HUMAN RESOURCE EMPLOYEE RELATION

 HOW TO BUILT STRONG RELATION WITH YOUR TEAM

Employee relations is a hot-topic buzzword in business circles these days, and for good reason: the relationship between an employer and its employees is an integral part to the longevity of any successful company or organization. But for something so critical to business operations, the details can be irritatingly vague and general (Crail, 2023).

Employee relations are basically about the pay–work bargain – the agreement made between employers and employees whereby the former undertakes to pay for the work done by the latter. Fundamentally, many employers simply want employees who will do what they are told without costing too much. They want engagement and commitment. In contrast, employees want a say in how much they are rewarded, their terms and conditions of employment and the way in which their work is organized. They want good working conditions, security of employment, a healthy and safe working environment and the scope to raise and resolve grievances .

 Figure 01 : Employee relation (Martic, 2023)

According to the HR Acuity (2022), Employee relationship management usually entails:

• Workplace issue management: This involves case management of workplace conflict mediation and arbitration. Employee relations managers work to resolve altercations between team members. 

• Employee relations policy development: An employee relations manager is responsible for designing, executing and tracking policies and programs relating to remuneration and benefits, workplace safety, office hours, fair working practices and other HR facets. 

• Liaison between employees and managers: It’s largely the responsibility of employee relations staff to act as intermediaries between workers and their superiors, especially regarding conflict or miscommunication.

   

7 Strategies for Improved Employee Relations

As per the Work force hub, (2022) Following are the seven strategies for improved employee relations.

1. Promote an Open Dialogue

Open communication helps to prevent employee confusion and unnecessary stress. It can decrease friction between employees and their co-workers, especially management and employees. It helps to set clear goals and expectations. When millions of employees were abruptly sent home to work in March 2020 (due to the pandemic), effective communication became one of the biggest challenges for managers and the HR department.

2. Focus on Company Mission and Values

Express your company values and mission frequently. More importantly, make sure leadership and management walk the walk. Few businesses have as a mission ‘make more money no matter what.’ Instead, successful businesses have a reason for why they do what they do. Your company fills a need that was unfilled before. You have hopes and aspirations for how you will help more people. You have goals and dreams for your business. Share them.

3. Increase the Ratio of Positive vs. Negative Feedback

Employee relations experts recommend the following to help employees feel valued:

• Say thank you for big and small things. It can range from a simple thank you card to verbal appreciation.
• Tell employees they are valuable. They need to hear it. Letting them know when they handled a situation or a customer well helps motivate them to do it again.
• Recognize high achievers. Public recognition is a huge motivator for certain personalities. Plus, it has the added benefit of showing that your company values and goals are important!

4. Inspire and Reward

Another way to inspire a new employee or existing employees is to reward them. Consider having a gold, silver, bronze incentive for various achievements. But, make sure that these incentives align with your business values. Otherwise, you may end up in a similar situation with Wells Fargo, where corporate goals conflicted with corporate values and incentives won out.

5. Offer Career Development

Even lower-level employees can benefit from development. Most employees are happier when they have a goal or a dream to work toward. Map the career path for each job role at your company. Consider the skills and unused talents your employees have.

6. Promote Healthy Work-Life Balance

Unfortunately, some employers forget that employees have personal lives that take priority.

But, it’s not all about the benefits. The attitude of your managers, when faced with employees’ personal dilemmas, will make a difference. Although employees often value the chance to work from home, this doesn’t mean you should ask them to take work home. Instead, work from home should mean work done during a normal work day.

7. Use Software to Eliminate Redundancy and Reduce Mistakes

Implementing systems and software can make a big difference. That’s because it helps to automate and improve communications. Project management applications make it easy for managers and team members to see what’s required on a project and who’s responsible. Messaging apps can make communication instant and avoid the stress from unplanned lengthy discussions that often occur face-to-face.

 

Video 1: Employee relation (Greggue, 2015)

 

Conclusion

Employee relations are important because they form the foundation of trust between an organization and its employees. When workers feel respected by their supervisors for their contributions to the organization's success, they tend to reciprocate this respect with hard work and loyalty towards the company. An increase in output and performance It's simple, the happier your employees are the more likely they are to work harder. An increase in employee engagement: Having better communication will lead to your employees feeling valued, involved, and connected.

REFERENCES

 

Crail, C. (2023) What is employee relation. [Online] Available from https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/what-is-employee-relations/ [Accessed 04 May 2023].

 

Greggu, (2015) What is Employee relation, [Online Vedio] Available from https://youtu.be/5_btNIdvEfo [Accessed 04 May 2023].

 

HR Acuity, (2022) Current trends in HR employee Relation. [Blog Entry] 14 September. Available from https://www.hracuity.com/blog/hr-employee-relations/ [ Accessed 04 May 2023].

 

Martic, K. (2023) What are the employee relations and why they are important. [Blog Entry] 10 January. Available from https://haiilo.com/blog/what-are-employee-relations-and-why-are-they-important/ [Accessed 04 May 2023].

 

Workfource hub, (2022) Improve employee relation with seven strategies (onsite and remote). [Blog Entry]  02 August. Available from https://www.workforcehub.com/blog/7-strategies-to-improve-employee-relations-for-a-phenomenal-workplace/ [Accessed 04 May 2023].