Whatever happened to human resource management performance?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the evidence that human resource management (HRM) could contribute to the improvement of organizational and individual performance. It aims to examine the historical development of HRM and its emergence as a distinct management discipline. The evidence indicates that HRM is the product of several different traditions that range from a concern with employee welfare to the development of workplace relationships. The paper critically re‐evaluates what human performance is and assesses its contribution to organizational effectiveness. What is particularly important is the lack of empirical literature on the contribution of HRM and business performance. This paper will call for the re‐evaluation of more contemporary criteria of how people contribute to organizational performance in private, public and the emerging non‐profit making sectors. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology adopted in this research uses critical literature on the contribution of human resource management performance. Findings – The main finding of this research is the understanding of the problems of research design in measuring the contribution of HRM to develop performance in organizations. Research limitations/implications – The research presented in this paper needs to review and standardize comparative research design to confirm the performance of HRM in organizations. It compares the alternative perspectives of measuring performance in financial criteria. Originality/value – This paper reviews the research between key authors for exploring the correlation between HRM and organizational performance for future research and examines the influence of human resource professional bodies.