High-Performance HR Practices in Healthcare in Canada

The purpose of the chapter is to present the empirical findings from a study that assessed “what works at work” across three different industries but with focus on healthcare. In this chapter, the authors describe the conditions under which particular HR practices translate into effective performance and the desired performance outcomes. This is important given the role of human resource (HR) practices and policies on performance measures and work outcomes established in the literature and the need for meaningful HR measures in healthcare organizations. Specifically, the study (i) examined the role of HR climate as an intervening variable, moderating the relationship between HR practices and HR outcomes in organizations, and (ii) examined the degree to which the links between HR practices, the climate in which they are introduced, and outcomes for organizations and employees can be universally identified or vary significantly between organizations.