Working together, thinking differently? HRM practices and trust in the health care context

Abstract

PurposeProviding health care services requires collaboration between several occupations. This study aimed to reveal how three occupational groups (nurses, physicians, and administrators) perceive human resources management practices (HRMP) and whether these practices are differently associated with trust in the clinic manager.Design/methodology/approachThe study included 290 employees from 29 primary care clinics, all affiliated with a health care organisation that operates in the public sector. Self-reporting questionnaires measured participants’ perceptions of six HRMP across occupations and their association with trust in the clinic manager. Variation between occupational groups was analysed through one-way analysis of variance (for groups’ perceptions of HRMP and trust in manager) and t-tests (for the association between perceived HRMP and trust in manager).FindingsThe results indicate some differences in perceived HRMP and trust across groups. Also, some differences were found across occupations regarding the relationship between HRMP and trust in the clinic manager: Nurses’ perceptions significantly differed from those of physicians and administrators, yet there was no significant difference between the two latter groups.Practical implicationsHealth care organisations should expand their human resources architecture and customise their HRMP for each occupational group based on that group’s perceptions of the workplace. This can nurture trust in managers and create a climate for trust as a mechanism that encourages employees from distinct occupational groups to work together for the benefit of their clinic, organisation, and patients.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the discussion about the contextualisation of HRMP, providing insights regarding perceptions of HRMP as an enabler of an organisation’s strategy.

Leadership Development: Exploring Relational Leadership Implications in Healthcare Organizations

“…The present paper extends the understanding of leadership development by viewing leadership from the standpoint of interactions (leader–member), rather than just from the standpoint of the leader or the follower as separated individuals [ 24 , 117 , 118 ], together with trying to morph a broader framework on how relational leadership is constructed in healthcare organizations by describing the forming (context of interaction), enabling, and emerging (relationships as outcomes) of leadership [ 7 ]. Leadership theory today is in a post-heroic phase and exploits its dimensions beyond focusing only on leaders [ 119 ] towards any level of connectivity between actors in the workplace in order to manage complexities in healthcare [ 120 ]. Nonetheless, healthcare organizations are still strongly hierarchically structured [ 19 , 121 ]; thus, this research unfolded the challenges at the leader–member level of communication [ 122 ], underpinning the importance of focusing on both sides of an interaction and on the effect of relational dynamics emerging through those interactions in order to optimize outcomes.…”

“…at the individual level of interactions, and there is still room for understanding how those dynamics coexist at the collective level (e.g., intergroup silence) in healthcare organizations [ 72 , 128 , 129 ]. Due to the permeating presence of the aforementioned dynamics in healthcare environments [ 55 , 120 ], it is highly recommended future researchers access those dynamics [ 130 ] to add to the value of leadership development.…”