Anchoring human resource management to sustain employee performance at Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Abstract

Orientation: Practices employed to manage the human resources at Johannesburg (JHB) Metropolitan Municipality were explored to unearth their impact on employee performance.Research purpose: The study sought to reveal the human resource management (HRM) practices that could support employee performance at local government.The motivation for the study: The achievement of organisational goals depends on HRM practices that enhance employee competencies. Employee performance in municipalities is often considered to be substandard. This study aimed to strengthen HRM practices to enhance performance at JHB Metropolitan Municipality.Research approach/design and method: The qualitative inquiry adopted an interpretive stance to reveal participants’ experiences that relate to employee performance. Ten participants were identified purposively and the obtained data were analysed with the assistance of the Atlas.ti software.Main findings: Whilst the organisation’s employee-attraction practices were strong, its retention practices were weak. Employees generally felt undervalued, which negatively affected their morale and the organisation’s goal attainment.Practical/managerial implications: The organisation should introduce effective employee-retention strategies, focussing on thorough needs analyses, skills development and rewards linked to performance. Building employee commitment should be prioritised.Study contribution: Human resource management effectiveness in the Johannesburg Municipality would be enhanced by appropriate soft HRM investment in senior management either through recruitment or development or both. Furthermore, the municipal culture should change from HRM practices that are influenced by tradition to an adaptive approach that responds to public-sector dynamics and varying employee expectations.

La gestión del empleo público: una revisión de la literatura

“…Determinar los factores influyentes en la gestión del trabajo en organismos públicos. Sixpence et al (2021) Revelar las prácticas de gestión de recursos humanos (GRH) que podrían apoyar el rendimiento de los empleados en la administración local. Gökalp et al (2020) Analizar sobre cómo mejorar la calidad del Proceso de Gestión de Personal Público.…”

“…En suma, la gestión que se ejecuta entorno al recurso humano se centra estratégicamente con la meta de fortalecer el rendimiento laboral (Sixpence et al, 2021;Gopinath, 2020). Desde el enfoque de la administración pública se infiere que la manera de brindar los servicios públicos y en cuanto a la intervención en la comunidad no son estáticos pues presentan un constante cambio, por consecuencia también se genera una modificación en relación a las competencias laborales del recurso humano socilitado así como el proceso de selección laboral y la gestión de los trabajadores (Galindo, 2019).…”