"Critical Assessment of the Impact of HR Strategies on Employees’ Performance"
Ali Bin Nadeem
Management Consultant | Microsoft Alumni | Technologist | Author 2 Books & Research Papers | NSW 26 NDU | Trainer | CEO MyHealth Aiyin - Medical & Dental Billing | Cofounder | Entrepreneur | MS. Engineering Management
Line managers are considered as one of the greatest assets of a company. Therefore, it is vital to satisfy them and keep them actively engaged so that they can add value to the organization. This research explores the alternative Human Resource (HR) strategies to support line managers at Sainsbury’s Southern. The research is based on semi-structured interviews conducted with line managers at various levels and across different departments of the company, aimed at exploring the perceptions and experience of the line managers in terms of HR devolution and the level of support provided to them by HR. Secondary data have been used to identify previous works on the topic of HR devolution as well as HR support to line and to also identify the various strategies to facilitate the line managers so that they can perform their new role more efficiently. The findings revealed that the trend of devolution has been successful as the employees interviewed are satisfied with the level of support provided to them by HR. However, some employees raised a few concerns i.e. inadequate training, unclear perceptions regarding the policies, increased workload, ineffective HR practices, etc., and feel that these need to be improved so that they can perform their new role more effectively.
Keywords:?HR Strategies , Line Manager , Employee Performance .
Conclusion
This research is aimed at critically assessing the alternative HR strategies to support line managers at Sainsbury’s Southern. The objectives of this research were accomplished through primary as well as secondary data. The literature review discussed the findings by several authors regarding HR devolution to line and the support that HR gives to line in the transition and how it affects the overall performance of the organization. In the beginning, the significance of line managers and the HR function in the organization has been discussed. It was analyzed that line managers play a fundamental role in people’s management and their role is vital to the success of HR policies and practices as HR strategies cannot be successfully implemented without their involvement, commitment, and cooperation. The research indicated some positive links between HR support to line managers and higher organizational performance. It was also found that strong HR support to line enables organizations to achieve higher competitive advantage. The literature review also discussed the major HR practices enacted by line managers i.e. Recruitment and Selection, Performance Management, Learning and Development, Reward Management, Discipline and Grievance, and other HR policies.
The primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews, based on six key themes, out of which three were selected for this report. It revealed that majority of the line managers interviewed were satisfied with the level of support they get from HR. From the author’s perspective, one reason for the satisfaction could be the open and friendly atmosphere of the stores as well as the non-hierarchal culture of the organization that fosters creativity and encourages collaboration.
The research further revealed that majority of the line managers in the three sites were happy with the devolution trend as they acknowledge that they are the ones who work closely with their colleagues and can therefore manage them more effectively than HR. They also believed that they have adequate support from HR in terms of training and guidance to perform their new role. On the other hand, a few numbers of managers said that either they are not provided with any training or the kind of support they are provided is very poor, due to which they feel ill-equipped to perform their devolved role. One reason for the inadequate training and support may be the wrong perception of HR managers who believe that since line managers have always had the responsibility for people management, they have sufficient knowledge to carry out their devolved role. Similarly, another reason for dissatisfaction highlighted by some line managers is the increased workload that holds them from performing their other duties.
The research also found that the communication and frequency of contact between HR and Line is very good as HR not only communicates with them on a daily basis but is also very approachable and keeps them informed regarding the new policies and procedures of the company. Furthermore, in terms of HR policies and practices, although most line managers agree that the HR policies are effective and help them in their new role, the sickness and absence, recruitment and selection, and the bonus policy according to some managers needs improvement so that they can fully benefit from it.
Further, the main people management problems recognized by majority of line managers are their own unclear perception of HR policies, lack of efficiency, and low morale of staff due to their changing working pattern, the rigid mind set of long-serving employees and alienation. It is assumed that that lack of physical/visual training and inadequate support may be one of the main reasons for all these problems. Nevertheless, a very limited number of managers said that HR has trained them in the right way to tackle all these problems.
