Introduction

This paper introduces the High-Performance Work System (HPWS) at the HR practices of HealthReach which influences the work efficiency of employee. This study proposes HPWS for HealthReach consisting of four components – selection, training, performance appraisals and compensation. The integrated design of these isolated components indirectly improves the employee attitude and discretionary behaviours. Employee attitude is measured by job satisfaction, employee commitment and empowerment. This study discusses the problem of HealthReach and proposes the potential solution with the help of HPWS.

Aim of the proposal:

• The study aims to improve the performance level of the staff in HealthReach.

Issues of HealthReach:

1. Casualty of nurses

The work culture of Healthcare organizations requires much seriousness compared to other job roles as they deal with the lives of people. HealthReach management observes a lack of serious attitude among their nurses and it causes regular mistakes due to casualty.

2. Lack of commitment

HealthReach management notices a lack of employee commitment in their work culture, which ruins the brand image and decreases the profitability of the firm. The nurses and other staff refuse to extend their duty after the end of the shift hours even in the time of emergency circumstances (Van De Voorde, Paauwe & Van Veldhoven, 2011). In addition, they have lack moral sense when they blame each other for their faults instead of confessing own fault.

3. Overstressed for long hours duty and rotational shift

The duty of the healthcare sector is known for stretching long duty hours, which creates stress and work burden employees. They get exhausted physically and emotionally which leads them to grow burnout symptoms (“Stress and Alzheimer Disease”, 2011). This is caused by job-related cynicism when they feel lack of recognition.

4. Absenteeism

The overrated absenteeism in HealthReach is ruining the staffing cost. The study has found reasons behind absenteeism are Lack of job satisfaction and worse clinical environment in the hospital, which causes sickness of the candidates (Urban, 2018).

5. Employee turnover

The research has found that the average turnover rate of Nurses is 17.2% (LI & JONES, 2012).  It creates a worldwide labour shortage in healthcare sector and impacts the quality of patient care and wellbeing of the nation. The reason behind the turnover rate is over stress and lack of job satisfaction.

The potential solution with the help of HPWS:

i) Selection

Selecting the right human capital in the time of recruitment will be effective for HRM practices. In this process, the HR managers have to locate the potential candidates, evaluating them through interviews and recruit them in the organization (Verworn, Schwarz & Herstatt, 2009). HR professionals select candidates based on their qualifications, skills, and Experience. The complexity of the selection process depends on the job position and company structure. This study proposes that during the selection process the board members to obey the enforcement laws of anti-discrimination, which protects the equality treatment policy of HealthReach. The study emphasizes this component of HPWS because employee selection implies putting right people for right job. As HealthReach is concerned with the casualty of the nurses, it is necessary to check the skills and qualifications matched with organization.  When an employer chooses right person for the right job, automatically the performance increases, which leads to the increase of productivity, improvement of the environment of the company, the employees, will be aligned with the company culture and the harmony among team members is consistent.

Theory

 The study prefers a ‘best fit’ approach to enhance the performance of the firm. ‘Best fit’ approach ensures that the HRM strategies are aligned with the circumstances of the company. This approach helps to meet the need of organizational performance and organizational behaviour effectively. In the selection of HealthReach nurses, the HR team must keep in mind that the candidate should be empathic in nature as this is a characteristic of emotional intelligence required for the job or must-have criteria for the job. Also by using best-fit approach, the HR department can select a candidate suitable for company culture. The study also explains ‘best fit’ as choosing a person who has passion for this work. When an individual has passion for work, their attitude to the work will be positive. Apart from this, ‘best fit’ describes right qualifications, experience, and motivation of the candidate.

Outcome:

1. It will ensure the commitment of healthcare nurses.
2. As the right people for the right place will be chosen, the turnover and absenteeism rate will be decreased.
3. As a consequence, patient care and wellbeing will be ensured with increased client satisfaction.
4. This implementation will utilize the staffing cost properly.

ii) Training and Development 

This paper proposes training and development for the employees of HealthReach which will enhance the competencies of the human capital and the firm. It will help the company to gain competitive over rivals in the current situation and also in future. The HRM addressed the need for cross-functional and multi-skill training while emphasizing on the specific training. The lack of proficiency among nurses creates massive employee turnover rates as well as increases absenteeism.

