HRM Practices and High Performance Working at London Underground

This case study examines the application of high performance working (HPW) within the London Underground Transport System. It explores how HPW, encompassing employee engagement, HR practices, and reward systems, contributes to organizational outcomes. The analysis delves into specific HR practices, such as recruitment, training, and performance management, and their impact on employee motivation and productivity. The case study also evaluates how the London Underground addresses challenges like employee strikes by aligning HR policies with employee needs, including work-life balance and flexible working options. Furthermore, it discusses the relevance of organizational behavior theories, such as the Scientific Leadership Theory and the Neo Human Relations School Theory, in underpinning HPW and employee engagement strategies. The study highlights the importance of strategic HR planning in supporting the long-term objectives of the London Underground, emphasizing the critical link between employee satisfaction and organizational performance.

CASE STUDY

High Performance Working refers to an organization’s holistic approach of stimulating
effective employee’s engagement and commitment in order to achieve high level of performance
(Van Dooren, Bouckaert and Halligan, 2015). Therefore, High Performance Working systems
play a crucial role in management and development of organizations as well as in ameliorating
employment relations. The present essay features the analysis of the contribution of high
performance working and the management process of London Underground Transport System
for London, also known as Tube. In addition to this, it also analyzes the nature and components
of employee engagement, their links to other HR policies as well as practices and their
contribution to the given organization’s outcomes. Apart from this, the present essay also
evaluates that how performance management can be used to motivate employees.
High Performance Work Systems can be elaborated as a system of Human Resource
practices that are employed to increase skills, knowledge and incentives of employees in order to
motivate them to perform their best (Wagenaar and et.al.,2015). Other terminologies that express
the same idea are high performance management systems, best HRM practices, flexible work
systems, etc. It has been researched that these systems have generated better outcomes for the
both the organization as well as their employees. High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) has
gained massive popularity among organizations. In order to employ HPWS, organization needs
to consider the following traits:
 Decentralization of decision making processes.
 Security of Employment.
 Effective recruitment of skilled personnel.
 Implementation of improved systems to measure the performance of employees.
 Better use of advance technology.

The application of HPWS enables firms to build trust in management and their capacities.
The growing interest in management systems and HR policies lays emphasis on enhancing work
performance. Organizations that implement these systems are considered as High Performance
Work Organizations (HPWO) (Goodall and Bäker, 2015). In the given scenario, London
Underground Transport System is also one of these organizations. HPWS is a set of work
practices that covers three important areas. The first area focuses on the practices that are related
to high employee engagement. These practices enable workforce of London Underground
Transport System to take more control over their jobs and take part actively in decision making
processes in day to day operations. This in turn increases the level of motivation among
employees. In addition to this, it also establishes effective communication and teamwork in the
organization. It is very important to care employees in order to improve their productivity which
consequently improves the performance of London Underground Transport System. On the
contrary, it has been observed that organizations that do not make efforts to motivate their
employees often perform with mediocrity. In addition to this, such companies have high
employee turnover rate as workplace practices do not ignite their interest and motivation to
perform in an effective manner (Nikabadi, Dehghan and Farmanian-Arani, 2015). Employee
engagement in London Underground Transport System is successfully achieved through
effectively managed practices that involve restructuring of work in order to make it more
interesting and inspiring for its workforce. The company informed its workforce working at
different levels about the company’s operations and performance in order to make them
understand about the organization’s objectives. This helped in the creation of sense of job
security among London Underground Transport System's workforce.
The second area of HPWS is related to deal with HR practices of London Underground
that concentrates on the investment of human capital and skill development. Recruitment
processes, performance appraisal, training and development, designing job roles etc are all the
typical HR practices. However, London Underground Transport System has shifted its HR role
from administrative function to collaborative partner for designing and implementing sound
business tactics. Many organizations take a note of long term strategic view of Human Resources
instead of short term operational cost cutting. The third area of High Performance Work Systems
lays emphasis on reward and commitment which are considered as the tools to create sense of
commitment among employees towards organization (Klumpp, 2015). Monetary rewards

