The Perspective of HR Managers regarding Organizational Readiness for the AEC 2015: The Study of Private Hospitals in Chonburi

Abstract

ABSTRACT               The two purposes of this study were to explore the perspectives of HR executive officers concerning the influence of the ASEAN Economic Community on their private hospitals in Chon Buri and, secondly, to examine the actions which the HR department had taken to prepare the workforce towards the AEC, beginning in 2015. The interview technique was used as a data collection method in this study. A purposive sampling and snowball techniques were used to select participants who were HR managers in three private hospitals in Chon Buri. A qualitative data analysis method was employed and AtlasTi was the scientific software used in analysing the data. The results of this study revealed that HR managers were aware of the impact of the AEC on staff shortages as medical doctors and nurses can easily get new jobs in other hospitals inside or outside Thailand. HR managers believed that their staff needed a lot of training in English communication skills and to be trained more in cross-cultural areas. To prepare the hospitals for the AEC, HR departments need to perform the roles of corporate ambassador, strategic partner, administrative expert, employee champion and change agent. To have enough employees at that time, HR departments need to apply some effective recruitment strategies, training and development strategies and retention and engagement strategies. However, HR managers believed that the AEC would not impact much on big private hospitals in Chon Buri. This is due to the high regard in which the hospitals are held, the strong recruitment, selection and staff retention policies already in place, staff feeling more secure working within Thailand, the advanced medical technology employed in Thailand compared with overseas hospitals, the limited number of customers/patients coming from AEC countries and finally the existing competitiveness of the private hospitals and their striving to always be ahead of their competitors.