An empirically grounded framework for human resource management in the Sri Lankan construction industry

Human resource management (HRM) has assumed considerable importance in the theory and practice of management of construction projects in recent years. This research is an empirical study of HRM in the Sri Lankan construction industry. The research focuses on the particular roles that staffing, employee development and rewards has on the motivation of masons in the Sri Lankan construction industry. Semi-structured interviews were chosen as a main research instrument for data collection. 90 masons and 30 supervisors were randomly selected from 10 construction sites within the Sri Lankan construction industry. The study's findings show that the supervisors and masons in the construction industry in Sri Lanka are aware of the supposed advantages of staffing, employee development and the rewards of a HRM approach. A framework was then developed to implement source of the findings. The implementation of this HRM framework could give a new dimension and benefits to the Sri Lankan construction industry (SLCI). If successfully implemented this same framework, could be applied in other industries such as manufacturing and defence after it has been tailored to fit such industries. It could also be used in other developing regions similar to Sri Lanka. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on motivation and also presents a HRM framework for improving the motivation of supervisors and masons in the SLCI.