MU0012-SLM-Unit-01

Employee Relations Management Unit 1

Sikkim Manipal University Page No.: 1

Unit 1 Introduction to Employee Relations

Management (ERM)

Structure:

1.1 Introduction

Objectives

1.2 Overview of Employee Relations Management

1.3 Importance of Employee Relations Management

1.4 Employee Relations Management Tools

1.5 Core Issues of Employee Relations Management

Conflict Management

Internal Communication

Employee Engagement

Career Management

Commitment

Talent Management and Retention

Training

Benefits Administration

Employee Self-service

1.6 Summary

1.7 Glossary

1.8 Terminal Questions

1.9 Answers

1.10 Case Study

1.1 Introduction

Employee Relations Management (ERM) is a vital business process that

manages employer-employee and employee-employee relations. It goes by

the maxim that ‘a satisfied employee is a productive employee’.

Organisations following good employee relations realise that employees are

important stakeholders in the organisation. Employees who are content with

their employers contribute more effectively towards the goals of the

organisation.

This unit explains the importance of ERM in organisations and the

organisational aspects that govern employee relations in an organisation.

ERM is influenced by organisational strategies, culture and other factors like



employee commitment and employee engagement. Managing

organisational conflicts is also an important part of ERM. ERM familiarises

you with behavioural aspects like motivation, leadership, decision making

and communication that play an important role in employee relations

management. ERM is facilitated by tools like Human Resource Information

Systems (HRIS).

The objectives of ERM are as follows:

improve the effectiveness of the workforce

ensure employee satisfaction

gain and retain employee commitment

prevent conflicts amongst employees

promote retention of employees

improve employee-management and employee-employee

communication.

In this unit, you will study the concepts of employee relations, ERM, and the

importance of ERM in an organisation. This unit introduces ERM tools and

core issues like career management and employee retention addressed by

ERM.

Objectives:

This unit familiarises you with the concepts of ERM. After studying this unit,

you will be able to:

Define ERM.

Explain the importance of ERM in an organisation

Describe the features of an ERM tool

Describe in detail the core issues addressed by ERM.

1.2 Overview of Employee Relations Management

Employees are the most important resource for any company. How they are

treated and how much they value the company they work for will have an

impact on how the company performs.

As the term suggests, ERM is all about management of relationship with

employees in an organisation. It involves providing required training to

employees, maintaining clear communication, ensuring timely redressal of

grievances and providing them with a career growth path. Managing



employees efficiently is very important for any business organisation,

irrespective of its size.

ERM is a process that develops and maintains employee relations, ensures

employee satisfaction, increases productivity and improves employee

morale. ERM enables employees to do their job in an efficient manner and

achieve both corporate and personal goals.

Let us look at one more concept related to employee relations but which is

much older, i.e., Industrial Relations (IR). IR can be traced back to the times

of the industrial revolution when many large-scale organisations employed

thousands of labourers. But the inhuman treatment meted out to the

labourers resulted in strikes and huge labour turnover. This necessitated the

birth of Industrial Relations (IR), which deals with the relationship between

the management and the employees (particularly management – trade

union relations). Industrial Relations (IR) laid emphasis upon labour

legislations and fair treatment to employees.

But today, not many companies have labour unions and hence the focus

has shifted from IR to Employee Relations (ER). Now, Industrial Relations

deals with the study and practice of collective bargaining, trade unionism,

and labour-management relations, while Employee Relations Management

is a distinct field that deals with non-union employment relationships like

ensuring employee satisfaction, personnel practices and policies of

employers, and improving employee commitment, motivation and retention.

The important features of ERM are:

Communication: Communication channels among the employees, and

between employees and the management must be open. If the opinions

of the employees are not considered, they become frustrated and this

would lead to low morale. Demoralised employees are less productive

and may even become hostile. Team briefings, performance appraisals

and employee surveys are different means of improving communication.

Management of the employment contract: The employment contract

specifies the pay, working conditions, safety procedures, rules to be

followed, etc.



Conflict management: Conflicts usually arise among employees or

between the employer and the employee. Traditional methods of

resolving conflicts like formal disciplining and grievance redressal

procedures are now seldom used. Mediation and counselling are

increasingly being used to resolve conflicts. Managers are being trained

to resolve disputes and avoid conflicts in a professional manner.

Employees are advised about the rules, regulations and procedures of

the organisation. They are also briefed about their grievance redressal

procedures and appeal rights.

