Employee advocacy in Africa: the role of HR practitioners in Malawi

Ken Kamoche,Rhoda Bakuwa,Aminu Mamman,Christopher J Rees,Mohamed Branine

doi:10.1108/er-12-2017-0296

Abstract

PurposeIn recognising the weakness of trade unions and the lack of an institutional framework designed to enforce employee rights in an African context, the purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which human resource (HR) practitioners are perceived to play the role of employee advocate.Design/methodology/approachThe quantitative data set is derived from a sample of 305 respondents (95 HR practitioners, 121 line managers and 89 employees) from Malawi.FindingsDespite the challenges of the context, HR practitioners are perceived by key stakeholders (including line managers and employees) to be playing the role of employee advocate. Standard multiple regression results indicate that the main factor contributing to the perception that HR practitioners are playing this role is their contribution to “motivating employees”.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted in Malawi. Further research is necessary to explore the generalisability of the findings to other contexts.Originality/valueThe findings provide an empirical base for future studies which explore perceptions of the employee advocacy role undertaken by HR practitioners in Africa.

Highlights

One of the main objectives of this study is to investigate the respondents’ perceptions as to whether African Human Resource (HR) practitioners do play an employee advocate role
Apart from two items (Cares for employee’s family needs; Organises trips for the staff members), the mean score is above 3.00, which we consider as the cut-off point for determining whether HR practitioners play such a role
This finding is encouraging for HR practitioners on the continent of Africa. It demonstrates that despite the weak and sometimes absence of institutional mechanisms to regulate employment relations, HR practitioners have the opportunity to play a vital role generally and, in particular, an employee advocate role. Since their credibility is tied to the role they play in their organisations, the more HR professionals are in a position to identify “niche roles” and undertake them effectively, the more their credibility will be enhanced

Summary

Introduction

The last few decades have seen significant research into the role that Human Resource (HR) practitioners and HR departments play in organisations (e.g. Conner and Ulrich, 1996; Foote and Robinson, 1999; Gooderham and Nordhaug, 1997; Heffernan et al, 2016; Kochan, 1997; Lemmergaard, 2009; Mamman and Al Khulaiby, 2014; Mamman and Somantri, 2014; Ulrich, Losey and Lake 1997). This research activity has culminated in the development of a number of theories and models aimed at understanding the role that HR does or should play (Storey, 1992; Ulrich and Brockbank, 2005; Ulrich, Losey and Lake 1997). The advent of strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has led to an emphasis on the need for HR practitioners to play a strategic role in order to be of institutional relevance (Lawler and Mohrman, 2003; Ulrich and Brockbank, 2005; Ulrich, Losey and Lake 1997). As Stark and Poppler (2017:2) state: “... it is increasingly difficult to reconcile the HRM professional’s endeavor to represent the interests of investors and management, all the while claiming to advocate for employee interests”

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion