Carol T. Kulik

The Human Resource (HR) research literature's dominant narrative has historically focused on the strategic activities of HR professionals. HR researchers view HR professionals as their primary end users and have prioritized the business case for strategic HR. But as line managers become more involved in delivering—and even designing—HR activities in their local work environments, there is a greater need for HR researchers to attend to operational HR (the nuts and bolts). This need is particularly pressing in Asia Pacific organizations, where small HR units rely on line managers to deliver people management in dynamic and turbulent work environments. The nuts‐and‐bolts problem takes several different forms and is visible across the HR literature (e.g., in literature discussing transfer of training, star performer management, and employee alumni relationships). At a minimum, HR researchers should write actionable practical recommendations that enable readers to find the relevant nuts and bolts scattered across the HR academic literature. Fully addressing the nuts‐and‐bolts problem might involve HR researchers co‐designing research with managers and/or inviting managers to interpret research findings. In the long run, these activities will deliver an HR research literature that conveys more empathy for line managers and a greater appreciation of the important role they play in delivering HR in organizations.

Line managers are frequently held accountable for employee turnover. This chapter considers what managers can do to reduce voluntary turnover and retain valuable employees. We highlight the role of shocks in motivating employees to leave and embeddedness in motivating employees to stay. Managers can anticipate the most likely shocks (e.g., missed promotions or headhunting) and protect employees against their impact. We describe the value of pulse surveys that monitor embeddedness on an ongoing basis and alumni strategies that maintain post-exit relationships with valued employees.

Managers need to make well-informed hiring decisions while protecting their time and their budgets. This chapter emphasizes the importance of legal and valid selection procedures. We compare assessment options (e.g., cognitive ability tests, personality tests, and integrity tests) on several criteria (including cost, validity, and applicant reactions). We distinguish among assessment options that are best used in the early, middle, and late stages of the hiring process. Special attention is given to the role of technology, as more organizations use online application processes and sophisticated algorithms to predict applicants’ future performance.

Managers can find it challenging to attract enough qualified job applicants – especially in tight labor markets. This chapter focuses on the manager’s activities in making available jobs known to prospective applicants. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a wide range of recruiting methods and recommend strategies for assessing and improving recruiting effectiveness. We consider the role of employer branding and highlight the value of including negative information in recruitment advertising. We describe ways that organizations can expand their recruiting pools by targeting nontraditional applicants and using innovative recruiting channels. Throughout the chapter, we highlight the ways technology is transforming employment recruiting.

Managers like to trust their guts when it comes to hiring decisions, making selection interviews one of the most popular (but most flawed) hiring procedures. This chapter explains what interviews do well but also highlights their problems. Like other selection options, interviews can be implemented at multiple stages of the hiring process for different purposes. We demonstrate how managers can make interviews more effective by imposing greater structure on the interview content and applicant evaluation. We also describe some interviewing innovations (e.g., panel interviews, computerized interviews).

Human Resources for the Non-HR Manager gives every manager, regardless of their functional role, access to cutting-edge research and evidence-based recommendations so they can approach their people management responsibilities with confidence. Day-to-day people management is increasingly the responsibility of front-line managers, not HR professionals. But managers are often poorly prepared for these responsibilities; they receive little training (and sometimes have little interest!) in HR. People management is never easy, and it is particularly challenging in COVID-19’s "next normal" workplace, where managers must engage diverse employees across a wide range of working arrangements. This book focuses on the special relationship that line managers have with their employees and describes managers’ responsibilities across the entire employee lifecycle – from front-end recruiting and hiring through to long-term retention. The content is grounded in rigorous academic research, but the book’s conversational tone conveys basic principles without technical jargon. Each chapter includes Manager’s Checkpoints to help readers apply the material to their own workplace, and Manager’s Knots that address gray areas inherent in people management. The book is designed for any reader currently working as a line manager, or aspiring to a managerial role, who wants to improve their people management skills.

Managers face the difficult task of correcting employees’ behavior and sometimes ending their employment. This chapter addresses disciplinary decisions, including several gray areas (substance use, cyberactivity, and employee activism) that are particularly controversial. We emphasize the importance of fair procedures and clear communication of organizational policies. We contrast just cause terminations with downsizing terminations. We provide advice to managers about communicating termination decisions to employees and describe alternative dispute resolution procedures for employees who do not accept disciplinary decisions.

Global trends make workforce diversity inevitable, but the consequences of workforce diversity depend on whether workplaces have established inclusion climates. In organizations with inclusion climates, employees feel they can be their authentic selves at work and are valued and respected organizational members. This chapter addresses what managers can do to create and maintain inclusion climates for the benefit of all employees. We highlight the manager’s responsibilities in enacting their organization’s formal inclusion policies and practices, developing informal inclusion initiatives, and role modeling inclusive behaviors.