human resource challenges experienced at MTS Systems,
evaluate their effect on the company performance and measures that can be put in place to mitigate the effects of this challenge.
One of the biggest challenge in the workplace today is retention of skilled and talented workers. The way the workforce is constituted today, there is a need for more than a good salary to keep the talented people motivated and satisfied. It has been observed that employees move and job-hop as they seek to move up the ladder at the shortest time possible and also in an attempt to meet their expectations and motivations which are ever-changing and dynamic. The situation has been compounded by the generational difference in the company where there are older generations and the millennial, who are driven, motivated and simulated by different factors. For instance, the older generations are much more loyal to the place of work and are less likely to job-hop. They are also more patient and are much more responsive to financial rewards. On the other hand, the younger generations are less loyal to the company they work for, are less patient and will respond better to recognition as well as feeling valued.
Today, managers have woken up to the realization that their skilled staff has more options on their hands, especially now that there are more advances in technology, given the explosion in startup and entrepreneurs who are revolutionizing the way things are done. Managers have to evaluate the hunger in the workplace and focus on feeding it (Bondarouk & Ruel, 2009). There is need to focus on much more than just providing a potential opportunity for promotion and job security. Managers should focus on working with the other members of top management in order to define roles, come up with career progression paths that are extensive, enhancing creativity in the workplace, enhancing the working environment, encouraging a culture of collaboration and providing a system-wide mission that will be adopted by employees in their daily operations.
Management of human resources extends even to the communication amongst the different generations that are found within the workspace in the organization. A younger generation is usually accompanied by new advances in technology, new ways of doing things, new challenges, new ways of thinking and different reactions from the society. Presently, we have millennials who are at home in the digital world and are spiteful of analog methods. They also appear to be more aggressive, lacking emotions and patience. This is also a generation that wants to be efficient in what they do and wants to feel that they bring about an impact at their workplaces. Technology promises to do more work, with better quality output, with fewer wastages and less time. The organization has had challenges managing the passion of these young people. There have also been challenges in dealing with the reactions from other generations in regard to these new ways of thinking as opposed to the traditional methods and finding common ground that will promote respect and collaboration. A mix of the generations of the teams is a benefit if there is the diversity is used as a tool for bringing the best qualities to the table and pooling them together.
Focusing on retaining staff and talent for longer periods of time will go a long way in reducing costs associated with recruitment, training, and orientation of new staff. It will also be important for the maintenance of good performance as there will be little time lost in training of new staff and before they become productive. In order to retain employees, the organization needs to enhance the adoption of a company culture that is appealing and that engages employees in two way communication (Hendry, 2012). In this way, their needs will be understood and steps that should be taken to make their environment more conducive. Communication between various generations will be better handled if there is the inculcation of a culture that encourages respect, collaboration, and co-operation towards achieving a common goal. In dealing with the younger generation, there is need to provide better structures, mentors, effective leadership, and guidance. At the same time, it is important to encourage the millennials to embrace their can-do attitudes and bring solutions in the workplace instead of trying to confine them to certain ways of doing things. The management can also take advantage of their levels of comfort working as teams and use these groups to brainstorm and come up with solutions for various challenges. In this way, the organization will achieve greater levels of success.
References
Bondarouk, T. V., & Ruel, H. J. M. (2009). Electronic Human Resource Management: challenges in the digital era. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(3), 505-514.
Hendry, C. (2012). Human resource management. Routledge.
