Human Resource Management (MGT302)

Dr Silvia Pirrioni

Sunday, April 17

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Learning outcomes, 30th April 2023
• Understand how organizations can manage the employment
relationship
• Discuss how actions taken at organizational entry help to build the
employment relationship
• Describe the content of employee handbooks
• Discuss policies and procedures associated with discipline and
grievances
• Explain the various ways employees can exit organizations and best
practice approaches in termination

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Managing the Employment Relationship
Employee relations refers to the way the organisation manages its
relationship with employees and trade unions.
An employee relation strategy aims to:
• Build stable and cooperative relationships with employees that
minimise conflict
• Achieve commitment through employee involvement and
communication processes
• Develop mutuality: a common interest in achieving the organisational
goals through the development of organisational cultures based on
shared values between managers and employees.
(Armstrong, 2008)

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Managing the Employment Relationship

How can the organization build and support the employment

relationship?
How can organizations facilitate positive employee attitudes?

• Pre-employment
• During employment
• Post-employment

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Managing the Employment Relationship

• Pre-employment:
- Employer brand
- Realistic Job Previous (RJP)
Relevant, balanced and unbiased information about the organization, the job,
the working conditions
Can reduce voluntary turnover 5 to 10%

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Managing the Employment Relationship
• During employment:
- Socialization: the process by which newly hired employees come to
appreciate the values, expected behaviors and social knowledge required
for assuming an organizational role and for participating as an organization
member.
How to operate/behave as per the explicit policies and implicit culture
A process requiring time

- Orientation: organizationally sponsored and organized activities associated

with an employee socialization
Training sessions on key topics: policies and procedure, corporate vision, mission,
compensation and benefits, mentoring
The more structured the programs, the less role ambiguity, role conflict and intentions
to quit

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Managing the Employment Relationship
• During employment:
- Flexible work arrangements – work-life balance
Telecommuting (remote work): increased job satisfaction; lowered turnover
Flextime (work schedule chosen within time limits): less tardiness, absenteeism, sick
leave; increased productivity and quality of work; scheduling meetings may be
challenging; not suitable for all occupations
Part-time work
Job sharing (two people divide the responsibilities for a regular full-time job); flexibility
for employees
Compressed work-weeks (working fewer days with longer hours, e.g. 4 days, 10 hours
per day): high employee morale and productivity, lower tardiness and absenteeism;
difficulties in organizing meetings, coordinating team projects, potential understaffing

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Managing the employment relationship
Organisational policies are frameworks for treating people with respect
and fairness:

• Reflect the culture and values of the company

• Set and communicate management expectations
• Assure consistency in the way people are treated (i.e. how would you
treat another employee in a similar situation?)
• Recognise uniqueness and provide flexibility (i.e. would you treat an
employee who has been in the company 12 weeks the same as
someone who has been there 12 years?)

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Managing the employment relationship
• Policies are management guidelines
• Policies set standards to ensure a consistent approach to people
management
• Policies should be flexible and allow for management decisions to meet
each unique situation
• For policies to be effective, they must be communicated to managers and
employees
• Managers should be trained and guided in applying the policies
• Policies are unique. Understand the industry, geographical area, size of the
organisation. Do not just copy and paste
• Individual policies do not stand alone but work together with others (i.e.
violation of a drug abuse policy would result in disciplinary action under a
conduct policy)

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Managing the Employment Relationship
• During employment:
- Labor law legislation
- EEO
- Whistle-blowing: protected by law
Reporting misconduct to persons who have the power to take action
Internal: to supervisor, HR
External: media, legislators or professional organizations
Whistleblowers protected from retaliation for informing authorities about the practices
of the employer
Encourage employees to report misconduct (illegal or unethical practices)
Typical retaliation: exclusion from decisions and work activities; given the cold
shoulder; verbal abuse by managers/colleagues, refused promotion and raise,
relocation, demotion.

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Managing the Employment Relationship

• During employment:
- Whistle-blowing:
Promote and protect internal reporting: anonymous reporting policies (e.g.
hotlines)
Take swift action, avoid litigation and PR problems
Create a culture of integrity and ethical standards

- Confidential information: nondisclosure agreements

Protect confidential business information and trade secrets
Employees’ privacy

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Managing the Employment Relationship
• During employment:
- Monitoring employee communication devises: for unauthorized used of
equipment, types of messages sent
• Code of Conduct: defines professional standards of conduct; states what is not
acceptable (see samples on Moodle)
Assist employees in changing inappropriate behaviour
Provide managers with means to address inappropriate behaviour
Provide a flexible approach (progressive corrective to disciplinary)
- open dialogue/verbal counselling
- written counselling/letter of caution
- final written notice
- Suspension & termination
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Managing the Employment Relationship
- Employee communications: regular and open communication is essential for
demonstrating respect and building trust
Develop a formal communication plan:
• Open-door policies enable free interchange between employees and managers.
They are flexible and informal
• Department staff meetings
• Newsletter
• Email, blogs, intranet, podcasts, social media
• Story-telling
• Employee surveys
An effective communication plan fosters employees’ engagement.
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Managing the Employment Relationship
• Post employment:
- Organizational exit: the dissolution of the employment relationship
Termination: originated by the organization (often based on poor performance or misconduct)
Resignation: voluntary turnover (highly problematic; exit interviews for data collection)
Retirement
Layoffs: elimination of jobs associated with the organizational strategy; reduce labor costs;
mergers and acquisitions

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Managing the
Employment
Relationship
• Why voluntary turnover is
problematic

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Managing the Employment Relationship
• Post employment:
Alternatives to downsizing:
- Attrition – not replacing employees who are leaving
- Voluntary termination
- Redeploying workers
- Worksharing programs
- Reducing work hours
- Cutting temporary staff
- Eliminating overtime
- Freezing or cutting salaries
- Eliminating or postponing bonuses
- Delaying expansions
- Offering unpaid sabbaticals

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Managing the Employment Relationship
• Post employment:
- Suitable alternative employment: consider and try to offer alternative work
whenever possible
- Counselling and support: help employees to find a new job (interview skills, CV,
searching for jobs)
- Consider support for those who remain in the organisation:
‘survivors’ may also experience stress, anger, anxiety, resentment
Pressure and stress to cover work of those who have been layoff

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References
• Armstrong, M. 2008. Strategic Human Resource Management, 4th ed.
Kogan Page.
• Bernardin, H.J. & Russell, J.E.A. 2013. Human resource management,
6th int’l ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• CIPD, 2019. Redundancy, an introduction

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