Employee Relations

Employee RelationsLecture #11Why are Employee Relations So Important?Employee RelationsEmployees once trusted their organizations and superiors, however, today they are more reluctant to trust and respect them.When organizations lay off workers they are often rewarded by the stock market for becoming more productive and efficient.Employees used to go on strike when they were unhappy, today, they go to the internet, which can be even more damaging.Employee RelationsCompanies have found that if they communicate effectively with their workers they financially outperform their competitors that do not.Business managers have learned that their most important assets are their employees.Employee communication is the key to nurture and sustain intellectual capital.For years, employee relations was considered less important than the functions of media, government, and investor relations. Dealing With EmployeesThe employee public is made up of numerous subgroups:Senior managersFirst line supervisorsStaff and line employeesUnion laborersPer diem employeesContract workersDealing With EmployeesManagement must ask three hard questions to determine if they are communicating effectively with their employees.Is management able to communicate effectively with employees?Is communication trusted, and does it relay appropriate information to employees?Has management communicated its commitment to its employees and to fostering a rewarding work environment?

Communicating During Difficult TimesAn organization concerned with communicating with its employees during times of downsizing, displacement and confusing communication must reassure its employeesCommunicating During Difficult TimesThere are five principles for this:Respect: employees must be respected for their worth as individuals and workers.

Honest Feedback: speaking with workers about their strengths and weaknesses helps employers let employees know where they stand.

Recognition: employees feel successful when management recognizes their contributions to the organization.

Communicating During Difficult TimesVoice: in the era of blogs, radio, cable talk shows, etc. nearly everyone wants their voice to be heard in decision making.

Encouragement: money and benefits motivate employees up to a certain point, but there is usually a need for encouragement to produce results.

Maskowitz 6 Criteria for Communicating with EmployeesWillingness to Express Dissent; employees want to be able to express their voices to management.Visibility and Proximity to Upper Management: level rank distinctions help eliminate status remindersDoes your organization work from the top-down, or does it embrace concerns and suggestions from the bottom- up. How many layers of management does your organization have?Priority of Internal and External Communication: the worst thing for employees is to learn critical information about the organizations they work for from outside sources; news, websites, word of mouth, etc. Maskowitz 6 Criteria for Communicating with EmployeesAttention to Clarity: focus on benefits with an emphasis on clarity, dont focus on legalities.

Friendly Tone: the best companies give a sense of family. Makes employees feel as though they are a part of something exclusive.

Sense of Humor: For many, corporate life is grim. It is important that employees enjoy themselves and keep things in perspective by not taking themselves too seriously.CredibilityThe issue that management faces with credibility is that they must convince employees that they want to communicate with them and want to do so in a truthful, frank, and direct manner.CredibilityTrust in organizations would increase if management:

Communicated earlier and more frequently.Demonstrated trust in employees by sharing bad news as well as good.Involved employees in the process by asking for their ideas and input.

Smart organizations realize that well-informed employees are the their best goodwill ambassadors.S.H.O.CING EmployeesEarning credibility and trust amongst employees must be part of your communications objectives.

Four part method to helping build trust with employees when morale is low.S.H.O.C.S.H.O.C.Strategic- communication must be strategicWhere is the organization going?What is my role in helping us get there?

S.H.O.CHonest- Communication must be honestEmployees may already be less likely to believe what they are told by management.You cant build relationships and strong communications through beating around the bush and sugarcoating.S.H.O.C.Open- all communication must be open. There must be feedback- the best communication is two-way communication.Although managers often hold forums and large feedback session, they rarely take action.The key is that when communicating openly, something must be done.S.H.O.C.Consistent- All communication must be consistent.Must keep communicating once you have startedCan do so through newsletters, employee forums, leadership meetings, reward celebrationsInternal Communications AuditCompleting an internal communications audit is the best way to research employee communications.Starts with personal, in-depth interviews with both top managers and communicatorsInternal Communications AuditFour critical audit questions:How do internal communications support the mission of the organization?Do internal communications have managements support?Do internal communications justify expense?How responsive to employees needs and concerns are internal communications?Audits help determine staff attitudes about their jobs, the organization, and its mission. Analyzes current communications techniques.Online CommunicationOnline communication has brought a whole new set of employee communications options.Instant messagingEmailVoicemailintranetsOnline communication reaches employees at their desks and makes it more likely for them to listen, read, and watch messages, and will most likely act on these.Online Communication VehiclesBlogs- an easy way for employees to post opinions and views of the company on the internet.Podcasts- audio or video monologue, interview or on-location content is broadcast online to employees.Wikis- a website which any user can add pages, modify content, and comment on existing content, less widespread than blogsOnline CommunicationIn order for social media to be effective in an organizational environment it must do three things.

