Relational leadership and development opportunities: enhancing nurses’ employability in Dutch elderly care

Purpose This study explores how people management, particularly relational leadership and both general and tailored HR practices, influences nurses' competence-based employability for the purpose of theory development on employability, people management, strategic human resource management and relational leadership. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative, interpretive, exploratory design and multimethod data collection in five elderly care organisations in the Netherlands. Findings Supervisors focus on the quality of dyadic relationships with nurses by using people management, especially relational leadership and both general and tailored HR practices in shaping and constituting a strong HR system. Such leadership appears to be an antecedent of psychological safety, which might foster competence-based employability. Synergies between supervisors' leadership and the implementation of HR practices appear to empower nurses by highlighting development opportunities, thereby enhancing competence-based employability. Practical implications People management, including relational leadership, should be actively encouraged among supervisors in elderly care organisations. Policymakers, supervisors and HR professionals should also collaborate closely to enhance psychological safety and cultivate a workplace learning climate. Originality/value While prior research indicates that leadership and HR practices foster competence-based employability, no study has yet integrated relational leadership, nor explored the processes behind these effects using a people management approach. This study addresses this gap by investigating these relationships within the context of elderly care.