The aim of the paper is to present the research focused on examination of perceived organizational performance and human resource management procedures, aimed at recruiting and retaining the employees with respect to different employees’ generations in industrial enterprises. In order to achieve the research goal, it was necessary to analyze the perception of co-workers relations among various generational groups and perception of organizational performance issues connected with staffing and retaining the employees.
Theoretical Background and Hypotheses
The performance of an enterprise is steadily and significantly determined by the performance of processes and the performance of human resources, employees. It is important for enterprises to optimize and improve their processes constantly, otherwise they are at risk of downfall and extinction. Improving the quality of products, processes and the harmonious flow of business activities can be achieved through the right selection and systematic use of new quality improvement concepts, approaches and methods [
11].
The importance of the quality of internal processes for business performance is emphasized by several authors [
12,
13,
14,
15]. In order to maintain sustainable business performance, it is important to focus not only on quality management systems, business performance measurements and evaluation concepts, but also to apply a competencies-based approach [
16]. Some studies confirmed that human resource practices have a significant impact on organizations performance [
17,
18,
19]. Nevertheless, human resources are usually insufficiently utilized because employees often carry out their work performance below the maximum potential. Human resource management organization practices aimed at inducing voluntary efforts from employees likely to yield returns that exceed the costs involved. Human resource management practices can influence such voluntary efforts [
20].
Human resource management practices have been proven to increase organizational efficiency. Methodological procedures ensuring selectivity in staffing, performance-based remuneration, engagement and better employee opportunities lead to a higher level of organizational efficiency [
21,
22]. The efforts to reconcile employee and organization values are reflected in an overall comparison and adaptation of specific values such as access to work, improvements or social initiatives of the organization. In building future-oriented employee relationships, organizations anticipate the presence of vacancies and the possibilities of filling them in different procedures before they occur [
23]. Human resource practices at organizational level can affect employee attitudes [
3] as well as fluctuation and turnover of employees [
24].
The importance of sustainable development in our society is steadily increasing, so it is also important in research, to develop the paradigm of sustainable development of human resources [
25]. The integration concept of sustainable human resource management, aimed at reconciling competitiveness, responsibility towards oneself, the environment and social responsibility, assumes that organizations, employees and society are responsible for the sustainability of operations [
26]. Human resource management practices are usually monitored in terms of management practices, paying little attention to employees, therefore, factors related to employees, such as motivation, and their skills and potential should also be considered. Increasing levels of job satisfaction and performance can be achieved when human resource management consider also factors related to employees [
27].
When the management of organizations implements human resource management practices, they increase the employability of employees. The implemented human resources procedures to improve employee motivation and skills also increase satisfaction with current employability of employees and increase organizational productivity [
28]. In order to make the best use of human potential in the enterprise, it is necessary that the efficiency of human resource management is translated into performance measures [
29]. Assessment of employee performance is an important element of human resource management [
30]. For performance appraisal related to the specific job position are important assessments based on behavior that is a manifestation of achieved level of competencies required [
31,
32]. Strengthening the culture of education and development reinforces the motivation to transfer knowledge into practice [
33].
Based on the above, the functional model in
Figure 1 illustrates the interconnection of education (development), motivation, and performance of employees as interconnected and interacting areas of human resource management, considering employees’ competencies and developing their potential. Motivation influences the success of education and efficiency in achieving performance. Education and performance increase employee motivation and thus the effort to perform. Education (development) and motivation are fundamental preconditions for employee performance. However, employee competencies can only be developed within the limits set by the employee’s potential. Sustainable human resource management should focus mainly on exploiting, developing and maintaining the potential of employees. Such a holistic approach to human resource management will enable employees to be involved in all areas of sustainable development, economic, environmental and social through enhancing their commitment and engagement.
Figure 1 shows that the functional model is in line with sustainable human resource management which aims to manage human resources in a sustainable way [
34]. Given the importance of human resource management practices for the business performance of enterprises, efforts should be made to adequately adapt and implement human resource management practices in order to improve the performance of enterprises.
Demographic evolution as well as many studies in this field [
28,
35,
36] point out that organizations must cope with an aging workforce. In addition, several generations of employees meet at the workplace. Each of them manifests typical attitudes to work, values, and motivational preferences [
37,
38]. That is why it is important to consider the structure and diversity of the workforce in the organization when managing the organization’s human resources, and especially in areas such as performance management. The term ‘generation’ can be understood as a group of people or a cohort which have common years of birth and also some experience as they live in the same time period [
39].
