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Improving Human Resources in the Public Sector – A Key to Successful Reform?
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Transcript of Improving Human Resources in the Public Sector – A Key to Successful Reform?
Improving Human Resources in the Public Sector – A Key to
Successful Reform?
David GuestProfessor of Organizational
Psychology & Human Resource Management
King’s College, London
What is Human Resource Management?
“All those activities associated with the management of work and people in organisations”
(Boxall and Purcell, 2011)
Why Do Human Resource Matter in the Public Sector?
Usually the major cost factor. Therefore effective management of human resources should:
Reduce costs
Result in more effective utilisation of human capital to provide better, more cost-effective services
Problems/Challenges in Managing Public Sector Human
Resources Sheltered and distorted labour markets Excessive job security/jobs for life Political influences Bureaucratic ineffective HR practices Administrative systems which do not
reward productivity or service quality Strong trade union influence Powerful professional groups/interests Tradition of model employer Poor capacity for change
Pressures for Change in Public Sector HR
Need to become more strategic Need to change from dominance of
bureaucracy focus to performance focus Need to move from standard employment
to flexible employment Need to make full use of, and ensure the
service commitment of staff Need to control staff costs – doing more
and better with less.
A New Approach
A new approach requires : a better model for managing human
resources and a better way of allocating responsibility
“Human resource management is too important to be left to human resource departments”
Some Basic Assumptions About Human Resource Management
Someone has to take personnel decisions Who takes decisions is related to issues
of power, influence and size of organization
There is an identifiable set of core decision areas
We now have considerable evidence about what constitutes “good” human resource management
Some Core Areas of HR Decisions
Recruitment and Selection (and Branding) Training and Development Careers and Internal Labour Markets Job (and organization) design Appraising performance Reward systems Ensuring appropriate treatment of staff Managing employment relations Dealing with problem issues and cases Managing downsizing and exit
The Evidence Base for New Public Sector Model of HRM
Lots of evidence showing an association between more high quality human resource practices and performance in private and public sectors
HRM Organizational Performance
HR and profit per employee in the private sector (FoW study)
Source: FoW (N=297)
Number of HR practices
11+8 to 105 to 70 to 4
Pro
fit p
er
em
plo
yee
(£
)4000
3000
2000
1000
Labour turnover and performance
HR practices (UK)
11+8 to 105 to 70 to 4
Ann
ual e
mpl
oyee
tur
nove
r >
15%
40
30
20
10
A Refined Model
Recruitment & selectionTraining & Development
Opportunity to participate
Employee motivation
Employee competence
Job designInvolvement systems
Communication
Performance appraisalFinancial rewards
Feedback
Employee commitment
Internal promotionSecurity
Fair treatmentMet psych. contract
Enhanced employee
performance
What Do We Mean by “Good” HR Practices?
(examples)
Selection based on quality and attitudes/approach to work Use of psychological tests in selecting all staff Extensive provision of training Deliberate development of a learning organization
Formal appraisal of all staff at least annually High basic pay and organization-based contingent pay Harmonised terms and conditions for all staff
Design of jobs to make full use of skills and abilities Staff/teams responsible for their own quality Extensive two-way communication on work and organization
issues Regular use of attitude surveys
Adoption of HR Practices in the UK
Per
cen
t of w
orkp
lace
s
30
20
10
0
Public sector
Private sector
Number of HR practices in the public (N=546) and private sectors (N=1277)
WERS data
HRM and Performance in the Public Sector
Growing number of studies in healthcare Some studies in local government A few elsewhere Major problem of performance indicators Standard challenge of level of analysis
(division, workplace, organization: e.g. school or local authority)
HRM and Mortality in Acute Hospitals
West et al (JOB, 2006)
52 Acute Trusts in the UK
More high quality HR practices associated with lower death rates
Persists after controlling for other possible influences including past performance
Good appraisals have the strongest influence
HRM and Performance in Local Government (Messersmith et al 2011)
Study of HRM and performance in Welsh local authorities. Each has 8 departments.
