3.6.5 Making human resource decisions: improving employer-employee relations
Influences on the extent and methods of employee involvement in decision making
Trade Unions = these are organisations of workers that seek through collective bargaining with employers
Why employees join trade unions:
- Protect and improve the real incomes of their members
- Provide or improve job security
- Protect workers against unfair dismissal and other issues relating to employment legislation
- Lobby for better working conditions
- Offer a range of other work-related services including support for people claiming compensation for injuries sustained in a job
How to manage and improve employer-employee communications and relations
Methods to resolve industrial disputes:
- Arbitration – a third party comes in to help settle a dispute
- Non binding: the outcome can either be accepted if rejected by the parties involved
- Binding: the decision made is legally binding
- Pendulum: awards in favour of one party over another
- Conciliation – where a third person come in to help the parties involved reach an amicable solution amongst themselves (advisory)
- Employment tribunal – informal courts where disputes are legally settled between the employee and the employer (trade unions help with this)
Value of good employer-employee relations
Advantages of a good employee-employer relationship to the employee:
- Communication is better and clearer
- Change is easier to adapt to as the employees understand the need for it
- More motivated workforce – happier place to work
- Employees feel more comfortable and relaxed
- Innovative and more effective problem solving
- Employees feel more involved and part of the team
Advantages of a good employee-employer relationship to the employer:
- More motivated employees so they’ll work harder and produce more
- Organisations grow quicker as employees are happy and more motivated – they will have an increased labour productivity
- Change is easier to implement as employees understand the need
- Happier employees means lower labour turnover
- Decision making is more efficient
- Organisations become more competitive
- Objectives will be easier to meet as the workforce is more coordinated