Strategies for Improving Employee Relations

In light of the various factors that lead to harmonious or poor employee relations discussed
above, companies can adopt various strategies and methods to improve employer-employee
relations for the success of their organizations. Some of those methods, which are proven to
be successful, are explained below.
Employee voice mechanisms
Providing various opportunities for employees to present their voice will lead to better
employee relations. Organizations should provide employees the opportunities to voice their
concerns, ideas, issues and problems openly and confidently. Employee voice can be both
unionized or non-unionized. In Sri Lanka, freedom of association has been granted by the
constitution of the country as well as various other legislation. Hence, this right of employees
to form and be members of trade unions, should be accepted and granted to employees. Here,
recognizing trade unions as legal entities, accepting them as legal bargaining agents, having
constant dialogue with them, and involving them in certain decision-making, are very
important for companies to create an environment of trust, cooperation,and harmony, leading
to good employee relations. Yet, it is disheartening to see how in many instances companies
discourage and deject formation of trade unions and retaliate against trade union leaders and
members.
There are other non-union voice mechanisms such as employee councils (EC) and joint
consultation councils (JCC), which are practiced by companies around the world. While some
of these mechanisms are legally accepted in certain countries, in Sri Lanka there are no legal
recognition or mandate for these mechanisms. Yet, these are promoted by government
institutions such as Board of Investment (BOI) and international bodies such as ILO. These
will provide a platform for employees to voice their concerns, issues, and suggestions leading
to better employee relations, increased employee motivation and commitment. The level of
practice in terms of employee power, joint decision making and types of issues discussed,
will depend on a number of factors such as management commitment, organizational culture,
and employee relations situation of the company. At the same time, management should keep
in mind that JCCs and ECs will not always be successful or lead to good employee relations,
especially with the existence of trade unions in companies. Trade unions might perceive JCCs
as a management strategy to overthrow trade unions from companies or as forums which
might undermine trade union's power. These negative attitudes can make JCCs ineffective
through trade union interference/infiltration and resistance.
In addition to these formal and collective voice mechanisms, there are other informal
mechanisms such as grievance handling procedures and open door policies that companies
can use as avenues for employee voice.
Good communication
Having open and two-way communication, where employees are free to communicate any
matter with the top management (upward communication) and where top management will
communicate information aptly to the lower level employees (downward communication) is
another successful method of improving employee relations. Such communication systems
will improve dialogue between employees and employers and will increase trust among
employees, leading to fewer disputes and grievances while creating an environment open to
change.
In implementing good communication systems, companies can introduce the following
methods.
Open door policy
Companies can practice open door policy by giving employees free access to the
management at any time. This will promote both upward and downward communication in
organizations leading to increased trust and harmony. Through open door policy, employees
will be able to settle their grievances and other issues - even personal issues in certain
instances - promptly and efficiently. It will also lead to employees feeling closer to the
management leading to better relationships. Moving beyond open door, contemporary
organizations practice 'No door' policy, where open communication is made even easier.
Intranet and intercom
Companies can have intranet and intercom facilities, where information can be
communicated to employces aptly and on time.
Other social networks
Companies can also use other social networks such as Skype and yammer to exchange ideas
and solve work related issues more quickly. For example, employees in Information
Technology companies use yammer to solve problems by publicizing their work problem in
the company yammer group so that those who have solved the same problem or knows of a
solution gives the answer/solution, where the employees save a lot of time.
Regular meetings
Organizations can have regular (daily, weekly,or monthly)formal and informal organizational
or departmental meetings where employers can share special news, other information with
employees, whilst giving employees the opportunity to share their problems, ideas, and
views.
Policy manuals/employee handbooks
Policy manuals or employee handbooks are very important in proper and clear
communication. Even though it is not a legal requirement that organizations should provide
employees with a policy manual, it is considered to be an efficient communication technique
and an important
element of good employee relations.
Policy manuals or employee handbooks provide well defined gencral guidelines about
policies,procedures, practiccs and standards of organizations. This will ensure application of
standardized and consistent practices and policies, leading to better employee relations.
