MANAGING THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

The dynamic and often nebulous nature of the employment relationship increases the difficulty of managing it. The problem is compounded because of the multiplicity of factors that influence the contract: the culture of the organization; the prevailing management style; the values, espoused and practised, of top management; the existence or non-existence of a climate of trust; day-to-day interactions between employees and line managers; and the HR policies and practices of the business.

The latter are particularly important. The nature of the employment relationship is strongly influenced by HR actions. These cover all aspects of HR management. But how people are treated in such areas as recruitment, performance reviews, promotion, career development, reward, involvement and participation, grievance handling, disciplinary procedures and redundancy will be particularly important. How people are required to carry out their work (including flexibility and multi-skilling), how performance expectations are expressed and communicated, how work is organized and how people are managed will also make a significant impact on the employment relationship. HR specialists can contribute to the development of a positive and productive employment relationship in the following ways:

● during recruitment interviews – presenting the unfavourable as well as the favourable aspects of a job in a ‘realistic job preview’; 

● in induction programmes – communicating to new starters the organization’s personnel policies and procedures and its core values, indicating to them the standards of performance expected in such areas as quality and customer service, and spelling out requirements for flexibility; 

● by issuing and updating employee handbooks that reinforce the messages delivered in induction programmes; 

● by encouraging the development of performance managementprocesses that ensure that performance expectations are agreed and reviewed regularly; 

● by encouraging the use of personal development plansthat spell out how continuous improvement of performance can be achieved, mainly by self-managed learning; 

● by using learning and development programmes to underpin core values and define performance expectations; 

● by ensuring through manager and team leader training that managers and team leaders understand their role in managing the employment relationship through such processes as performance management and team leadership; 

● by encouraging the maximum amount of contact between managers and team leaders and their team members to achieve mutual understanding of expectations and to provide a means of two-way communications; 

● by adopting a general policy of transparency – ensuring that in all matters that affect them, employees know what is happening, why it is happening and the impact it will make on their employment, development and prospects;

● by developing HR procedures covering grievance handling, discipline, equal opportunities, promotion and redundancy and ensuring that they are implemented fairly and consistently; 

● developing and communicating HR policies covering the major areas of employment, development, reward and employee relations; 

● by ensuring that the reward system is developed and managed to achieve equity, fairness and consistency in all aspects of pay and benefits; 

● generally, by advising on employee relations procedures, processes and issues that further good collective relationships.

These approaches to managing the employment relationship cover all aspects of people management. It is important to remember, however, that this is a continuous process. The effective management of the relationship means ensuring that values are upheld and that a transparent, consistent and fair approach is adopted in dealing with all aspects of employment