HRM: Attracting and Retaining Workforce Challenges in Public Sector

This essay delves into the critical challenges faced by the public sector in attracting and retaining its workforce, emphasizing the importance of employees as essential resources. It identifies key issues such as competition from the private sector, equality and diversity concerns, lack of employee satisfaction, and ineffective strategic planning and communication. The essay also addresses the difficulties in retaining existing employees due to increasing income demands, the need for a comfortable work environment, and recruitment and selection challenges. Furthermore, it highlights issues such as the dilemma between education and experience when hiring, rising employee expectations, and the importance of understanding employee needs. The essay concludes by underscoring the necessity for public sector organizations to address these challenges to maintain a motivated and skilled workforce, ultimately enhancing their overall effectiveness and market share.

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(Essay on “Key attracting and retaining issues of the workforce in the public sector”)
The paper talks about the functions of the public sector and its issues and challenges that
are faced in the company in attracting and retaining the employees. It focuses on the key
challenges in attracting and retaining the workforce in the public sector, the issues faced by the
public sector in functioning. It also provides recommendations that the company can use in its
sector to meet the expectations of the employees. Through this paper, it is clearly seen that the
importance of employees in the public sector is on high priorities and employees are considered
as an essential resource of the company. The paper will provide an in-depth knowledge of the
public sector and its areas of improvement and management. Further detail of the paper is
discussed below.
After the various studies, it is elucidated by Baruah & Das (2013) that attracting and
retaining workforce in public sector is one of the biggest tasks for the company. They have to
prepare various strategies in order to keep the interest of its employees and employers in the
organization. It becomes a challenge for the companies to attract the new employees to the
organization and to retain the existing employees of the organization in the private sector. The
various challenges faced by the company to attract new employees include new ideas and proper
planning which can make it easy for them to get the interest of the people. According to Baruah
& Das (2013) the loss of reputation for some public sectors has somewhere become an obstacle
in the welcoming the new employees. This states that employees today are seeking to work with
businesses that are successful. Equality and diversity is another issue in private sector that affect
the progress and objectives of the companies internationally. Diversity may also affect the
performance and efficiency of the employees in the public sectors.
As per the Ang (2008) attracting the employees for the benefit of the organization has
also become difficult because the working of the organization today is so improper and irrelevant
that it somewhere lacks professionalism and self-respect. This somewhere has made the
organization think on the matter as what decision making can be possibly done to attract more
and more candidates towards business. One of a major challenge for the public sector in
attracting employees is competitors (Jose Chiappetta Jabbour, 2011). The competitors of the
organization come up with different ideas which grow the interest in the employees and they are
gradually bent towards good companies and the other one is left out. This competition
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demarcates the reputation of an organization making it loose the newly potential employees. The
competition between these public sectors becomes a challenge for each one to attract employees
towards their business. The cause of the rise in such competition is due to the bad functioning of
HR. The stiff and high competition also may destroy the brand image and financial position in
the international market (Strohmeier, 2007). It is seen that public sectors work for welfare and
play a significant role in enhancing the local jobs supply in the competitive market. Thus,
leadership is needed in public sectors but in today’s competitive world, various leadership issues
are being faced by the companies globally. Talent management, pay and rewards some other
issues that are been entertained in today’s globalization world while attracting the workers
internationally. Workforce diversity issues are also undergoing in the industry that highly may
affect the outputs and market share in the international market.
One other challenge that faced by the organizations in attracting the employees is lack of
satisfaction. It is seen that the companies somewhere are failed to satisfy the need and necessary
requirements for which employees seek for jobs (Baptiste, 2008). In the public sector, the need
for an employee is very much important and so their wants, expectations, and demands are high
which ultimately becomes problematic for the company to stand on it. This creates
dissatisfaction among the workers and they choose to step out of the business rather than
working in the company or for the company. Due to poor and ineffective strategic planning, the
company also faces several attracting and retaining issues in the universal market (Baptiste,
2008). It is reported that poor communication also leads ample of losses in the global market.
Due to lack of communication and poor language, top management and seniors are failed to
maintain strong communication with subordinates or employees within the organization. Top
management is unable to maintain and promote strong cooperation among the subordinates at the
workplace thus, ample of staffing issues being dealt by the company. Due to poor and ineffective
performance system, the firm is failed to motivate and recognize the talented and qualified
workforce. This issue also might put a direct impact on the selection process of the firm.
