What HR decisions are crucial in turbulent times? An analysis of differences in manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies

Abstract

Manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies are represented to varying degrees in the structure of advanced economies. Their business success in turbulent times depends on smart business decisions, including decisions concerning human resources (HR) that affect the companies’ ability to survive and compete. However, such judgments may differ in manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies. The paper aims to reveal potential differences in HR decisions between analyzed manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies and bring suggestions for challenging employment and compensation decisions that affect the companies’ economic and social position. The analysis uses the HR Analysis in Companies 2023 survey conducted by Gi Group/Grafton Recruitment Czech Republic at the end of 2022. The survey covered responses from 478 manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies in all fourteen regions of the Czech Republic regarding employment and compensation decisions in 2022 and plans for 2023. The analysis revealed tendencies of manufacturing companies to change the total number of employees and the offer of benefits more often than non-manufacturing companies to more flexibly change the labor demand and labor costs depending on the demand for final production. On the other hand, regardless of manufacturing or non-manufacturing companies, the overall findings revealed tendencies of surveyed companies to follow certain HR decisions from the past in the future and confirm the necessity to concentrate on effective HR decisions related to employment and compensation in turbulent times to manage the labor demand and labor costs efficiently. AcknowledgmentThe authors thank Gi Group/Grafton Recruitment Czech Republic for providing the HR Analysis in Companies 2023 survey and the Internal Grant Agency of Ambis College for financial support to create this article.