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A Twente career?: successfactors of creating a regional internal labour market

Tangeman, Mark (2012) A Twente career?: successfactors of creating a regional internal labour market.

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Abstract:The individual organisations on the Twente Kennispark are unable to attract and bind high potentials to Twente, because they cannot offer these employees the career opportunities they look for. In this explorative research collective action is chosen as a possible solution for this problem and the concept of supra organisational human resource management (SOHRM) is presented as the basic concept. Although this concept was originally aimed at improving efficiency, becoming lean, et cetera, this research uses it for offering career possibilities. Twente Kennispark can combine the capabilities of multiple organisations as to create extra possibilities in attracting and binding personnel to the park on a small scale, or the entire Twente region on a larger scale. Such a cooperation can lead to connected internal labour markets consisting of the labour markets of the cooperating organisations, creating career path possibilities through the Twente Kennispark, or even an entire region, instead of just one organisation. This research looks for the factors that determine whether such a cooperation will be successful. Therefore, the focus is on finding the critical success factors for regional career development through a supra-organisational human resource system. They are found by looking at conditions that were needed as a base for introduction of such a SOHRM system and choices that needed to be made in implementing it. These conditions and choices are found by investigating existing literature and interviewing HR practitioners from the region. The chapter on critical conditions reveal the importance of clear agreements, rules, and obligations when introducing a SOHRM system. According to literature this can be achieved by a high level of formalization. Critical conditions were a need for a high level of mutual trust, clear rules on expectations, finances, responsibilities, decision making, strategy et cetera. Human aspects like trust and commitment also prove to be important. Organisations that want to join a SOHRM initiative have to be in it for the long run. They have to realize that a SOHRM cooperation does not only generate benefits. However, with the right shared commitment it is advantageous to the participating organisations and the region as a whole. Another finding is the big difference in interview-data from practitioners from small organisations and the others, consisting of practitioners from medium sized and large organisations as well as two consultants. Where these others see a high potential for a SOHRM system not only for their own organisations, but for their entire industry or even the entire Twente region, the practitioners of the small organisations do not support a SOHRM system. A T w e n t e C a r e e r ? iv In the chapter on critical choices, the need for a well-defined organization when introducing a SOHRM system is seen as most critical. Variables are introduced to group choices and determine associated organisational forms for the SOHRM system. On the variables of geographical scope and functions scope, choosing a small scope provides advantages, as starting within a short term, with low cost. Also, if the small scope also included avoiding core functions within organisations, the anxiety in small organisations will be less. However, choosing such a narrow scope also has disadvantages such as less possibilities for the employees and leaving problematic vacancies outside of this narrow scope. Choosing a wider approach also presents advantages and disadvantages. There is financial scale efficiency and more opportunities within the connected internal labour markets arise, especially lateral. Connecting the internal labour markets is easier, since large organisations often have a similar structure with similar functions. The disadvantages of a wider scope are a system that can become confusing and therefore labour and cost intensive, and the fact that small organisations will not join. The Twente Kennispark is seen as an ideal setting for a SOHRM system, because it is both a clearly defined geographic area and an organisation. However, the theoretical and practical data showed that, because of scale efficiencies and scale possibilities, a larger initiative would be more desirable. Also, the organisations within the survey that are housed on the park do not support a SOHRM system at all. Actually, the organisation that initiated this research, Career Center Twente (CCT), provides exactly that part of an SOHRM system that the organisations that are housed on the park desire. CCT offers labour mediation, represents multiple organisations, and actively uses its network to find jobs for spouses. The only aspect where CCT does not fit the wishes of the Twente Kennispark organisation is their focus on the entire Twente region, instead of just the Twente Kennispark. I would therefore recommend the park management and the individual organisations to work even closer with the CCT on the field of career development within the region, instead of limiting it to the boundaries of the Twente Kennispark.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Clients:
Career Center Twente
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/61643
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