Explorers, negotiators, and diplomats: emergent HR roles in flexible hybrid work implementation

In this paper, we explore the role played by HR practitioners when implementing flexible hybrid work (FHW) practices. By conceptualizing implementation as a translation process, we argue that translation theory provides important insight into how HR practitioners handle the inherent ambiguity of their organizational position between collective organizational goals and individual employee needs. Based on a qualitative case study in a bank, we found that when FHW became part of policy and practice, it was interpreted and shaped by the HR practitioners. In circumstances of rapid change and uncertainty, the desired outcomes were vague and unclear, thus leaving long-term outcomes at the mercy of short-term choices based on tactical necessity. The HR practitioners shifted between the roles of explorers, negotiators and diplomats, depending on the changing contextual factors and divergent interests across the organization. The contribution of this study is to provide empirical insight into the micro-tactics deployed by HR practitioners when implementing FHW practices.