As a workforce evolves, it is important for employers to consider how trends and changes in the workforce have implications for organizational processes such as recruiting, selecting, training, and rewarding a cohort of workers (Costanza & Finkelstein, Reference Costanza and Finkelstein2015). This article examines the practical aspects of workforce changes on organizations’ recruitment efforts. Particularly in the face of recruiting shortages, it is important to understand how to best to develop a large and qualified pool of applicants.
As noted by Costanza and Finkelstein, age, history, and cohort effects are difficult to separate. Generations are typically defined by age and period intersecting to create cohorts. That is, a generation is a group of people born around the same time and living during about the same period in history. Differences attributed to generational membership are rightly called into question by Costanza and Finkelstein, as theory explaining generational differences is absent and empirical findings both find (e.g., Twenge & Kasser, Reference Twenge and Kasser2013) and refute (e.g., Arnett, Reference Arnett2013; Trzesniewski & Donnellan, Reference Trzesniewski and Donnellan2010) generational differences in stable characteristics, attitudes, and behavior. However, my position is that whether group similarity is attributed to generations per se or some combination of age, history, and cohort effects, the practical impact is similar. Once real differences, not stereotypes, are established regarding a cohort or cohorts, organizations can set about addressing these differences in the design of their organizational strategies. Real differences may occur in such a way that people entering the workforce at a given time have common traits or tendencies. A group of individuals within a range of ages and living during the same period has shared experiences, and those experiences influence that group's attitudes and behavior. Thus, on average, individuals belonging to the same cohort will be more similar than those belonging to different cohorts. Costanza and Finkelstein urge researchers to consider the implications of trends and changes in the workforce on organizational processes. This article discusses the practical case of organiz-ational recruitment efforts, specifically the case of military recruiting.
Recruiting From Recent Cohorts: An Example From the Military
The military, like other organizations, is subject to shifts in the pool from which future members are recruited. Cohort effects are certainly important to organizational processes, as the recruiting market for the enlisted military is limited in age (about 17 to 35 years), and the group that is of age for military service at a given time has in common a number factors. They were born within about an 18-year window, and they were exposed to the same historic, economic, and social events at roughly the same life stage. Although variation across individuals persists, the impact of context on individuals is also considerable, perhaps particularly for contextual effects during formative life stages.
Seventeen to 25-year-olds today have in common a number of factors that pose recruiting challenges for the military. Although shorter-term fluctuations in military interest occur, broader and slower-moving trends are also observed. One is that youth today are much less likely than are youth of previous generations to have friends and relatives who serve or served in the military (Pew Research Center, 2011). This phenomenon of fewer military role models among youths’ friends, family, and communities affects recruitment. Because social norms are shaped by the behaviors and perceived attitudes of those around us, military jobs would likely be less salient to individuals without friends and family in the military, and there is evidence for transmission of occupational preferences across generations (Eberharter, Reference Eberharter2012). Also contributing to decreased salience of the military is the smaller number of military installations currently in operation after extensive closures over the last 30 years, yielding a reduced institutional presence (Kleykamp, Reference Kleykamp2006).Footnote 1 In general, those entering the workforce today have in common less exposure to military role models among their families, friends, and communities. Although this social influence phenomenon is not necessarily “generational,” it is common to individuals born during a particular period, it is a major aspect of social influence mechanisms and vocational choice theories, and it should be attended to by organizations. Combined with the fact that about a quarter of youth are ineligible for military service because they are overweight or obese (Mission: Readiness, 2012), the military is facing fluctuating ratios of qualified and interested applicants to vacancies (i.e., selection ratios) compared with past years.
Another factor is the impact on interest in military service of historic events such as the attacks on the World Trade Center, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and, more recently, hostage rescue missions in 2014. Research has shown that willingness to serve in the military is stronger during and shortly after periods of conflict (Pierre, Reference Pierre2005). Consider that those who are 18–25 years old now were between the ages of 4 and 11 on September 11, 2001. The experience of this as a child and of the war in Iraq as an adolescent is an event unique to this cohort, for which age and history cannot be separated. Regardless of the ability to isolate the effect of historic events on youths’ attitudes toward military service, those who are between 18 and 25 years old in 2015 have in common a historic experience at a similar life stage. The potential for these and other historic effects to shape attitudes toward the military (Berinsky, Reference Berinsky2007) should be evaluated, as Costanza and Finkelstein noted, as real differences and not as generalizations.
