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Businesses can increase productivity by paying attention to the individuals in their workplace.
Increasing productivity in the workplace has long been a focus for business owners and theorists alike. Prominent studies dating back a century focused on increasing human productivity in the workplace by trying a different approach. Today, that research has led us to the concept we know as human relations management theory.
The human relations management theory is a researched belief that people desire to be part of a supportive team that facilitates development and growth. Therefore, if employees receive special attention and are encouraged to participate, they perceive their work as having significance and are motivated to be more productive, resulting in high-quality work.
“Human relations management theory is a management approach that recognizes employees as human beings with needs and wants beyond their job tasks,” Cameron Noe, transformation lead at Humana, told us. “It highlights that employees aren’t just motivated by money and rules in the workplace, but also by recognition, inclusion, informal social norms and structures and a sense of belonging.”
These are some of the human relations management theory basics:
As you are thinking about the human relations management theory, it is important to understand what human relations is. Merriam-Webster defines “human relations” as the “study of human problems arising from organizational and interpersonal relations (as an industry).” That definition has translated to a business approach focused on supporting employees in their career development and agency at work in addition to running a profitable company.
In the 1920s, Elton Mayo, an Australian-born psychologist and organizational theorist, began his research on the behavior of people in groups and how it affects individuals in the workplace, known as the Hawthorne studies.
At the time, Taylorism, or the application of science in the workplace to improve productivity, viewed individuals as machines that could work in unethical or unrealistic environments. Mayo, in contrast, popularized the idea of the “social person,” meaning organizations should treat people as individuals, not machines, with individual needs.
The results of Mayo’s Hawthorne studies showed that relationships are the most influential factor in productivity. The researchers realized productivity increased due to relationships and supportive groups where each employee’s work had a significant effect on the team output. As a side result, the attention the workers received from the researchers increased their motivation and productivity, in an example of what is now known as the Hawthorne effect.
“Elton Mayo’s human relations theory emphasizes the social and emotional well-being of employees as critical components of organizational success,” said Pamela Barnhill, managing director/practice lead at MSS Business Transformation Advisory. “This is great for small and medium-sized organizations as its principles are foundational to sustainable businesses.”
Although Elton Mayo pioneered the theory of human relations with the Hawthorne experiments, many other management theories have emerged. For example, Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor revealed how the motivational theory ties in with theories of human relations.
Some popular management theories include:
The results of studies regarding human relations in the workplace show that people want to feel a sense of belonging and significance while being treated with value and respect. If you treat an employee with that value and respect, their individual productivity and quality of work will increase to support the organizational team.
A human relations-centric approach to management and business requires a special skill set on the part of employers and managers. To effectively carry out a human relations-focused workplace culture, five skills are essential.
Open lines of communication are essential to any workplace, but this is especially vital for leaders practicing human relations management. Effective communication helps ensure that all employees not only are on the same page but also feel motivated and valued in their work. This refers to in-person conversations as well as written communication such as emails and social media.
As a leader, you should be able to adapt your language to various situations, such as by modifying your word choice and formality for high-level executives versus the customer base. One useful communication technique is mirroring the other person’s approach; people are more likely to respond well to those similar to them. Finding your common interests with them and matching their tone of voice or physical stance are great ways to subtly connect with your conversational partner.
Managing individuals with differing personality types, worldviews and goals can make universal agreement incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. Therefore, you must be comfortable and well-versed in conflict resolution. You will help your team work together in a civil manner – even if they don’t agree with each other on all points – to ensure the work gets done in a timely manner.
When dissent arises, you must be able to take individual perspectives into account and make each person feel heard and understood. Once you’ve synthesized the presented information, you must work with all parties to come up with a solution where everyone feels comfortable moving forward. While it’s impossible to make everyone happy 100 percent of the time, good conflict resolution skills can maintain or restore team harmony in the face of disagreement.
Managers face countless tasks, questions and issues to solve on a daily basis. They are responsible for themselves and their team’s success, which means spending time checking in with their team and ensuring things are moving smoothly.
A good leader must be able to manage multiple, often competing, priorities at once, without missing deadlines. Another important aspect of multitasking is flexibility; as a manager, you must adapt to policy or workplace changes that affect your employees’ daily workflow.
Whether there’s an employment offer to navigate, an agreement to establish between stakeholders and the company, or opposing viewpoints to manage, negotiation happens regularly in the workplace. Strong negotiation skills are key to keeping the peace between two parties while reaching an agreement where all parties are satisfied. Effective communication techniques such as mirroring and adapting your language to your audience can also be useful in negotiations.
Organization is one of the most important human relations skills as it impacts all other areas of work. You must keep your physical workspace, as well as your workflow process, highly organized. This is especially important when you’re filing paperwork or employee records because everything must be completed correctly and on time. Staying organized is also a key part of time management and an efficient workflow.
As a leader, you must work efficiently and manage your time appropriately, especially when tackling multiple and often time-sensitive priorities, which is possible only when there is an organized process.
Though human relations management theory presents new ways of supporting employees in the workplace, it has some limitations.
The larger your company, the more challenging it becomes to treat each employee as an individual. While there are ways to personalize each employee’s experience, a large company should focus on the bigger picture and consider employees from a broader perspective. The key here is customization.
“This theory is not one-size-fits-all and needs to be integrated with other complementary approaches,” said Noe. “Leaders also need to adapt this approach to their specific organizational culture and employee needs.”
Although the human relations management theory is useful, the Hawthorne studies were conducted in a controlled environment, so measuring success was easier in this situation than evaluating a real workplace. A real-world organization may find it difficult to determine whether implementing this theory into their daily practices has led to any results since so much comes into play when determining a business’s – and its employees’ – success.
While they can conduct surveys and other forms of measurement strategies, it would be hard for employers to get a solid and unbiased understanding of how the theory has been applied and changed their workplace culture without observing all potential factors. As a result, complementary strategies are critical.
“This theory works best when combined with data-driven decision-making and robust performance management systems to address both relational and operational aspects of the business,” said Noe.
While it’s important to highlight how humanizing employees can lead to an improvement in productivity, this change can also come from other sources, from the company’s technology to its infrastructure to its leadership. However, the Hawthorne studies focused only on the importance of human interaction and not on the overall work environment, which can affect one’s experience.
Having employees who are dissatisfied in their current role – whether it’s due to the work they’re doing, the amount they are being paid or the tools they’re mandated to use – may lead to lower productivity and, in turn, strained interpersonal relationships that would not exist in a workplace where the employee enjoyed the nature of their work.
“This theory overlooks more complex systematic issues like operational inefficiencies, such as outdated workflows, because it focuses solely on interpersonal dynamics,” said Noe. “To combat this, organizations need to integrate a human relations management approach with other management approaches, like Lean or Six Sigma to address these inefficiencies.”
Sean Peek and Gail L. Perry contributed to this article.