including profit sharing create a sense of belonging among workforce to the company by treating
employees as its shareholders. It has been analyzed that performance related pay plays an
important role in improving employee commitment so that company’s work performance can be
affected positively. However, it is necessary to be taken into consideration that there can be
reverse effects of financial rewards. If, these are not implemented with care which in turn can
demotivate employees. It is also studied that monetary rewards are not the only tools that can
ameliorate organizational performance. Other than financial rewards, friendly HR policies,
flexible working options, training and development activities, better career growth plans, safe
and hygienic working conditions, healthy working atmosphere etc. have proven to create a great
sense of motivation and commitment among employees. HR practices and policies of London
Underground Transport System plays a critical role in the performance management of UK
based company. London Underground Transport System has undergone the largest upgrade in
the organizational history which requires great support from its high performing workforce. For
this, London Underground Transport System has remolded its HR practices to facilitate
employee engagement in order to achieve high working performance. It was a great challenge
before London Underground Transport System to rebuilt 140 year old network. It was expected
that this huge transformation might cost billions of pounds to rebuilt trains, tracks, signals and
stations. In order to meet this challenge, company approached with afresh idea of engaging
employees to facilitate this transformation. Employees of Tube are trained through interactive
workshops named “Valuing Time” in the year 2008 (Williams, 2009). The outcome of workshop
was clearly demonstrated in the employees’ feedback. It can be critically analyzed that human
resources are the most important contributors of an organizational success. Unlike other
organizations, HR practices play a crucial role in employee engagement which indicates their
commitment towards London Underground Transport System. It has been observed that
employees who are engaged are more efficient, motivated and loyal to the company. Thus, HR
practices and policies can be linked to employee engagement in London Underground Transport
System. Strategic HR planning of the firm directly links management of human resources to
organization’s long term objectives. These practices also help Tube in putting HR management
to support staff in achieving their day to day objectives. Employee’s work is monitored on a
daily basis through sound HR practices. Performance Management at London Underground
Transport System is an integral part of its HR practices (Lazaroiu, 2015). It can be defined as a

continuous process in which managers and staff work as a team to plan, monitor and review the
job objectives of employees and their contribution in the organizational success. This helps
London Tube to increase the motivation of its workforce through effective recruitment and
selection processes. Tube successfully cuts down the number of train cancellations by recruiting
more drivers and reducing the absenteeism rate. However, company faces the threat of strike by
the drivers which consequently affect its performance and business. Sound HR policies include
attractive compensation and benefits that are considered as the factors of job satisfaction among
employees. However, London Underground Transport System lacks a sound HR policy for its
drivers. They frequently call for strikes over the issue of over working hours and pay. Therefore,
it is very important for organization to review their HR policies to increase satisfaction level of
their employees in order to achieve long and short term organizational strategic goals.
Other HR responsibilities that are important for employee engagement are Operational
HR planning, developing sound HR policies, training and development, team and group
dynamics, resolution of staff conflicts as well as employee recognition. A healthy workplace
ensures safety and security of employees that creates a sense of engagement and contentment.
Developing group dynamics is also important for creating high performance teams in London
Underground Transport System. Workplace wellness approach is also cardinal for providing
healthy working conditions to workers. It is a holistic initiative that takes into account the
physical, mental and occupational health of staff of an organization. However, it has been
observed that workers of London Underground Transport System Transport System Transport
System Transport System Transport System Transport System ?Transport System are not
satisfied with their jobs and working conditions as they need to work over time (Bennett, 2015).
This creates distress among employees as their personal and social life get negatively affected
due to long working hours. It can be analyzed that work life balance is crucial for employees to
keep them hooked with Tube for the longer period of time. In addition to this, it can also be said
that working for long hours can significantly impact the physical and emotional health of
employees. Thus, London Underground Transport System needs to restructure its HR policies to
provide flexible working options to its employees in order to promote their health and wellbeing.
This will elevate the satisfaction and motivation level and reduce stress among employees which
will consequently reduce the evidence of strikes in future. Therefore, it will help firm to improve
its working performance to a great extent.

There are several organizational behavior theories that underpin high performance
working and employee engagement. The study of organizational Behavior lays emphasis on vital
aspects that includes improving work performance, increasing job satisfaction levels and
developing leadership skills (Miner, 2015). The application of theories of organizational
behavior can be bifurcated into various areas including job satisfaction, personality of workers,
reward management, authority and leadership. Personality is referred to the pattern of behavior
of an individual that plays a significant role in the way a person interacts with teams and delivers
work. Thus, knowing personality and character attributes of an employee gives a clear idea to the
employer whether the person will fit into the organizational working culture and ways to
motivate him. It is observed that job satisfaction is greatly influenced by reward system, effective
leadership, safe and hygienic working atmosphere, flexible working timings as well as nature of
the job itself. In addition to this, it can be analyzed that type of leadership styles affect
motivation and satisfaction level of employees to a great extent. Participative leadership style is
said to impact positively on employees as they can take active participation in the decision
making processes of organization (Daft, 2015). Leaders also tend to influence the values and
belief system of workers which further affect their productivity and performance.
Scientific Leadership Theory of Organizational Behavior focuses on various ways
through which jobs can be done effectively. First method is to determine the objectives of the
firm. London Underground Transport System can apply this theory by determining its
organizational objective regarding performance management and then defining performance
standards. After that, workers can be assigned for performing given job (Smith, 2016). After
determining the method of working, standard timing for performing job was defined.
Organizations select workers based on their abilities for new job roles and employ methods to
train them to follow standard work procedures. This theory is explained that managers need to
carefully plan for work to optimize new work methods.
Neo Human Relations School Theory gave rise to several motivational theories such as
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which suggested that employees can be motivated by meeting
their five different needs including Physiological, safety, love and affection, self-esteem and self-
actualization needs. This theory explains the importance of meeting five different needs of
employees in order to keep their motivational levels high. Neo Human Relations School also

