A4 Refereed article in a conference publication
The Human Resources Debt in Software Business
Authors: Sonja M. Hyrynsalmi, Minna M. Rantanen, Johannes Holvitie, Sami Hyrynsalmi, Erkki Sutinen
Editors: Hongxiu Li, Ágústa Pálsdóttir, Roland Trill, Reima Suomi, Yevgeniya Amelina
Conference name: International Conference on Well-Being in the Information Society
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Publication year: 2018
Journal: Communications in Computer and Information Science
Book title : Well-Being in the Information Society. Fighting Inequalities: 7th International Conference, WIS 2018, Turku, Finland, August 27-29, 2018, Proceedings
Series title: Communications in Computer and Information Science
Volume: 907
First page : 28
Last page: 41
ISBN: 978-3-319-97930-4
eISBN: 978-3-319-97931-1
ISSN: 1865-0929
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97931-1_3
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97931-1_3
This conceptual-analytical paper presents and defines the concept of `human resource debt' (i.e., HR debt). The presented concept draws from the software engineering field's recent work in the technical debt management, yet it departures from the existing conceptualizations by focusing on skills and competences of individual employees as well as emphasizing the need to manage the skill pool with conscious decisions. As with its paragons, this novel concept aims to help to understand, control and utilize better the phenomenon by using a simple metaphor. In addition, the metaphor, borrowed from the economics, also emphasizes the potential price that has to be paid back later. In the discussion, the ever-changing software industry is used as an example industrial domain; however, the concept should be generalizable to other fields. Finally, the paper lays foundations for future work and proposes initial actions needed for forming a proper research agenda.
