Dealing with Overqualified Employees

 Dealing with Overqualified Employees

Research Questions

How should an HR manager handle an overqualified employee?

Introduction

The role of Human resource managers has become increasingly important in the current world based on the growing level of competition. Employers are out looking for a qualified well-skilled and innovative working force to help the company realize its goal. I have learnt that the primary role of the HR manager is to hire, develop, and retain highly competent staff. My desire has always been to work hard in class and excels in my area of study so that I can be able to get a job without difficulties because I have always believed that job market is looking for competent and highly qualified graduates. Surprisingly, HR managers are also struggling with the problem of overqualified employees. According to Skowronski (2019), HR managers are worried about hiring overqualified employees for fear of not being able to retain and keep them satisfied. Wassermann, Fujishiro, and Hoppe (2017) points out that overqualification creates the notion of underemployment as the more educated, experienced, knowledgeable and skilled workers are less likely to fit the job assigned. Erdogan, Bauer, Peiró, and Truxillo (2011), on the other hand, points out that hiring an overqualified employee can be beneficial to both employee and the employer. In this research paper, I am sharing my thoughts as well as reviewing some of the literary works on how HR managers can handle overqualified employees.

Different Perspectives on Overqualified Employees

I would define an overqualified employee as someone who has a higher level of education that is above what is required for a particular job opening. For instance, when a company advertises for the position of a store attendant with a high school diploma, only those candidates with such levels but have better grades would be considered suitable for the job. .” However, when a master degree candidate in the same standard applies for the same position, then he is deemed to be overqualified. Wassermann, Fujishiro, and Hoppe (2017), on the other hand, define overqualifications as ” overqualified possess more education, experience, knowledge or skills than required for their job. He goes ahead to point out that it constitutes a form of underemployment which includes being employed in situations that may be regarded as inferior by a given level. Erdogan, Bauer, Peiró and Truxillo (2011) believe the perception that overqualified or those considered to be having skills, education, abilities, and experience are neither utilized or required has become more common. I have equally had in several cases where employees cite difficulties in getting a job because of being overqualified for positions they applied. To me, it sounds weird because young people go to schools and work hard to qualify for the posts of their interest expecting that employers will be looking for those who the highest level of qualification when recruiting.

The fact that HR managers are worried about what to do with overqualified individuals in an organization makes me ask the reason for high demands to education among young people. To me, it sounds inappropriate because it is not currently considered a measure of whether one gets the job they needed. However, I read the work by Lahi (2016) and noticed that there had been a misunderstanding in the connection between education and qualification. The author went ahead to point out that in several instances, overqualification has been seen as over-education, but from the previous study, not all subjects are prone to produce overqualification. Consequently, it is possible to have those who are overeducated but are not necessarily overqualified. Lahi (2016) concludes the study by stating that it is essential to address the issue of overqualification during the hiring stage. This is because of the feeling of overqualification for a particular job can bring psychological problems to such individuals and even organization on how best to treat its employees. I think this is the reason most of the HR managers would mostly turn down some applicants based on being overqualified for the job opening advertised.

According to Skowronski (2019), HR managers always fear overqualified workers because they believe such employees are likely to have a poor job-related attitude and get bored in their jobs. I equally tend to think that those who believe they are overqualified for a particular job will always feel like they are being underutilized. In fact, others would want to be paid more than other employees within the same job level because of their level of qualification, which may create issues among employees.  Such employees may indeed have a feeling of less productive in their present job, and that can have overall wellbeing. It must be for these reasons that HR managers would always consider locking out overqualified candidates.

I have always believed that overqualification is an added advantage to an individual as it gives more significant opportunity to get better jobs more quickly compared to those with lower qualification. I went through the work written by Skowronski (2019), and I learnt that overqualified individuals could be of benefit to the organization and not just liability, as most of the HR managers tend to view it. While most of the authors have focused on the young people looking for jobs when researching on overqualified workers, Skowronski (2019) looks at overqualified older workers. According to the author, organizations can benefit from hiring overqualified older workers because they are less interested in promotions and are not looking for jobs with increased flexibility based on their age. It was interesting to note that hiring overqualified old workers comes with satisfaction to the employees, as most of them tend to leave managerial positions of high-ranking institutions, which are most stressful to low-level jobs with less stress. This view seems to be positive, unlike the cynical perspective that has been cited by other previous scholars. However, the question comes when the organization is a fast-growing firm with ambitions of going international, and therefore, employees are expected to be highly flexible and innovative. Most of these overqualified workers are less likely to survive with the overqualified older employees who mostly leave managerial jobs for lower position to avoid stressed associated with management.

How to Handle Overqualified Staff

The problem of overqualified comes at a time when the rate of unemployment is so high, and sometimes most of the people that are applying for jobs maybe those with higher qualifications for the advertised job. Most people who lose their jobs during recessions are out looking for a job and are less likely to turn some situations down because of they overqualified to get how to take care of their families. I believe it is possible to have overqualified people in an organization and get their best from them. One way is to have them have a say in their work environment, which is more like empowering them. In that case, they will feel like they are not only meant to take a passive position in the firm but influence their work environment.

Another way through which HR managers can manage overqualified employees is by having similarly talented coworkers. Overqualified workers equally have the desired skills, and when they are allowed to interact with peers with similar qualifications within the company, then they will have the feeling of being part of the more magnificent team.

The last way through which I believe overqualified workers can be blended positively in an organization is through appreciation. They need to have the feeling that they are valued and appreciated. Clifford (2019) has cited the same by pointing out that the issue of overqualified workers emerges due to specific conditions. Such conditions can be reduced when they are recognized and appreciated for what they are doing do known that their skills and qualification is beneficial to the firm.

Summary and Conclusion

The world has faced economic hardship in the past, and so many lost their jobs during the recession leading to a high level of unemployment. The current business environment is equally characterized by a high level of competition and HR managers are expected to look for highly competent workers to fill specific positions as a way of enhancing the competitiveness of the firm through creativity. However, the challenge that managers are facing is how to deal with overqualified employees. Most of the manages fear hiring them because they mostly get bored with their jobs. They tend to feel that they are underutilized and develop a negative attitude towards work, which can be infectious to other employees. I have cited three essential things that I find suitable for enhancing the potentials of the overqualified. The first one is allowing the opportunity to have control of their job environment. Another way is to have other overqualified individuals and encourage interactions to keep them closer and have the warmed of being employees with their present employer. Lastly, it is good to occasionally appreciate them and recognize their level of education and qualification, which will motivate them.

References

Clifford, C. (2019). 3 ways to keep overqualified employees happy. Retrieved 24 November 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/19/3-ways-to-keep-overqualified-employees-happy.html

Dumani, S. (2015). Engaging overqualified employees: The role of job and nonwork crafting.

Erdogan, B., Bauer, T. N., Peiró, J. M., & Truxillo, D. M. (2011). Overqualified employees: Making the best of a potentially bad situation for individuals and organizations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 4(2), 215-232.

Lahi, B. (2016). Should Overqualification among Employees be Addressed?. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(6), 126-130.

Skowronski, M. (2019). Overqualified Employees: A Review, A Research Agenda, and Recommendations for Practice. Journal of Applied Business & Economics, 21(1).

Wassermann, M., Fujishiro, K., & Hoppe, A. (2017). The effect of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction and career satisfaction among immigrants: Does host national identity matter?. International journal of intercultural relations : IJIR, 61, 77–87. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2017.09.001