includes Theories X and Y (Magloff, 2016). Theory X states that leaders of organizations need to
direct behavior of employees and reward them on meeting organizational needs. Lack of this
approach may negatively affect employees by making them passive and less motivated. London
Underground Transport System can apply this theory to motivate its employees and improve
their productivity. On the other hand, Theory Y explains that workers are capable of assuming
their roles and responsibilities at their workplaces and it is the job of leaders to facilitate the
achievement of organizational objectives by achieving individual goals of its employees. In
addition to this, Herzberg two factor theory is one of the important motivational theories in the
study of organizational behavior. This theory argued that employee motivation is influenced by
two factors called Motivators and Hygiene factors. Motivators are those determinants that yield
positive satisfaction among workers. These factors include recognition, growth and promotional
opportunities, challenging work and meaningful work etc. These factors motivate employees for
their improved performance. London Underground Transport System needs to understand these
motivators to ameliorate the performance of its employees. Managers should praise and
recognize the achievements of their staff. In addition to this, growth and promotional
opportunities need to be provided by company in order to elevate the motivational level of its
workers. Other than motivators, hygiene factors are those factors that do not cause positive
satisfaction for long time but absence of these determinants may lead to dissatisfaction among
employees. These include salary structure, organizational policy, physical working conditions
and relations with coworkers. For London Underground Transport System's employees,
company needs to formulate policies that are not very rigid and should be fair and transparent
(Richason, 2016). It needs to include flexible working hours instead of long working hours to
increase their satisfaction level that can consequently lead to superior performance. In addition to
this, company can also provide fringe benefits such as health care plans and employee help
programs to all the workers. Besides this, London Underground Transport System can also create
safe and healthier working conditions for its workforce in order to improve their performance.
Talking about Performance Management, it includes a range of roles to be played in an
organization in order to boost the performance of employees. These roles include effective
communicator, collaborator leader and supervisor to motivate employees and increase their
productivity. Performance management is all about the collaborative working and motivation at
work. When this approach is shared with employees then they learn to understand their roles and

responsibilities more clearly which in turn increase their motivation. It can be evaluated that
when workers know exactly what is to be done then there is no confusion and uncertainty
regarding their job roles (Pulakos, Hanson, Arad and Moye, 2015). It is observed that a
motivated team tends to perform their best and helps in improving the performance of
organization. Performance management also helps organization in developing team members.
Workers can be encouraged to step out of their comfort zone to increase their caliber and
capabilities. This will in turn provide greater opportunities of personal growth that consequently
leads to increase enthusiasm for their work. In addition to this, it can also be evaluated that
performance management tends to improve the effectiveness of teams as well as workers which
is very important for organization to increase their business performance. Apart from this,
effectively designed performance management processes acts as a powerful tool for overcoming
poor performance issues whenever they arise in organization. These issues can be resolved
through effective communication and solving problems faced by employees in the course of their
work. It also helps in identifying low performers in the team, whose performance can be
improved in short duration by constantly working with them (Ganesh, 2015). Through effective
training module, productivity of low performers can be improved which in turn ameliorate the
performance of the entire team. Thus, it can be summarized that performance management can
innovatively employed to increase employee motivation by providing a framework to monitor
their performance and determining their success. London Underground Transport System can
implement performance management tool to develop the skill sets of its employees in order to
help them for achieving their individual’s goals as well productivity. This will help in fostering
their self-esteem and motivation in the long run.
Thus, it can be concluded that motivation of employees can be supported by
implementing sound performance management system across London Underground Transport
System. It is the responsibility of leaders and HR mangers to devise sound organizational and
HR policies for employees so that they feel committed and motivated to fulfill their roles and
responsibilities. It has been observed that motivated employees are the great performers as
compared to dissatisfied workers. Therefore, London Underground Transport System needs to
understand the factors that boost employee motivation and satisfaction. Motivators are said to
have positive impact on the performance of employees. It is stated in the essay that Tube is
frequently facing the issues related to employee strikes. Thus, it can be recommended that

company needs to develop smarter working methods for its employees coupled with performance
related pay structure. This should include flexible working timings to workers so that they can
manage their work life balance in an effective manner. Flexible working will enable employees
to enjoy their personal life without much impact on work. This in turn improves their satisfaction
level and leads to superior performance at work. Other than flexi working, London Underground
Transport System should re-design performance related pay structure such as fringe benefits,
bonuses, pay hikes, perks and incentives, profit sharing etc. in order to motivate employees and
improve their performance. If, it is done strategically, then it will positively impact the working
performance of organization.

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