The generation of Veterans, named also as Silent Generation, Seniors, Matures, or Builders, consists from people born in 1925–1945. Some social, cultural, political, and economic affairs are the main events that members of this generation abided in their lives and formed their personal characteristics. Wars and economy hardships are the main events traditionalists suffered as they lived a substantial part of their lives under their consequences. Most of their features are influenced by these sufferings. That is why conservative traditionalists, who want to protect and lead a modest life without spending much, and they need stability. Permanent work and financial security are essential for these people. They prefer security and authority [
40]. Members of this generation are currently in the labor market only in exceptional and specific professions, but their approach to work has influenced future generations of employees [
41].
The post-war generation of people is a generation also known as Baby Boomers, born in 1946–1960. This generation was required to perform tasks at work and the ambition or initiative was perceived as an obstacle. The rush to work was not caused by enthusiasm but by the necessity to arrive on time, while workers were supervised to ensure that they did not damage or steal property. Work was an essential part of life and not a way of job satisfaction [
42]. Baby boomers expect that the experience and expertise they bring to the workplace and to the work teams will be respected [
43]. Sometimes they are considered individualistic and selfish, unwilling to retire [
44].
Employees belonging to Generation X, born in 1961–1980, expect career development from work, although it is not necessarily straightforward, and growth. They want to have a life beyond work, expecting recognition of individualized pay and flexible working time [
43,
45,
46]. They care for themselves and do not want to be dependent on anyone [
47]. They are more committed to people than organizations [
48]. They formed a circle of friends with whom they were in contact when they parents were at work. Although they consider themselves individualists, they are very dependent on the support and assessment of their friends [
49]. However, the high demands of others may endanger long-term relationships and increase the need for autonomy [
50]. Many of the Generation X members are afraid of being dismissed and fear that they will lose their jobs [
41].
Generation Y, born in 1981–1995, is considered as a mobile generation. It is therefore an advantage for them if they can return after they leave the employer [
51]. Lack of incentives makes them reluctant to retain and stay with the employer [
52]. Employees from this generation expect stability from the employer and are characterized by high expectations. If they are not fulfilled, they only do what they are paid for and do not intend to remain with the employer, seeking new employment opportunities to find new and better jobs [
53]. Generation Y members are very social and appreciate friendship and personal relations. They like to work in teams and with their friends. They are noisy at work and enjoy working in a friendly atmosphere, so their teamwork seems like social event [
37,
38,
39,
40,
41,
42,
43,
44,
45,
46,
47,
48,
49,
50,
51,
52,
53,
54].
The members of generation born in 1996–2009 are referred to as the Generation Z. The Generation Z is increasingly concerned about the environment. Increasing interest in the environment is caused by increasing environmental awareness, which, however, varies according to their level of interest in environmental issues and sustainability behaviors [
55]. The influence or pressure of peers affects their behavior [
56]. The members of the Generation Z prove to be more independent of their colleagues and thus much more dependent on their own abilities and competencies. They may but must not to share their same generational belonging with their co-workers [
57]. In addition to the opportunity for self-realization and meaningful work they expect to have team of friendly colleagues [
58].
It may be challenging for employers to find ways how to attract, manage and retain young talent. The key is to know their individual preferences and needs to know how to meet their expectations [
59]. The young generation is becoming a challenge for employers because as they tend to change employers. This negative trend in Slovakia is reinforced by the migration of the young generation abroad [
60]. The employers will have to consider the interests and needs of Generation Z beyond financial compensation such as open communication, fair action, and flexibility in employment or social responsibility. Employees of this generational group also appreciate mentoring [
61]. They like a feeling of freedom when possible, but they also appreciate the willingness to provide guidance [
62]. Generations Y and Z are sometimes collectively referred to as Millennials. The millennials are recognized as enjoyable collaborators and shared values are more important to them for the perception of meaningful work than to older generations [
63].
The inclusion of an individual in a very cohesive work group affects employee satisfaction with different work aspects [
64,
65]. This has implications for working behavior. A demographic age study showed, if employees differ in age from the working group, that it lowers the level of integration in the workgroup and increases employees’ retirements [
66]. Therefore, it is important to investigate perceived relationships in the workplace, also regarding the age diversity.
Research Hypothesis 1: There is a statistically significant difference between various generational groups of employees in the perceived relationships among employees.
Managers and leaders of organizations and enterprises do not have to cope only with aging employees and new attitudes and approaches to work. What they also must face is recruitment, efficient utilization, and retention of the workforce. The ability to cope with these challenges through efficient human resource management in all areas of sustainable development has significant implications for the existence of enterprise in the future. Moreover, demonstrating the responsibility of organizations in the sustainability field should have a side positive effect. Even a slight reduction in employee fluctuation and turnover can pay off in general, especially for key employees. It is important for enterprises to see how employees are involved and integrated into the work teams and collectives [
67].
