6 SCHWERPUNKT_INTERVIEW PERSONALquarterly 03 / 22 PERSONALquarterly: In your research, you analyze how HR practices and policies can be designed and implemented in an effective way. What role does communication play in these processes? David Guest: Communication is recognised as an important HR practice in its own right that can affect individual and organizational performance and employee well-being. This is likely to include communication down, up and across the organization. The how, the what and the why of communication are all important. The way in which the content of HR practices is communicated to employees – the how – is an important first step to ensure a message gets through. Take the example of how to deal with bullying or mobbing. Relevant HR practice about how managers should deal with cases of bullying might be posted on a web page where few managers see it or it may be explicitly included in all management training programmes. The choice of medium might provide a signal about how important the message is considered to be. Our research reveals that when the information was posted on the web pages, many line managers were not aware of their responsibilities and failed to act effectively when bullying occurred leading to many unhappy workers. PERSONALquarterly: In one of your recent articles, you describe HR practices and policies as a signal that HR managers can send to employees. Why is this signalling perspective helpful? David Guest: Everything HR does is perceived either positively or sometimes negatively by employees. HR managers therefore need to be aware of the signals provided by HR policies and practices. Signalling theory can offer guidelines for HR managers about effective communication of HR. It proposes that effectiveness depends on the qualities of the signaller and the message as well as the willingness of the receiver to consider the message and trust the sender. It also suggests that the context within which messages are sent and received as well as the medium by which messages are communicated are important. Signalling theory is often concerned with how people deal with asymmetrical information where one party knows more than the other. A good example is the recruitment process where the signaller, the organization, knows a lot more about the job The how, the what and the why of communication are all important Das Interview mit David Guest führte Madleen Meier-Barthold and the organization than the receiver, the potential applicant. The applicant has to decide whether the information provided about the attractiveness of the job and the quality of the organization is credible. In the absence of clear information they will seek other cues and research reveals that unintended signals can also be important. For example, the impression made by an interviewer or speed of communication about an interview date can provide important but unintended signals about the quality of the organization. Another example concerns communicating the psychological contract which is concerned with the promises and commitments made to employees by the organization. Newcomers to the organization search for explicit and implicit signals about these promises and commitments on topics such as job security or promotion prospects and will often use HR practices as signals of what to expect. PERSONALquarterly: How can HR departments ensure that employees understand organizational goals and behave accordingly? David Guest: There is much interest in the idea of a “strong” HRM system. Advocates argue that all HR practices should be distinctive and relevant in relation to organizational goals, that there is consensus about them beyond the HR department and that there is consistency of application across the organization. It is essential that the HR practices are clearly communicated in a way that can be understood by all managers and employees providing consistent signals that help to create an HR climate that fits with and supports the organizational goals. Consistent communication of HR practices both within the organizational hierarchy and across departments is essential to achieve a shared understanding of what HRM is trying to achieve and how it makes a significant contribution to organizational goals. For this to be effective, the HR policy has to be ‘owned’ by all senior managers and not just the HR department. Researchers have consistently found that there is a gap between intended and implemented HR practices. One of the reasons for this is that line managers cannot always see a clear line of sight between HR policy and practice and organizational goals and are therefore reluctant to spend a lot of time on HR implementation. A strong HR system can help to address this.
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