Addressing the Importance of Employee-Employer Relations when Designing Work

 

When designing work within an organizational context, it is important to reflect on the current employer-employee relationship due to it being an influential factor of organizational survival. According to (API Team, 2021), the core purpose of work design is to identify the needs of employees along with the orgnaization needs and then proceed to remove obstacles on the way. This addresses that through work design a win-win situation could be created to satisfy both parties through the elimination of unnecessary factors which hinder a smooth relationship between the two.

Firstly, (Che, Zhu and Huang, 2022), one notes that emplyoee-organization relationship refers to the relationship between employers and emplyoees which includes informal, formal, psychological and social relationships in terms of employee expectations regarding specific contributions from employees. This implies that orgnaizational factors as well have an influence on the level of  employee engagement which ultimately affects the organizational profits.

Thereafter, (Verlinden, n.d.), states that employees are the engine of an organization where it is of importance to ensure employer-employee relations as well as cross-employee relations are well maintained. Further, (CIPD, 2023), states that managers at all levels should approach in having working relationships with the representatives by building trust in a constructive manner. According to (Ugoani, 2019), managing employee relations is related to the approaches, methods and process utilized by employer which may be done individually or collectively due to employees being seen as a playing a central role in organizations drive. This denotes the fact that employees should be viewed as a central and integral part of organizational success where the importance of maintaining positive relationships should be carried out throughout the chain of command. Often times, employees the importance of forming, involving and maintaining relationships with employees is overlooked by many employers making them fail to look deeper as to how it would benefit them in the long run.

Benefits of having Effective Employee-Employer Relationships

1)      Effective workplace communication - According to (Verlinden, n.d.), open communication between employees and employers throughout the organization including at a personal level allows for better understanding of goals, objectives, and expectations which in turn makes a difference in the contribution from the employees. Through this action, employees get clarity on what their targets are as well as the employer can understand the assistance, they may require achieving those company goals due to transparency.

2)      Reduction in workplace conflict- As per (Verlinden, n.d.), issues can be solved prior to turning to controversy if there is a strong dialogue and honest conversation between teams and the management by utilizing a platform offered for employees to feel heard. (Ugoani, 2019), goes on to state that for organizational success to take place, it is important to concentrate on how maximum cooperation with employees and their unions can be done in line with minimizing any detrimental effects on the employees and disruptions to organization operations.

3)      Increased employee loyalty and morale- (Verlinden, n.d.), states that by viewing employees as partners within the relationship, employees tend to show greater appreciation and respect due to the employer establishing a positive relationship with the them which empowers them and keeps them in high morale along with high dedication.

4)      Better employer reputation- (Rozman and Strukeljb, 2021), denotes that attention should be paid to the organization climate components which can influence work engagements of emplyoees as when the work engagement of employees is stronger the more employees feel better at work. In line with (Verlinden, n.d.), one notes that employees who are made to feel valued speak highly of the employer which increases the brand reputation amongst potential stakeholders increasing the increased business opportunities. This goes to show how organizational elements such as the way employees are made to feel assist in retaining the best and attracting the best due to the real-life testimonials given to the outside world by existing employees giving them a competitive advantage.

5)      Decreased employee turnover rate- According to (Verlinden, n.d.), employees focus more on the positive job aspects when they have a positive relationship with the employer as they are less likely to search for newer opportunities elsewhere which enables employers to retain productive and valuable employees.

6)      Better organizational performance- As per (Verlinden, n.d.), overall organizational performance gets affected depending on how motivated and content employees are as when employees feel connected to their employer they are seen as more productive and dedicated to contributing through their role. (CIPD, 2023), denotes that employees can project their collective voice through their elected representatives as an indirect channel to make suggestions, raise concerns and ask questions. This also gives the management to impart important future plans to the workforce. Ultimately, this implies that once the majority of the voiced demotivating factors have been addressed by the employer, there is a much better chance for them to plan accordingly for the future with regards to the organizational growth and increase of their market share.

Role of Human Resources Department in Helping Maintain Positive Employer-Employee Relationships

As per (Hussain et al., 2018), it is stated that necessary actions are required to be taken in order to motivate employees which entangles the organizational change process through the focus of impelementation of change. In line with (Hussain et al., 2018), one notes that Lewin`s three step change model which denote unfreezing, changing and unfreezing where employees are involved by leaders regarding the issues related to change process.

·       Unfreezing- Acknowledgement of the need for change.

·       Changing- Assisting employees to understand new concepts or perspectives.

·       Refreezing- Integrate the new manner in which things are done.

Lewin`s model emphasises on effective change which is occurred by unfreezing the current situation and proceeding to refreezing the system in order for the desired state to be remained. According to (Collins, 2023), HR can help sustain manager-employee relationships through the provision of frameworks, trainings, and tools to promote clear and frequently effective communication which helps align workforces leading to better financial outcomes for organizations. Hence, if the organization currently does not have positive manager-employee relationships, HR can utilize Lewin`s model to implement a change in educating the employers on how the communication with employees should be done. Firstly, during the unfreezing stage they could address the leadership and mangers collectively of the need for change in the way they approach employees which can be supported through an anonymous survey result from a form shared with the employees on how they feel the company is with them. Secondly, they can help the managers and leaders understand framework, tools, trainings and more on how to have effective relationships and finally go on to refreeze the change in due time. A few manners in which HR could assist managers and employers could be as depicted below.

