Research reports. The career: A US/UK comparison by Blessing/White

Citation

(1999), "Research reports. The career: A US/UK comparison by Blessing/White", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 14 No. 3/4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmp.1999.05014cab.001

Research reports. The career: A US/UK comparison by Blessing/White

Notes and news

Research reports

The career: A US/UK comparison by Blessing/White

Keywords Career management, Flexibility, Organization behaviour, USA, United Kingdom

The career, once the root of stability for both employer and employee, has been shaken by change. People’s ideas of what constitutes a successful working life have been transformed. New generations are looking for completely different rewards while the demand for skilled staff in sectors such as IT has created a breed able to play the jobs market.

Concurrently, with the creation of flatter organisational structures and increasingly agile competition, many companies are looking for a more flexible workforce and to harness their "knowledge workers".

But how are the organisations dealing with these changes and are the strategies working? Are employees really taking responsibility for their own careers or are organisations still firmly in charge?

Blessing/White UK asked a number of senior HR professionals to take part in a study, which for the first time sought to discover the differences and similarities between career development and management issues in the UK and the USA. The participants were all blue chip companies and they represented a whole range of business sectors:

• •

  manufacturing;

• •

  telecommunications and engineering;

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  financial and professional services.

A total of 24 organisations took part, with equal numbers of senior human resource professionals and directors being drawn from either side of the Atlantic.

The report follows the key career stages from recruitment to career management and retention and finally focuses on turnover of IT staff and dealing with generation X.

The results, which are summarised here, provide an insight into opinions and experiences of how careers are viewed, managed and developed within modern organisations.

Executive summary

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  Of the UK organisations 100 per cent, compared with 91 per cent in the USA, said they found it difficult to recruit people with the right qualifications and experience.

• •

  Senior HR professionals believe employees are confused and unaware of how they can gain promotion in their organisation. Only 17 per cent of US HR managers believe there is any common understanding among employees of how they could advance their career inside the organisation. Of UK firms, 58 per cent believed employees were aware of potential.

• •

  Careers advice is patchy. Of US organisations, 50 per cent, compared with 58 per cent in the UK, said they had a formal system for employees to seek advice.

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  Organisations agreed that individuals should take the lion’s share of responsibility for managing their own career.

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  While all UK organisations surveyed felt that managing careers was an important method of developing people for internal promotion, only 50 per cent of US businesses agreed.

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  There is a gulf between the UK and the USA in terms of the number of organisations with a system for keeping and developing talent. Only 36 per cent of US companies said they had a system. This compares with 82 per cent in the UK.

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  The USA has a greater struggle with retaining IT staff with a 24 per cent average turnover rate (compared with 14 per cent in the UK).

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  Of US companies in our survey, 82 per cent felt that 18-25 year olds had different needs from their older colleagues. In the UK only 42 per cent felt that this younger group were different.

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  UK companies expect young professionals to stay, on average, only two to three years. This compares with the USA, where the expectation is three to four years. It appears that organisations are not always getting a good return on their investment.

• •

  Younger people are thought to be more ambitious, less loyal and less likely to commit to a long-term relationship with their organisation. UK senior HR professionals felt younger people were less cynical than older colleagues whereas their US counterparts thought they were slightly more so.

Current issues identified

Top five UK career issues

1. 1.

   Difficulty recruiting people with sufficient qualifications and experience.

2. 2.

   Problems with retention of employees with the right qualifications and track records.

3. 3.

   Managers not couching their reports in line with organisational career development policy.

4. 4.

   Developing high quality managers and business leaders from within the business.

5. 5.

   Problems with retention of specialist or technical employees.

Top five US career issues

1. 1.

   Problems with retention of specialist or technical employees.

2. 2.

   Developing high quality managers and business leaders from within the business.

3. 3.

   Difficulty recruiting people with sufficient qualifications and experience.

4. 4.

   Employees not taking responsibility for the management of their own career.

5. 5.

   Developing specialist or technical employees from within the organisation.

For further details contact: Blessing/White, 55 King Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 1DU, UK. www.blessingwhite.com