When trust is broken, productivity is broken. Sounds relatable? Relax, this isn’t about your love life—it’s just HR employee relations!
Organizations that thrive on good communication, fair treatment & respect did not happen overnight. It takes time and effort to build a workplace that embraces those values, with HR in the driver’s seat.
That takes time and hard work. So, how do HR managers develop robust employee relations? Let’s take a closer look.
What is HR Employee Relations?
It is the HR strategies, policies & actions that HR utilizes to develop a positive employer-employee relationship. That is why organizations increasingly rely on Human Resource Management people, because they are involved in supporting, coordinating, and dealing with – and even eradicating – dysfunctional teams.
Why HR Employee Relations is More Important Now than Ever
Unresolved arguments, unclear communication, or a lack of appreciation can bring people down. It is responsible for maintaining a balanced & respectful workspace for employees. Healthy employee relations build morale and decrease turnover. All of these items affect team motivation, company culture, and recruitment as an employer brand.
Core Functions of HR in Employee Relations
Let’s take a closer look at how Employee Relations is an important function for HR practitioners:
Conflict Resolution
HR effectively addresses grievances and disputes appropriately. HR mediates between employees & management to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Policy Administration
HR establishes policy in relation to many areas of the organization. Such as attendance rules and codes of conduct, to name a few. HR clearly outlines policies that guide behaviour & expectations. These policies eliminate grey areas if appropriately administered.
Feedback Mechanisms
Feedback mechanisms must exist. HR formulates the format through surveys, one-on-ones, and performance appraisals. How can they speak up in terms of employees being able to provide feedback and be heard?
Legal Compliance
In order to protect the organisation and employees from potential legal problems.
Training & Development
Learning continuously keeps teams energised. HR administers training that helps with developing skill sets and morale.
Workplace Culture Building
Leading initiatives on diversity, inclusion, and psychological safety does this.
Performance Management
HR shows teams how to orient themselves toward achieving actionable goals. Through performance reviews, HR ensures that an employee’s performance is self-contextualised. But not without considering the context of the employee’s growth. And this is done through the systemic measurement of progress.
Recognition programs in
HR Employee Relations
HR also encourages ways for organisations to establish recognition programs. That too, with a focus on developing programmes for recognising effort with rewards. For driving consistent performance behaviour marked by parity. Recognition has enhanced the damage of motivation!
Closing Thoughts in HR Employee Relations
HR relationships matter & poor relations kill morale, whereas good working relationships drive performance.
This is a compelling reason for every organization to prioritize this process. HR is not about people management. It is about empowering people. With a well-defined process, effective tools & a people-oriented mindset. Your organization can put the building blocks in place to maintain sustainable relationships.
Next Steps
Take the guesswork out of HR employee relations with Savvy HRMS. Savvy HRMS provides HR teams with a platform that delivers HR employee relations support. That is more strategic and efficient.
Check out Savvy HRMS for a game-changer for your workplace from the inside.
FAQs
- What is the mission of HR Employee Relations?
The mission is to foster a healthy & productive workplace by facilitating a positive relationship between employer & employee.
- How does HR mitigate conflict in the workplace?
HR will listen to all sides & gather information with neutrality. Provide recommendations that are fair to both sides while resolving without further escalation.
- Why is employee feedback a good thing?
Feedback provides information to HR about employee concerns. It also identifies areas for improvement within processes & increases employee engagement and involvement.
- How can HR enhance employee relations?
By creating relevant policies & creating opportunities for open communication.
- What resources are available for managing employee relations?
Building in automation for feedback gathering. Enabling communication while maintaining important messages and policy administration in HR policy.
