Empowering service workers at Harvester Restaurants
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/00483489510147565 |
| Pages | 17-32 |
| Date | 01 December 1995 |
| Published date | 01 December 1995 |
| Author | Diane Ashness,Conrad Lashley |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Empowering
service workers
at Harvester
17
Empowering service workers
at Harvester Restaurants
Diane Ashness
Human Resource Director, Distinctive Restaurants, Forte plc, and
Conrad Lashley
Nottingham Business School, Nottingham, UK
Empowerment in theory and practice
Towards a theory of empowerment
Empowerment is best understood as a generic term which covers a range of
managerial initiatives in the management of human resources[1] and reflecting a
number of managerial intentions and concerns[2]. The form that empowerment
of individual employees takes therefore may vary from intensive customer care
training – “whatever it takes training”[3] to quality circles[4] and, as in this
study, autonomous work groups. Managerial intentions are frequently driven by
several overarching concerns, namely to improve service quality and to ensure
that the company is more responsive to its customers by creating a flatter
organizational structure which is values driven[5].
In response to these concerns human resource strategies aim to engage
employees at an emotional level so that they are committed to the organization’s
service quality objectives[6], accept personal responsibility for customer
satisfaction[4], and have the authority to do whatever is necessary to make the
service encounter a success[7].
The ambitions for empowerment are conveyed in graphic form in Figure 1.
Here it is hoped that the form of empowerment adopted will result in changes in
working arrangements which in turn will produce feelings of being empowered.
Ultimately, the emotional state of being empowered will produce workplace
behaviour which leads to improvements in organizational performance –
increased customer satisfaction, more repeat business, improved turnover and
profits, etc.
The interplay between the objective form of empowerment, what an
individual is now empowered to do, and the subjective feelings about the state of
being empowered is a crucial issue here[8]. In the first instance, different changes
to working arrangements are likely to respond to different employee needs. Thus
“whatever it takes training”, quality circles and autonomous work groups, for
example, offer different emotional benefits to employees. Similarly, responses to
the state of empowerment need consideration. Individuals react differently to
these changes. Not all individuals have the same affiliations to the work
organization, willingness to accept responsibility, or need for power to act[9-11].
At a more general level, there are conditions and circumstances which are
likely to influence the success of an initiative in engaging employees Personnel Review, Vol. 24 No. 8,
1995, pp.17-32. © MCB
University Press, 0048-3486
Personnel
Review
24,8
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emotionally. First, the emotional state of empowerment is most likely to stem
from individuals’ assessment of their ability to be effective, and the fact that
they can make a difference to a task which they feel is meaningful, and that they
have the necessary freedom to act as they see fit within a given context[12].
Second, there may be barriers to the acceptance of the initiative based on the
manner of the introduction of the form of empowerment. A lack of choice in the
selection of the techniques, a lack of trust between parties, a perception of
inequality in the benefits gained from changes, and a lack of institutional
support may have a negative effect on the way employees perceive changes
which advocate common cause with the employer[13].
If a defining feature of empowerment is the extent to which initiatives engage
employees emotionally in the organization’s objectives, managers may not have
a completely free hand in shaping the arrangements which they introduce.
While accepting Watson’s[14] point that employment strategy is about
variability and choice, managerial perceptions of the organization’s
circumstances and business needs are influential. In particular, the nature of the
business, brand attributes, significance of tangibles and intangibles as sources
of customer satisfaction, and the degree to which the organization’s services are
standardized or customized to individual clients are likely to influence the form
of empowerment introduced. Figure 2 suggests four possible variations in
human resource management strategy based on the interplay of some of these
factors.
The relationship between the boundaries set to ensure the control needed to
manage the business and brand, and the perceptions of the empowered
managers and employees is a key tension here. Where empowerment is
restricted beyond a level acceptable to the empowered, or where the benefits of
empowerment do not accrue to them, the initiative will be less effective in
tapping the enthusiasm and energy intended.
Harvester Restaurants
Harvester Restaurants is a wholly owned brand within the Forte Restaurants
Division (since this article was written Harvester Restaurants has been
purchased by the Bass Group). Currently the Harvester Restaurant brand
includes 78 units based on the core concept and has an annual turnover in excess
Figure 1.
The form, state and
outcomes of
empowerment
Forms
of
empowerment
The state of
of
empowerment
Organization
objectives
Improved service
quality
Increased service
productivity
Reduced labour
turnover
Change in
working
arrangements
Change in
work
behaviour
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