Smale (2008) stated that people in the public sector use easy methods in order to attract
employees which ultimately become a point of criticism for the organization. Making a proper
plan is very important in the public sector. Implementing good strategies in the organization will
attract employees towards the business. They will willingly work for them and will help them in
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achieving the target of the company effectively and efficiently. In public sector, the role of
employees is very much needed and therefore it is very important for the organization to work on
the matters and hint on those topics which can help in getting the attention of the employees.
According to Smale (2008), the company’s today are implementing various strategies in order to
join hands with various potential employees but are somewhere lacking the knowledge of proper
decision making. Therefore, making proper plans have also become a challenge for the
organizations to attract a large number of employees in the business.
One of the other biggest and important challenges for people in the public sector is to
retain its existing employees (Barrett & Mayson, 2008). Keeping the interest of the employees in
the organization for a longer period is not easy. In order to make the employees happily work for
the organization, the organization must fulfill the needs and requirements of its employees. The
challenges that the public sector faces include the increasing demand of the employees to raise
their income.
Income, therefore, becomes one of the key challenges to retain the employees in the
public sector (Lazazzara & Bombelli, 2011). Each and every employee in an organization seeks
for a comfortable environment. Giving that kind of comfortable environment to its people also
becomes a challenge for people in the public sector. A comfortable environment increases the
mental ability of the employees to work effectively and efficiently. Therefore the need of such an
atmosphere becomes very much necessary and equally important. The existing employees are
trained employees and know the customs and traditions that the company follows in the public
sector during its functioning. The company in the public sector therefore has to think on this
matter in a serious and effective manner which ultimately is a challenging task for them
(Lazazzara & Bombelli, 2011).
The other key challenge faced by companies in attracting the employees in the
organization is recruitment and selection. Due to limited sources and talented staff, the company
could fail to appoint a talented and skilled workforce within the organization. Many public
sectors provide good incentives to the employees and therefore the interest of the employees in
seen more in those areas where employee’s demands are fulfilled. So in order to get better
incentives as compared to other public sector employees prefer going for the better ones than
working on usual. Retaining the existing employees is very much needed in business. They know
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how to do the work by following the rules and regulation of the business. Losing of such
employees can become very much dangerous for the company and therefore it is better to accept
the demands raised by them (Lazazzara & Bombelli, 2011).
The further challenges for the company dealing in public sector involve proper
management of its employee’s health and well being. Before treating others it is very necessary
for the employees themselves to take better care of their health (Budhwar & Varma, 2010). The
challenge for the company here becomes to keep a track record on each and every employee’s
health status (Renee Baptiste, 2008). Conducting campaigns can be recommended but managing
and maintaining those campaigns require teamwork, which in turn becomes difficult for them to
manage and handle. Therefore they require a good number of the workforce that can help them
in managing such activities in the organization. There are various other challenges that the
company has to face to keep good relations with its employees (Budhwar & Varma, 2010).
There are certain issues faced by the public sector in attracting and retaining the
employees at the international marketplace. The issues in attracting the employees make it
difficult for the organization to welcome new employees in the business (Cardona & Morley,
2013). Lack of qualification in employees is the biggest issue that makes the company think
twice whether to hire the person or not. The company in the public sector seeks for
knowledgeable employees who can understand the work of the business easily. This is only
possible if the employee is qualified and has certain knowledge about the field unless the
company faces a wide range of challenges and issues in the international market (Syed &
Kramar, 2017).
A literature is presented by Masadeh (2012) which states that Dilemma between
education and experience is other major issues in attracting and retaining the customers in the
competitive market. While looking for new employees, the major factor that revolves in the
minds of public sectors is the confusion that education and experience create. They are uncertain
whether to hire employees on the basis of their education or the amount of experience that have
for that particular field. Companies today although seek for the experienced person and therefore
neglects the talents of education that one can possess. This becomes an issue for the company
(Lazazzara & Bombelli, 2011). The rising expectations of the new employees make it
problematic for the organization to hire new employees. The expectations of the people today are
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already high and to meet those competitive demands of the people becomes an issue (Schulz,
Chowdhury & Van de Voort, 2013).