Employee manuals are the most convenient tool for communicating to employees the
management expectations in terms of employce behaviour,conduct,dress code,and
management's philosophy as well as practices concerning industrial relations matters such as
dispute handling, grievance handling, communication, discipline management, and equal
treatment. Existence of policy manuals also ensure fair and equal treatment, leading to lesser
grievances and disputes.
However, merely having employee handbooks/policy manuals are not sufficient. They must
be made available to employees to refer at any time. Many companies make employee
handbooks available to every employee at the orientation programme itself, with clear
instructions of using and referring to it. Hence, from the beginning employees will be
educated and made aware about the company expectations with regard to dress, behavior, etc,
as well as the company rules, regulations,policies, and the consequences of violating them.
Memos and notice boards
Companies can also use memos and notice boards to communicate company decisions,
performance, new policies, rules and regulations, changes done to existing policies, and
information about meetings and gatherings, to employees promptly and clearly.
Newsletters
Company newsletters are short periodicals, published monthly or quarterly by companies that
can communicate to employees information such as company meetings, gatherings, team
work/contributions, employee achievements, and motivational stories. Many companies also
provide employees the opportunity to demonstrate their artistic abilities (ability at poetry,
drawing, and writing) through company newsletters, making employees feel happy and
valued.
Forums such as employee councils or joint consultative councils
These forums too provide formal avenues for employees and management to practice two -
way communication.
Trade unions
This formal representative mechanism of voice also provide an effective communication
channel in organizations if properly handled. Harmonious relationship and understanding can
make trade unions the mode of downward communication for employers and an upward
communication for employees.
In designing effective communication mechanisms, organizations today will also have to
consider about the diverse characteristics and needs of the diffrent generations in the
workforce. A single mode of communication will not cater to everybody equally, nor would it
be effective for everybody. For example, 'traditionalists'(who were born between 1925 to
1945), are found to prefer written communication, whereas 'baby boomers'(born between
1946 to 1964) prefer telecommunication or face to face communication. 'Generation X' (born
between 1965 to 1981) prefer electronic communication with 'generation y'(born between
1982 to 2000) preferring instant or text messaging. Organizations therefore, will have to
understand and consider these factors in designing and implementing communication
mechanisms in organizations.
Proper HR policies
Having proper HR policies and procedures is a must for good employee relations in any
organization. HR policies should cover important areas of HRM such as recruitment and
selection, promotion, transfers, compensation, performance appraisals, discipline
management, grievance handling, and overall employee conduct. In formulating these
policies and procedures organization should look into factors such as equity and diversity,
quality of work life, and employee welfare for increased acceptance by employees and trade
unions. At the same time, it is equally important to communicate these policies to
management, supervisors, and employees and to properly practice these policies by all
concerned
Proper formulation, accurate practice, and apt communication of HR policies will result in
lesser disputes, grievances, misconduct, dissatisfaction, and distrust among employees
leading to good employee relations in organizations.
Welfare activitics
Employec welfare is an important element in creating a barmonious and productive
workforce. Certain welfare activities will be statutory requirements whereas certain other
welfare activitics will be non- statutory activitics. Our labor legislation such as Factories
Ordinance and Shop and Office Employees Act provides for such statutory welfare schemes.
For example, Factorics Ordinance mandates factories to provide proper drinking,
ventilation,lighting, and washing facilities for their employees, amidst many other health,
safety and welfare facilities. In addition to these statutory welfare requirements, companies
can also providc other non-statutory welfare activities such as;
 Providing nutritious meals to employecs free of charge or at a nominal fee
 Employer / management and employee get-togethers such as sports meets, christmas
parties, team outings and musical shows
 Providing transportation facilities
 Day care centers
 Elder care facilities
 Personal health care programs such as regular medical check-ups
 Recreational centers/facilities
 Loan systems
 Insurance schemes
 Death donation schemes
 Sports facilities or memberships in sports clubs
 Making available in-house games such as carom, table tennis and play stations
Companies can also formulate welfare committees with the intention of looking into the
welfare of employees. Many companies practice this in varying degrees. However. it is
important to get the necessary approval for such welfare committees, especially with
regard to the mode of funding of those welfare committees

Social activities
Carrying out social activities that provide the opportunity for employees and management
to get-together and interact with each other on a personal level,is another successful
method of improving employee relations. Such events will give an opening to employees
and management to mix and get to know each other - an opportunity they hardly get while
working - leading to better relationships. Some common social activities conducted by Sri
Lankan companics are New Year ceremonies.Christmas parties, sports events, annual trips
and picnics.
