Cultural integration of external service provider employees into client workplaces

Purpose: The study explores the complexities of how external service provider employees culturally fit within client workplaces. Methodology: It uses the facilities management (FM) industry to apply this research concept and was conducted using a qualitative multi-method design. A combination of semi-structured interviews and focus groups were the qualitative methods used to collect the data. Findings: The major findings of this study are that organisational socialisation can be successful in socialising external service provider staff into the client workplace despite a current unawareness of its use. This study has developed a framework that can be used to achieve this integration if client organisations and service providers work together to socialise external service provider staff. Value: The findings of this study will appeal to anyone working within the service industry that manages the interface between external service provider staff and the client workspace. Keywords: Cultural Fit, Organisational Culture, Organisational Socialisation, Service Quality, Facilities Management

A manifesto for higher education, skills and work based learning: through the lens of The Manifesto for Work

Purpose: This paper is prompted by recent professional and political events and specifically the politically oriented ‘Manifesto for Work’ recently published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), to propose a manifesto for the broad professional sphere of higher education, skills and work based learning. Design/methodology/approach: This paper utilises a unique form of political ideology critique, applied to the CIPD’s Manifesto for Work, to propose alternative directions for practice, research and policy. Findings: This paper highlights four key areas which need further research and development in the area of higher education, skills and work based learning. These are discussed in relation to: overhauling corporate governance; inclusive workplaces, flexible working, and disadvantaged groups; investment in skills, lifelong learning, and well-being; and re-balancing working practices and rights. Research limitations/implications: This paper highlights areas for further research in the broad professional area of higher education, skills and work based learning. Originality/value: This paper is a unique, time-bound political response to the current political landscape, and is the first to propose a manifesto for the professional sphere of higher education, skills and work based learning

‘If you look the part you’ll get the job’: should career professionals help clients to enhance their career image?

This article presents a critical exploration of the role of career professionals in supporting people to reflect on and enhance their appearance, attractiveness and self-presentation (career image). The article is conceptual and based on a review of the broader literature on career success, appearance and attractiveness. It explores the evidence for a relationship between attractiveness and career, and the authors propose a conceptual framework in which career image is comprised of three elements (interpersonal skills, aesthetic presentation and beauty). The paper examines a possible role for career professionals in relation to this and then critically examines this role and concludes with the proposition of a research agenda in this area

Higher education, graduate skills and the skills of graduates: the case of graduates as residential sales estate agents

The UK labour market is subject to significant graduatisation. Yet in the context of an over-supply of graduates, little is known about the demand for and deployment of graduate skills in previously non-graduate jobs. Moreover, there is little examination of where these skills are developed, save an assumption in higher education. Using interviews and questionnaire data from a study of British residential sales estate agents, this article explores the demand, deployment and development of graduate skills in an occupation that is becoming graduatised. These data provide no evidence to support the view that the skills demanded and deployed are those solely developed within higher education. Instead what employers require is a wide array of predominantly soft skills developed in many different situs. These findings suggest that, in the case of estate agents, what matters are the ‘skills of graduates’ rather than putative ‘graduate skills’

Pay progression in routinised service sector work: navigating the internal labour market in a fast food multinational company

The United Kingdom's widespread use of low‐skill, low‐paid employment has been well documented. It has been argued internal labour markets (ILMs) benefit such workers, affording them with opportunities for progression. Relatively little is known, however, about the impact of ILMs on entry level workers undertaking routinised service sector work. Drawing on qualitative data, this article explores the prospects on offer in a market leading, fast food multinational company. Potential enabling features include on‐the‐job training, a transparent and integrated pay structure and a professed culture of progression. Occupational movements to positions above the low‐pay threshold are, however, relatively rare. We conjecture this contradiction is the result of the business context in which the firm operates. The findings suggest that in sectors where price leadership strategies dominate, escape from low pay is likely to be exceptional, even within large organisations featuring some of the classic characteristics of ‘pure’ or strong ILMs

Career management attitudes among business undergraduates

© Australian Council for Educational Research 2016. Globalisation, organisational restructuring and new technology have been connected with a shift to ‘protean’ and ‘boundaryless’ career attitudes with workers, including new graduates, increasingly required to be self-reliant in successfully navigating their careers. This study explores protean and boundaryless career attitudes among Business undergraduates and the influence of demographic, background and employment characteristics on these attitudes. Data were collected for Business undergraduates at a UK (N = 88) and Australian university (N = 284). Results indicate the students score more highly, on average, in the self-direction and boundaryless mindset dimensions. Relatively lower mean scores for physical mobility and values-driven suggest a ‘one high, one low’ pattern among the two items that constitute protean and boundaryless career attitudes. Employment status and Business degree specialisation were found to significantly predict career attitudes. Findings develop our understanding of whether emerging professionals are equipped to effectively self-manage their careers and implications for educators and professional practitioners are discussed

Local industrial strategy and skills policy in England: Assessing the linkages and limitations – a case study of the Sheffield City Deal

This paper examines changes in local economic development policy which occurred between 2010 and 2015, with a focus on the relationship between industrial strategy and skills policy. Under the Coalition Government, Local Enterprise Partnerships were established and tasked with facilitating local growth, and to do so many identified a set of (potential) growth sectors for industrial strategy to support. These sectors tended to be drawn from a relatively narrow range of industries which therefore often excluded a large proportion of the local economy. An important focus of the support for growth sectors for many has been through an ambition to influence the local skills system. Skills policy more broadly has been an important dimension of devolution, and a number of City Deals have included elements of skills policy. Echoing previous national policy however, the focus of local concerns with skills under devolution has been framed largely with reference to skills gaps and shortages. While specific skills gaps and shortages can be identified, this paper questions whether this default position is reflected widely, and as such, if a narrow focus on skills supply is a sufficient approach. It is argued that to support local growth across a broad base, greater attention needs to be paid to stimulating employer demand for skills through better integrating industrial and innovation policy with skills policymaking across a wider section of the local economy. To support these arguments we present a case study of the Sheffield City Deal