Recruiting efforts are always relevant because the net effects of demographic, economic, social, and historic events on recruitment are constantly in flux. Those concerned with recruitment, in military or other organizations, must note real trends affecting the size and nature of the recruiting pool. These include demographic changes as well as economic, social, and historic trends that affect the norms, attitudes, and behaviors of the workforce. To name a few, the composition of the U.S. workforce changes over time, with increasing participation by women after World War II (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014b) and increasing participation by parents (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014a), partly driven by economic, educational, and social trends. Immigration trends impact the demographic composition of the workforce (Camarota, Reference Camarota2005), as do fluctuations in birth rates (Sneddon & Triest, Reference Sneddon and Triest2001). Enrollment rates and graduation rates for 4-year and 2-year colleges also vary and covary with economic and other factors (Heller, Reference Heller1999; Hillman & Orians, Reference Hillman and Orians2013; Kantrowitz, Reference Kantrowitz2010). Organizations must attend to the impact of these trends on the pool of available applicants and plan for inevitable fluctuations that result in recruiting shortfalls and boons at different points in time. When applicant pools are lacking in either size or qualifications, recruiting becomes more important. When applicant pools are hardy, selection takes precedence. One constant is that recruiting is a concern of organizations as they maintain a workforce over time.
Looking Forward: Theoretical Basis for Workforce Trends and Changes
Other occupations face similar recruiting challenges, in that their success is influenced by a number of factors contributing to individuals’ interest in joining. Social influence, qualification factors, and historic events have all, at times, impacted recruitment into organizations. As examples, religious, health care, educational, STEM,Footnote 2 and skilled labor occupations have all faced recruitment shortages. For one, recruitment of nurses is influenced by cohort members’ friendships, familial relationships, communities, demographics, education, interests, and experiences. Understanding trends and changes in the workforce as a function of trends in individual and contextual factors can help guide organizations in the design of their recruiting efforts. Reliance on generational stereotypes is attractive for saving time and effort and is understandable as organizations are motivated toward efficiency and information. However, employers will be best served by focusing on theory-based mechanisms that affect changes and trends in the workforce. The example of how changes in social influence, historical period, and demographics impact military recruiting processes represents how trends and social science theories can together inform the design of organizational processes in the face of differences among cohorts.
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As a workforce evolves, it is important for employers to consider how trends and changes in the workforce have implications for organizational processes such as recruiting, selecting, training, and rewarding a cohort of workers (Costanza & Finkelstein, Reference Costanza and Finkelstein2015). This article examines the practical aspects of workforce changes on organizations’ recruitment efforts. Particularly in the face of recruiting shortages, it is important to understand how to best to develop a large and qualified pool of applicants.
As noted by Costanza and Finkelstein, age, history, and cohort effects are difficult to separate. Generations are typically defined by age and period intersecting to create cohorts. That is, a generation is a group of people born around the same time and living during about the same period in history. Differences attributed to generational membership are rightly called into question by Costanza and Finkelstein, as theory explaining generational differences is absent and empirical findings both find (e.g., Twenge & Kasser, Reference Twenge and Kasser2013) and refute (e.g., Arnett, Reference Arnett2013; Trzesniewski & Donnellan, Reference Trzesniewski and Donnellan2010) generational differences in stable characteristics, attitudes, and behavior. However, my position is that whether group similarity is attributed to generations per se or some combination of age, history, and cohort effects, the practical impact is similar. Once real differences, not stereotypes, are established regarding a cohort or cohorts, organizations can set about addressing these differences in the design of their organizational strategies. Real differences may occur in such a way that people entering the workforce at a given time have common traits or tendencies. A group of individuals within a range of ages and living during the same period has shared experiences, and those experiences influence that group's attitudes and behavior. Thus, on average, individuals belonging to the same cohort will be more similar than those belonging to different cohorts. Costanza and Finkelstein urge researchers to consider the implications of trends and changes in the workforce on organizational processes. This article discusses the practical case of organiz-ational recruitment efforts, specifically the case of military recruiting.
Recruiting From Recent Cohorts: An Example From the Military
The military, like other organizations, is subject to shifts in the pool from which future members are recruited. Cohort effects are certainly important to organizational processes, as the recruiting market for the enlisted military is limited in age (about 17 to 35 years), and the group that is of age for military service at a given time has in common a number factors. They were born within about an 18-year window, and they were exposed to the same historic, economic, and social events at roughly the same life stage. Although variation across individuals persists, the impact of context on individuals is also considerable, perhaps particularly for contextual effects during formative life stages.
