7CO02 Explain how high-performance work practices are associated with positive organizational and employee outcomes: CIPD Assignment, UK

2.4 Explain how high-performance work practices are associated with positive organizational and employee outcomes.

Question 8
Explain the view that high-performance work practices benefit both employers and employees when they are introduced or enhanced. Illustrate your answer with examples.

While precise definitions of what is meant by the term ‘high-performance work practices’ vary somewhat, in general terms the question is referring here to a ‘bundle of best practices’ which work together to help an organisation maximise its capacity to attract, retain, motivate and engage outstanding performers. The aim is to create a thriving culture and to attain the status of ’employer of choice’ in an industry.

The term is typically associated with sophisticated approaches to the management of people which blend performance-related reward with heavy investment in training and development, high-validity methods of employee selection such as psychometric testing and assessment centres, a great deal of authentic employee involvement, team working and autonomy for employees, and a range of attractive flexible working options. There are numerous potential examples, each of which could form the basis of a thoughtful and well-informed answer.

It is not difficult to argue that, all else being equal, employees stand to benefit when these kinds of practices are introduced and enhanced. They are after all intended to make an organisation more attractive as a place to work with a view to securing the services of strong, highly engaged staff. It must, however, always be remembered that some people simply want a regular job with set hours and are not interested in being highly engaged or empowered.

There will be others who object to the individualistic nature of most HPW practices and see them as potentially undermining trade unions and a Advanced Diploma 7 collective approach to the management of employee relations. Generally though the debates are about how far employers benefit from introducing these types of practice as a bundle. There are considerable costs involved and there is no guarantee that superior levels of performance will always result, particularly during periods of volatility and rapid change. Strong answers to this question will therefore use examples to demonstrate explain how HPW practices often do benefit both employers and employees, but that there are exceptions. This question is not quite so straight forward as it appears at first sight.