Employee Relations In Hrm

Employee Voice:

Human Capital is one of the most important resources a company possesses which helps it achieve its objectives. This is why employee relations are central to Human Resource Management. The centrepiece of employee relations is the relationship between employers and employees with its common and divergent interests. Budd (2003) states that the objective of an employment relationship is to achieve a balance between efficiency, equity and voice and extreme positions are both undesirable and unsustainable. This characterises employee relations as constituting both conflict and cooperation. A variety of bodies have argued that the management of an organisation must adopt a more strategic approach to employee relations. There are

Such companies offer employees complete employment packages, with a competitive pay, above the market rates, and benefits package. They ensure that they employ only those who are fit best with the company norms. Such companies place a lot of significance on induction programmes, stressing on training and development opportunities. They believe in direct communication with employees through practices like team briefing and ‘speak up’ systems eliminating the need for trade unions. The ‘good’ companies undertake the practice of performance related pay to motivate employees. Despite all the positive factors of such companies, it is argued that they camouflage their true nature under such practices. It is suggested that these practices are in place simply during favourable market conditions and are withdrawn when the markets plummet. It could be a front for a managerial strategy that is geared towards compliance and work intensification. (Bacon,

According to Bradley et al (2002) it is an assumption that the employees and managers share common goals, principally organizational success and that relations between them is harmonious which are perceived to further a less conflictual climate of industrial relations. There has been recent EI initiatives and, not surprisingly, have reflected a management agenda concerned primarily with employee motivation and commitment to organizational objectives (Marchington& Wilkinson). EI tends to be more management driven and designed for employee input directly at the workplace level. In contrast, EP is typically enacted through indirect participation via employee representatives, takes place higher up the organisation and is potentially input into more strategic issues within the organisation (Hyman and Mason,1995). EIP in its most limited forms could be characterized as a move away from ‘you will do this’ to ‘this is why you will do this’ (wilkinson et al