HRM Practices and its impact on organisational commitment: A study of construction employees in India

Abstract

The construction industry is one of the largest global employment sectors and accounts for a significant share of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). In India, it is the second largest sector after agriculture. A critical feature of this industry is a complex, dynamic and risky work environment. The construction projects rely on skilled workers supported by an efficient management framework. At the backdrop of increasing investments and growth in construction projects in India, the construction establishments are facing enormous challenges due to the massive gap between supply and demand of talented professionals. In such situations, an employee's commitment towards the organisation is highly essential for efficient performance. This study aims to examine whether the employee perceptions about common human resource management practices have an impact on the organisational commitment of construction employees in India. HRM practices which may have a considerable effect on the employee commitment, such as recruitment and selection, performance management, career management, training and development, workforce diversity management, management policies and grievance handling are examined. The study was conducted through a questionnaire survey including a combination of a standard model of organisational commitment and a few self-structured questions. The results show a highly significant and positive relationship between organisational commitment and employee perceptions of human resource management practices prevalent in the construction organisations. ‘Performance Management’, ‘Training and Development’ and ‘Management Policies and Grievance Handling’ were found to be the most significant factors affecting the organisational commitment of construction employees. The results of the study could be used as guidelines for improving HRM policies in construction organisations.