Perspectives in HRM - Essay Example

One of the goals of human resources is to retain the aging workforce to minimize the effect of labor shortage. According to Human Capital Theory, this is a viable alternative. Age and performance have been known to be unrelated, thus aging and the loss of ability to function that accompanies it are not factors with older workers (University of Vermont).
Three HRM theories can help professionals in this human resource field deal with the aging workforce dilemma. The three theories are contingency perspective, best practices approach, and resourced-based. The contingency perspective says that organizations will be most successful when HR strategies fit their organizational strategy (Clarkson, 2006).

There are different ways for companies to deal with the problem of an aging workforce, but for any approach to work in a particular company, HR must consider the organization's culture and options that are aligned with the business. For example, if an organization has a lot low tech people that like human interaction a training initiative to develop in-house talent utilizing e-learning techniques would go against the principles of the contingency perspective. The best practice approach says that firms should imitate HRM leaders and some practices work better than others (Clarkson, 2006). Companies in the UK should keep a close eye on what other firms are doing to deal with the shortage of workers due to an aging workforce. The resourced-based theory is similar to the best practices approach but the theory encourages companies to utilize multiple approaches when dealing with human resource issues.

The turnover of workers is an issue human resources have been dealing with for years. The aging workforce created a new type of involuntary turnover which is affecting enterprises. The top involuntary turnover category used to be dismissals, but the new aging work is causing a higher amount of workers to leave the workforce due to retirement. Once they leave the HR department has to replace them. Workforce planning is one of the best tools HR professionals have to deal with involuntary turnover and all the issues related to the aging workforce. Workforce planning is getting the right number of people with the right skills, experiences, and competencies in the right jobs at the right time (work911, 1999). Workforce planning is very important for HR professionals because it anticipates change. Read More