Identifying and Prioritizing the Psychological Factors Affecting the Human Resources Processes at the Preliminary Level of the HR 34000 Model: A Mixed-method Study

This research aimed to identify and prioritize psychological factors influencing human resources processes at the preliminary level of the 34000 human resources model. These processes encompass macro and detailed organizational structure design, job analysis and job grading, as well as human resource planning, recruitment, and employee grading.

The research employed a mixed exploratory approach. In the initial stage, a systematic review was conducted to gather qualitative data. Subsequently, a combination of Delphi and fuzzy DEMATEL techniques was employed in the second stage to collect quantitative data. The study's population consisted of all middle and senior managers in an industrial company located in Razavi Khorasan province in 2022. Fourteen of these managers were selected using purposive non-probability sampling. The research instruments included an 18-question Delphi questionnaire to identify psychological factors affecting the preliminary level processes (macro and detailed organizational structure design = 7 questions; job analysis and job grading = 5 questions; human resource planning, recruitment, and employee grading = 6 questions). Additionally, a 16-question fuzzy DEMATEL questionnaire was used to prioritize the psychological factors identified in the third stage of the Delphi process (macro and detailed organizational structure design = 7 questions; job analysis and job grading = 4 questions; human resource planning, recruitment, and employee grading = 5 questions). These questionnaires were designed by the researcher based on the results of the systematic review. Data obtained from the Delphi questionnaire were analyzed using the central index of the mean and the percentage of consensus. The fuzzy DEMATEL method was employed to identify the most influential and influenced psychological factors, with data analysis conducted in Excel software (Excel 2019).

Based on the results of a systematic review of 40 articles published between 2010 and 2022, as well as the outcomes of the third stage of the Delphi questionnaire and the fuzzy DEMATEL questionnaire, the most critical psychological factors affecting the macro and detailed organizational structure design process, in order of importance, included trust in top management, interpersonal trust, perceived organizational justice, perceived organizational support, transformational leadership, job independence, and top management support. The results also indicated that individual growth and development opportunities, the learning climate, interpersonal trust, and transformational leadership were the most influential psychological factors in enhancing the job analysis and job grading process, respectively. Finally, the research findings revealed that psychological factors influencing the human resource planning, recruitment, and employee grading process comprised person-job fit, job identity, perceived organizational justice, organizational reputation, and job meaningfulness.

In conclusion, this research underscores that, alongside the need for physical and organizational structures to facilitate human resources processes, the psychological climate within an organization must also be conducive for the effective execution of these processes. Therefore, organizations seeking to implement the HR 34000 model should consider the psychological factors identified in this study to ensure the model's effectiveness in their implementation efforts