INVESTMENTS IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Specific investment

approaches will be examined in this section, beginning with new

approaches, which result in enhanced “employability” of employees.
Investments in Employability While there have been dramatic declines in
the prevalence of employment security policies, some companies are now
investing in their human resources by providing developmental experiences
that make employees much more employable should the employment
relationship end. These developmental investments might include the
provision for growth opportunities, a learning environment, training, and
retraining. Having a workforce that is characterized by its employability is
probably a necessary prerequisite for corporate survival. General Electric’s
experiences provide an example of the new Page 14 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT Section One employability approach. In the aftermath of General
Electric’s workforce reductions of 25 percent, there was recognition by its
chief executive officer (CEO) Jack Welch that the company would have to
attract quality employees with desirable achieve-ment opportunities instead
of job security policies.19 Welch, who was widely regarded as one of the
most visionary and effective CEOs, was strongly criticized for his actions as
indicated in the following passage: Welch says that when he took over, the
need for change was obvious, and he moved quickly. He was vilified as
heartless in his zeal to reshape the corporation by eliminating jobs, earning
himself the nickname “Neutron Jack.” When Welch left a GE facility, the
story went, the building was still standing but the people were gone.20
Interestingly, Welch stated that strong managers, like him, produce the
only real job security in the current environment. His rationale was that
such managers make the major structural changes necessary to increase
their companies’ competitiveness and ultimate survivability, often through
the elimination of unneeded jobs. Conversely, he argued that weak
managers, who do not take such actions, endanger the competitiveness of
their companies, ultimately causing the loss of jobs.21 Page 15 STRATEGIC HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Section One Because the types of experiences that result in
future employability (e.g., valuable learning experiences and progressively
more challenging assignments) are typically not the result of chance, and
are instead the product of intentional developmental programs, they
involve resource allocations or monetary outlays and will be considered as
investments in this discussion. Kanter’s description of the employability
concept is summarized in the following discussion: If security no longer
comes from being employed, then it must come from being employable. In
a post-entrepreneurial era in which corporations need the flexibility to
change and restructuring is a fact of life, the promise of very long-term
employment security would be the wrong one to expect employers to
make. But employability security—the knowledge that today’s work will
enhance the person’s value in terms of future opportunities—that is a
promise that can be made and kept. Employability security comes from the
chance to accumulate human capital— skills and reputation—that can be
invested in new opportunities as they arise.22 Page 16 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT Section One Bruce Ellig, the former Vice President of Human
Resources for Pfizer, has provided another view of the concept of
employability and the respective obligations of employers and employees:
[I]t is hard to argue against a position that says individuals have a
responsibility to be the best they can be to improve their employability, and
employers have a responsibility to ensure they are getting the best results
from each employee before terminating them. This means that the
employer has an obligation to coach and counsel as well as to provide
appropriate training programs. Training programs provide the opportunity
to improve existing skills and/or acquire new ones. It is the employer’s
responsibility to make such opportunities available; it is the employee’s
responsibility to take advantage of them.23 Page 17