How to Improve Employee Relations
Building a strong employee relations within an organisation means to create an environment which delivers what people want today. It could be done at the corporate level, and individual employee level, especially as a HR practitioner.
These are the practices that could be executed by a corporate in order to improve employee relations:
1. Corporate Principle
Today employees are very opinionated about the moral and ethical issues in the business. Employees want to be comfortable with what their employer stand for. By having a set of guiding principles and following them, an organisation creates a framework that allows for principle-centered policies, procedures and decisions.
2. Employee Feedback
Employee feedback can be done through conducting employee opinion survey. Employee opinion survey enable employers to find out what their employees care about, what are they concerned about and what they think of their employer.
3. Employee Participation
Employees want to be productive and involved. Do not hide information and do not do things secretly. Employees like to be informed, know what they are doing, and how their jobs contribute to an organisation’s success.
4. Employee Recognition
Employees want to be appreciated and recognised for their jobs. It is important to have a fair reward policy for the employees, that link their performance with rewards.
5. Competitive Compensation
Employees want to be paid competitively, commensurate with their knowledge, skills and abilities. Conduct annual salary survey, establish fair, consistent pay practices and ensure the entire compensation package is competitive.
Somehow or other, if an organisation is not able to practise the above, as a HR practitioner, we may try to do our part, as follow:
1. Communication
Employees today want to be knowledgeable about the organisation’s effectiveness and activities. Lack of communication will lead to dissent, rumor and incorrect information all over the organisation. Communication pulls the employees together into the family of an organisation.
2. Support
Employees want to receive assistance in balancing their work and family needs. Understand how the employees live outside the business tell them how the employer care and recognise their needs for that balance.
3. Direct Contact
It has a more immediate impact on employee relations. Examples: Walk around the work area and talking to employees.
At the end of the day, people want to feel good about who they are, what they do and where they work. Employee relations is about to create such environment to make them feel good about all these.
