From the Personnel manager to HRM and beyond

Mike Emmott

Employee Relations Adviser CIPD

History of CIPD

• 1913 Welfare Workers’ Association (WWA) • 1920s Labour Officers appointed to manage industrial

relations• 1931 Institute of Labour Management (ILM)• 1946 Institute of Personnel Management (IPM)• 1994 IPM merges with Institute of Training and

Development to become Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD)

• 2000 chartered status: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

Industrial relations: the last 50 years

• 1968 Donovan report targets unofficial action

• 1969 In place of strife• 1971 Industrial Relations Act

attempts to construct comprehensive framework to regulate collective bargaining

• 1974 Conciliation and Arbitration Service set up

• 1976 Grunwick strike over union recognition

• 1977 Bullock report on industrial democracy

• 1979 “Winter of discontent”• 1980s Thatcher union reforms

• 1964 Department of Economic Affairs (DEA)

• 1968 -70 Manpower and Productivity Service

• 1962-92 NEDC• 1960 to 1979 Prices and

Incomes Policies

• 1964 Industrial tribunals • 1974Health and Safety at Work

Act• 1999 National Minimum Wage

What is employee relations?

• relationship between employers and trade unions• managing the employment relationship/HR • conflict management• employee engagement• employee voice• “good practice” • compliance with employment regulation

New horizons in ER

 • Human rights/ “soft law”• Global supply chains/IFAs• Strike ballots• Leverage/protest• Non-union representation• Collective bargaining without trade unions?• Revival of collective bargaining?• Procurement • Consultation

Role of ER function

• raise standards of line management • embed culture of trust, fairness and respect • develop workforce communications by involving

employees in crafting credible messages• recognise role in relation to risk management and

corporate reputation • ensure that ER insights into change management are

incorporated into organisation development• enhance conflict management practice/ADR

Is employee voice the new ER?

• employee voice: today’s “pluralism”• a workplace culture where people can speak out with

confidence they will not be penalised • whistleblowing: do employees feel comfortable raising

concerns about wrongdoing in the workplace? • line managers need training to listen intelligently• management development, coaching and OD: improve

communication at all levels • leadership needed to create trust• partnership between employers and unions can bring

about culture change

ADR: towards strategic conflict management

• Gibbons review (2007) sounded death-knell for tribunals as preferred route to deal with conflict

• mediation/ADR as a mind-set, not just mechanism• mediation skills acquired/deployed in-house• move to resolve disputes at earliest possible stage,

including conflict prevention• look at wider options eg “early case assessment” or

“peer review”• greater role for front-line managers

Developing political consensus on workplace issues

• no central co-ordination of policy on workplace issues• Acas and UKCES have specific responsibilities for

improving workplace practice• but continuing government focus on skills neglects

wide sweep of practices to improve productivity• leadership, culture, line management and employee

voice needed to support employee engagement (MacLeod and Clarke)

• Nordic example: is social partnership/dialogue the key to increasing productivity?

A Workplace Commission?

• “depoliticise” workplace policy and develop a more strategic approach to the labour market

• bring together key “social partners” to form a hub for advising Government on workplace issues

• support co-ordination of policy across government departments

• engage bodies with the expertise and leverage to improve employer practice

• develop and drive a government supported, sector- based and workplace focused campaign on productivity, performance and good work

Thank you

m.emmott@cipd.co.uk

www.cipd.co.uk