Employee growth: Employees are encouraged to pursue career growth

opportunities within the company. Career planning is becoming an

important part of every organisation.

Commitment: An organisation will be able to succeed only if its

employees are committed to achieving the objectives of the

organisation. The factors which affect the commitment of the employee

are job satisfaction, nature of the job, rewards, benefit programmes,

communication within the organisation, promotion policies and

organisational culture.

Compliance with Employment Laws: Employment laws deal with

issues like unfair dismissals, discrimination, minimum wage, working

hours and so on.

1.3 Importance of Employee Relations Management

A good relationship among the employees, and between the employer and

employee is one in which there is equal contribution from the parties

involved towards making the relationship work.

The relationship between a company and its employee is complex and

efficient management of this relationship is vital to every organisation. By

managing employees efficiently, the organisation can capitalise on their

strengths and improve productivity.

Employee Relations Management is critical due to the following reasons:

It improves overall productivity by improving employee morale,

productivity, adaptability and communication.



It improves job satisfaction and helps in retaining employees. Retaining

existing employees is an easier and more cost-effective task when

compared to recruiting new employees and training them.

It improves the communication system within the organisation.

It enhances employee involvement and commitment, which are very

important to the success of an organisation. Team working and change

management can maintain motivation and commitment.

It assures customer satisfaction.

It increases the synergy between the culture of the organisation and the

expectations of the employees.

It positions the company as an ‘employer of choice’ and thus attracts

new employees.

It increases employee loyalty. Confidential information can be kept

secure.

Exhibit 1.1 New challenges for ERM in the modern workplace

When considering workplace diversity, people tend to think in terms of

gender, race, ethnicity, cultural or religious background. However, one of the

most striking ways in which today's workforce has become more diverse is

in age.

Experts say that for the first time in history, the workplace includes four often

distinct generations, each with unique strengths, expectations, motivations,

and work styles. They range from the oldest, the so-called Silent Generation

of workers or the veterans, to the Baby Boomers, the Gen-Xers and the

most recent group, Generation Y, whose members are just beginning to

launch their careers.



It is well established that differences in skill-sets, work values, attitudes and

overall approach to life exist across generations (see Table 1.1).

Personal and Workplace Characteristics of Four Generation

Veterans Baby Boomers Gen X Gen Y

Core values

Respect for authority, conformers, discipline

Optimism, involvement

Scepticism, fun, informality

Realism, confidence, extreme fun, social

Work ethic and values

Hard work, respect for authority, sacrifice, duty before fun, adherence to rules

Workaholics, work efficiently, crusading causes, personal fulfillment, desire quality, question authority

Self-reliance, want structure and direction, sceptical

Multi-tasking, tenacity, entrepreneurial, tolerant, goal-oriented

Rewards Satisfaction of a job well done

Money, titles, recognition

Freedom to do what they want is the best reward

Meaningful work

Each individual brings deeply rooted cultural experiences based on his/ her

state or location, caste, religion, beliefs, norms, ethics, behaviour and

attitudes to the workplace. These factors also need to be analysed to

understand the differences in work values among generations.

Organisations of the future cannot continue to consider situations arising out

of differences in values as temporary aberrations or adjustment problems that

will go away with time. In most workplaces, handling Gen Y is considered an

HR manager’s worst nightmare. Veterans often find themselves to be misfits

in the organisation culture. In order to leverage the strengths of multiple

generations within their workforce in a way that leads to collaboration,

organisations have to indulge in increased knowledge sharing. This would in

turn result in creative solutions and building networks that foster knowledge

sharing and value creation for both the employees and the organisation.

Effective leaders need to take stock of and improve their own styles and

generational preferences, and they must coach others to do the same. To get

the most out of the staff, they need to learn to motivate them according to

their needs.



The psychological contract model, reinforced by the findings of different

surveys, suggests that ERM practices affect the attitude of the employees

towards the organisation. The psychological contract includes the

expectations of both the employers and the employees. If employees get fair

treatment, their trust in the organisation increases, which in turn increases

their commitment and involvement.

Self Assessment Questions

1. _______________ is a process that develops and maintains employee

relations.

2. Team briefings, performance appraisals and employee surveys are

different means of improving ______________.

3. ____________ and __________ are increasingly being used to resolve

conflicts.

4. The ________________ model reinforced by the findings of different

surveys suggests that ERM practices affect the attitudes of the

employees towards the organisation.

