A challenge to the contemporary notion of high-performance work systems? The case of Sri Lankan tea plantations

Purpose This study investigated human resource (HR) practices on Sri Lankan tea plantations regarding the degree to which these fit into the extant notion of High-Performance Work Systems (HPWS). The Sri Lankan tea plantations meet the criteria for sustainable organizational long-term performance. Design/methodology/approach Interviews, thematically analysed, were conducted with the management, the workers and the unions. Findings Both the nature of practices within each HPWS sub-system (people flow, performance and rewards and opportunities for employee involvement), and partly the sub-systems themselves, are substantially different in the plantations from those presumed in the HPWS literature. To illustrate, the following key ingredients of HPWS as seen in the literature were in essence absent: sophisticated recruitment and selection, systematic training and development, internal promotion opportunities and broad career paths, formal appraisal mechanisms, job design to allow worker autonomy, open communication and information sharing. Teamwork, though utilized, was seen as problematic by all parties. Nonetheless, these HR systems have enabled bottom-line performance along with employee well-being and stability in the local communities over many decades. The data also suggested that company paternalism served as an overarching mentality in the way employees were managed. Practical implications “State-of-the-art” HR practices that aim at a lean workforce that is constantly stretched to perform and develop themselves without consideration of the workers’ personal lives and the sustainability of the community may not be the only alternative. Organizational performance that is sustainable in the long-term may be feasible under a paternalistic HR philosophy that manifests itself in HR practices geared towards the interests of all stakeholders, including the workers and the local community. Originality/value The study contributes by demonstrating that the way high-performance HRM is typically considered may not be the single alternative available, especially if we aim to achieve a balance between performance in the long-term, the well-being of employees and serving the community.