Protean Variable Career Strategy: Implications for HRM

Protean Variable Career Strategy: Implications for HRM             

Written By:  Dr. Gandham Sri Rama Krishna    
Contributing one chapter title  “Protean Variable Career Strategy: Implications for HRM”  in the edited book entitled “Enhancing Competitiveness for Business Excellence”  published in the year 2015 by G.K. Publisher, Chennai. ISBN: 978-93-81208-44-1.   
                                                              

   

            Human resource management faces many challenges which although currently can be controlled due to weak external market. However, it could be assumed that such challenges will become more critical with manpower shortages.  In the knowledge economy with individual employees’ advanced education, knowledge and marketability, the long term retention of such skilled individuals could be called into question when more appealing organization positions become available. The boundaryless career, which on the one hand supports the choice of individuals to move inter-organizationally in furtherance of  their careers, has been criticized for supporting the transactional psychological contract. In the era of job security, reduced promotional opportunities due to increased competition among evermore knowledgeable employees, a new organization model which values the individual contributors more than the mass face-less human resources of the organization could be the success of the future. Organization loyalty has diminished in the age of the transactional   psychological contract where everyone is replaceable. However, employees do still crave stability of employment and the status of being in employment.

            The core implication of this for organizations is the necessity to individualize and personalize career development planning for employees. Individuals are unique, with different goals and motivations which change over time from significant life occurrences. Such career planning needs to be conducted in cooperation between the employee and employer, with expectations, alternatives and contingencies clearly identified.  Similar to a flexible benefits scheme which some organizations offer their employees, organizational careers could include options such as career breaks, job-sharing at executive position level. apprenticeships for family members, in return for employee commitment, loyalty and holding the organization in good esteem.

Rather than taking an operational approach to career management, the human resources function within organizations needs to look strategically at how white collar employment has changed over the past decades due to external competitive market forces and an increasingly knowledgeable workforce. There is a need for acknowledgement that work is but a portion of an individual’s life, and that individuals increasingly want more control over their work /life balance and careers. Rather than ignore outside work concerns of employees or become overbearing in including all outside work concerns, there needs to be a middle ground where there is a transparency regarding career possibilities for individuals which take changing priorities and ambitions into consideration. This needs to take place on an ongoing basis, since individuals encounter life altering events or develop different priorities over different stages of their lives. Such a radical re-think of career management and offering options and contingencies to the modern workforce of many valued individual contributors may be required in order to cater for knowledge individuals discontented with the current lack of transparency of organizational careers and the lack of better alternative external job opportunities.                               

The protean career is a process which the person, not the organization, is managing. It consists of all of the person’s varied experiences in education, training, work in several organizations, changes in occupational field etc.

The protean career is not what happens to the person in any one organization. The protean person’s own personal career choices and search for self-fulfillment are the unifying or integrative elements in his or her life. The criterion of success is internal (psychological success) not external.

Viewed in this light, a career is an ongoing sequence of events. Some of which may have little or nothing to do with money or prestige. Also, according to this view, a career extends over the entire work life. What happens in one year or in one corporation is just a small piece of the rich career mosaic. Finally, determining whether or not a career is successful is up to the individual.

 Protean offers a variety of challenging career opportunities. The distinctive career strategy basically requires on the part of the prospective graduates to acquire the strengths and converting their probable weaknesses into  distinctive capabilities. In fact, the Indians have capabilities both in technical (hard skills) and management and behavioural skills (soft skills). what is more needed is uncapping their capability.

             Individual should have the aptitude  for acquiring both the technical and behavioural skills, if he has not already possessed these skills. Further, the shunting of employees from technical to non-technical departments quite frequently is underway. It is needless to over emphasize that every human being irrespective of one’s profession / aptitude today is required to add one more organ to his psycho-physiology, i.e., software and computer knowledge. This background signals an indication, to all the graduating students to have clear career strategy, acquire relevant and required strengths and convert their weaknesses into the so called distinctive capabilities.