1.4 Employee Relations Management Tools

Technology can be used to help manage employee relationships in the most

efficient manner. Automated employee relationship management tools help

employees do their tasks in a better way. The following are the different

applications existing in organisations which use tools based on different

technologies:

HR Information Systems: Human Resource Information System

(HRIS) is used to manage employee information, leave details and to

administer benefits. HRIS handles payroll and other company financial

software and accounting systems. These are used by companies for the

following reasons:

Employees receive timely and correct wages

Employees apply for leave on their own

Training programmes for employees can be automated and

streamlined.

Performance Management Systems (PMS): PMS helps to monitor the

performance of employees and link it with their salary increments and

bonus payments. With PMS, managers keep track of training activities



and deadlines, maintain employee activity logs, which are used for

evaluation and planning. There are software tools which aid

performance appraisals like those from HRdirect, Halogen Software,

Cornerstone Performance and so on.

Work Flow Systems (WFM): These tools help in scheduling, organising

and co-ordinating the work of employees. Teleopti CCC and SAP HR

are some examples of WFM software that are used in the workplace to

manage, involve and improve the workforce.

Knowledge Management Systems: These help employees identify,

create and share their knowledge. Search and retrieval tools enable

easy access of content. According to their role in the organisation,

employees view content that is relevant to their work. A single software

solution cannot be used for these systems. Knowledge management

systems use document management tools, e-learning software,

knowledge repositories (databases), collaborative technologies

(groupware) and social software (wikis).

Project Management Systems: These help in managing and

monitoring project activities and in scheduling resources. Project

management systems facilitate creation and approval of project

estimates. They define resources and tasks. They also create project

milestones and enable easy execution of projects. Project reports are

generated easily. Gantt charts help in scheduling projects. Critical path

analysis (CPA) and Programme Evaluation and Review Technique

(PERT) charts help in project planning. Log frames can be used for

project monitoring. Software tools like Microsoft Project and

SourceForge help in project management.

Employee Feedback Systems: Surveys enable employees to voice

their opinion about routine tasks, management attitude, current

procedures and ethics. Many software tools are available to help in

employee surveys like those from HR-Survey, and Benchpoint.

Employee Self-service Systems: These systems enable employees to

update their personal details. This system enables the employees to file

their expenses, billing and time reports, raise purchase requests and

keep track of their project-related activities, retrieve human resource-

related documents, update their tax-related information and view their



salary details. They can also update their bank information to enable

direct salary deposits and reimbursements. The system enables leave

application and view leave balances. An open forum is provided for

employees to present their views, exchange ideas through e-mails and

bulletin boards, create and share calendars for better functioning. Tools

are provided to employees to perform routine tasks easily and thus

focus on other important tasks. Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise

Employee Self-Service is an example of an employee self-service tool.

These technologies are beneficial only if they address the needs of the

employees. Clear guidelines need to be provided to use these technologies.

The benefits of implementing these tools are as follows:

It strengthens corporate culture.

It enhances communication through the use of e-mails, blogs, bulletin

boards, shared folders and e-calendars.

It educates employees about the products, customers and services of

the company through enterprise portals.

It facilitates project management.

It reduces training costs as employees can be provided online and

needs-based training.

It makes HR management work easier.

It facilitates work-flow management and increases productivity.

It enhances performance management.

It manages resources efficiently.

It helps retain and provide career growth to talented employees.

It enables easy retrieval of information

It obtains feedback from employees and enables organisations to make

appropriate corrections

It assures job satisfaction and helps in retaining employees

It ensures compliance with government requirements.

Wipro is one of India’s leading software service companies. It has

developed some models to deal with the processes of employee

management. Wipro offers flexible Employee Performance Management

(EPM) solutions, which are delivered either in Business Process

Outsourcing (BPO) or Software as Service (SaaS) Model. They make



employee assessments easier and more accurate. The EPM model offers

the following benefits:

Goal management

Performance appraisals

Workflow and succession planning

Employee development planning

Employee training.


5. _____________ systems help employees share their knowledge.

6. ________ systems facilitate creation and approval of project estimates.

7. __________ charts help in scheduling projects.

Activity 1:

Assume that you are the manager of a medium-sized (300 employees)

organisation. The organisation wants you to recommend some ERM tools

that will help in the efficient functioning of the organisation. List the tools

that you will recommend along with the justification.

