Service quality in the healthcare sector: do human resource management practices matter?

Abstract

Background/aims Service quality in hospitals is determined by the quality of staff interactions with patients. Human resource (HR) management practices play a significant role in the recruitment and retention of high calibre hospital staff. This study aimed to investigate how HR management practices affect employees' performance-related outcomes, such as their commitment to delivering a good standard of care and their perceptions of the quality of service that their hospital provides. Methods An integrated causal model was designed and tested by surveying the staff of hospitals in India. A total of 1236 usable response sets were analysed through structural equation modelling to test the relationships between HR management practices and employee performance-related outcomes. Results All but two of the relationships described by the model were found to be significant. The relationship between employees' commitment to their organisation and their perceptions of the service's quality and the relationship between HR management practices and employee commitment to delivering good service quality were found to be non-significant. Conclusion The integrated causal model could help healthcare managers to identify and strategically plan HR management practices to target desired employee performance-related outcomes in the hospital sector.