Implications of age-specific production systems and employee retention: which measures work and why are they applied?
This project
analyses effectiveness of different age-specific production systems on the
outcome variables productivity, turnover, and age structure of the workforce
from a human resource as well as an economic perspective. Besides, motivation
of firms to alter application of specific production systems shall be
addressed. Our first object of investigation are reasons for and the
consequences of the introduction of specific measures for the promotion of
older employees. In a first step we analyse descriptively how German firms
between 2002 and 2006 systematically altered the application of age-specific
measures. In a second step we analyse the causal relationship between
application of age-specific production systems and the outcome variables. In
particular, we want to answer whether age-specific production systems cause
changes in the outcome variables or whether the application itself is a
consequence of the level of past changes in these variables. Our second object
of investigation supplements the analysis of specific personnel measures for
older employees with an analysis of further central elements of human resource
measures. We investigate the role of training intensity, the existence of works
councils, collective agreement contracts as well as financial or organisational
employee participation with respect to the outcome variables. We also have
information at-hand on changes in the application of these measures over time,
so we are able to analyse the relation between changes in the application of
production systems and the outcome variables, as well as motivation for
adoption and abolition of certain measures. Within the third object of
investigation, we analyse the effect of personnel policy with respect to
employee retention on the outcome variables. Personnel policy with respect to
employee retention means a specific control and configuration of age at employee
in- and outflow within a firm. Beyond that, a forth object of investigation
will be to test the robustness of the several investigations in a separate
analysis for the manufacturing industry.
Duration: 01.11.2009 - 31.10.2011
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