Employee Relations

Employee Relations

What are Employee Relations?

Employee Relations are defined as the effort(s) of an organization to build and sustain a constructive positive relationship with its employees as stakeholders and partners not mere the workers. These resultant factors of employee relations are, among others, loyalty and employee engagement as fruitful outcomes for the organization.

What is meant by Employee Relations (ER)?

Employee Relations is meant to be the understanding of the strategic level of any organization that the workers are not the ordinary laborers but the vital participants as one of the key stakeholders concerning the organization.

It is the dominion of your human resource department to coordinate for you the activities of employee relations for smooth operational command. This domain of employee relations is not only a times responsibility of the HR department but sometimes several other departments and /or employees are nominated for the employee relations manager.

This includes a better understanding of regulations by the employees and abiding by the same for the collective good of both sides of the coin that are the employees as well as the employers. What is more, the understanding of the policy matters and regulatory requirements are not singly the domain to do but at the same time devising employee favoring programs is to an obligation upon employee relations duty doers.

Those employee relation programs are related to managing employee relations issues such as rationalization of the compensation management, employee benefits administration, working conditions and time, work-life balance for the employees, and many more.

What are the prime jobs to carry on by the employee relations professionals?

1. The prime missionary jobs to carry on by your employee relations professionals are as mentioned below:
2. To work as a preventive shield between issues among employees and the management
3. Resolve bottlenecks between the employer and the workers
4. Devising policies that are equally beneficial for all the stakeholders
5. Enforcement of regulations
6. Legal implications of employee deeds upon employer status
7. Employee code of conduct designing
8. Allegation and inappropriate conduct investigations
9. Grievances handling
10. Help employees in handling isolation for technology - due to COVID and like scenarios
11. Maintenance of colleague's wellbeing
12. Help to improve performance
13. Vision and Mission must be communicated to new members of the company who have joined recently     
14. Support in onboarding
15. Never-ending supportive environment for employees
16. Discover new trends and ways to enhance employees’ wellbeing
17. Official safety and health programs to create, implement and promote
18. Extra-curricular activities introduction

What are the research-based main principles for Employee Relations (ER)?

The very foundation of the employee-employer relationship is the socio-psychological connection. This encompasses the belief system that both stakeholders remain in a win-win scenario, doing better for each other. But then again the employee perception about it is that the organizations fail to meet such a said standard - as per Rousseau found in 1989; and Schein in 1965. That perception consequently results in a reduction in employee satisfaction, trust, retention, accountability; and performance.

As per the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Robinson and Morrison acclaimed the reason behind the breach of perception contract, in terms of employee relations of the two stakeholder employee and the employer, are: reneging and incongruence. Reneging is the organizational agent's recognition of obligation but is failed to fulfill so. Whereas Incongruence pertains to the difference of perception either an obligation exists or otherwise. In the former case if a recruiter promises at the time of selection that the recruits would be promoted in three years' time but failed practically. The latter case exemplifies that such promise was not made but it was only vaguely said by the organizational agent that new recruits tend to get promoted in three years' time, hence it was misunderstood by the new recruit as an obligatory promise on part of the employer!

84% of the Fortune 100 best organizations to work for say they go office with excitement to spend the day with the team they have! That means a lot to employee relations best practices where the employees feel at ease and comfortable.  

To sum up, about the research on employee relations, it is found that this domain is given due importance so that to avoid at the catastrophic condition of contract breach between the two partners say employer and the employee.

What are the types of ERA - Employee Relations Actions?

Following are the types of Employee Relations Actions – ERA:

• Support Actions: Regular communication with employees for solving their personal issues
• Rectifications: Do what is needed to be corrected
• Regulations: Policy interpretation

What qualities an Employee Relations Manager should have?

An ER Manager should have the following capabilities:

• Communication Skills
• Emotionally intelligent
• Skills for problem identification, if any
• Strategic approach
• Leadership qualities
• Innovation
• Social responsibility
• Accountability
• Sense of ownership
• Flexibility

What are Employee Relations best practices?

Following are the Employee Relations best practices:

• Keeping the Promises / practically practice and fulfilling what is promised
• Clear Communication
• Honest dealing
• Vision to be followed by the team
• Create mutual trust
• Recognize and Appreciate
• Encourage teamwork
• Celebrate the success together
• Invest in human resources
• Introduce a culture of belonging and empowerment
• Encourage Merit and Curb the nepotism
• Tell your employees that you trust them and they are important for you
• Be a coach and an example
• Designate authority with responsibility
• Listen to your employees carefully with open ears
• Use employee’s experience in next decisions
• Inspiration and motivation culture enhancement
• Positivity promotion and Emotional connection
• Inclusion introduction of employees into the decision-making process
• Collect and Value employees’ feedback

What are the common problems concerning employee relations?     

  The common problems concerning employee relations can be as mentioned below:

• Employee disengagement
• Poor management and leadership style
• Lack of trust in your employees
• Inadequate Conflict management
• Lack of opportunities for employee promotions
• Improper information approaching the management
• Human resources attitudes in general

Wrap up

To wrap up, the employee relations is about cultivating, executing, and growing such a work environment where the company culture tells there is an employee(s) / human resources having employee experience by which they feel strong, good at mental health levels, a team member; and as an improved employee. Employee relationship management is meant to be devising and implementing of employee relations strategy which holds the flag of an employee-employer good relationship.