The culture/atmosphere management create in these social events should not be a total
contrast to the normal organizational culture. If the management is very friendly towards
employees on the day of the social event and is hostile towards them at the work setting
the very next day, will confuse the employee and will lead to negative outcomes such as
disappointment regarding management, distrust about management motives, and bad
relationships.
Gain Sharing Schemes
Sharing organizations' profits with employees is another method of improving employee
relations in organizations. Bonuses and stock ownerships are now common such gain
sharing schemes. These gain sharing will result in the increase of commitment,
motivation, morale, and job satisfaction of employees leading to good employee
relationships.
Entering into collective agreements
Collective agreements are agreements between employer/s and employees/trade unions
related to different terms and conditions of employment,privileges, rights, or duties of
employees and employers, or the manner of settlement of industrial disputes. Even though
collective agreements are not very common in organizations,they have been identified as
a very successful method of maintaining industrial peace. As collective agreements are
drawn, after a collective bargaining process between the two parties, it will result in
mutually satisfying terms and conditions of employment, lesser disputes, and harmonious
dispute resolutions, leading to satisfied and committed employees. Industrial Disputes Act
specifies the regulations related to collective bargaining.
Equal treatment
Equal treatment to employees without discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity,
religion, or social background,is also a way to improve employee relations in
organizations. Treating all employees equally in all areas of human resource management
such as recruitment, promotion, remuneration, training, and recognition will result in full
realization of employee potential while increasing their job satisfaction and commitment.
Organizations can ensure equal treatment to employees through development and genuine
adaptation of proper policies and procedures in all areas of human resource management,
development and adaptation of specific policies addressing equal treatment to employees
(such as gender equity/equality policies, equal opportunity policies, codes of conduct at
the workplace, and sexual harassment policies); and adhearing to rules and regulations
enforced to ensure equal treatment by the government.
Training
Providing training to employees on technical as well as non-technical areas is another
important aspec in maintaining good employee relations. Many companies bear
misguided and mistaken beliefs about training.For many organizations training is a cost
for which an immediate result cannot be seen most of the time. For some companies it is a
way of recognizing employees and a benefit that only certain employees should get. Most
other companies overlook the importance of training employees on non-technical skills
such as communication, presentations, and time management, and concentrate on training
employees on technical skills only.
Organizations should identify the importance of training their employees for higher
performance as well as good employee relations. Though the results of training
sometimes cannot be immediately seen or quantifiable (for example, training on
communication or leadership), it should not be taken as a cost. Companies should see
training as an investment which will lead to;
 more competent workers, resulting in lesser disputes with supervisors and co-
workers;
 higher performance which can lead to more benefits for employees (such as salary
increases and bonuses);
 personal development of employees, which can result in better relationships and
increased performance;
 satisfied, motivated, and committed workforce as they are competent and feel the
organization's commitment towards them;
 employee career advancement through improved competencies; and
 good employee relations in organizations due to above factors.
However, organizations should handle training very carefully. If not properly carried
out, it can result in employee demotivation, poor employee relations, and unnecessary
cost to organizations. Proper evaluation of training needs, practicing equity in
selecting employees for training, and proper selection of trainers, are some areas that
companies should look into carefully to ensure expected outcomes of training.
Employee recognition and reward
In addition to recognizing all employees for their contribution to organizational
performance through the organization's compensation system, recognizing employees
for their special contribution to various activities of the company is practiced by many
companies in numerous ways. This could be done on individual basis or team basis
Awards such as employee of the month, long service awards, best cost cutting team,
and best suggestion of the month are some of the awards that are presented to
employees by companies in recognition of their special contributions. More simply,
rewarding can even mean just appreciating somebody's work verbally by saying 'well
done' or 'great job'. Such recognition and rewards will make employees happy,
satisfied, motivated, and committed.