Data from 119 departments and 1755 staff. Performance data from Welsh government Explored link between HRM, staff attitudes
and behaviour and department outcomes. Found strong link between HRM and
performance and HRM and attitudes Found strong support for path through
employee attitudes and behaviour
HRM and Performance in Universities (Guest & Clinton, 2007)
Survey of HR managers in all UK universities on HR practices
Independent published performance data
Found no association between HRM and performance
Poor quality HR practices, poor HR departments and poor implementation
Initial Conclusion
There is good evidence of an association between HRM and performance across different parts of the UK public sector
Highlights potential if you can implement high quality HR practices
Raises question of who is responsible for implementation and the role of HR departments
The Implementation Challenge
Khilji and Wang (2006) and others highlighted a gap between intended and implemented HR practices
Implies that it is not enough to have good HR policy and practice
Draws attention to the roles of ‘implementers’ - HR specialists, top management and line managers
Towards a Theory of HR Implementation
(Guest & Bos-Nehles, 2012)
Stage 1: Decide to introduce a practice Stage 2: Determine the quality of the
practice Stage 3: Line managers agree to implement
the practice Stage 4: Line managers implement in a
quality way Stage 5: Staff accept rationale for practice
and respond accordinglyImplementation at Stages 3-5 cannot occur
without Stages 1 & 2
Who is Responsible for Implementation?
Stage 1 HR and top management Stage 2 Primarily HR
Stage 3 Line managers Stage 4 Line managers
So line managers’ views on HR practices and their competences become central issues
The Challenge of Implementation of
HRM in Local Government
In 32 London boroughs very similar HR practices are in place
External audit reveals differences in borough ratings
Research reveals key differences in effectiveness of HR implementation explain much of the variation in ratings
Implementation of Bullying and Harassment Policy in the NHS
UK healthcare has one of the highest levels of reported bullying and harassment of any sector – e.g. much higher than the military
Annual NHS survey question: “ In the last 12 months have you experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from any of the following” (manager/team leader/colleagues/ patients/relatives of patients?
Bullying and Harassment in the UK NHS. Regional Comparisons
16.217.2 17.3 17.7 17.8 17.9 18.0 18.0 18.4
21.6
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
NorthEast
WestMidlands
NorthWest
Yorkshireand theHumber
East ofEngland
SouthCentral
SouthWest
EastMidlands
SouthEast
Coast
London
% S
atff
re
po
rtin
g B
&H
Bullying and Harassment at a London Acute Hospital 2004-2008
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
% r
ep
ort
ing
B&
H
Host organisation
National Acute trust average
Bullying and Harassment by Care Group: 2007
1113
20
2426
2729 29
3335
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Corporate &Facilities
SpecialistMedicine
Clinical Services Cardiac &Neurosciences
Finance Women's &Children's
Dental Liver & Renal Critical & Surgery Medical Care
Care Group
% R
ep
ort
ing
B&
H
Evidence on Bullying and Harassment from Staff Surveys and Interviews
Bullying associated with increased stress /reduced job satisfaction/higher intention to quit
Bullying affects patient safety and service quality through reduced motivation and concern to do a good job
Bullying by staff associated with unsupportive work environment and lack of faith in effectiveness of relevant HR systems
How does this relate to HR policy and practice in the hospital?
Best Practice in Management of Bullying and Harassment
Implementation of a Formal Bullying Policy Zero Tolerance Approach Selection of Staff Implementation of Awareness Campaigns Address Environmental Problems Training and Development for Managers and for
Staff Providing Informal Advisory Services Data monitoring Support for Victims of Bullying
All are in place at this hospital
Implications for HRM
The hospital has all the right HR policies and practices in place but bullying still very high. Why?
Reflects the gap between ‘intended’ and ‘implemented’ practice
Reinforces need to focus on implementation
Is this likely to be particularly challenging in public sector professional bureaucracies?
The Role of the Line Managers
Line managers have responsibility for much HR implementation.
However key issue concerns motivation and competence to implement.
UK line managers “are neither capable nor motivated to take on these issues” (Hope Hailey et al, 2005)
Dutch line managers more motivated and capable but hindered by time pressures
Line Managers/Clinicians in Healthcare
Health managers prioritise patient care over care of workforce
Limited reinforcement of relevant policy – e.g. no evidence of zero tolerance
Our evidence suggests some avoid HR issues
But: evidence on bullying shows wide variations between clinical divisions. So how can we understand and explain these variations?
The Nature of a “Strong” HR System
Bowen and Ostroff (2004) argue that the link between HR strategy and HR practices and outcomes will be stronger if there is a ‘strong’ HR system perceived as high in:– Distinctiveness: visible, relevant, understood– Consistency: consistently applied– Consensus: agreed by key stakeholders
Role of top management in embedding and reinforcing ‘strong’ HR is likely to be crucial
HR cannot do HR on its own
Conclusions and Policy Implications
Some indication in the public sector that more high quality HRM is associated with better performance
Need to strengthen focus on factors affecting implementation of policy and practice
HR still mainly an administrative rather than a strategic function
Major challenge of HR implementation in public sector professional bureaucracies
A ‘strong’ HR system is likely to help
Thank you for listening