Performance in local government HRM: the role of external customers

Purpose – The purpose of the article is to contribute to HRM‐performance research by focusing on how HR managers discursively construct performance in local government HRM. Design/methodology/approach – The study is carried out in Finnish local government organizations, where HR managers of ten large and medium‐sized cities were interviewed. The study adopted a constructionist approach: performance is constructed through the talk of different stakeholders, in this case, HR managers. The analysis draws upon discourse analysis. Findings – Performance in local government HRM is constructed through three predominant discourses: the service discourse, the process discourse, and the customer change discourse. The central finding of the study is the strong role of local residents, portrayed as external customers to HRM. Research limitations/implications – Typical to discourse analysis, the number of interviews is limited and the results cannot be generalized. Thirdly, according to the constructivist approach, researchers also discursively construct the phenomenon under study. Additionally, this article focuses on performance talk of HRM managers; other actors of HRM, e.g. top management teams, line managers, and HR experts, also discursively construct HRM‐performance through their talk. Practical implications – In public organizations and also private sector service companies, the strong role of external customers in HRM and HRM‐performance should be considered, especially in HRM metrics. Originality/value – Research revealed the central role of external customers in the discourse of local government HRM‐performance, and extends thus the scope of the performance concept in HRM studies.