1.5 Core issues of Employee Relations Management

The previous section dealt with the features and benefits of ERM tools. Now

let us consider some of the core issues of ERM.

1.5.1 Conflict Management

Conflict management refers to the manner in which managers handle

grievances and disputes. According to John Gennard and Graham Judge,

‘employee relations aims to resolve differences among various interest

groups regardless of whether these groups comprise different categories of

managers or employees.’1 Workplace conflicts arise due to differences in

perceptions, culture, employee biases, gaps in communication, and so on. A

win-win approach is used to resolve conflicts. Mediation and counselling are

adopted for resolving conflicts rather than using formal discipline measures.

Managers are trained both to avoid and to resolve disputes. External

mediators can also be called in if necessary. Large organisations like public

sector companies prefer to use internal mediators to resolve conflicts.

1Employee Relations by John Gennard, Graham Judge, p18, Chartered Institute of Personnel

Development, 2005.



Unresolved work place conflicts can have a negative impact on the

organisation. For example, if the production manager and the quality control

manager have differences about implementation of quality procedures, then

the work of both the divisions is affected. Figure 1.1 depicts some causes of

workplace conflicts.

Figure 1.1: Causes of Workplace Conflicts

Conflict management skills help employees get along with other employees,

their managers and the customers. These skills help managers identify

conflicts, respond to them, get better co-operation from the employees, and

avoid conflicts from spreading to other parts of the organisation.



The following skill set help managers deal with conflicts:

Conceptual skills: Managers need to first understand the cause of

conflict and the different strategies and tactics they can use to resolve

the conflict.

Communication skills: Managers require good listening skills and the

ability to ask the right questions to ascertain the cause of the conflict.

They must avoid harmful statements and remain rational.

Negotiation skills: Managers need to know the policy of give and take

required to resolve conflicts.

Conflicts are resolved by adopting the following strategies:

Counselling: Only a few organisations have professional counsellors on

their staff. Many organisations train their managers to counsel their

subordinates. Often, just by employing non-directive counselling

(listening and understanding), managers can help frustrated employees.

Discussions and debates: Task conflicts are resolved by discussing or

debating the options. Consensual decision is made after considering

every option.

Compromise: This method tries to resolve conflicts by arriving at a

solution which satisfies at least part of the requirement of each party

involved.

Using third parties: As serious conflicts have a negative impact on

organisations, third parties with specialised skills are used as arbitrators,

mediators or ombudsmen to resolve them.

1.5.2 Internal communication

Employee engagement can only be obtained if the senior management

communicate frequently on a wide range of business and organisational

issues. Organisations with good employee relations give high priority to

internal communication. Such organisations ensure that the employees

completely understand the communication made to them.

For example, The South-West Trains Company has a very good relationship

with its unions. But when the management realised that not all employees

were being informed about the different issues, they decided to use a more

direct means of communication. At present, ad-hoc forums are held to get

feedback from employees. ‘Time with the manager’ sessions keep the line



managers in touch with the operations staff. In addition to team briefings,

the intranet and e-mail are used to communicate with all the employees.

1.5.3 Employee engagement

Mike Johnson describes employee engagement as a combination of

commitment and organisational citizenship2. Organisations can be

successful only if the employees have a feeling of job security, respect,

recognition and purpose. Organisations that have good employee relations

value teamwork and employee feedback. Engaged employees are more

committed, helpful, productive and less inclined to take leave. Figure 1.2

depicts the indicators of employee engagement.

Figure 1.2: Employee Engagement Indicators

People management and development activities like training and job design

contribute to employee engagement. A positive psychological contract with

the employees enhances performance. HR professionals are employee

champions and focus on the needs and aspirations of the employees.

Employee involvement can be achieved by the following practices:

Having formally-designated teams

Having regular team briefings

Undertaking performance appraisals

Using problem-solving groups

Involving employees in decision making.

2The New Rules of Engagement,2004, CIPD publication



Dell is a computer manufacturing company and has been ranked among the

top ten companies by Fortune magazine. It aspires to be a ‘great company

and a great place to work’. It focuses on the team and individual

contributions to the team. Line managers interact with individual team

members. All employees are judged on the basis of how they interact with

people and their technical proficiency. Quarterly results meetings are held

across the business and senior managers answer questions posed to them.

Managers share results with the team and develop team action plans. ‘Tell

Dell’ surveys are held every six months. These surveys help in finding if the

managers give regular feedbacks, manage people properly, set a good

example of ethical behaviour and so on. Thus Dell engages its employees

by constant employee involvement.