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Although all the (interviewed) line managers agreed that they work in partnership with HR to accomplish the overall goals of the organization, it was found that since HR policies are made at the head office, and that they do not contribute in the policy-making. HR in the store and the Line managers are only the implementers of the policies. However, some of respondents said that even though they do not contribute, their opinion does count and is also recognized.
Next, learning and development was identified as the area where line managers get the most HR support. It was revealed that HR not only supports line managers in imparting training to their colleagues but also provides them training and courses to prepare them for future. The area where line managers get the second highest support was recruitment and selection. It was found that HR does most of the initial bits of the recruitment and selection process i.e. the advertising of vacancy, getting the slots filled, and preparing the interview pack, etc. The responsibility of interviewing and selecting the employee lies with the managers. However, the final decision is always made by the HR rather than the line. Although most line managers interviewed said that they are satisfied with the process, one respondent said that he needs some more training for recruitment and selection so that in future when the HR completely vanishes, he is able to carry out the process himself. Similarly, Reward management was classified as the third area of strong HR support. It was revealed that though line managers have some autonomy in the actual process, they are not involved in the formulation of the reward strategy. It was discovered that HR communicates the process to them via meetings and then asks them to put forward their nomination. Therefore, it can be said that line managers contribute a little in the process rather than giving their recommendations and determining the wages and salaries of their colleagues. After reward management, discipline and grievance were recognized as the next areas where HR supports the line managers. It was found that HR not only guides line managers but also supports them by providing them a note taker for the disciplinary meeting. Moreover, it was also revealed that line managers get support in terms of working hours, holidays, and health and safety. The support provided by HR is in terms of communication, advice and training in this context was also highlighted by the data analysis. Furthermore, a low number of people said that they get strong HR support in terms of Performance management.
On the contrary, HR policies were identified as the area of weakest HR support as most as most managers claimed that they are not fully aware of the policies and that they are not even properly communicated to them. Further it was also found that due to unclear perception and poor communication, some manager follows the policies according to their own understanding which affects the performance of the organization. Another area of concern highlighted by most managers was that the store trainers do not cover all shifts. Also, it was found that some managers were unable to carry out the training sessions of their staff due to increased work load. It was also suggested that HR should alone design and run the training sessions so that the line managers can concentrate on other tasks. In addition to this, it was discovered that due to lack of training, most managers are unsure of the skills they need for managing their staff as the only support they are offered is the pack of policies to read through rather than providing them with proper training. It has also been suggested the HR should share the responsibility of discipline and grievance process with line managers instead of giving them the whole responsibility to carry out the process. Lack of recognition was another weak area identified by some line manager as they said that they do not get recognized for the amount of work that they do. Lastly, it was suggested by some respondents that HR should redesign the process of recruitment and include a role play in the process so that they can they can determine how a person will behave in a particular situation and hence select the most suitable candidate for the job. The forgoing findings show that the aim and objectives of the report have been fully achieved.
Since the three branches of Sainsbury’s i.e. Bitterne, Portswood, and Shirley have recently gone through HR restructuring, it is important for the stores to satisfy its line managers as they are the core of their organization and without their cooperation, the company wouldn’t be able to perform well. This study will help the stores, understand the importance of HR contribution to support the line managers. It will be beneficial for the company in a way that it will highlight the different perspectives of the line managers, with regard to HR devolution and also their perceptions regarding the HR policies and consider new ideas and opinions as a feedback into its existing policy, so as to attain a higher level of business success.
To conclude, this study covered the alternative HR strategies for Sainsbury’s branches and highlighted probable solutions to enhance its success in business. However, all these findings should be viewed in the light of various limitations of the study including the small sample and the results may differ in case of a larger sample size. Also, since the authors were constrained by time and information accessibility limitation, there certainly is further scope for research on this topic.
For access to the original co-authored publication visit: https://bit.ly/3hSFyyZ
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