To start with, what is it that constitutes employee relations?

Well, for starters, employee relations refer to the relationship between the employer and employee within an organization and also that which exists between the employees themselves. It is the responsibility of the organization to engender harmonious employee relations, and in order for this to happen, there has to be a planned, focused, and strategic set of initiatives. The larger the size of the organization, the more will people need to be involved in the employee engagement initiatives in order to develop a conducive, fostering environment for work and personal relations. Most often, it is the Human Resources department that is tasked with managing employee relations in any organization. In a small or family run business, that might mean the task falls on the shoulders of one person, as is also often the case at the beginning stages of a startup. As organizations grow and develop, so too must their employee engagement initiatives and practices, to ensure they encompass all team members, across ages and stages of the organization’s growth. Keeping in mind the age group of employees is an integral aspect, given that employees’ thinking and views, as well as needs and expectations will change depending on which stage of their career and lives they are at. For example, a retirement plan and 401K option is likely less important to an employee starting out in their career, but will become increasingly important with middle aged employees. A young person at the beginning of their career might be more interested in policies surrounding vacation days and healthcare benefits, as they age out of being on their parents’ insurance policies.

A good employee relations plan will have policies in place with regard to workplace culture, the office environment, human resource and payroll policies (vacation and sick days, work from home, compensation and benefits, etc.), the company’s values, mission, ethos, how the employers will deal with conflict within the organization, including but not limited to friction and disagreements between employees, and also of course, the addressing of grievances that employees bring forth, against the organization or management. How the organization addresses issues that employees face, internal, as well as external facing (for example, with a client or vendor) are also aspects related to employee relations. Employees want to feel supported by their employers, alongside being valued for their contributions to the team effort and in hitting organizational goal posts.

In today’s highly competitive, globalized market, with so many options available to prospective employees, especially younger ones, there has been a shift in the way employers have had to think of and engage with their workforce. This is especially true when taking into account the somewhat fickle millennial workforce, for whom satisfaction, engagement, and worklife balance are often equally important to salary and benefits. Work-from-home availability, BYOD policies, and benefits and vacation policies are often as important as salary to this segment of the work force.

Thus, there is an ever-increasing need to track employee engagement and satisfaction levels and keep employees happy, and the vast majority of organizations are putting time, effort, and money into employee relations like never before, and gearing specific programs and initiatives for the different types and generations of workers they employ. Employee relations is of import not just to keep attrition rates low or to retain employees but also has a part to play when attracting new talent and new employees. It is not unusual in today’s professional scenario for prospective employees to pose questions related to employee relations initiatives and policies when considering whether they want to be part of an organization. Organizational culture is an increasingly important consideration, especially amongst the younger workforce.

The key elements of employee relations revolve around two facets employees’ relationships with one another and the employeeemployer relationship. Happier, more engaged employees mean better productivity and the smoother functioning and operations of the business and thus, the company’s overall performance, standing, and bottom line. Keeping this in mind, it behooves organizations to strive for a harmonious environment, where teams function smoothly and in sync to a great extent, and where they feel happy and look forward to coming in to work rather than dreading their workplace and interactions with colleagues and managers. Strife, discontentment, and low morale are all essential to avoid or nip in the bud, for the health and longevity of the organization. This can be facilitated by having appropriate employee relations policies in place to ensure that employees are engaged, interacting, and have open dialogue between one another and across teams. In addition, employees must be made to feel comfortable, recognized for their contributions, valued by the organization, as well as by team members and management and those in positions of authority, that is to say, superiors within the organization.

Employee relations are an essential and important part of the operations of every business, whether it is a small, medium, or large sized enterprise. Employee relations, as the term suggests, refers to the relationship between the employees themselves, as well as the relationship between employer and employees. In other words, it is the way all people, who are part of a given organization, associate with, think of, and work with one another. And in this scenario, happy, well-adjusted employees equal more productive, efficient employees. That being said, it is thus imperative for employers and leadership within an organization to keep an eye on employee morale, employee needs, and employee benefits to ensure that the employees are having their needs met within the organization and are working well together.

So, given that employee relations is so important, how can one create an environment that is conducive to happy employees? Well, minimizing conflict, be it within a team, between teams, or across hierarchical levels of the organization, is an important aspect of employee relations. Fighting, arguments, insults, suspicion, lack of respect, jealousy, and other such negative emotions will surely create discord and play havoc on the business processes and efficiency in an organization. Mutual respect, an environment that fosters open communication between employees across all levels of the organization, and management listening to and supporting their employees’ needs are all important for good employee relations. Whether from top to down, or lower level to higher level, the more smooth and easy the relationships and conversations, the better the work environment this then translates to more efficient, happier, and productive employees.

Which is of course why employee relations is given such importance in most organizations today, be it an established multi-million-dollar corporation or a fledgling startup company. The moment there are more than two or three employees in a company, the issue of employee engagement comes into play. Now obviously, the larger the organization and the more the employees, the harder and more important having good employee engagement, and employee relations initiatives and practices in place, becomes. In smaller companies, there may not be a defined HR department, or even a subset within that department, that handles employee engagement initiatives, as one sees in larger multi-national and international corporations. Smaller places may not even have a formal structure in place, but there will still be someone on board who is managing employee affairs and keeping an eye on employee relations.