On the other hand, the company also faces key retaining issues related to the workforce in
public sector. These retaining issues may affect the overall profitability and market share of the
firm internationally (Masadeh, 2012). One of the fundamental issues that dealt with by the
company is rising in demands. The increasing demands of the employees include the expectation
of high salary, on time bonuses, incentive, and other perks become an issue for the company. The
demands of the existing employees sometimes are so high that they make a company put into
thoughts whether to work with an employee or not (Arthur & Boyles, 2007).
Lack of understanding is a serious and major concern for the public sector that may put a
direct impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of the firm. Lack of understanding as what does
an employee needs also create issues for the company. They are unable to understand the factors
and willingness of the people (Kramers, 2018). Lack of understanding issue is raised in the
company because of less interaction and communication with its employees (Dowling, 2008).
Hiring candidates is not only a challenge that HRM entertains or faces but retaining them is also
a major concern for the company. Safety, payroll and globalization issues also are being handled
and faced while hiring and retaining the applicants at the international level (Kramar, Bartram,
Cieri, Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart and Wright, 2014).
It is recommended the organizations functioning in the public sector really needs to
develop good strategies to attract more and more potential employees in the organization. They
must involve professional employees to develop such strategy which can lead to the success of
business in the long run and which can attract the attention of employees (Cañibano, 2013). The
company must also provide remuneration, bonuses, and incentives to the potential employees
who work for the company, this will make them happy and will allow them to retain in the
company for longer period of time. The main reason for the employees in switching the
companies is due to the dissatisfaction in fulfilling the demands related to monetary aspects. So
fulfilling such demands can be effective and beneficial for the company (Gursoy, Maier & Chi,
2008).
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People working in public sector require routinely motivation. The stress of the work is so
much that it helps them in working with a fresh mind. The organization must motivate and
encourage its employees by conducting seminars, asking them about their ongoing happenings in
life, they must also interact with them about their health and other related factors. If the
organization will take care of its workers then it will definitely see the rise in its productivity and
turnover. Providing life insurance, incentives like traveling charges, retirement benefits,
insurance, and mobile bills given by the company will not only attract the employee but will also
make them stay there. Moreover, providing free accommodation and food will make employees
more willing to stay in the organization (Kulkarni, 2013).
These perks are appealing and they should definitely be the part of the organization. In
the public sector, the people working for the business have to seek for professionals who can
work for them. In order to make the employees professionals, they must train them and put them
in their field of interest where they can work in a proper way. Innovative and effective
performance management system shall be implemented or built to judge and analyze the
performance and proficiency of the workers and the company as well. Culture, working
environment and expectations of the consumers shall be considered while attracting and retaining
the workforce towards the employment (Kulkarni, 2013).
There shall be equality between man and women at the workplace that means the
organizations need to focus on the gender equality, wages, and discrimination that could affect
the long-term targets. Beside this, top management and leaders should make a strong and
powerful relationship with employees to reduce and prevent these attracting and retaining issues.
Motivating the employees is one of the biggest solutions for the firm in order to deal with
attracting and retaining issues (Krammers, 2018). Talent management system further shall be
initiated at the workplace to measure and identify the potential, skills, and talents of the
workforce. These recommendations will allow them to manage the work easily and will provide
them with good results. Collaboration and cooperation shall be enhanced and promoted at the
workplace while performing roles and responsibilities within the organization (Bedwell,
Wildman, DiazGranados, Salazar, Kramer, & Salas, 2012). It is further suggested that the
company should work towards the improvement and enhancement of the recruitment and
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selection process and top management must adopt a person to analyze and evaluate the
performance of the subordinates.
From the above discussion, it has been noticed that organization functioning in the public
sector has to function in a particularly different manner. They have to think in other direction in
order to attract the employees. Retaining the employees is also not an easy task. So in order to
attract and retain the employees in the business, the organization must involve professionals who
can work for them in an effective manner. The above-drawn paper about the issues that the
company faces in retaining and attracting its employees are relevant and are seen in many
companies. The paper analyzes that how the functioning of the public sector is very much needed
for the company to maintain good terms with its employees and especially its existing
employees.
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