Companies and managers must promote good employee relations. Otherwise, businesses could experience higher turnover and lower productivity from workers. This can result in reduced profits and may cause the company to fail. Companies and managers must promote good employee relations. Otherwise, businesses could experience higher turnover and lower productivity from workers. This can result in reduced profits and may cause the company to fail.
Why Does Good Employee Relations Matter?
Employee relations is a function of a company’s human resources department that creates and manages policies involving employees’ relationships with their employer and co-workers. This can help to better ensure that workers are treated fairly, feel safe, and are happy in their work environment.
For employee relations to be successful, a company’s workers must feel like there is transparency from its managers and other leaders. Unfortunately, studies show that only 42% of employees in the United States look forward to coming to work. This compares with 84% of the companies recognized by Fortune 100 as “The Best Companies to Work For.”
Further, approximately 65% of employees are looking for a new job at any time. One reason could be that 60% of workers report being stressed most or all the time they are at work.
In addition, less than 50% of employees surveyed by the World Happiness Report stated that they are happy with their jobs. Therefore, managers should work to ensure that their companies score high in employee relations.
The primary characteristics of good employee relations include the following:
- Communication
- Respect
- Transparency
- Diversity
- Inclusion
- Equity
- Belonging
- Employee training and development
- Employee commitment to the company’s core values
- Supportive management and leadership
How Managers Can Improve Employee Relations
Employee turnover can cost up to 200% of a worker’s annual salary. So, keeping current employees can be more beneficial than constantly finding and training new ones. Good employee relations are a crucial ingredient for doing so.
There are several strategies managers may use to help improve employee relations. These include:
- Promoting an open dialogue
- Focusing on the company’s mission and values
- Increasing the ratio of positive versus negative feedback
- Inspiring and rewarding employees
- Offering career development opportunities
- Promoting a healthy work-life balance
- Using software to eliminate redundancy and reduce the potential for mistakes
- Creating an employee relations policy
Promoting an Open Dialogue
Promoting an open dialogue means that the employee and their manager are allowed to speak freely and provide feedback without facing backlash or retaliation. Employees should also be allowed to ask questions and clarify ideas in a safe space.
Focusing on the Company’s Mission and Values
Many people wish to be part of something bigger than themselves. So, it can be beneficial to regularly express the company’s mission and values. In addition, management should also align themselves with these same values, providing an excellent example for employees to follow.
Increasing the Ratio of Positive versus Negative Feedback
Most employees feel proud of their accomplishments, regardless of their performance. Therefore, managers should show appreciation when employees complete a task successfully instead of criticizing them.
Employee relations experts recommend that managers motivate employees by saying thank you for big and small achievements, letting workers know the company values them and focusing on positive points.
Inspiring and Rewarding Employees
Managers should work to inspire employees and reward them for jobs well done. In this case, leaders could collaborate with each employee to set goals rather than simply handing down a list of tasks for them to complete. This can help workers become more invested in the process and the progress.
Another way to inspire employees is for managers to reward them. This is true for all task levels, regardless of how large or small. In addition, managers should recognize new employees immediately after they start working at the company, as accepting the job offer is considered their first achievement.
Offering Career Development Opportunities
Many employees want to move up in their company. Therefore, offering career development opportunities is another way to enhance good employee relations. Managers could assist workers with mapping out a career path based on their job and future aspirations. This plan should incorporate the
individual’s unique skills and knowledge.
Examples of career development opportunities can include offering a(n):
- A mentorship program that pairs workers with higher-skilled counterparts
- Rotational training so employees can learn multiple job roles
- Tuition reimbursement for degrees or certification programs
Promoting a Healthy Work-Life Balance
While working hard at one’s job is essential, doing so should not interfere with employees’ personal and family lives. Managers should promote a healthy work-life balance to keep employees’ morale up. This can include being supportive if employees must take time off for family emergencies or other needs.
Using Software to Eliminate Redundancy and Reduce the Potential for Mistakes
Implementing software and systems can significantly affect how well employees complete various tasks. For example, project management applications make it easier for managers to show team members what they expect.
The right software can also eliminate redundant tasks and allow employees to focus more on their unique talents and abilities. In this case, eliminating a 10-minute daily task can save more than 500 minutes yearly, time that could be better spent on sales and other revenue-generating activities.
Creating an Employee Relations Policy
If managers feel overwhelmed by employee relationship management, some ways to help reduce this could include creating an employee relations policy. Going this route can help streamline specific processes necessary for accomplishing goals. In addition, human resources software tools can help with this process.
Does Your Company Promote Good Employee Relations?
If you want to reduce turnover and keep workers motivated at your company, it is essential to focus on good employee relations. A specialist in this area could provide you with more details based on your objectives, time frame, and budget.