1.5.4 Career Management

Career development of employees is organisationally supported, manager

facilitated and employee driven. The career management process is based

on the establishment of specific goals and objectives.

The career management process commences with the formulation of

specific goals and objectives. The goals can be of the following kinds:

Short-term goals: These are goals to be achieved within the next 1 to 2

years. These are more specific and easy to formulate.

Intermediate goals: These are goals to be achieved in the next 3 to 5

years. These are more difficult to formulate as compared to short-term

goals.

Long-term goals: These are goals to be achieved after 5 years. They are

more fluid and very difficult to formulate.



Figure 1.3: Employee Career Development

As the nature of the work changes employees may have to modify and

update their goals. Figure 1.3 shows the employee career development

cycle where managers guide, motivate and provide opportunities to

employees in every step towards developing career. Organisations

exercising good employee relations have an environment in which

employees take control of their own development and maintain their

employability. Such organisations ensure that employees are given fair

career advancement opportunities. Discriminations are not made on the

basis of race, gender or ethnic group. The framework of such organisations

enhances employee potential.

1.5.5 Commitment

Employee commitment can be defined as the psychological bond of the

employee with the organisation and the degree to which the employee

identifies with the organisational goals. Employee commitment is an

important factor that determines the success of an organisation. Employee

commitment is influenced by the following factors:



Organisational values: Organisational values influence employee

behaviour. If the organisation values employee participation, the

employee feels more committed to contribute to the success of the

organisation.

Relationship with supervisor: If the employee has a good relation with

the supervisor, it improves commitment. A supervisor has to share

information, provide timely feedback and reward good performance.

Job nature: When the job satisfies the employee, commitment

increases. But their levels of commitment decrease when employees are

given routine or repetitive tasks with no challenges to stimulate them, .

Entrusting employees with responsibility and giving them more

autonomy increases commitment.

Organisational justice: When employees work in a fair and just

environment, their commitment increases. Promotions and wage

increments need to be awarded in a fair and transparent manner.

Employee grievances also need to be addressed and conflicts resolved

immediately.

Increasing commitment is a business necessity. The benefits of gaining

employee commitment are as follows:

Organisational performance is improved.

Employee motivation increases and this increases productivity.

Profits increase as sales increases.

Employee retention is increased.

Cost savings is enabled. Training costs of new employees get reduced.

Conflicts in the organisation reduce.

1.5.6 Talent management and retention

Successful organisations have an effective employee retention strategy in

order to maintain their growth and leadership. Organisations which do not

give priority to retaining employees lose them to their competitors.

It is much easier to retain satisfied employees than recruit newcomers.

Training newcomers to become productive is very costly and requires more

effort and resources. Talent can be retained only by enhancing employee

motivation and job satisfaction. Figure 1.4 shows a diagrammatic

representation of the factors affecting employee retention.



Figure 1.4: Factors Affecting Employee Retention

The following are some of the strategies that organisations adopt to retain

their employees:

Employee motivation with learning: Employers encourage learning in the

organisation. They sponsor employees when they undertake any

enhancement courses after agreeing with the employees that they would

continue to work for the organisation for a specific time period. These

employees can return to the workforce with better qualifications and

hence perform better.

Use money as a motivational tool: Money is a complex factor and its

influence on employee retention cannot be defined easily. But it is a fact

that money represents purchasing power and employees who earn more

are more satisfied than other employees.

Brand building: This is a long-term approach and aims at attracting the

best of talents. It requires consistency in operations and good

organisation culture to enhance the image of the organisation.

1.5.7 Training

Many organisations have a policy of personal development of employees.

Training programmes are undertaken by organisations when the results of a

performance appraisal indicate that training is essential. Training



programmes are also undertaken to enable employees to undertake new

roles, which require more skills.

The training programmes undertaken by an organisation deal with the

following:

Communication: People with different languages and customs are

employed and they need to be trained in interpersonal communication.

Computer literacy: These skills have become very essential even for

routine administrative tasks.

Quality initiatives: Implementation of programmes like Total Quality

Management, Quality Circles, Benchmarking require training of

employees in quality procedures, concepts and standards.

Customer service: Employees need to understand and meet the needs

of the customers to stay competitive.

Human relations: Employees are trained to avoid misunderstanding and

conflicts and build interpersonal relations.

