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1. Building & Retaining Human Capital: The Assignment Process J. Bruce Prince
Kansas State University
4 June 2002
2. Promotion & Transfer Process Frequent employee job changes:
800K/year in the non-military US economy
Less upward, more lateral moves
Change create a “vacancy chain” of internal openings
Cascading sequence of linked P&T/assignment moves
Consequences are not well understood:
“virtually no empirical attention…” (Dalton, 1997)
Both negative and positive behavioral and attitudinal consequences are likely but more research is needed
3. Dominate Logic of Internal Promotion/Transfer Process Generally organizations employ a single criterion:
Maximize new incumbent’s performance effectiveness:
Adequate knowledge, skill and ability to handle demands
Minimize training and supervision costs
Increasingly conflicts with organizations’ need for a multi-skilled and flexible workforce
How can the P & T (assignment) process better contribute to organizational & individual success?
4. Multiple Criteria Assignment (P&T) Process
5. Performance Effectiveness Logic is person-job matching well-established in selection/assignment process
Selection/assignment processes must adequately satisfy this criterion
Supply-demand gaps & priority coverage
Challenge is developing decision processes that optimize multiple criteria
6. Human Capital Development Gaining sustainable competitive advantage in a fast-changing “knowledge” economy
Workforce skill breadth & flexibility
Winning the war for talent – internally!
70% of workplace learning happen on-the-job… & at the water cooler
“What skills will be critical in 3 years and what is being done to develop them?”
7. Employee Effort & Attachment Key attitudes of key employees:
Career development satisfaction
Organizational commitment & job involvement
Organizational citizenship behavior
Procedural fairness perceptions:
How do we make the “losers” in a selection process satisfied that they were treated fairly?
Clarity, openness, involvement, feedback & “voice”
8. Career Development & Retention “Employability” security has replaced traditional job security:
Continuous “skill portfolio” development in a high-flex & knowledge-based economy
Culture of employee development:
Builds individual & organizational competencies
Contributes to “employer of choice” status
9. Research Methodology Research is taking place with knowledge workers in a financial services firm
Extensive interviews with managers and employees experiencing recent assignment (P & T) transitions
Conceptual model development
Final survey process concludes this summer
10. Practices That Make a Difference Managing procedural fairness:
Involve employees in the process
Self-nomination & selection panels
Procedural clarity & transparency
Final decision feedback & counseling
HR & line management co-lead the process:
HR department insures fidelity & fairness and gives employees “voice” opportunities
11. Effective Decision Processes Use multiple-person selection panels:
Counter-balances bias & increases credibility
Rank top candidates by each criteria & make final decision from the four lists:
Judgment or statistical decision process
Keep score and analyze track record:
What actually counts versus what should count?
12. Effective Linked Practices Create a developmental culture by providing:
Individual career planning resources
Succession planning & high potential systems
Formal mentoring & peer support efforts
Competency models & skill inventories
Project & taskforce teams for development