New Models of High Performance Work Systems - Equality Authority

new models of high performancework systems >managing employee involvement and participation,and implementing diversity andequality strategies, as legitimate concerns fororganisational strategy in their own right.The findings demonstrate the powerful andsynergistic effect of a multi-dimensionalmodel of HPWS, where the net impactof combining strategic human resourcemanagement (HRM) with employeeinvolvement and participation systems,equality and diversity systems and flexibleworking systems, significantly exceeds theimpact of any of these systems in isolation.In economic terms, the median-sizedcompany in this sample (270 employees)employing the multi-dimensional model ofHPWS would have performance advantagesincluding almost €12,000,000 (or €44,399per employee) in labour productivity, and€556,200 (or €2,061 per employee) inworkforce innovation. Such findings mean,in other words, that we can only begin tofully understand management systemsin high performance companies when wethink of them as sophisticated systemswhere strategic HRM is integrated into,and balanced with, systems for managingemployee involvement and participation,diversity and equality, and flexible working.The findings have important implicationson a number of levels, not just for thosewith leadership or management responsibilitiesat enterprise level, but for publicpolicy makers and for the academic researchcommunity. The findings reaffirm the organisationaldevelopment framework set outin the National Workplace Strategy, whichsees the Workplace of the Future beingshaped by concerns including employeeinvolvement and participation, and equalityand diversity strategies. The findings shouldencourage researchers, practitioners andthe public policy community alike toconfidently redefine the scope of HPWS, andto focus attention on the need for employeeinvolvement and participation, equality anddiversity strategies and flexible workingsystems to emerge as mainstream concernsin defining better ways forward for theIrish economy.