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Employee Relations & Partnership
Definition
Employee relations are not confined to unionised collective bargaining but encompass all employment relationships. It goes beyond the negotiation of pay and benefits to include the conduct of the power relationship between employee and employer.
It is a field at the leading edge of HR management where good employee relations are not only desirable but are in fact essential for business success. It is a fine balance of merging corporate, management and employee needs to increase efficiency, productivity and profitability in the interests of all the stakeholders.
Approach
The approach is one of partnership. This is not an easy option but when employers, employees, trade unions or other employee representatives work together in a relationship of mutual trust then the benefits are enormous.
It is not a case of “one size fits all” nor is it a substitute for collective bargaining or the day to day problem solving that takes place in most workplaces. Instead it is about creating the right environment so that the real conversations can take place which acknowledge and respect the views and contributions of all concerned.
It is a systemic approach that will cover:
- “The story so far “(acknowledging the past and the history behind the relationships).
- Identifying the formal and informal relationships that sponsor the change.
- Creating a space for all views to be heard and the real conversations to take place.
- Agreeing the work that needs done for sustainable change.
Case Histories
Examples of work done include:
- Negotiating a single table bargaining agreement and multi skilling arrangement for a Chemicals business against a backdrop of significant cost restraints and associated redundancies.
- Concluding an innovative “Partnership Agreement” across a number of manufacturing trade unions which moved away from traditional collective bargaining to an Employee Forum style consultative arrangement.
- Introducing a new Disciplinary and Grievance policy, flexible working practices and a move to a 35 hour working week within a heavily unionised Local Authority.
“Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists.”
- Edward de Bono
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