            The word PROTEAN is derived from the Greece mythology.  Protean employee is multi-skilled, able to change/ adapt, proactive and able to perform a variety of roles with pervasively required competence.  The protean career is a process which the person, not the organization, is managing. It consists of all of the person’s varied experiences in education, training work in several organizations, changes in occupational field, etc. The protean career is not what happens to the person in any one organization. The protean person’s own personal career choices and search for self-fulfillment are the unifying or integrative elements in his or her life. The criterion of success is internal (psychological success), not external.

           The clumsy industrial environment poses a variety of challenges which the prospective employees should view as opportunities by uncapping their capabilities and exploiting their unrealized potentialities.

            A career that involves frequent changes of organization work setting and job content as opposed to one that involves commitment to a single organization or line of work. Such a career will be shaped by the individual’s own needs, goals, and values rather than organizational structures or received ideas of professional development. Success will depend on adoptability, self-motivation and a willingness to learn new skills. It has been argued that the increasing trend towards protean career patterns has radically altered the nature of psychological contracts between organizations and their employees.

            A career that involves frequent changes of organization, work setting, and job content, as opposed to one that involves commitment to a single organization or line of work. Such a career will be shaped by the individuals own needs, goals, and values rather than by organizational structures or received ideas of professional development. Success will depend on adoptability, self-motivation and a willingness to learn new skills. It has been argued that the increasing trend towards protean career patterns has radically altered the nature of psychological contracts between organizations and their employees.             

            Douglas T.Hall first noted the emergence of the protean career in 1976. Protean evolves from proteus, a god who had the ability to freely change his form and morph into different objects or substances so as to avoid capture. Protean career theory has developed from this and focuses on the individual’s role and ability to transform his/her own career path.

Hall describes it as follows: “The protean career is a process which the person, not the organization, is managing. It consists of all the person’s varied experiences in education, training, work in several organizations, changes in occupational field, etc. The protean person’s own personal career choices and search for self-fulfillment are the unifying or integrative elements in his or her life. The criterion of success is internal (psychological success), not external. Here career is more “individual-focused”.

Highly educated and skilled individuals would have a high propensity to follow a boundaryless career. This would suggest that career management has become more of an individual concern. Employees are  in a week position to expect or demand career management on behalf of the organization given the highly competitive global market place where positions are insecure and easily replaced. Equally, individuals are not encouraged to manage their own careers given the lack of external opportunity. The protean career suggests a more all-encompassing approach to careers, including personal stakeholders and : looking at “work in the context of a person’s life as a whole”.  

Edwin B. Flippo defines a career as “a sequence of separate but related work activities that provides continuity, order and meaning in a person’s life.” In the near future, the prospective graduates are required to take up a multiple   work activities that may be unrelated, demand a variety of diversified skills, talents and knowledge. Further, the prospective employees may have to make frequent career shifts from a technical job to a managerial job and to a systems job and so on. Even the vision fails at some point to discover the future challenges. But it is clear to possess protean skills to counter those challenges. Viewed in this light, a career is an ongoing sequence of events, some of which may have little or nothing to do with money or prestige. Also, according to this view, a career extends over the entire work life. What happens in one year in one corporation is just a small piece of the rich career mosaic. Finally, determining whether or not a career is successful is up to the individual.      

            The protean career includes developing multi-skills, technical, behavioural and managerial expertise which are essential in the future to take-up a variety of tasks simultaneously. Some challenges may even demand a team career that makes the people to take up different kinds of activities where one is expected to discharge different team roles simultaneously.  

            The future graduates will not experience the career anchors as they might never see career stability or mid career stage at any point of time as the future would be transforming continuously. The concept of ‘low ceiling careers’ would vanish and in its place the concept of the ‘sky level career’ would emerge as the sky would be the limit for the protean employees.

Now, it is viewed that the prospective graduates have to possess the features of protean human resource in order to meet the future challenges in the job market.

