Training line managers in HR processes is good for business

HR departments spend a lot of time and energy developing policies and practices intended to increase employee well-being and organisational performance. Although HR departments are the ones creating HR procedures, these procedures are usually implemented by line managers, but implementation doesn’t always go as HR departments intended.

Implementing HR procedures requires time and effort but this isn’t always feasible. Line managers are often pulled in different directions with little time to dedicate to people management, so following formal processes might not always be a priority. It might seem simpler to select a candidate by gut feeling, rather than following processes that ensure diversity in candidates and equality in opportunity for all. The danger here is that ignoring practices that reduce bias in the decision-making process could result in a poor hiring decision – for candidates and the organisation.

“Given that implementing HR practices does require time and effort, we wanted to understand what motivates line managers to put that effort in,” explained Dr Bex Hewett. “We conducted two studies to test our hypotheses. First, we surveyed 298 managers over three months to understand how their feelings of competence and autonomy relate to their feelings of accountability, and how that then informs whether they implement practices.

“Second, we surveyed 164 paired sets of managers and employees to validate the findings of the first survey, and to see how managers implementing HR procedures is related to the experience of employees.”

An important nuance is what managers feel accountable for. In both studies the researchers found that managers who feel more accountable for following HR processes were more consistent about following these, compared to those who felt accountable for achieving outcomes such recruiting a new employee quickly, or ensuring high performance.

“We found that managers with high levels of autonomy felt more accountable for outcomes, which didn’t encourage them to implement HR practices. On the one hand, this implies that autonomy is a problem but autonomy is also a powerful and important motivator at work so it should be nurtured wherever possible. The good news is that this was mitigated by a combination of autonomy and competence. When managers had freedom in how they go about their management role while at the same time having enough knowledge and training to do it effectively, they are more consistent in their implementation. 

“Our findings are therefore important because they highlight the importance of training managers about the HR aspects of their role – something which is often neglected in organisations – alongside that autonomy,” said Dr Hewett. 

What’s more, employees respond positively to consistent HR implementation, according to the manager-employee study. The employees in the study were more likely to go the extra mile – putting in discretionary effort – when their manager implemented HR practices as intended. This means that they were willing to do work activities that are not directly recognised by their organisation’s reward systems, such as helping their coworkers.

So how can businesses apply this new knowledge? Ensuring managers are properly trained with the right competences and have sufficient autonomy in HR tasks is more likely to result in line managers who manage their teams with consistency. Make sure managers have the knowledge in how to be effective people managers alongside giving them autonomy in how they do them. This means investing in effective onboarding, training and support for line managers. 

This research is particularly important for inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in organisations. Structured, consistent HR decisions are important for these outcomes, so if organisations really want to make an impact here then training line managers for the HR part of their role is important.

The researchers also recommended making managers aware that they are accountable for following HR practices as intended – using the correct process – rather than holding them accountable for outcomes, which might often be outside of their control. “Organisations can achieve this by emphasising the importance of consistency; by providing feedback when managers engage in the process; and by ensuring that managers’ performance evaluations are based on following the process when they implement HR measures.

“Emphasise the how, not the what. Rather than providing goals focused on achieving outcomes like finding the best candidate, the focus should be on how these goals are achieved, such as educating managers in the benefits of structured interviews for selection.” 

The ideas explored in this research are integrated into a three-day executive education programme at RSM, Beyond HR: People, Culture and Transformation that helps people to make more impact. This programme is for people experienced in HR moving into a more strategic role, anyone looking for a new challenge, or people moving towards an HR role.