Safety: Employees are trained in safety measures especially if they

handle heavy equipment, work in hazardous conditions or deal with

hazardous chemicals.

Ethics: Organisations today are more socially responsible. Hence

employees are made familiar with the corporate values and morals.

Sexual harassment: Employees are made aware of what constitutes

sexual harassment in order to avoid such behaviour.

Training and development activities contribute to the personal development

of the employee and augment employee engagement. The benefits of

having training programmes in an organisation are as follows:

They enhance job satisfaction and improve employee morale.

They make processes more efficient thus increase productivity and

profits.

They increase employee motivation.

They improve the corporate image of the company.

The organisation becomes more capable of adapting to new ideas and

technology.

The organisation has more innovative strategies and ideas.

They increase employee retention and reduce turnover.



You can now understand the importance of having training programmes in

organisations. Training programmes are indicators to the employees that the

organisation is truly interested in their personal development and skill

enhancement. The employees in turn become committed to the organisation

and help the organisation to achieve its goals.

1.5.8 Benefits Administration

Employees are the most important asset of an organisation. Organisations

that practice good employee relations management have many benefits

programmes in order to attract and retain employees.

The problems in implementing an efficient benefits programme arise due to

the following reasons:

The employer is unable to collect key information and verify them.

The employee is unable to access information about the different

benefits programme. This increases job dissatisfaction and turnover.

The benefits administration process has to be streamlined and automated.

The features of an effective benefits administration process are as follows:

It is easier to create and manage multiple benefits programmes.

It creates employee benefit plan profiles.

It creates eligibility criteria.

It maintains beneficiaries’ and dependents’ information.

It facilitates performance reviews, tracks past review details and

schedules future reviews.

It interfaces directly with insurance providers and payroll systems.

It merges and audits monthly insurance or benefits.

It complies with government requirements.

There is an annual review of the benefits programme.

You now know the advantages of implementing a good benefits programme

in an organisation. Automated benefit systems help both the employers and

the employees. Good benefit programmes enhance employee retention.

1.5.9 Employee Self-Service

Employees feel empowered when organisations have employee self-service

modules to manage personal data. The accuracy of employee information is

improved with the introduction of such modules. The administrative



workload of the HR staff is also significantly reduced. The following list

enumerates the features of an employee self-service module:

It facilitates creating and updating personal details like name, address,

telephone numbers, etc.

It maintains passwords for security of information.

It maintains information about emergency contacts, beneficiaries, and

dependents.

It facilitates enrolment in benefits programmes.

It allows updating of tax-related information like exemptions and savings

details.

It allows viewing of salary details like gross pay, deductions made, and

net pay.

It maintains bank related information for direct deposits of salary and

reimbursements.

It allows employees to apply for leave and check for leave balance.

Employers can review the leave details of the employees.

It allows employees to submit details about expenses.

It allows internal and external job applications. It also permits checking

of job application status.

It facilitates viewing of training programme details and enrolment.

It maintains health and safety records.

The employee self-service module enables employees to manage their

personal data. The accuracy of the data improves and the work of the

Human Resource staff is also made easier.


8. _________________ refers to the manner in which managers handle

grievances and disputes.

9. Employee engagement can only be obtained if the senior management

______________ frequently on a wide range of business and

organisational issues.

10. Mike Johnson describes employee engagement as a combination of

_____________and ___________________.

11. Successful organisations have an effective __________________

strategy in order to maintain their growth and leadership.



12. __________________ module empowers the employees to manage

their own personal data.

Activity 2:

Visit a company in your town and find the employee benefits given by the

company and the method in which these benefits are administered.

1.6 Summary

Employee Relations Management (ERM) is a process that develops and

maintains employee relations. ERM ensures employee satisfaction,

increases productivity and improves employee morale. Employee relations

management is important as it enhances overall productivity, employee

involvement and commitment. It improves job satisfaction and helps in

retaining employees. It improves the communication system within the

organisation. It also ensures customer satisfaction.

Employee relationship management tools facilitate employee management.

ERM tools can be used for HR management, performance management,

knowledge management, work-flow management and project management.

They also enable employees to manage their personal data.

The core issues of ERM are conflict management, internal communication,

employee talent management and retention, employee commitment,

employee training, employee self-service, and benefits administration.