The protean career involves the following:

v  Acquiring multiple skills

v  Acquiring multiple knowledge

v  Continuous learning

v  Taking up of mid-career study to take up additional courses in the latest subjects.

v  Developing team spirit

v  Developing proactive and positive attitude

v  Identification and development of EMOTIONAL intelligence.

v  Adopt the behaviour to suit the work requirements and change them continuously based on the changing needs of the work.   

Protean Culture:

            The new protean career contract. This means that employees must fundamentally rethink their careers.  Protean is not just another company with faceless people  lost in an organization. At protean, employee talent is recognized, employees have freedom to work on different projects and have growth opportunities. Protean has a flexible work culture where all that matters is employees performance and performance alone. At protean, on promoting a culture that encourages open minds, fosters superior communication and creates new possibilities. Building employee career is not any different. At present, employee will find all the right elements that individual need to get to the top-but with a difference. The HR managers are accessible at any point of time to confront employee problems or doubts. There is a perfect open door policy. In fact, there are not doors.

            Protean is committed to providing each member of the proteins’ family. Allow employees to realize their full potential, take up as much responsibility as they are willing and capable of.    

Three Key Elements in a Protean Career:                        

• Autonomy ( e.g., having control over one’s working life)
• Personal value (e.g., prioritizing  personal goals to organizational goals), and
• Psychological success (e.g., feeling content in oneself).

          A more traditional career path with the same organization, these also highlight the requirement to adapt working practices or managerial style over time and depending on life stage and circumstance, stressing the significance of the protean career concept. Decisions surrounding career choices would be made in the context of the  full life package (living standard and quality of life) for all personal stakeholders.  

            Globalization and consequent developments across the world phenomenally changed the business and industry and the latter’s demands from the present to prospective human resources. The prospective employees should take this as a challenge and acquire multi-skills and behaviours in order to be in a cash cow stage, if not in the stars stage. This needs the newly graduating candidates to be the ‘Protean.’ This career strategy would make graduating candidates as competent human assets and India, a rich human resource country in the future.     

Conclusion:

            Protean career means the whole life approach to careers which changes constantly forcing individuals to morph their professional career direction and content over time. Factors such as quality of life, work / life balance and family stability all play a major role in the decision. The necessity to personalize career strategy within organizations, to account for different life stages and priorities for different individuals.  

            There is nothing permanent  except  change said Heraclites. Change is the most interactive phenomenon and it is human face must be delicately attended to. If this is done with imagination  and skill, it can pave the way for contributing to the health and growth of an organization and its people. What was, is no longer what is, what will be. It is an asset of the personality development comes only through change.

            In India, people are changing their mind set to meet the need of the global requirement. The first major change, globalization has introduced is competition from the local to regional level. From regional level to national level, and on to a global scale it is necessary that organizations continuously scan the external as well as internal environment to identify changes that are taking place.

            If you want change, be the change first, for change can lead you to success and happiness. It is work culture of HRD organization become dynamic and growth oriented if their HR are dynamic and protective. There is nothing more difficult for success; not more dangerous to handling, them to initiate the new order of things.

            Future of the pupil depends mostly on protean career which includes multi-skills, technical, behavioural and managerial expertise and the upcoming graduates must be ready as the future would be transforming continuously. The sky would is the limit for protean employees.      

References:

• Biswajeet Pattanayak(2006), Human Resource Management, Prentice-Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
• L.M.Prasad(2005), Human Resource Management, Sultan Chand & Sons, New Delhi
• P.Subba Rao(2012), International Business, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai, PP.556-558.
• P.Subba Rao(2013), Essentials of Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai.
• P.Jyothi, D.N.Venkatesh(2007), Human Resource Management, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
• T.V.Rao(2007), Performance Management and Appraisal Systems, Response Books- A division of Sage Publications, New Delhi.
• T.V.Rao(2005), Reading in Human Resource Development, Oxfor & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.