Professional Documents
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As examined in detail below, line managers in many organisations also carry out activities that have traditionally fallen within the remit of HR such as providing coaching and guidance, undertaking performance appraisals and dealing with discipline and grievances. They also often carry out tasks such as recruitment and selection or pastoral care in conjunction with HR.
Our practical tool addresses the role of line managers in workplace coaching. Go to Coaching at the sharp end: the role of line managers in coaching at work
As pointed out in this report, line managers can have a crucial impact on engagement as they act as the interface between the organisation and its workforce. It is therefore especially important to pay close attention to how the organisation selects, develops and manages the performance of line managers to ensure they maximise their potential to be engaging leaders.
These are all areas where, although the processes may be designed by HR, they cannot be delivered by HR. The line manager role is crucial in a number of respects: enabling the HR policies and practices, or bringing them to life acting upon advice or guidance from HR controlling the work flow by directing and guiding the work of others.
Impact of outsourcing
The practice among many organisations of outsourcing transactional HR activities has also had the effect of devolving more responsibility to line managers to maintain records, input data and manage routine HR activities such as staffing requests, booking training or submitting payroll information. However, when outsourcing is working well, it also enables them to access better and more timely information and support to carry out people management tasks and manage their staff more effectively. More information on outsourcing HR can be found in our factsheet on that topic. Go to our factsheet on HR outsourcing
Many of the qualities and skills that are associated with higher quality line management centre on the behaviours of the line managers involved. It is not enough to educate line managers in the behaviours required; organisations must also ensure they are developing the environment and culture in which line managers are actively encouraged and permitted to exhibit the identified behaviours. Organisations with a strong shared culture, with guiding principles for behaviours that are embedded into practice over time, tend to be more successful in this respect. To deliver good people management in the organisation, line managers themselves need to be managed within a strong supportive framework to enable them to develop self-confidence and a robust sense of their own role in the organisation. This, in turn, requires strong support and appropriate training and development for those newly-appointed in a line management role.
CIPD viewpoint
Line managers need to be carefully selected, with particular attention paid to people management behaviours, and to be supported by strong organisational values that show clearly the behaviours expected and those not tolerated. They should have sufficient skills training to enable them to fulfil the people management requirements of the job, and they also need to feel confident that their own managers will treat them with respect. Organisations need to encourage line managers buy-in and commitment to people management activities by clarifying their responsibilities through job descriptions, performance appraisal and communications on the importance and value of development-related activities. It is also important for the HR function to be aware that line managers often have conflicting priorities and role overload and that all managers need adequate time to carry out their people management activities.