Beyond great data: Helping line managers make better talent decisions

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Fisher Hazucha ◽  
Laura Ann Preston ◽  
Renee M. BeShears ◽  
Matthew R. Walter ◽  
Miya Maysent
Keyword(s):  
Line Managers

Social workers as state and citizen-agents. How social workers in a German, Dutch and Flemish public welfare organisation manage this dual responsibility in practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110097
Author(s):  
Michelle van der Tier ◽  
Koen Hermans ◽  
Marianne Potting
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Public Welfare ◽  
National Study ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Line Manager ◽  
Cross National Study ◽  
The Relationship

Summary Professional standards state that social workers in public welfare organisations should act as state and citizen-agents. However, the literature provides little insight into how social workers navigate this dual responsibility in their daily work. To address this gap, we used Maynard-Moody and Musheno’s theory on state and citizens-agent narratives to analyse street-level practices of social workers in three local welfare organisations in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. This article explores how three specific organisational mechanisms (decision-making authority; the role of the front-line manager and the degree of specialisation) affect the ways social workers navigate both agent narratives in public welfare organisations. The data were gathered by a mixed method design of in-depth interviews and focus groups. Findings Our study shows that social workers struggle with the tensions that intrude between the state and citizen-agent narrative. We found that the extent to which both narratives are adopted by social workers is affected by a complicated interaction between the beliefs of social workers about social justice and responsiveness and the selected organisational mechanisms. Moreover, we found that critical reflection and a supportive attitude of front-line managers can help social workers to manage their double responsibility in practice. Application Our cross-national study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between organisational mechanisms and the moral deliberations of social workers regarding their dual responsibility. It provides in-depth insights into the tensions and conflicts social workers in different contexts face daily on account of their dual responsibility.

Experiences of job demand and control: A study of first line managers in for-profit psychiatric and addiction care

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Linda Widar ◽  
Erika Wall ◽  
Sven Svensson
Keyword(s):  
First Line ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Job Demand ◽  
Organizational Position ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Line Manager ◽  
Addiction Care ◽  
And Control ◽  
Demand Control

BACKGROUND: The complex position of a first line manager is characterized by heavy workload and contradictory demands. Little is known about how first line managers experience demand and control in their work. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore experiences of demand and control among first line managers within psychiatric and addiction care. METHOD: In the present study, interviews with ten managers in for-profit psychiatric and addiction care in Sweden were analyzed with a phenomenographic approach. RESULTS: The managers experiences of demand and control implied varied and extensive responsibilities for a wide range of professions; regulation by organizational, economic, and political frameworks; creating balance in their work; and handling the emergence and consequences of acute crisis. These experiences of demand and control involved high and contradictory demands together with coexisting high and low levels of control. Many of their work characteristics could be described in terms of both demand and control. CONSLUSION: The first line managers experiences of demand and control are more complex than implied by the job demand control theory. Our results suggest that the organizational position and branch should be considered when identifying health hazards in the work environment of first line managers.

scholarly journals Can Working Conditions and Employees’ Mental Health Be Improved via Job Stress Interventions Designed and Implemented by Line Managers and Human Resources on an Operational Level?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Akerstrom ◽  
Linda Corin ◽  
Jonathan Severin ◽  
Ingibjörg H. Jonsdottir ◽  
Lisa Björk
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Sickness Absence ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Employee Turnover ◽  
Reference Groups ◽  
Intervention Effect ◽  
Intervention Effects ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Operational Level ◽  
Organisational Level

Organisational-level interventions are recommended for decreasing sickness absence, but knowledge of the optimal design and implementation of such interventions is scarce. We collected data on working conditions, motivation, health, employee turnover, and sickness absence among participants in a large-scale organisational-level intervention comprising measures designed and implemented by line managers and their human resources partners (i.e., operational-level). Information regarding the process, including the implementation of measures, was retrieved from a separate process evaluation, and the intervention effects were investigated using mixed-effects models. Data from reference groups were used to separate the intervention effect from the effects of other concurrent changes at the workplace. Overall, working conditions and motivation improved during the study for both the intervention and reference groups, but an intervention effect was only seen for two of 13 evaluated survey items: clearness of objectives (p = 0.02) and motivation (p = 0.06). No changes were seen in employees’ perceived health, and there were no overall intervention effects on employee turnover or sickness absence. When using operational-level workplace interventions to improve working conditions and employees’ health, efforts must be made to achieve a high measure-to-challenge correspondence; that is, the implemented measures must be a good match to the problems that they are intended to address.

Aligning talent management with approaches to equality and diversity

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 422-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette Harrisr ◽  
Carley Foster
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Work Force ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Special Treatment ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fair Treatment ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Recruitment And Selection ◽  
Skills Shortages

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation of talent management interventions in UK public sector organisations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws upon the findings of a qualitative study of talent management in two UK public sector case study organisations.FindingsImplementing talent management was found to present particular tensions for public sector managers, particularly in terms of its alignment with well‐embedded diversity and equality policies and their own perceptions of fair treatment in the workplace. Despite an acknowledgement that the sector needs to attract, develop and retain the most talented individuals to achieve its modernisation agenda, interventions which require singling out those individuals for special treatment challenges many of its established practices for recruitment and selection, employee development and career management.Practical implicationsPublic sector organisations need to invest both time and effort into developing appropriate and relevant approaches to talent management, which take proper account of line managers' perceptions of fair treatment and established organisational approaches to diversity and equality.Originality/valueTalent management is a topic of growing interest from employers concerned about their work force demographics, specific skills shortages and the retention of high potential employees but the concepts that inform talent interventions are often unclear or are an uneasy fit with the beliefs and understandings about fair treatment of those who have to implement them.

