What is employee relations?
Def: Analyzing, developing, implementing/administering, and evaluating the workplace relationship between employer and employee, in order to maintain relationships and working conditions that balance employer and employee needs and rights in support of the organization’s strategic goals, objectives, and values.
Front-line managers have a critical impact on employee relations in any organization. Too frequently, managers don’t have the experience, skills or information they need to succeed in this area. HR can play a proactive role here, helping to minimize employee relations issues within the organization, improving morale and reducing turnover in the process. How? By examining your existing management development strategies and making sure that the following tactics are in place:
Give constructive feedback
Respond to employee suggestions
Deal with conflict
“According to consulting firm TalentKeepers, the annual cost of employee turnover in the United States tops $5 trillion.”
Provide managers with the tools they need – Your organization’s managers are important customers for the HR department. The more effectively you can work through them to serve the needs of employees, the more efficient you will be in meeting the organization’s needs. Time spent on developing tools communication tools, training resources, counseling and support resources to meet the needs of your managers will be time well spent. Not only will you be able to increase efficiencies for the HR department, you will ultimately increase the satisfaction of both managers and employees.
Step in quickly to correct behavior when necessary - Sometimes managers need “course correction.” Sometimes managers simply are not qualified for the job they’re being required to perform. In either case it’s important that HR move swiftly to work with the appropriate people to correct these situations. The impact of one manager on an organization can be immense that impact can be either positive or negative. A poor manager can negatively impact performance, productivity, morale and turnover. Those are problems you don’t need.
Organizations can’t afford to ignore employee relations issues. They can have a negative impact on recruitment and retention.