Seventeen to 25-year-olds today have in common a number of factors that pose recruiting challenges for the military. Although shorter-term fluctuations in military interest occur, broader and slower-moving trends are also observed. One is that youth today are much less likely than are youth of previous generations to have friends and relatives who serve or served in the military (Pew Research Center, 2011). This phenomenon of fewer military role models among youths’ friends, family, and communities affects recruitment. Because social norms are shaped by the behaviors and perceived attitudes of those around us, military jobs would likely be less salient to individuals without friends and family in the military, and there is evidence for transmission of occupational preferences across generations (Eberharter, Reference Eberharter2012). Also contributing to decreased salience of the military is the smaller number of military installations currently in operation after extensive closures over the last 30 years, yielding a reduced institutional presence (Kleykamp, Reference Kleykamp2006).Footnote 1 In general, those entering the workforce today have in common less exposure to military role models among their families, friends, and communities. Although this social influence phenomenon is not necessarily “generational,” it is common to individuals born during a particular period, it is a major aspect of social influence mechanisms and vocational choice theories, and it should be attended to by organizations. Combined with the fact that about a quarter of youth are ineligible for military service because they are overweight or obese (Mission: Readiness, 2012), the military is facing fluctuating ratios of qualified and interested applicants to vacancies (i.e., selection ratios) compared with past years.
Another factor is the impact on interest in military service of historic events such as the attacks on the World Trade Center, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and, more recently, hostage rescue missions in 2014. Research has shown that willingness to serve in the military is stronger during and shortly after periods of conflict (Pierre, Reference Pierre2005). Consider that those who are 18–25 years old now were between the ages of 4 and 11 on September 11, 2001. The experience of this as a child and of the war in Iraq as an adolescent is an event unique to this cohort, for which age and history cannot be separated. Regardless of the ability to isolate the effect of historic events on youths’ attitudes toward military service, those who are between 18 and 25 years old in 2015 have in common a historic experience at a similar life stage. The potential for these and other historic effects to shape attitudes toward the military (Berinsky, Reference Berinsky2007) should be evaluated, as Costanza and Finkelstein noted, as real differences and not as generalizations.
Recruiting efforts are always relevant because the net effects of demographic, economic, social, and historic events on recruitment are constantly in flux. Those concerned with recruitment, in military or other organizations, must note real trends affecting the size and nature of the recruiting pool. These include demographic changes as well as economic, social, and historic trends that affect the norms, attitudes, and behaviors of the workforce. To name a few, the composition of the U.S. workforce changes over time, with increasing participation by women after World War II (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014b) and increasing participation by parents (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014a), partly driven by economic, educational, and social trends. Immigration trends impact the demographic composition of the workforce (Camarota, Reference Camarota2005), as do fluctuations in birth rates (Sneddon & Triest, Reference Sneddon and Triest2001). Enrollment rates and graduation rates for 4-year and 2-year colleges also vary and covary with economic and other factors (Heller, Reference Heller1999; Hillman & Orians, Reference Hillman and Orians2013; Kantrowitz, Reference Kantrowitz2010). Organizations must attend to the impact of these trends on the pool of available applicants and plan for inevitable fluctuations that result in recruiting shortfalls and boons at different points in time. When applicant pools are lacking in either size or qualifications, recruiting becomes more important. When applicant pools are hardy, selection takes precedence. One constant is that recruiting is a concern of organizations as they maintain a workforce over time.
Looking Forward: Theoretical Basis for Workforce Trends and Changes
Other occupations face similar recruiting challenges, in that their success is influenced by a number of factors contributing to individuals’ interest in joining. Social influence, qualification factors, and historic events have all, at times, impacted recruitment into organizations. As examples, religious, health care, educational, STEM,Footnote 2 and skilled labor occupations have all faced recruitment shortages. For one, recruitment of nurses is influenced by cohort members’ friendships, familial relationships, communities, demographics, education, interests, and experiences. Understanding trends and changes in the workforce as a function of trends in individual and contextual factors can help guide organizations in the design of their recruiting efforts. Reliance on generational stereotypes is attractive for saving time and effort and is understandable as organizations are motivated toward efficiency and information. However, employers will be best served by focusing on theory-based mechanisms that affect changes and trends in the workforce. The example of how changes in social influence, historical period, and demographics impact military recruiting processes represents how trends and social science theories can together inform the design of organizational processes in the face of differences among cohorts.