Investing in employee training and development doesn’t always produce straightforward effects. Workers change jobs for a number of reasons and organisations bear the costs of recruitment and retraining. Alessandro Lo Presti, Assunta De Rosa and Beatrice Van der Heijden researched how to enhance the knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable workers to perform effectively and whether a tendency to change workplaces could hamper this goal.
When organisations cultivate the internal talent pipeline through training and developmental initiatives, they may be increasing creativity, innovation and flexibility. Human capital is key to firms’ competitiveness. We call the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable employees to perform effectively employability, which has emerged as a more comprehensive concept than human capital, as it encompasses aspects related to social recognition, adaptability and fit with organisational objectives.
Many firms significantly invest money in training and developmental opportunities, although the effects are not always straightforward, as recently stressed by Mario Draghi. In his report for the European Union, he noticed the uneven adoption, among firms, of basic management practices to develop employees’ human capital. This latter aspect relates to an important issue addressed by our study: the fact that although training and developmental initiatives are core to organisational success, they are often implemented sparsely, intermittently and not consistently with the organisational culture.
At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront a related issue that has always bothered organisations: employees’ inter-organisational mobility. During the pandemic, the phenomenon took a more evocative name: the Great Resignation. This issue has always been a cause for concern for firms, as indeed labour statistics show. It implies the undesirable need to cope with additional costs due to the actual job loss, the associated replacement costs, the loss of productivity and for all the past training and development investments that will now be advantageous for another organisation.
Research shows that employees often resign because they do not feel valued, need more flexibility, consider their compensation inadequate, etc. However, we also know that sometimes employees leave because they simply like to change workplace, build ample social networks and enjoy the novelty, an orientation that the academic literature has labelled boundaryless career attitude. “Boundarylessness” has historically returned mixed results for individuals and organisations.
Keeping this in mind, our study delved into the critical question of how to enhance workers’ employability within organisations (first research question). It also considered if holding a boundaryless career attitude could hamper employability (second research question). We carried out an online longitudinal survey with 422 Italian employees and applied multi-group structural equation modelling.
To examine the different levels of training and developmental initiatives, we focused on two key organisational resources (in terms of employees’ perceptions).
One is employability culture, a factor that pertains to the extent employees perceive their organisational culture as fostering their employability through appropriate training and opportunities, activities, programs or initiatives. We expected this to be stronger than the second factor, the extent to which employees feel the organisation supports their competency development through differentiated and complementary developmental initiatives. This refers to the horizontal integration between different developmental initiatives. We expected (and found) that this second factor mediates the positive association between employability culture and employability. This means that while a culture that values employability is essential, it is the actual support for competency development that truly makes employees feel more employable.
We also assessed employees’ boundaryless career attitude, their physical and psychological mobility across organisational boundaries, assessed as the preference for establishing and nurturing social and professional networks within and outside the current organisation.
We found that the boundaryless career attitude moderated the relationship between perceived organisational support for competency development and employability. Specifically, employees with a lower boundaryless career attitude benefit more from perceived organisational support for competency development as shown by their enhanced employability.
Our study yielded two significant findings for HR managers:
First, perceived organisational support for competency development is key. Investing in employees’ development fully mediates the relationship between employability culture and employability. HR managers should not just talk the talk but, instead, walk the walk! Undertake tangible initiatives and create a supportive environment that enables employees to develop their skills and competencies.
Second, a boundaryless career attitude moderates the relationship between employability and the perceived organisational support for competency development. Employees are not all the same. Some may be less inclined towards seeking external opportunities and more focused on developing their careers within the organisation. HR managers should tailor their competency development practices to cater to these individual differences.
We can further offer the following recommendations:
- Develop a supportive culture that values employee development and adaptability. Communicate the importance of continuous learning and skill enhancement.
- Implement concrete competency development programs, such as training, mentoring, and job crafting interventions. Ensure that these initiatives are aligned with the organisational culture and individual employee needs.
- Recognise that employees have different career orientations. Some may be more boundaryless than others. Tailor HR practices to factor in these individual differences.
- Promote high-quality relationships by fostering open communication and trust between employees and managers. Support employees in being proactive and taking ownership of their career development.
Overall, our study highlights the importance of aligning organisational culture with concrete actions and policies to enhance workers’ employability. It challenges the traditional assumption that organisational resources are universally beneficial and emphasises the need to consider individual differences in career attitudes when designing and implementing HR practices. It also provides valuable insights for HR managers seeking to enhance workers’ employability and organisational competitiveness. By fostering a supportive culture, providing tangible support, and considering individual differences, HR managers can empower employees to thrive and contribute to the organisation’s success.
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- This blog post is based on Organizational predictors of employability and the moderating impact of boundaryless career attitude: A multi‐wave study among Italian employees, in the Human Resource Management Journal.
- The post represents the views of the author(s), not the position of LSE Business Review or the London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Featured image provided by Shutterstock
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