ABSTRACT
The line manager’s role is crucial in implementing HRM strategy – particularly, how it is done and how it is perceived by team members. Consistency is important in terms of the extent to which line managers implement HRM and is beneficial to both team and organisation performance. It is also how a line manager implements HRM that counts. Here, there is a dilemma: follow an approach of equal treatment that emphasises the collective, or equitable treatment that emphasises the individual. Both have beneficial outcomes. This research on managers and consultants in a large consulting firm comes to the conclusion that a seemingly paradoxical, simultaneous use of both approaches leads to positive team member perceptions of fairness, improved collective and individual performance, and improved sustainability for both teams and the organisation.
