AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTS OF A NATIONAL HUMAN RELATIONS TRAINING PROGRAM ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN ST LUCIA

Human Relations (HR) soft skills are prevalently misunderstood contributors to employee performance, organizational success and potential social ills alleviation. This study investigated whether implementing a National Human Relations Training Program (NHRTP), would improve business performance throughout St. Lucia. It hypothesized a positive relationship between HR and business performance (BP) improvement, focusing on public sector (PS) organizations as business entities utilizing conventional business practices within nonprofit, service and socially beneficial mandates.  This study emphasized the understated intrapersonal implications of Elton Mayo’s seminal Hawthorne studies, defining HR as self-regulatory behaviors toward successful interactions with others. BP improvement was seen as positive changes in client perception about a business, and employees’ personal transformations supporting organizational goals. The research took a three phased, mixed method, qualitatively lead approach, using five purposively selected PS departments, for their high volume client interactions. Training in self-awareness, attitude adjustment, interpersonal skills and leadership (SAIL), deemed foundational to HR transformations, based on Training Transfer and Transformational Learning theories, was provided to 33 PS participants over one week followed by two focus group sessions. Pre and post training questionnaires administered to 477 clients were compared. These assessed the perception of client’s post-transaction experience as measures of employee performance and potential for transferring acquired transformations to business and social contexts. Results confirm a clear positive link between HR and BP improvement and justifies a NHRTP. Moreover, HRT pushes improvements to already existing high standards of employee performance and stimulates individualized decisional processes which positively impact business outcomes. HRT’s transferability, transformability and portability renders it effectively conveyable through business as conduits and agents of social change, facilitating a new corporate social responsibility (NCSR) PS approach. Recommendations include legitimizing HR as a BP enhancer, emphasizing person-centered HRT and exploring business HRT for SC purposes.