Title: What Do Experts Expect from Human Resource Practices
Abstract: ABSTRACTKnowing how to attract highly qualified employees known as experts is of critical importance to many organizations in the new knowledge economy. The aim of this exploratory empirical study is to examine experts' expectations in regard to organizational and job related factors. After defining what is an expert, we review academic research on what attracts employees and how this applies to experts. Our data come from a large organization in the high technology sector. Results show that, in many ways, the expectations of experts differ from those of less qualified employees. For instance, when they consider a potential employer, financial rewards linked to performance are more significant to experts than to other employees whereas unusual perks (e.g., lounge) and work-life balance are less significant.JEL: M12KEYWORDS: Expert, HR Practices, AttractionINTRODUCTIONIn many parts of the industrialized world, the knowledge-based economy is on the increase. This particular form of economy is mainly based on the intellectual capital of an organization. This is not a new idea. In 1776, the economist Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations, did not only include material wealth in his definition of fixed capital but equally included the value of experience useful to all members of an organization. Further, he considered education and training to be key examples of human investment. Nowadays, businesses are increasingly relying on intellectual capital rather than physical capital as a source of value creation. In numerous sectors of activities, we are witnessing a truly « intellectual revolution » which confers a strategic dimension upon immaterial assets. These assets, which are of an intellectual nature, constitute rare, key resources capable of differentiation which can create a lasting competitive advantage if the conditions are right.Intellectual capital has been studied by many academic research scientists (Bontis, 1998, 1999, 2003; Edvinsson & Malone, 1997; Lev, 2001; Roos, Roos, Dragonetti & Edvinsson, 1997). It can be defined as a group of resources, some of them having an external component (e.g., brands, patents, reputation and consumer satisfaction levels) whereas others being more internal to an organization (e.g., strategic competence of a company's employees). Highly qualified employees known as experts are at the tipping point between external and internal resources. Knowing how to attract such personnel is thus of critical importance to a business (Deloitte, 2008; Peretti, 2008).Attracting experts is even more important in the high technology industry sector which is essentially an innovative sector. The productivity and competitivity in this sector rest mostly on the creativity of its personnel (Iles, Chuai & Preece, 2010). Competition appears to boil down to the differential in knowledge between business competitors in the sector (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). Thus, experts constitute a key resource for businesses that want to survive and grow. It is strategically important for top-managers as well as operational managers, to concentrate on this target group of employees and understand what expectations they might have in regard to the organization and the job itself.The main objective of this article is to examine the expectations of experts in regard to organizational and job related factors and to offer suggestions to HR managers as to how best to deal with this strategic resource. Specifically, we want to answer the following research question: what do experts want in terms of human resources practices and to what extend do these expectations differ from those of less qualified employees? Our paper is structured as follow: First, we define the concept of expert. Eventhough the term expert is very often used in professional settings, the scientific literature does not offer a clear definition of that concept. Second, we review the relevant academic literature on attraction. …
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-09-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 4
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