What Is Employee Relations?

Employee relations (a.k.a. employee relationship management)?have a direct influence on employee satisfaction and engagement. Therefore, many companies today invest more resources to improve employee relations and keep their workplaces healthy.?

Good employee relationship management goes far beyond whether or not you and your employees get along. Employee relations, very simply, can include everything involved in maintaining your colleagues’ well-being.?

Employee Relations reinforce your company's culture and make sure that teammates can be productive and get along with each other.

Employee relations concerns the building of positive relationships and interactions among employers and employees, and at a broader level helps foster a sense of community within an organization. This could entail initiating transparent workplace communication or supporting the emotional, physical, and psychological health of employees. Ultimately, the goal of employee relations is to create a positive relationship between employers and employees that leads to an increase in employee retention, happiness, and productivity.

Remember What works in a company with 10 employees in the Nairobi may not work for a company of 5000 employees in Mombasa . In other words,?employee relations programs vary based on company size, location, industry, culture, and many other factors.

However, there are a few?characteristics of every good employee relations plan:

• Help employees understand your mission and vision
• Show them how their job aligns with your mission and vision
• Communicate with employees frequently
• Give employees feedback
• Reward them for good work

Examples of Employee Relations Responsibilities

Encouraging Employee Engagement:

Community-building activities, advocacy of a life/work balance, incentives and rewards, professional development opportunities—all of these are some of the things employee relations departments can do to encourage employee engagement and interest. Happy employees work better than dissatisfied ones and a good working environment is great for productivity. Though there are many different approaches out there, from providing different physical environments to organizing holiday events, companies should always strive to keep employees content and healthy.

Improving Workplace Communication

Companies can make or break a good relationship with an employee over the quality of communication. A good employee relations department will continue to try and improve workplace communication, whether that means establishing policies or encouraging transparent exchanges. This applies to communications that happen both at a company-wide scale and a more personal level—changes in company direction versus performance reviews, for example. It can also apply to communications outside of the company, such as through social media.

Settling Disputes and Conflicts

Unfortunately, it’s a fact of life that people will disagree with each other. The more people are involved in the disagreement, the greater the overall discontent, and by extension, the impact on the workplace. In cases such as this, the role of employee relations is to resolve the conflicts before they start to spiral and negatively influence others. This is also true for disputes or issues the employee has with the company.

Addressing Sexual Harassment and Bullying

Employees sexually harassed or bullied (or who witnessed it happening to another individual) should make reports to an employee relations department. The department is then responsible for investigating the allegation, reaching a conclusion, and taking any necessary steps to resolve the situation and end the harassment or bullying. Employee relations is also responsible for setting up any preventative measures, such as scheduling anti-harassment courses and writing anti-mistreatment policies.

Overseeing Health and Safety Procedures

An unsafe work environment is a recipe for disaster. Injuries, infrastructure damage—all of this can be disastrous to employees and employers. Employee relations must therefore promote awareness of any risks, ensure adequate training where necessary, and write company-wide policies in the event of an emergency. Examples include first aid training and fire evacuation procedures. If an injury or accident does occur, the department is responsible for handling medical leave and compensation.

Handling Wage Concerns

Much like health and safety procedures, the subject of wages—and by extension hours and expectations around compensation or shift work—are handled by an employee relations department. This includes things like attendance, compensation packages, timekeeping, and vacation days. Wage disputes, requests for a pay raise, and annual reviews or performance bonuses are typically dealt with or communicated by the department. Employee relations is also responsible for ensuring both employees and the company are meeting state and federal wage standards.

Clarifying Company Policy

If an employee has a question about company policy, it is the responsibility of employee relations to provide an answer. They should also address any relevant concerns or comments about the policy, and communicate clearly if the policy is changed or modified.

Conducting Workplace Investigations

Any situation warranting further investigation—such as harassment accusations or allegations of misconduct—will fall under the jurisdiction of an employee relations department. In most cases, the department will conduct these investigations internally, unless it must involve outside parties (e.g., law enforcement). Employee relations will also arrange any measure taken after the conclusion of an investigation, for example, a “recognizing sexual harassment” course.

Communicating With Employee Unions

Employee unions will typically elect a representative responsible for liaising with the company. The company must then find someone internally to liaise with the liaison. This role typically falls to someone in an employee relations department. This relationship is the main point of contact, collaborative or otherwise, between a union and a company, and may involve responsibilities including wage negotiation, employee rights, and setting up meetings between unions and upper management.

Monitoring Overall Employee Morale and Performance

To evaluate whether initiatives are working, employee relations departments must regularly monitor the morale and performance of employees. By opening up opportunities for reviews and feedback—both anonymous and face-to-face—employee relations can track the company atmosphere and hopefully resolve any brewing negative sentiment before it can grow too far out of control.

Some employee relations departments choose to conduct these reviews in an organized and data-based way, while others (especially smaller organizations) may choose a more conversational approach. The results of these sessions can help employee relations departments choose which areas or problems they should focus on and which current initiatives they should cut or continue.