EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

ASSOC PROF DR NORLIDA KAMALUDDIN

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Introduction

Human resource ? Employee relations a term that relatively recent years become commonly used to indicate a particular area of subject matter

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What is employee relations / industrial relations?

? Arguments!
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Blyton and Turnbull [1994] Why they have chosen to use the term employee as opposed to industrial
Industrial relations Became associated with trade unions, collective bargaining and industrial action Employee relations Encompass the dominant service sector which in many countries employs more than 70% of the workforce such as more women working and more part-time, temporary and fixed term contracts

Had too strong a tendency to view Include non-union as well as union the world of work as synonymous with scenarios and relationships the heavy extractive and manufacturing sectors of employment, sectors which were dominated by male manual workers working full time

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Marchington and Wilkinson [1996]

Discuss this differences and suggest term employee relations has emerge for 3 reasons:
Usage, fashion and slippage It is increasingly used by personnel practitioners to describe that part of personnel and development concerned with the regulations [collective and individual] between employer and employee There are actual and real differences of focus, with employee relations tending to focus upon management and issues alone

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Definition

Employee Relations involves the body of work concerned with maintaining employer-employee relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, and morale. Essentially, Employee Relations is concerned with preventing and resolving problems involving individuals which arise out of or affect work situations. Employee relations consist of all those areas of human resource management that involve relationships with employees-directly or through collective agreements where trade unions are recognised

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Concepts of employee relations

Relationship will be concerned with the agreement of terms and conditions of employment and with issues arising from employment. Employee relations practices include formal processes, procedures and channels of communication

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The HRM approaches to employee relations

A drive for commitment An emphasis on mutuality The organisation of complementary forms of communication, such as team briefing, alongside traditional collective bargaining A shift from collective bargaining to individual contracts The use of employee involvement techniques such as quality circles or improvements groups Continuous pressure on quality-TQM Increased flexibility in working arrangements Emphasis on teamwork's Harmonisation of terms and conditions for all employees

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Elements of employee relations

The formal and informal employment policies and practices of the organisation The development, negotiation and application of formal systems, rules and procedures for collective bargaining, handling disputes and regulating employment Policies and practices for employee involvement and communications The philosophies and policies of the major players in the industrial relations scene: the government of the day, management and through trade unions The legal framework The number of institutions such as the Advisory, arbitration service and the employment tribunals

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Advantages of maintaining good employee relations

Reduced absenteeism Improved morale and motivation Harmony in organization Attract good talent Lesser attrition-reduced cost on training, less cost of retention Responsible for increase in productivity Open to organizational changes Shared learning and continues improvement
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Significance of good employee relations

Employee attitudes and commitment are strongly associated with orgn performance And managers see employee voice as contributing to performance via better employee contributions and productivity gains The informal climate of involvement and consultation appears to be more strongly associated with employee satisfaction and commitment .

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cont
Mechanisms use for employee voice ---2 way communication, project teams and joint consultation The major constraints on employee voice are lack of skills and enthusiasm by mgrs and employees The psychological contract ---employees trust , fairly treated etc

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How is employee relations organised?

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What do people with employee relations responsibilities need to know?

Understanding collective labor law Knowing how representative structures work Awareness of general employment law Facilitation and communication skills Negotiation skills Understanding how to develop trust and respect

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cont
Personal qualities- objectivity, robustness, confidence to tell senior people what they think Awareness of employee attitudes Business knowledge

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Management relationship to employee relations Organizations are collective bodies of individuals engaged in a common purpose through individual and group efforts. Channelizing human energies in a predetermined desirable direction is not possible unless harmonious relations are maintained among organizational members.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd.

Relationship among employees provides the context in which organizational roles assigned to members are performed, team spirit inculcated, expectations clarified, conflicts resolved and shared norms of behaviour developed.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd. Maintenance of harmonious relationship among employees across the vertical and horizontal levels of the organization is thus a necessary condition for enabling organizations to move towards excellence. Despite the significance of healthy employee relations, there are occasions in the life of every organization when relationships are strained, particularly between the management and the individual employee.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd.

The management has certain expectations of the employees in terms of standards of behaviour and performance, code of conduct, desirable actions and behaviour which are made known to the employees through formal or informal, written or verbal means. Failure to meet these expectations or deviations from the laid down norms of behaviour on the part of the employees leads to the problem of indiscipline.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd.

In such situations, the management must initiate action to ensure that an employees behaviour is in conformity with their expectations. Likewise, the employees also have certain expectations of the management in terms of their conditions of service, working environment, satisfaction of their variety of needs, freedom of expression and operation and equitable, just and fair treatment which are often made known to the management through various means of upward communication.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd.

In such situations, the management must initiate action to ensure that an employees behaviour is in conformity with their expectations. Likewise, the employees also have certain expectations of the management in terms of their conditions of service, working environment, satisfaction of their variety of needs, freedom of expression and operation and equitable, just and fair treatment which are often made known to the management through various means of upward communication.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd.

Failure on the part of the management to meet those expectations leads to what is called employee grievance. Thus both the problems of discipline and of employee grievance are two sides of the same coin. They result from the mismatch of the expectations of the management and the employees and failure of one group to meet the expectations of the other. If the problems relating to discipline and employee grievance are not properly managed, the relationship is strained and harmony disturbed.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd.

The strained relationship affects adversely the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of the total organization. Yet another set of factors leading to strained relationship is the stress that employees experience in carrying out their day-to-day affairs. Failure to meet ones own expectations in terms of career goal, achievement and challenge, life goals, and self-esteem may lead to stress among the individuals.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd.

The stress can be caused by several factors some of which are extra organizational in nature while others arise from organizational policies and structures, work pressures, group pressures, quality of interpersonal relationship and nature of job. Stress leads to anxiety and tension which in turn affects relationship among employees. Productive capacities of individuals under stress and their ability to establish meaningful relationship with others are considerably reduced.

Management relationship to employee relations Contd.

The problems relating to discipline, grievance and stress are of continuing nature in the life of any organization. Moreover, being basically human problems, they are complex in nature in that they cannot easily be predicted and controlled by conventional managerial actions or by legal-judicial process. What is required is a new set of skillscounselling skills-the use of which can go a long way in resolving those issues on a continuing basis. Counselling then becomes an important managerial and personnel function.

Your Task

Group Presentation 1. Employee relations impact on business performance [Aslinda & Zuhair] 2. Is employee relations in practice more reactive or proactive? [Nik & Wan] 3. Employee relations practitioner is an employee champion [Arlina & Adi] 4. The role of social values in employee relations the concept of fairness [Nurliyana, Syezreen & Fauziah]

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