Collaboration between HR and Line Management Enhancing Learning in Complex work

In the safety critical nuclear industry, the tension between the predictability of processes that ensures safety and flexible practices in managing unexpected situations poses a challenge for developing organizational capabilities. The regulatory, standardized side of nuclear production is well managed in the industry through professional training. The challenge is, however, to support learning that allows routine practices to evolve and develop into new ones when needed, forming new capabilities for the organization. In this paper, we analyse the collaboration between HR and line management for enhancing the learning of new practices in a complex work environment, and discuss how the predominant forms of collaboration rise to this challenge.