Employee Relations and Communications
Employee Relations is about the importance of understanding and merging company, management and employee needs to achieve optimum performance, commitment and effectiveness.
The climate of employee relations has changed significantly since the 1990s.
Today's complex, turbulent and fast-moving business environment makes increasing demands on managers and workforces, as competitive standards rise. The hunger for talent and the rising expectations of a changing workforce require managers to respond positively and pro-actively if they are to get the performance levels they need.
The emphasis now is on communication, managing organisational change and involving, inspiring and motivating staff.
Employees’ trust in the organisation, their sense of being fairly treated and the extent to which they believe their employer has delivered on the implicit deal between them, (which has been termed the 'psychological contract'), affects their attitudes towards job satisfaction, commitment, work–life balance and the state of employee relations - and that directly impacts on business performance.
A key issue for managers is focus. Are they directing their attention to the issues that will make a real difference to business performance? There’s strong evidence that a positive 'psychological contract' with employees will lead to superior economic performance, but where does managing the psychological contract figure in the list of management’s priorities?
A focus on gaining and retaining high levels of employee engagement, empowerment, commitment and involvement, an understanding of how to develop trust and respect and an awareness of employee attitudes and feelings is critical to achieving the best business performance.
The climate of employee relations has changed significantly since the 1990s.
Today's complex, turbulent and fast-moving business environment makes increasing demands on managers and workforces, as competitive standards rise. The hunger for talent and the rising expectations of a changing workforce require managers to respond positively and pro-actively if they are to get the performance levels they need.
The emphasis now is on communication, managing organisational change and involving, inspiring and motivating staff.
Employees’ trust in the organisation, their sense of being fairly treated and the extent to which they believe their employer has delivered on the implicit deal between them, (which has been termed the 'psychological contract'), affects their attitudes towards job satisfaction, commitment, work–life balance and the state of employee relations - and that directly impacts on business performance.
A key issue for managers is focus. Are they directing their attention to the issues that will make a real difference to business performance? There’s strong evidence that a positive 'psychological contract' with employees will lead to superior economic performance, but where does managing the psychological contract figure in the list of management’s priorities?
A focus on gaining and retaining high levels of employee engagement, empowerment, commitment and involvement, an understanding of how to develop trust and respect and an awareness of employee attitudes and feelings is critical to achieving the best business performance.
What is Employee Engagement?
Employee Engagement represents an aspiration that employees should understand, identify with and commit themselves to the objectives of the organisation they work for.
The achievement of business goals and financial returns is increasingly dependent on delivery by front-line employees. It can’t be imposed from the top but depends on developing employee security, trust, understanding and buy-in to the goals and values of the organisation. Hence, the emphasis on employee engagement as a key part of the employment relationship has increased. ‘Engagement’ has been described as a combination of commitment and organisational citizenship.
As well as a focus on strategy formulation and planning, a successful organisation will have an equal focus on implementation and delivery through their people.
The achievement of business goals and financial returns is increasingly dependent on delivery by front-line employees. It can’t be imposed from the top but depends on developing employee security, trust, understanding and buy-in to the goals and values of the organisation. Hence, the emphasis on employee engagement as a key part of the employment relationship has increased. ‘Engagement’ has been described as a combination of commitment and organisational citizenship.
As well as a focus on strategy formulation and planning, a successful organisation will have an equal focus on implementation and delivery through their people.
Employee Communication
A vital prerequisite to employee engagement and building the 'psychological contract' is effective two-way communication:
Clear and ongoing communication from all levels of management is needed to develop a shared sense of purpose and mutual trust between the employer and employees. Implicit in there being mutual trust is the process of sharing information. So, good communication is not simply about passing information down; it is also about sharing information, trusting people to interpret that information, and listening to what people say (and then, if necessary, acting upon what has been said or explaining why no action has been taken).
Effective employee communication promotes better performance, employee retention and positive emotions towards work.
Communication is very much about developing the organisation’s culture and optimising business performance.
Poor communication, on the other hand, acts as a barrier to employee engagement. The worst scenario is that only bad news is communicated.
It is important that an organisation has a communication strategy for regular communications. In some situations there will also be a need to develop communication strategies to communicate specific information. For example, at a time of change the need for clear and regular communication becomes even more apparent, and different methods of communication may be required.
Despite the need for communication to be high on the agenda of an organisation, successive surveys from the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development have shown that only around one in ten employees feels fully informed about what is happening in their organisation.
- ensuring that employees are well-informed about what is happening in the organisation
- giving employees the opportunity to feed upwards
Clear and ongoing communication from all levels of management is needed to develop a shared sense of purpose and mutual trust between the employer and employees. Implicit in there being mutual trust is the process of sharing information. So, good communication is not simply about passing information down; it is also about sharing information, trusting people to interpret that information, and listening to what people say (and then, if necessary, acting upon what has been said or explaining why no action has been taken).
Effective employee communication promotes better performance, employee retention and positive emotions towards work.
Communication is very much about developing the organisation’s culture and optimising business performance.
Poor communication, on the other hand, acts as a barrier to employee engagement. The worst scenario is that only bad news is communicated.
It is important that an organisation has a communication strategy for regular communications. In some situations there will also be a need to develop communication strategies to communicate specific information. For example, at a time of change the need for clear and regular communication becomes even more apparent, and different methods of communication may be required.
Despite the need for communication to be high on the agenda of an organisation, successive surveys from the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development have shown that only around one in ten employees feels fully informed about what is happening in their organisation.
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Your people are probably the most important resource you have with the potential to transform your business. We can help you unlock that potential Contact us on +44 (0)1326 312756 Email: [email protected] |
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