Bundle of inclusive HR practices for managing ageing and other generations of employees in organisations: evidence from Thailand

Purpose This paper aims to identify the inclusive human resource (HR) practices that foster synergy among ageing and other generations of employees within organisations. Design/methodology/approach Based on a cross-case analysis of seven organisations in diverse industries located in one of the emerging market economies (EMEs), Thailand, this paper’s evidence is drawn primarily from semi-structured interviews with top managers, HR managers and cross-generational employees, as well as virtual and onsite field visits, non-participant observations, and a review of archival documents and web-based resources, including newspaper reports. Findings Accordingly, this author proposes three bundles of ten inclusive HR practices: (1) the bundle of age-/generation-neutral promotion, consisting of age-/generation-neutral recruitment and selection practices, equal access to training and development opportunities and age-/generation-neutral career and promotion systems; (2) the bundle of cross-generational relationship building and maintenance, consisting of coaching, mentoring systems, reverse mentoring systems, job shadowing and encouraging cross-generational employees to participate in employee relations activities; and (3) the bundle of accommodating generational differences, consisting of the development and maintenance of a corporate culture of openness and flexible benefit plans. Moreover, this paper suggests that the adoption and implementation of practices within these inclusive HR bundles tend to be influenced by national institutions in terms of national skill formation system specifics and by national culture in terms of cooperativeness and the willingness to avoid workplace conflict. Research limitations/implications This paper has limitations in terms of its methodology. Because this research is based on case studies of seven organisations across industries in Thailand, its findings may not be generalisable to all other organisations across other countries. Rather, the aim of this paper is to further the discussion on the inclusive HR practices that promote synergy among various generations of employees in organisations. Another limitation of this research is that it does not include organisations in several other industries, including the agricultural and fishery or hospitality industries. Practical implications This paper provides practical implications for the top managers and/or HR managers of organisations in Thailand and other EMEs. First, these organisations should provide all employees with training and development opportunities equally, regardless of their age or generation. Second, organisations should recruit and select potential job candidates on the basis of their performance and potential, not their personal characteristics such as age or generation. Third, the promotion of employees to higher positions should also be based on their performance and potential, not their age or generation. Fourth, organisations should apply the practices of coaching, mentoring, reverse mentoring and job shadowing to foster positive relationships among cross-generational employees so that these employees work together smoothly. Fifth, organisations should encourage cross-generational employees to participate in employee relations activities to maintain positive relationships among those employees. Sixth, organisations should develop and maintain a corporate culture of openness by providing new generations of employees with opportunities to present their ideas and insights and offering them opportunities to participate in decision-making processes. Finally, in the case of flexible benefit plans, organisations need to give special attention to their overall budgets and may not need to offer many benefit plans. Rather, organisations should offer only three to four benefit plans that respond to the needs of each generation to easily control their related budgets. Social implications This paper has social/policy implications for the government and/or relevant public agencies of Thailand and several other EMEs, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, especially as these economies are becoming ageing societies. Specifically, these governments should encourage organisations in their countries to implement three bundles of ten inclusive HR practices to foster synergy among ageing and other generations of employees. Some of the HR practices in these bundles, especially age-/generation-neutral recruitment and selection practices and equal access to training and development opportunities, tend to play an important role in alleviating the problems of skill shortages and mismatches in the labour markets of these economies. Moreover, those governments should invest in anti-ageism and multigenerational educational initiatives to create greater cross-generational understanding among people in their countries. Furthermore, they should expand budgets and enforcement mechanisms for the Department of Labour related to age discrimination. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on HR management in the following ways. First, it focuses on the adoption and implementation of the bundle of inclusive HR practices within organisations from the perspectives of employers and cross-generational employees. In contrast, most of the previous studies on relevant topics have focused primarily on the perspectives of employers. In this case, it is possible that formal organisation policies may differ from the actual HR practices perceived by cross-generational employees. In particular, this proposed bundle of HR practices fosters an age-diverse workplace climate while simultaneously encouraging these cross-generational employees to work together smoothly. Additionally, this paper highlights the implications of national institutions and cultures in Thailand’s EME for the adoption and implementation of inclusive HR practices that foster synergy among ageing and other generations of employees in organisations. Finally, this paper examines inclusive HR practices in organisations across various industries. The literature on HRM, especially inclusive HR practices, has overlooked several EMEs, including the underresearched country of Thailand, which is currently an aged society and will become a superaged society in the future.