One of the problems with employee relations is that it covers a huge range of topics. After all, “anything involving employees” is a big umbrella. In order to relieve some of your confusion, here are ten common examples of subjects and issues covered by employee relations. It is also worth noting that many of these responsibilities can be easily managed by most of today’s recruiting platforms if you feel like you need some technological help.
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 at 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 workplace 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
In order 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.
