Employee relations refers to the management of the relationship that exist between employers and employees. An organization with a good employee relations program provides fair and consistent treatment to all employees so they will be committed to their jobs and loyal to the company.
Without proper employee relations, work efficiency will be affected negatively because of the relationship gap that exist between employers and employees, which is caused by lack of proper communication among others.
To enhance your organization’s employee relations, here are a few things to do.
- Be clear about your goals, expectations and needs
Your employees won’t like to guess if they are on the right track or doing the right thing. Ambiguity causes friction. One of the best things you can do to ensure positive employee relations is to provide clarity from the beginning about what you expect from your employees. Document your expectations in order to ensure that the standards and expectations you set forth for each team member continue to be communicated within your team.
- Resolve issues quickly
An inevitable element of employee relations is conflict resolution. It is essential to have a process and protocols in place to handle issues swiftly and fairly. Create an environment where employees feel safe to speak up, and resolve issues in a timely manner to lessen the impact to workflows and productivity.
3. Respect your employees
Always respect your employees and their opinions. Never make your employees feel neglected at any point. You can disagree with them, but don’t be harsh on them. Respect their inputs and try to explain your point of view with a little more empathy.
4. Encourage one to one Interactions
Encourage one on one interactions between your employees and managers when necessary. This would create a sense of support for your employees.
Ask your employees if they are happy with the work assigned to them by their managers. If they find enough support from them? If they are keen on learning other processes? Or any suggestions they have on the current way of work.
Questions like these would definitely give your employees a sense of inclusion and also help build positive relationships with them.
- Don not play favorites
When a manager chooses favorite employees, and it can completely demoralize the rest of the team, ruining employee relations altogether. Offer equal opportunities to each member of your team. Spend an equal amount of time in 1-on-1s with each employee, and Take the time to get to know each member of your team on a more personal level.
- Reward employees with recognition
When managing a team, the use of kind words can go a long way. Employees want meaningful feedback and to know their contribution is seen. This means there is a huge opportunity for managers to build strong employee relations simply by recognizing these contributions. Remember, appreciation for a well-done job does more to motivate than does criticism.
In conclusion, creating an employee relations policy should be a must for every organization. By starting with one or two of these ideas, your employee relations will improve.
My name is Chigozie Japhet. I am a content writer, and a brand strategist. I like writing, reading, researching and watching football, especially my team, Man United. i believe in working hard, and also in relaxation as all work without play, makes Chigozie a dull boy.