Theory

In order to explain the justification of this HR practice, the study uses the approach of ‘Resource-based view’. According to this following theory, an organization has external and internal resources for exploiting to achieve sustainable competitive advantage (Healthcare Editorial Office, 2014). Human capital or employees are considered as the internal resources of the firm. Resources based view approves the contribution of the employees in a firm. As per LI & JONES (2012), an employees’ uniqueness is the resource of the firm. Through the application of training and development, the company can improve the performance of the staff effectively by utilizing their unique talent and also ensure their skills for future performance.

Outcome

1. The desired outcome of this HR practice will be an improved work performance as it develops their skills and fulfils the lack of proficiency in major areas.
2. The potential outcome of this practice will be a good relationship between employees and employers as well as also among the team members.
3. It will negate the intention of absenteeism and turnover among employees as the development process enhances their confidence and efficiency level.
4. It will induce motivation towards the work and increase job satisfaction.

iii) Performance appraisals

Performance appraisal is an effective HR practice of acknowledging the performance of employees. This creates motivation among the employees and engages them with the work. The HR department measures the performance of individual employee’s work and also an individual team’s effort in terms of achieving organizational goals (Maślanka-Wieczorek, 2014). Performance appraisal can be conducted by giving frequent good feedback, giving rewards and also allowing autonomy by empowering the employees.

Theory

This study Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs as a motivational theory for explaining the justification of the HR practice, performance appraisals. As per Maslow, human needs are categorized into five levels (Luthra, 2015). Employee motivation is achieved at the 4th level from the base. Employee commitment is achieved at the top level. According to Maslow when the basic needs are achieved in the lower levels, the employees aspire for the higher-level needs. Employee motivation comes through: Recognition of their effort, reward giving, incentives, verbal appreciation in front of public, Team lunch or movie trip arranged by the management pointing out errors in private discussion (Gulzar, 2017). The human interest of getting reward, earning incentives, receiving acknowledgment in front of team, enjoying team lunch or movie trip motivates them or engage them to works.

Outcome

1. Increase in productivity
2. Improvement of the working environment
3. this implementation will impact on the employee behaviour
4. It will reduce the stress
5. It will create more engagement
6. It will increase competitiveness among staffs
7. It will reduce the turnover rate and absenteeism
8. It enhances individual performance and also team performance.
9. It ensures high performance and increased productivity.

iv) Compensation

Compensation refers to employee benefits like medical allowance, car facility, free food which can effectively change the attitude of employee and regulate employee behaviour. The compensation is directly or indirectly associated with the payment process of employee (Conway & Monks, 2007). The compensations provided to the employees are actually deducted from their salary. This practice also promotes the organization for attracting staff in the time of hiring (Bostan, Condrea, Burciu & Morariu, 2009). Compensation is also added with the raise of salary as per performance growth of individual employees.

Theory

This paper advocates this HR practice with the help of Equity theory. This theory gives an understanding of employee’s views on their contribution (Aldamoe, Yazam & Ahmid, 2012). According to this theory, they perceive the organization based on their return benefit from the organization ad they compare their compensation inside and outside of the firm. Building a strong perception of employees’ minds will convert their low esteemed behaviour into highly productive behaviour.

Outcome

1. This HR practice ensures the productive behaviour of employees.
2. This implementation reduces turnover rates and the tendency to absenteeism.
3. It will improve the performance and efficiency level of employees.
4. It will be effective in attracting new staff and decreasing labour shortage.

Conclusion

In order to gain a competitive advantage over the industry rivals, the firm relies on human capital to a greater extent. The study finds that the desired outcome will be met through the implementation of the four practices described.

References:

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