1.10 Glossary

Term Description

Ad-hoc Made or happening only for a particular purpose or need; not planned before it happens

Arbitrators A person who is officially appointed to make a decision between two individuals or groups who do not agree

Audit An official examination

Beneficiaries A person or a group who receives money or other advantages

Blogs Records of thoughts, opinions or experiences that is put on the Internet for others to read

Brand building Enhancing a brand’s power through advertising campaigns, sponsorships and promotions



Bulletin boards A place on a computer system where users can read messages and add their own

Company portals A company intranet, which can serve as a gateway to other networks

Compliance Obeying an order, rule or a request

Conceptual Based on ideas or principles

Confidential Secret, often in business or military situation.

Consensual With the agreement of all people involved

Counselling The process of listening to someone and giving them advice

Database connectivity

Access to a database

Discrimination Treating a person or a group differently because of their skin colour, religion, sex, etc.

Employee retention

Keeping employees in the company

Ethnic group The people of a race or nationality who share a distinctive culture

Forum Public medium or place used for debates

Grievance redressal

Measures to correct a wrong that is done

Harassment Behaviour that annoys or upsets someone

Intranet A system of connected computers, which allow people within the organisation to communicate and share information

Mediation The process of talking to people or groups involved in a disagreement and helping them to find a solution to their problems

Ombudsman Someone who works for the government or a large organisation and deals with the complaints against it

Organisational citizenship

Extent to which the voluntary support and behaviour of an individual contributes to the success of an organisation

Perception Belief or opinion held by people based on how things appear to them

Performance appraisals

Process by which a manager examines and evaluates the work of an individual by comparing it with preset standards

Project milestone A project checkpoint to evaluate how the project is progressing or a scheduled event signifying the completion of a major deliverable.

Reimbursement Payment of money to compensate someone who has spent money for you



Repository A place which contains a lot of detailed information or knowledge

Workflow tracking Monitoring tasks, procedural steps, inputs, outputs or people involved for each step in a business process

1.8 Terminal Questions

1. Explain the concepts of Employee Relations Management.

2. Why is ERM important?

3. What are the different systems in an organisation which use ERM

technologies?

4. What is conflict management? Why is it important?

5. Why is employee retention important?

6. What are the different kinds of training programmes implemented by

organisations?

7. Explain the employee self-service module of ERM.

1.9 Answers

Answers to Self Assessment Questions

1. Employee Relations Management

2. Communication

3. Mediation, counselling

4. Psychological contract

5. Knowledge management

6. Project management

7. Gantt

8. Conflict management

9. Communicate

10. Commitment and organisational citizenship

11. Employee retention

12. Employee self-service

Answers to Terminal Questions

1. Refer Section 1.2



4. Refer Section 1.5.1






1.10 Case Study

A healthcare support service company has contact centres and employs

more than 600 agents. Some of these agents work from home. These

agents help people deal with health, work-life and well-being issues. The

company provides a 24-hour nurse line and financial, emotional, legal,

and management consultancy.

In order to manage its diverse group of employees, the company decided

to use an employee management tool, IEX TotalView.

The features of this tool which were beneficial to the organisation are as

follows:

Schedule bidding: The registered nurses bid for schedules that suit them

best. This improves the efficiency of the nurses to about 92%.

Agent availability and preferences: Customer care co-ordinators generate

flexible schedules which suit them. This increases their job satisfaction.

Meeting scheduler and optimiser: This enables scheduling of breaks,

lunches and offline activities while taking the needs of the company into

consideration.

Schedule audit: This helps in administrative scheduling issues.

Vacation planner: This helps managers verify and approve paid leaves.

WebstationPlus: This feature enables agents working from home

schedule their roster or vacation bidding.

An administrator is appointed by the company to deal with all employee

issues.

By using this system, the staffing plans of the company have become

very accurate. The company has also been able to maintain a consistent

service level. As employees choose their own schedules, the job

satisfaction level has also increased.



Questions:

1. What are the different features of the IEX TotalView management

tool?

2. How has the use of IEX TotalView management tool benefitted the

company?

References:

Gennard, J.; Judge, G; (2005). Employee Relations, Chartered Institute

of Personnel Development

(2004). The New Rules of Engagement, Chartered Institute of Personnel

Development.

E- references:

http://www.managementhelp.org/trng_dev/basics/reasons.htm (retrieved

on 6/06/12)

http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/enterprise-design/why-employee-relationship-

management-21687(retrieved on 6/06/12)

http://www.managementhelp.org/trng_dev/basics/reasons.htm

MU0012-SLM-Unit-01

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