Human Resource Management

Session-17-18
Prof. Maninder Singh
Employee
Relations
What is Employee Relations?

• Employee Relations – is the activity that

involves establishing and maintaining the
positive employee-employer relationships
that contribute to satisfactory productivity,
motivation, morale, and discipline, and to
maintaining a positive, productive, and
cohesive work environment.
Employee Relations Programs
For Building and Maintaining
Positive Employee Relations

Fair Treatment
• Procedural Justice
• Distributive Justice
Bullying and Victimization

1. Imbalance of Power
2. Intent to Cause Harm
3. Repetition
• Verbal
• Social
• Physical
• Cyberbullying
Improving Employee Relations Through
Communication Programs

• Different Types of communication

mediums
• open-door policy
• employee handbook
• website, e-mail, and hard copy
• Organizational Climate Surveys –
e.g., Google: Happiness and People
Analytics
 Develop
Employee
Recognition /
Relations
Programs
 Use
Employee
Involvement
Programs
Using Employee Involvement Teams

• Suggestion Teams
• Problem-Solving Teams
• Quality Circle
• Self-Managing / Self-
Directed Work Team
• Suggestion Systems
Trends Shaping HR:
Digital and Social Media

• Employee Involvement through

Digital and Social Media
• Employers use social media tools to
communicate with employees and to
help develop a sense of community
The Cost-Effective
Suggestion System
• The essential elements of an effective employee
suggestion system as follows:
✓ Senior staff support
✓ A simple, easy process for submitting suggestions
✓ A strong process for evaluating and implementing
suggestions
✓ An effective program for publicizing and
communicating the program
✓ A program focus on key organizational goals
Managing
Employee
Discipline
• The purpose of discipline is to encourage
employees to behave sensibly at work
• Sensible means adhering to rules and
regulations
• Discipline is necessary when an
Managing
employee violates a rule.
• Proper disciplinary procedures are
Employee
important for several reasons. Discipline
• Unfair disciplinary procedures can
backfire in other ways. For example,
unfair discipline can trigger retaliatory
employee misbehavior.
The Three Pillars of Fair Discipline
Rules & Regulations - a
set of clear disciplinary
rules and regulations
Progressive Penalties -
depends on offense and
the number of times
Appeal Process – e.g.,
FedEx: Guaranteed Fair
Treatment
How to Discipline
an Employee
Report of Employee Discipline
 1. Make sure the evidence supports the
charge of employee wrongdoing.
How to 2. Make sure to protect the employees’
due process rights.
Discipline an 3. Adequately warn the employee of the
Employee disciplinary consequences of his or her
alleged misconduct.
4. Have the employee sign form.
How to Discipline an
Employee (Cont.)

5. “Reasonably Related” to the

efficient and safe operation of the
environment.
6. Objectively investigate the matter.
How to Discipline an Employee (cont.)
7. “The Investigation should produce
substantial evidence of misconduct.
8. Apply applicable rules, orders, or
penalties without discrimination.
9. Maintain the employee’s right to
counsel.
How to Discipline an Employee cont.
10. Keep Dignity.
11. Listen to what the person has to say.
12. Burden of Proof (employer).
How to Discipline an Employee cont.
13. Get the Facts.
14. Don’t Act while angry.
15. Adhere to your company’s
disciplinary appeal process.
Discipline Without Punishment
• Issue an oral reminder.
• Issue a formal written reminder and place in the
personnel file.
• Give “decision-making leave”.
• No further incidents occur in the next year or so, purge
the 1-day paid suspension from the person’s file
• Dismissal if behavior repeats.
• The process would not apply to exceptional
circumstances. Criminal behavior or in-plant fighting
might
SAS: Great Benefits, Trust, and Work-Life Balance
Thank you