Employee Relations

Introduction to Relational HRM

Relational Human Resource Management (HRM) looks at how a company's HR practices connect with how people work together. It goes beyond just seeing employees as skills to be used. It values the relationships at work and how HRM can help create and keep good relationships. This is especially important as the world becomes more connected and teamwork is more common.

Key Concepts

  • Human Capital: What each person knows, their skills, and what they can do.

  • Social Capital: The helpful connections and resources you get from having good relationships.

Integration of HRM and Social Network Research

Relational HRM brings together a company's HR rules and how people relate to each other at work. It looks at how these relationships affect HR practices and how HR practices affect these relationships. It expands HRM research by studying how HR impacts the patterns of relationships and includes the company's environment in the study of social networks.

Methodological and Conceptual Elements

New studies focus on clearly defining HRM and relationships, separating individual HR actions from groups of actions. It's also important to look at how these relationships change over time and how HRM affects relationships at different levels of the company.

Systematic Review

A detailed review of 195 studies on relational HRM from 2001 to 2020 checked important things like HR practices, relationships, research methods, and changes over time. It also looked at how correct, reliable, and applicable the studies were.

Sample and Procedure

Studies were found through important research papers and by searching for keywords in Web of Science. The search was narrowed to studies published between 2001 and 2020 in 16 leading journals.

Inclusion Criteria

To be included, studies had to be research articles using numbers and statistics, written in English. They needed to report statistical relationships between HR practices and relationships at work. They also had to look at relationships in terms of how they are structured and how they contribute to social capital, focusing on people.

Coding Procedure

Studies were analyzed using a detailed system to code information, focusing on how correct, reliable, and applicable they were and how well the statistics were used. The data was coded into simple yes/no categories.

Construct Validity: Interpersonal Relationships

This checks if the studies measure what they say they are measuring. Key things coded include who is involved in the relationships, where the relationship data comes from, the structure of the relationships (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many), how to measure the network structure, which way resources are transferred (one way or both ways), the purpose of the relationship (helpful, emotional, or unclear), and if the relationship is positive, negative, mixed, neutral, or unclear.

Construct Validity: HR Practices

The content of HR practices was coded using categories from Posthuma et al. (2013). HR practices were also coded based on how they were put together (single practice, groups of practices, or unclear) and what type they were (stated/intended, done/actual, or how they were seen).

Internal Validity

Internal validity looks at whether the study correctly shows cause-and-effect relationships based on the statistics. It focuses on whether there is a connection, which came first, and if there are other factors that could explain the relationship. Research models were coded as direct, mediated, moderated, or moderated mediation. Independent variables and data structure (cross-sectional, longitudinal, etc.) were also coded.

External Validity

External validity checks if the findings can be applied to other situations. It codes the level at which results are measured (individual, pair, team, department, company) and where the sample comes from (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania, or not specified).

Statistical Conclusion Validity

This assesses whether the conclusions about relationships are accurate based on the statistical evidence. It looks at the statistical techniques used (AN[C]OVA/MAN[C]OVA, multiple regression, multilevel analysis, structural equation modeling).

Prevalence and Trends

Studies often looked at relationships between employees and their managers and coworkers. It was common for employees to rate the relationships. Most studies used data from only one person. Few studies looked at relationships using network measures or two-way exchanges.

HR Content and Variable Construction

Studies focused on training and development, job design, pay and benefits, and performance management. Most studies looked at individual HR practices rather than groups of practices. Many studies measured HR practices based on how the person receiving them perceived them.

Internal and External Validity Threats

Using cross-sectional designs (data collected at one point in time) can cause issues with internal validity. Having a narrow range of outcomes and geographic regions can cause issues with external validity.

Statistical Conclusion Validity

Using regression analysis too much threatens validity, but this is improving as more studies use SEM and multilevel analysis.

Employee Relationships

Studies of relationships between employees often looked at the two-way transfer of resources. Studies between employees and supervisors focused on how HR affects the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and supervisor support. Relationships between employees and top managers were studied the least.

Future Research Agenda

Future research should study changes over time, how HRM affects different levels of the company, data from both employees and supervisors, the effects of HR on relationships between employees and top managers, and the role of HR managers in shaping relationships between employees and HR.

Supervisor and Top Manager Relationships

Future studies should look at how HRM shapes relationships between supervisors. Another area to study is the relationships between top managers and lower-level managers, as well as how well HR is implemented.

HR Manager Relationships

Future research can study the relationships within the HR department, which can affect how policies are made and how well practices work.

External Actor Relationships

More study of relationships between top managers that cross company lines is a good opportunity. Looking at how HR managers connect and mediate between different groups can be done using social network theory.

Broader Considerations

Future studies can be improved by:

  • Understanding that HRM and relationships change over time

  • Considering the dynamic nature of HRM and relationships.

  • Using analysis of relational data

  • Looking at how effects depend on the situation

  • Including how positive or negative relationships are.

  • Using human versus general points of reference to measures.

  • Studying HR practices that affect relationships.

  • Considering different levels of analysis.

Concluding Remarks

Research on HR practices and relationships comes from many different research areas, but this review focused on studies using numbers and statistics. The findings show that the research is becoming more accurate, but some issues with validity need to be better addressed with improved methods and theories. The research agenda provided should help guide future work in this area.