not" or "not at all" attractive for employees.
*Cf. also Thom/Friedli 2003 © IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006
Non-material incentives
Our company offers its employees attractive non-material incentives (scopes of decision-making).
Europe 4,25 Spain England Italy France Netherlands Austria Germany Switzerland 1 2 3 3,86 4,46 3,32 3,24 4,68 4,00 3,62 3,66 4 5 © IOP University of Berne 21 6
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 22
Disemployment
Sustainable HRM must take into account the needs of employees laid off or leaving on their own initiative in order not to harm the company image on labour and sales markets.
A large majority of European companies uses exit interviews systematically as a classic method of disemployment. However, a significantly lower percentage (61%) consider it important to give professional advice to employees during their leaving process.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 23
Conclusions
• • Sustainability in Human Resource Management is an issue in companies throughout Europe, though with local differences.
A considerable variety of specific instruments supportive of sustainable HRM is in use. However, these instruments so far have been implemented only restrainedly and unsystematically. Much more could and will have to be done to ensure and enhance employability, individual responsibility and a work-life balance that does justice to the societal changes of recent decades among European workforces.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 24
Further steps
The above conclusions suggest the following immediate recommendations to European HRM responsibles: • • • • Reconsider staff composition: make sure to fully exploit the potential of "minorities", esp female and elderly employees.
Do not underestimate the motivating effects of non-material incentives. There are many more of these besides having employees participate in decision-making. Include superior assessment in a comprehensive workforce assessment scheme.
Take better advantage of the great potential for flexibility in the area of working time schemes.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 25 … and always remember: Sustainable Human Resource Management concerns both the individual and her or his employer as equal partners: it is not simply a question of better satisfying the individual needs of employees, but stands in the service of corporate competitiveness – fully in agreement with the central purpose of HRM to support the achievement of the company's economic objectives.
© IOP University of Berne
Mykolas Romeris University, Sept 2006 26
References
Zaugg, Robert J.; Blum, Adrian; Thom, Norbert (2001): Sustainability in Human Resource Management. Evaluation Report. Bern 2001.
Thom, Norbert; Friedli, Vera (2003): Retention. Case Studies on High Potentials. Bern 2003.
Further results to be published in: Zaugg, Robert J. (2006): Nachhaltiges Personalmanagement. Eine neue Perspektive und empirische Exploration des Human Resource Managements, Wiesbaden 2006 (in press).
© IOP University of Berne