Absence of any discrimination in recognition and rewards, fair and relevant criteria
for selection, proper communication of such criteria, and transparency in the selection
process should be adopted by companies to ensure success of the system.
Employee participation
Many modern-day companies have moved away from the traditional hierarchical
management and decision-making styles and are moving towards more participative
ways of decision-making and management. Participative management is the
involvement of employees in the decision making of companies through methods
such as quality circles, suggestion boxes, employee consultation programmes, and
employee representation in the decision-making process at the board room level
Participative management will result in employee competency development; increase
in employee satisfaction and motivation due to increased self worth; better settlement
of production problems; lesser disputes; increased team work; better performance; and
easy implementation of decisions. With these positive attributes of participative
management, it has become very popular and is accepted as a very successful
approach to good employee relations.
12 Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs)
EAPs are programmes conducted by organizations to help employees deal with their
personal issues such as drinking/ alcohol problems, gambling problems, family
problems, health problems, and problems of family members. For the success of
EAPs, companies should ideally have counselors or EAP officers trained at
counseling. In addition, supervisors and management should be trained on identifying
employees with problems (known as troubled employees). It would generally be easy
to identify employees who have personal problems, as such problems are reflected
through their work or through their behaviour.
After identifying troubled employees, supervisors can refer them to the company
counselor or the EAP officer, who can help the employee to solve the problem or refer
him to an outside agency equipped at solving such problems. In some companies
EAPs are linked to the disciplinary procedures, giving employees a chance to correct
their behaviour, before taking any disciplinary action.
Moreover, organizations can implement other EAP programs such as flexi time,
childcare assistance, and elderly care assistance, in helping employees with their
problems. EAPs thus will contribute to good employee relations in companies through
representing management attempt to help and support employee problems, and
indicating management concern for employees.
Health and safety programs
Companies can implement health and safety programmes to safeguard employee
health and safety. Such programmes can be designed and implemented with the
participation of both employees and the management. While these programmes will
increase employee cooperation and relationship between employees and
management,they will also lead to employee satisfaction, motivation, and
commitment due to management's concern for employees and safe and healthy work
environment.
Employee wellness programmes
Moving beyond the traditional concept of health and safety, modern organizations are
also concerned about employee wellness and wellbeing. In a very simpler term,
employee wellness and wellbeing means employees'physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual health.Organizations can introduce worksite programmes intended at
assisting employees and even their family members in making voluntary behavior
changes which reduce their health and injury risks, improve their physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual health to enhance their individual productivity and well-being.
These programmes will generally address risk areas such as smoking, lack of exercise,
unhealthy eating habits, overweight/obesity, alcohol and substance abuse and stress.
Examples of wellness promotions programmes are as follows;
 Cancer screening-remind employees to get cancer screenings through poster
campaigns, emails and distribution of fact-sheets; offering on-site
 screening services by collaborating with relevant authorities and service
providers.
 Set up a walking club before or after work
 Encourage employees to take the stairs instead of the clevators
 Provide healthy food for meetings instead of junk food
 Host a bcalth fair and a health weck
 Conduct awareness sessions on various risk factors and common ailments and
health issues
 Periodic on-site tests such as blood pressure screening, body composition
screening (BMI), hearing/vision testing, cholesterol screening/lipid profile
screening.
 Weight reducing programs
 Counselling
The above is not a conclusive list of strategies that companies can adopt to
improve employee relations. There are numerous other formal and informal
methods that can improve employee relations in companies.
Similar to employee safety and health programmes, employee wellness
programmes organized by companies too can directly and indirectly lead to better
employee relations.
Companies should be very careful in planning and implementing these different
methods of improving employee relations. While presence of these activities will
lead to better employee relations, management should be aware of the fact that the
techniques employed by companies in implanting these methods can vary
depending on the culture and other factors as discussed below.