Must have a business purpose

Must be entertaining as well as informative

Be composed of riveting contentIntranetThe intranet has overtaken print communications.Must take into consideration several important concepts.Consider the culture: if the organization is collaborative, it should have no problem with people contributing ideas.Set clear objectives and then let it evolve: intranets must be designed with clear goals in mind.Treat it as a journalistic enterprise: company news gets read by company workers.IntranetMarket, Market, Market: Intranet needs to be sold within the company. Publicize new features or changes in content. If employees dont know about it, they cant use it.Link to outside lives: Employees have outside lives, so link the intranet to classified ads, movie and restaurant reviews, or even coupon sites.Senior management must commit: If the top management is neither interested nor supportive, the idea will fail.Print PublicationsOnline internal communications have made it hard on print publications.

The trend for internal organizational communicating has been to move from print to internet-oriented options.

Whether the publication is online or in print, the editor must consider several tasks.

Editing TasksAssigning Stories: article assignments must focus on organizational strategies and management objectives.

Enforcing Deadlines: employees prefer a newsletter that comes out at a specific time, must assign rigid copy deadlines.

Assigning Photos: People like photos, make them exciting!Editing TasksEditing Copy: they must correct sloppy writing, critique writing, and motivate to improve copy style.

Formatting Copy: making the final decision on the format of the newsletter or piece of literature given to employees.

Ensuring On-Time Publication: ensure that no last minute glitches interfere with publication.

Critiquing: makes sure the next edition will be even better.

Bulletin BoardsAlthough they are somewhat outdate, they still serve use in many organizations today.

Often used in fashion and retail.

Allows the organization to reach large numbers of individuals, and inform them of organizational messages while also informing employees about issues specific to the store they work in.Bulletin BoardsThey help improve productivity, cut waste, and reduce accidents on the job.

They inform employees of legal regulations.

Todays use is more visually pleasing by including graphics, pictures, and charts.

It is important to keep bulletin boards current, one person in the PR department should be assigned to this weekly task.Suggestion BoxSuggestion Box: a box that is mounted to the wall or floor that allows employees to anonymously deposit their thoughts about the organization.

The purpose of this is to ensure that there is feedback from employees.

Management must acknowledge this feedback and make organizational changes when needed.Town Hall MeetingsLarge gatherings of employees with top managers where nearly no subject is off limits.

The more open the format the greater management and the organization will be trusted.

When management says they will look into something or change something, they need to carry through with their actions to remain credible.Internal VideosInternal video communication can be very effective.You can show the same video with the same message to hundreds, or even thousands of individuals working for you. Videos can be used to be shown at one time, or at employees convenience.These are used regularly in retail/fashion to show employees new products, seasonal items, loss prevention tips, and changes to policies and procedures. Face-to-Face CommunicationF2F is the best communication tool.Most organizations are inconsistent with relaying important information to employees.A good manager will learn from rumors.Some departments even formalize the meeting process by mixing management and staff in a variety of formats, from complaining sessions, to marketing, and planning meetings.The GrapevineA.K.A. the rumor mill!Identifying the source of rumors is difficult, and usually not worth the time.Organizations make difficult decisions once alternatives have been weighed. Final decision is often a compromise reflecting the needs of the workforce.When explaining final decisions, management often forgets to tell employees how they reached their decisions. The grapevine can be as much of a communications mechanism as a meeting, publication, or online tool.Final ThoughtsSocial Media is important for organizations to embrace when trying to connect with employees. Management must commit and support employee communication.There are numerous electronic and print methods of connecting with employees.Management must not only embrace feedback, but also use that feedback to correct what is wrong.

ReferencesSeitel, F.P. (2011). The Practice of Public Relations. Prentice Hall: Boston.