Involving British line managers in HRM in a small non‐profit work organisation

Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to detail the formal and informal aspects of involving line managers in human resource management (HRM).

Design/method/approach

The investigation was conducted by interviewing line managers at one work organisation.

Findings

Formally, line managers state that they accept their HR roles, are competent in HRM, and have time/support to do it effectively, but informally do not place much reliance on written HR policies, revealing a degree of “loose coupling” between the formal/informal elements of their involvement in HRM.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could ascertain if the findings herein on the formal and informal development of managers by their seniors and peers in HRM are common to other work organisations. Limitations are that this is a single case relying on qualitative data, meaning issues of generalisability of findings arise.

Practical implications

It may be of benefit to discover to what extent the informal internal networks line managers use to make decisions in HRM occur in other work organisations.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the existing knowledge by providing empirical data on the formal and informal aspects of involving line managers in HRM in an under‐researched context (a small British non‐profit organisation without a HR function), which adds to the literature on actual line management practices in HRM.

Citation

Hunter, W. and Renwick, D. (2009), "Involving British line managers in HRM in a small non‐profit work organisation", Employee Relations, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 398-411. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450910965441