Employee Relations: A Manager’s Vital Role 

Employee Relations Affects the Bottom Line
Everyone has probably heard the term “employee relations.”  Intangibles and “soft” skills are involved, while employee relations can also be affected by laws and regulations. To help business owners avoid costly mistakes, I want to emphasize the intangibles or the behaviors that positively affect a business and its employee relations. 

Managers play a vital role in developing and sustaining productive and positive employee relations. Basically, this role is a delicate balance as managers serve as a liaison between employer needs and employee needs. 

With all the daily distractions that managers face, they can often forget how important it is to foster good employee relations. A manager’s role is important, too, because employee relations impact morale. Morale impacts business results, including productivity, excellence in customer service and, ultimately, the bottom line. 

Relationships Should Not be Taken for Granted

Employee relations, like any other relationship in life, is an ongoing process. People need to constantly work at and nurture their relationships. In any context, relationships should not be taken for granted; in today’s business climate of constant changes and uncertainties, employee relationships are particularly vulnerable. More than ever, maintaining quality employee relations takes time, effort and skill. 

As people, we approach relationships in a variety of ways depending on our needs, values and goals. In the business world, we want our managers to effectively serve a dual role as: 1) an employer advocate; and 2) an employee advocate. As human resource professionals, we partner with managers to succeed in this important role. 

How Do Successful Managers Succeed at Employee Relations?

In my work, I help guide managers to adopt the following behaviors in order to be successful at developing lasting and meaningful employee relationships:

1. Communication: ongoing, active, two-way process that results in a positive relationship.
2. Trust: like communication, it works both ways to be effective.
3. Ethics: their ethics must be understood—otherwise employees question their motives.
4. Fairness: treat all employees the same, with no favoritism. This doesn’t mean, however, that superior performance isn’t rewarded.
5. Expectations: employees want to understand what their managers expect of them. If they don’t, undue stress is put upon them which obviously affects productivity.
6. Conflict Resolution: where there are people, there are bound to be conflicts. Be a good role model and manage conflicts so they don’t get out of hand.

No Jerks Allowed

Finally, I encourage managers to be compassionate and treat employees with respect and dignity. I always ask them, “How would you feel if the situation were reversed? How would you want to be treated?”  This approach helps a manager to be more effective at being proactive, rather than reactive. Your managers and your business will be rewarded in the long run by taking the time and effort to develop and maintain long-lasting and positive relationships.

With all the daily distractions that managers face, they can forget how important it is to foster good employee relations. A business will be rewarded by taking time to make it a priority.