There may seem to be little real evidence that human resources policies and practices are improving the performance of the organization. However, the evidence continues to grow and, although it takes a long time for long-term data to exist, the evidence is consistent with the view that human resources policies and practices within the organization have a strong impact on employee motivation to manifest the different attitudes and behaviors needed to support and implement organization strategies [
68]. All employees themselves are sometimes overlooked as a source of sustainable competitive advantage as their benefits to the enterprises are less visible. Nevertheless, these employees can play an important role in creating a competitive advantage as they directly influence the production of a product or service. Teams or collectives of employees manifest various social complexity (good co-working relations, trust, etc.) that could not be imitable, but beneficial for involved employees. Consequently, it can be concluded that usually they are top managers or specialists, who are clearly valuable. These employees and can provide visible competitive advantage, but usually a short-term a sustainable competitive advantage should be more probably to be found across the whole human resources and their potential [
69].
Not only formal but also informal relationships are important for the effectiveness of the working collectives. Informal relationships are an extrapolation of formal relationships. However, informal relationships support formal relationships. Moreover, it was confirmed, that relations between employees greatly affect the coherence of working teams [
70]. Interaction with other people can be a source of conflict, stress, but also support. Bad relationships include low confidence, low support, and low interest in listening or dealing with problems [
71]. Working groups’ coherence, conflict rates and their impact on work performance and achievement are also influenced by cultural aspects [
72,
73]. However, scientific studies have pointed to the impact of conflicts in the workplace as well as in the life beyond work [
74,
75]. The degree to which individual employees perceive that they are expected to manifest the desired positive emotions and suppress negative emotions at work is a catalyzer for burnout. The degree of conflict at work also affects conflicts between work and family life [
75]. Social support from a supervisor or colleagues allows reducing the impact of workplace stress that affects performance degradation [
76]. Socializing newly recruited employees allows them to be integrated into the collective and reduces fluctuation and employees´ turnover. The inclusion of new employees in the team increases integration in employment and active involvement of employees [
77]. Sustainable human resource management is seen as a way to, among other things, ensure enterprises to attract and retain talented employees, maintain employees, invest in the skills of employees on a long-term basis, manage aging workforces, and create sustained employee relationships [
78].
For newly hired employees and their retention in work, it is important to learn how to do work (recognized as conscientiousness) [
38], but also to meet the ‘right’ people from whom they can learn about the organization processes and so enable their job embeddedness. This will ensure not only lower turnover in the early stages of employee adaptation and performance assurance. It is confirmed that people decided to stay in the enterprise are more efficient and provide higher performance [
79]. Colleagues and superiors contribute to creating a social working environment. A pleasant and healthy work environment has a positive impact on direct impact on work efficiency and employees´ performance [
80,
81,
82]. Increasing satisfaction with co-workers also increases pro-social behavior towards co-workers, which benefit not only for co-workers, but also for the organizations themselves [
83]. Relationships between employees with each other and supervisors and employees affect performance in a different way through the perception of both, information and interpersonal justice. The quality of relationships between employees and co-workers further enhances work performance by motivating employees to engage in learning and sharing knowledge [
84]. Employees are more personally interested in the welfare of the organizations in which they work and are more motivated to contribute to collective success if they have more positive relationship to their co-workers [
85]. Supportive behavior by supervisors and assistance from co-workers mutually interact and enable individuals to face high work pressure. The interaction of this support is crucial to avert the threat of loss of employees in the organization [
86]. Based on this, we hypothesized that relationships with co-workers and lowest turnover of employees are in positive relation.
Research Hypothesis 2: There is a statistically significant relation between the perceived relationships among employees and perceived organizational ability to retain important employees.
Figure 2 shows the logic of the formulated research hypothesis 2. The social working environment of an organization is created by formal, informal as well as symmetric and asymmetric relationships. Asymmetrical relationships result from vertical organizational management structures within an organization (they represent management relationships with other employees), which may not be only the relationship between the direct supervisor and the employee. Symmetric relationships can be understood as relationships between employees at the same level of organizational hierarchy. Demonstrating the existence of a statistically significant relation between relationships among employees and the ability to retain important employees can provide the information needed in a human resource management system with an emphasis on the stabilization of organization’s employees.
Organizational ability to attract and retain important employees is precondition for creation the sustainable social potential of the enterprise (
Figure 2). Such potential enables the management of enterprises to support desirable behaviors and to form positive relationships in organization through targeted activities in sustainable human resource management.