Planning and Implementing Strategies for Improving Employee Relations

Companics should not blindly implement different methods of improving

employce relations.Adopting the following guidelines in planning and
implementing them would ensure the success of such methods to a greater dcgrce.
1. Measure the level and nature of employee relations in the company
Managers must frequently monitor the nature and level of employee relations in
their companies in order to maintain good employee relations. Through such
monitoring, management can identify whether any introductions, improvements,
or continuations of strategies for good employee relations are needed, and also the
areas in which such introductions, improvements, or continuations are needed.
Though an experienced manager can always identify the level and nature of
employee relations of his organization on hunch and different informal methods
such as company grape vine and direct observations, it is always better to measure
it through more concrete and formal methods. Such formal measurements will
provide the management a more clear and candid viewpoint and help in
convincing the top management in taking steps to address issues in employee
relations.
There are different direct and indirect measures that management can use to
understand the level of employee relations in a company. However, management
should be very careful in interpreting the results of these different methods.
Management should keep in mind not to depend solely on one method in taking
decisions regarding employee relations, and not to directly relate negative results
to poor employee relations or vice versa. For example, management cannot decide
that the company's employee relations are poor by looking at the employee
turnover rates only. High employee turnover in a company can be due to high
demand for labour in the market or higher salaries paid by competitors. Hence, it
is prudent for the management to cross check whatever assumptions they have, by
utilizing some other methods of measurements such as conducting an attitude
survey, looking at the absenteeism rates, looking at the number of grievance
complaints the company has received.
Attitude surveys
These are surveys that attempt to measure employee attitudes regarding various
aspects of the organization, the information of which can be used for the
improvement of the respected areas. Generally,employee attitude surveys can be
used to gather information on areas such as management style, autonomy, rewards
and recognition, compensation, communication, working relationships, working
culture/ climate, and employee satisfaction. Attitude surveys would allow
management to identify the root causes of problems and provide the impetus to
improve areas such as productivity, employee commitment, employee satisfaction,
and most importantly, employee relations.
Management must make certain that the survey is conducted anonymously and
formally to unearth candid information. To ensure gathering of candid
information, management should assure confidentiality of information to
employees, and ideally get an outside company to conduct the survey. Most
importantly, management should take action based on the outcomes of the survey.
Communicating the aim of conducting the survey before starting the survey;
Communicating the results after the survey was carried out; and
Communicating how the company expects to address the issues that were raised
through the survey,
are three communication points that would definitely increase the employees' trust
in the survey. Conducting attitude surveys itself will communicate to employees
the company's concern over employee welfare and employee feedback, leading to
better employee relationships.
Number and nature of industrial disputes
When organizations have high number of disputes or when nature of disputes are
significant/major, it can be assumed that employee relations in the organization
are poor. For example when organizations constantly have disputes with its
employees regarding terms and conditions of employment,it can indicate that the
management is not considerate of their employees;that the policies regarding
terms and conditions are not properly implemented; or employees are not treated
equally. In order to identify the areas that need to be addressed, management can
look at the aspects where disputes are most common.
Number and nature of trade union actions
Frequent trade union actions can also indicate poor employee relations. However,
there can be other reasons for frequent trade union actions in an organization.
Especially in Sri Lanka, with the high politicalization of trade unions, trade union
actions can take place without any fair or honest reason. Furthermore, frequent
trade union actions can be a disruption or initiation of few troublemakers in an
organization. Hence, management should clearly identify whether the frequent
trade union actions indicate actual employee displeasure and poor employee
relations or not.
At the same time, lack of trade union action should not be taken as an indication
of good employee relations. Lack of trade union action can be due to lack of
proper leadership in trade unions, lack of power of trade unions, authoritarian
management, and fear of reprisal.
Number of grievance complaints
Number of grievance complaints forwarded by employees is yet another important
method of identifying the level of employee relations in organizations. Generally,
employee grievances would be high when employees have dissatisfactions or
concerns about issues such as company compensation system, promotions,
training, discipline management, and discrimination. Many, if not all, areas of
employee grievances directly relate to employee relations of organizations. Hence,
when employee grievances are high, it can be an indication of poor employee
relations. Moreover, management can identify the areas where employee
grievances are highest as areas that need to be addressed in order to improve
employee relations in the organization.