•        Providing a C.L.E.A.R Framework to navigate challenging conversations

As per (Collins, 2023), HR can assist managers prepare in advance if they are to encounter challenging discussion which could be personal, or work related which affects employee well-being by using the C.L.E.A.R framework.

Communicate- (Collins, 2023), communication is required to be intentional, and emotion needed be present.

Listen- (Collins, 2023), states that the focus on what employees say and do not say along with avoiding making assumptions.

Be Empathetic- (Collins, 2023), notes that managers should show compassion through the understanding employee’s perspectives through different types of empathy.

Be Authentic- (Collins, 2023) denotes that managers need to be relatable and natural.

Reflect- (Collins, 2023) states that mindfulness gives employees time and space to reflect and respond on how they would do things differently the next time.

Manager effectiveness would be strengthened by having people in charge responsible and through the ability to adopt practices to maintain manager-employee relationships.

•        Offering trainings, mentoring, and allocating the right tools

As per (Collins, 2023), most managers do not find coaching naturally especially new managers who have been in the role for a short period of time have to be mentored, taught, and given resources and tools to help them succeed. (CIPD, 2023), states that it is important to train and guide managers to understand organizational aims and practices whilst working on improving their consultation skills and knowledge on how to promote effective employee voice. In keeping with (CIPD, 2023), one notes that line managers are required to have wider sets of competencies such as consulting employees, analysing attitudes of their employees, noticing signs of conflict and resolving differences between the management and employees as they are responsible for managing employment relationship.

According to (Collins, 2023), HR should frequently check-in between more tenured and newer managers to answer questions and resolve trouble quickly. Especially, when it comes to new managers, when they have a few projects related responsibilities to allow them to focus on building solid relationships with each team members. Thereafter, proceed to providing specialized trainings on how to assist the team members in their work and to always make time to listen to the feedback received from employees and work towards change.

•        Building the B.E.S.T managers

(Ugoani, 2019), shows that managers are responsible for managing the workforce by overseeing the work effort of employees and deal with their immediate problems and report their progress to the management. Therefore, (Collins, 2023), sates the B.E.S.T framework for helping managers train on their behaviours and approaches which reflect on improving manager-employee relationships.

B- (Collins, 2023), states that managers are required to build trust through communication which is authentic to help build leaders within their teams.

E- (Collins, 2023), notes that managers should empower curiosity in others and enable them to create a safe space.

S- (Collins, 2023), notes that mangers should show a sense of humour, integrity and confidence to build connections and display vulnerabilities.

T- (Collins, 2023), states that managers should guide employees towards finding right solutions, listening and clear communication.

•        Guidelines for successful conversations

According to (Collins, 2023), HR can utilize technology which offers customizable templates for various types of manager-employee interactions and enables more effective conversations. (Collins, 2023), further notes that helping managers become more effective can be done by structuring their conversations such as preparation for conversation according to each employee’s needs, clear communication, offering examples and context and define their expectations. By providing the, guidelines, it ensures that the managers stay within the positive perspective from the employees side as they have a path to help them navigate in maintaining employee relations.

 

Overall, relationship maintenance plays a vital role when it comes to work design which most times may be overlooked or seen down on the priority list in comparison to other factors such as the work tasks, responsibilities and more. As demonstrated afore, establishing positive employer- employee relationships vastly make a difference on the manner work is carried out, influences the work environment as well as contributes to the overall brand image and reputation if there is a positive relationship between the employer and employee. In the case of the employer having the lack of skill to communicate and maintaining a healthy relationship with the other employees, HR could always step in and assist them in making better relationship which benefit the team and organization as a whole.

 

References

CIPD, 2023. Employee relations: an introduction. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/relations-employees-factsheet/
[Accessed 16 December 2023].

Collins, C., 2023. 5 Ways HR Can Foster Strong Manager-Employee Relationships. [Online]
Available at: https://www.betterworks.com/magazine/how-hr-can-foster-strong-manager-employee-relationships/
[Accessed 16 December 2023].

Strukeljb, M. R. a. T., 2021. Organisational climate components and their impact onwork engagement of employees in medium-sizedorganisations. ECONOMIC RESEARCH-EKONOMSKA ISTRAŽIVANJA, Volume 34.

Syed Talib Hussain, S. L. T. A. M. J. H. S. H. H., 2018. Kurt Lewin’s change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge.

Team, A., 2021. What is work design?. [Online]
Available at: https://americanpressinstitute.org/what-is-work-design/
[Accessed 16 December 2023].

Ugoani, J. N. N., 2019. Managing Employee Relations and its Effect on Organizational Success. International Journal of Social Sciences Perspectives, Volume 6.

Verlinden, N., n.d. Employee Relations: Examples + 10 Strategy Tips. [Online]
Available at: https://www.aihr.com/blog/employee-relations/
[Accessed 16 December 2023].

Yi Che, J. Z. a. H. H., 2022. How Does Employee–Organization Relationship Affect Work Engagement and Work Well-Being of Knowledge-Based Employees?. Froniters in Psychology, Volume 13.