scholarly journals Line managers’ hiring intentions regarding people with mental health problems: a cross-sectional study on workplace stigma

2021 ◽  
pp. oemed-2020-106955
Author(s):  
Kim M E Janssens ◽  
Jaap van Weeghel ◽  
Carolyn Dewa ◽  
Claire Henderson ◽  
Jolanda J. P. Mathijssen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Job Applicant ◽  
Workplace Stigma

ObjectivesStigma may negatively affect line managers’ intention to hire people with mental health problems (MHP). This study aims to evaluate line managers’ knowledge and attitudes concerning job applicants with MHP, and to assess which factors are associated with the intention (not) to hire an applicant with MHP.MethodsA sample of Dutch line managers (N=670) filled out a questionnaire on their knowledge, attitudes and experiences concerning applicants/employees with MHP. Descriptive analyses and multiple regression analyses were used.ResultsThe majority (64%) was reluctant to hire a job applicant with MHP, despite the fact that only 7% had negative and 52% had positive personal experiences with such employees. Thirty per cent were reluctant to hire an applicant if they knew the applicant had past MHP. Associated with higher reluctance to hire an applicant with MHP were the concerns that it will lead to long-term sickness absence (β (95% CI)=0.39 (0.23 to 0.55)), that the employee cannot handle the work (β (95% CI)=0.16 (0.00 to 0.33)) that one cannot count on the employee (β (95% CI)=0.41 (0.23 to 0.58)) and higher manager education level (β (95% CI)=0.25 (0.05 to 0.44)). Conversely, associated with positive hiring intentions was being in favour of diversity and/or inclusive enterprise (β(95% CI)=−0.64 (−0.87 to −0.41)).ConclusionsAs the majority of managers were reluctant to hire applicants with MHP, and even 30% were reluctant to hire applicants who had past MHP, these findings have major implications for social inclusion in the Netherlands, where about 75% of employees would disclose MHP at work.

scholarly journals Conditions for Workplace Learning as a New First-Line Manager in Elderly Care

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Wastesson ◽  
Anna Fogelberg Eriksson ◽  
Peter Nilsson ◽  
Maria Gustavsson
Keyword(s):  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Professional Experience ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
First Line ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Learning Conditions ◽  
Line Manager

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to explore first-line managers’ experiences of workplace learning in elderly care, with a particular focus on the conditions for learning when entering a new workplace as the new manager. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 35 first-line managers from three organisations in Sweden. Four learning conditions emerged as being particularly significant for first-line managers: the managers’ previous professional experience, job-specific training, social support, and the joint repertoire of organisational arrangements. These conditions shifted in importance during the process of entering the workplace, and the way in which the conditions gave access to learning for different managers varied. The managers’ professional experience and others’ recognition of them had a considerable impact on their admittance to the new workplace. After the initial entry phase, the other three learning conditions became more significant and played a role in enabling or constraining the managers’ learning and becoming the new manager. One conclusion is that contextual and work experiences from elderly care were significant for learning during the initial phase and in order to gain access to workplace learning. Another conclusion is that high expectations and great responsibility were placed on the managers to satisfy their own learning needs. This implies that professional, social and emotional support that is received informally is just as significant for learning as formalised training for entering a new workplace as a new manager.

Juggling on the line

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Evans
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Employee Relations ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
High Level

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the interplay between the role of front line managers (FLMs) and their contribution to the reported gap between intended and actual human resource management (HRM). Design/methodology/approach – The findings draw on case study research using 51 semi-structured interviews with managers across two UK retail organisations between 2012 and 2013. Findings – This paper argues that FLMs are key agents in people management and play a critical role in the gap between intended and actual employee relations (ER) and HRM. The research found that these managers held a high level of responsibility for people management, but experienced a lack of institutional support, monitoring or incentives to implement according to central policy. This provided an opportunity for them to modify or resist intended policy and the tensions inherent in their role were a critical factor in this manipulation of their people management responsibilities. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from only one industry and two organisations so the conclusions need to be considered within these limitations. Practical implications – Efforts to address the gap between intended and actual ER/HRM within organisations will need to consider the role tensions of both front line and middle managers. Originality/value – This research provides a more nuanced understanding of the interplay between FLMs and the gap between intended and actual HRM within organisations. It addresses the issue of FLMs receiving less attention in the HRM-line management literature and the call to research their role in the translation of policy into practice.

Differences in the impact of AMO bundles of line managers and frontline workers on the performance of manufacturing firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Bayo-Moriones ◽  
Alejandro Bello-Pindado
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
Hrm Practices ◽  
Manufacturing Performance ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact on manufacturing performance of human resource management (HRM) practices across two job levels within manufacturing firms in Argentina and Uruguay: that of line managers and frontline workers. HRM practices are categorised into three bundles defined by the AMO theoretical framework: ability, motivation and opportunity.Design/methodology/approachThe article uses data from a survey to 301 manufacturing plants in Uruguay and Argentina. Given the characteristics of the dependent variable, linear regression models have been estimated in order to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that the ability and opportunity bundles for line managers are positively associated with manufacturing performance. However, only the motivation bundle affects manufacturing performance for frontline workers.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations are the use of cross-sectional data, the focus on two specific countries and the analysis of two employee categories that are not completely homogenous. The paper extends the contingency perspective in HRM by examining the relevance of job level as a contingent factor in the HRM-performance relationship in the manufacturing industry.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that manufacturing companies should target HR investments more towards line managers than to frontline employees. More specifically, they should concentrate efforts on the ability and opportunity bundles.Originality/valueThe article contributes to the very limited empirical evidence on the impact of HRM differentiation on firm performance by analysing sub-dimensions in a context not previously analysed.

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