However, to measure the level and nature of employee relations through grievance
handling complaints, companies should have formal and properly implemented
grievance handling procedures. For example, ifa company's grievance handling
procedure is not adequately communicated, employees would not bring their
grievances forward. Here the management cannot assume that the employees do
not have any grievances, just because there were no grievance complaints from
employees.
At the same time, having a grievance handling procedure itself can increase the
number of grievance complaints that are forwarded in a company. Studies have
found out that employees tend to make complaints that are very minute and
insignificant just because there is a formal grievance handling procedure. In such
a case, the number of complaints would not show the real picture of employee
relations. Management should keep this in mind when adopting this method to
measure the level of employee relations in companies.
Number of cases in Labour Tribunals, Labour Courts and Arbitration
With poor employee relations, the number of industrial disputes will increase,
leading to more legal actions against the company such as Labour Tribunal cases,
cases in the Labour Courts, and cases referred for Arbitration.
Employee turnover rates
Employee turnover rates too will reflect the level and nature of employee relations
in organizations. Generally, it can be assumed that high labour turnover indicates
poor employee relations. Nevertheless, high labour turnover would not always be
due to poor employee relations.There can be numerous other reasons why
employees leave organizations that are not related to employee relations, such as
high demand for labour in the market and employee migration.
At the same time, management should keep in mind that low employee turnover
rates might not indicate good employee relations either. In many Sri Lankan
companies, employees do not leave their employment no matter how poor the
employee relations in the organization is,as finding a new job with better terms
and conditions is harder, due to high unemployment prevailing in the country.
Exit interviews
Exit interviews are interviews conducted by management, when employees leave
organizations. Main purpose of conducting exit interviews are to gather
information regarding reasons for employee voluntary turnovers; what the
employee liked and didn't like about the employment/ organization; what are the
areas that need improvement in the organization; and what satisfied/ motivated the
employee and what didn't. Generally, exit interviews will give direct and candid
information about the level and nature of employee relations of organizations.
These interviews can be held face-to-face, through telephone, or using a
questionnaire. Face-to-face interviews are always recommended, as it will allow
the management to gather in-depth and honest information from employees.
Joint consultative meetings
JCC is another method where level of employee relations can be measured. The
issues that are raised, how the meetings are conducted, employee-employer
 involvement in the scheme, are areas that the management can look into in
deciding the level of employee relations in a company through JCCs.
In addition to above main methods discussed in detail, the following methods too
can be used to measure the level and nature of employee relations in
organizations:
 ·Number of accidents
 Rate of absenteeism
 ·Quality of production and services

 Performance appraisals
 ·Number of trade unions
Decide the most suitable method/s
After the level and nature of employee relations is identified, management should take steps
to improve the situation. This improvement can mean discontinuing existing methods adopted
by the company, continuing good practices, improving existing practices, or implementing
new strategies/methods. Whatever step the company plans to take, the following factors
should be considered:
- Size of the company and the workforce
- Area that need improvement
Costs that the company will have to incur
Support and acceptance of the relevant parties such as top management, employees and trade
unions.
Get the necessary professional help if needed
Sometimes companies may lack competencies, specialization, time, or people needed to carry
out planned activities to improve employee relations. In such instances, necessary
professional help can be sought from outside. For example, if a company decides to
implement proper policies of human resource management to improve employee
relations,and found out that they do not have the necessary competencies to do that, they can
hire an outside firm or a specialist in the area to help prepare their HR policies.
Evaluate the success of implemented methods
Without stopping at the implementation stage, companies should constantly monitor the
methods to see whether the desired outcomes are achieved. Company can do this by carrying
out the measurements they used earlier to identify/ measure the level of employee relations.
Improvements of the results can indicate success of the method while similar or more
negative results can indicate failure of the method. Based on the feedback received, company
can take necessary steps to improve, continue, or discontinue the newly adopted methods; or
introduce new methods.