The Hindu Business Line : The employee relations edifice

As is depicted in the diagram, at the bottom of the Employee Relations iceberg, not visible to many, is clarity about the philosophy that will govern the relationship.

Every philosophy brings with it its own accompanying consequences that the firm is conscious of and ready to manage.

I have seen four typical ER philosophies in action across many organisations.

Value-based: Some of our legendary leaders have ensured that their philosophy is value-based. They have personally ensured that all ER actions and decisions are governed by these values and their success has been in ensuring that they communicate this philosophy through their actions.

The Tatas and TVS, among others, have been known for the clarity and visibility of their philosophical groundings, which are communicated through their actions.

Market-based: Many of the modern businesses and organisations are market-based in their philosophy. This obviously works when the employees are equipped to handle the fall-out and consequences of such a philosophy.

Power-based: Some of the older organisations practised a philosophy that was power-based. They actively engaged in maintaining the power balance in a manipulative manner but, of course, with a benevolent façade. Some, of course, resorted to a power-based approach as a reaction to the failure of other approaches.

Ad hoc: Of course, many continue to manage employee relations with no clear philosophy and let the unfolding events dictate how they will manage the relationship.

It can be said with certainty that behind every bad ER situation is either the lack of clear philosophical grounding or a mismatch between the espoused philosophy and its managers’ everyday style or the incompatibility of the philosophy with the nature of employees that the organisation is working with.

Management style

The layer above the philosophy is the management style. Style is visible to employees because it is reflected in the decisions and actions of managers, in the priorities they focus on, what they pay attention to, what they respect, what stances they take, and so on.

Visionary business and HR leaders recognise that it takes years of consistent and transparent interactions to convert what is initially a fragile relationship into one that is robust, healthy and can withstand many small shocks.

History tells us that bad and insensitive managers demonstrate a style that is not consistent with the stated philosophy and, thereby, cause irreparable damage to the relationship. Even one bad branch manager, one bad factory manager, one bad functional head… can do enormous damage.

Good managers ensure that their style is characterised by the very basic principles of fairness, transparency and respect. Good organisations and HR leaders check to see if the philosophy is translated into good style by having their ear to the ground to gauge how employees perceive and experience their managers. They also train and coach their managers to help them demonstrate these principles and live the philosophy.

Of course, a managerial style not supported by a strong philosophical foundation or an incompatible one is not sustainable.

ER policies, practices and actions

As far as employees are concerned, policies, practices and actions are the moments of truth through which the trust and credibility of the relationship are perceived. It is through the policies and practices that employees experience the philosophy and style.

While there are many practices that impact perception, a few are worth mentioning:

Job security: A huge pressure point in current employer-employee relationships revolve around job security, lay-offs and employment, in general. When the labour market was buoyant, these were non-issues. However, in the current economic context, there are serious concerns about securing one’s job. As the proportion of employees with marginal “employability” increases, their propensity to do everything to hold on to their jobs is only likely to harden.

The basics: The employee’s daily work brings him in touch with many of the basic facilities provided by the organisation including transport, canteens, toilets, drinking water, the work desk and chair, the security staff and so on. Depending on how well these are administered, employees go back with positive or negative impressions about the organisation.

Overcrowded buses with employees having to travel standing, unhygienic toilets, unsafe drinking water, poorly designed furniture and unhygienic food can mar the employee’s everyday perception.

The issue of long work hours has come into sharp focus today. While employees always gave discretionary effort, it has now become a basic expectation from employers, leading to perceptions of unfairness and exploitation.

Employee safety has come into sharp focus given the spate of unfortunate deaths and suicides among employees in BPOs. Added to this is the issue of workplace stress, sexual harassment and so on.

All these are basic expectations, which, when not honoured, lead to the relationship being viewed as unfair and lacking in respect.

A fair appraisal experience: The performance assessment experience is perhaps the greatest source of dissatisfaction for most employees.

While it may not be possible to please all the employees by giving them a good rating, it is necessary to ensure all employees have a good appraisal experience.

It is through these actions that employees experience style and philosophy and feel happy or aggrieved.

What will give leverage?

To secure a sound platform of employee relations, the starting point is clarity about the organisation’s philosophical orientation to employee relations. This should translate into the right managerial styles and should be reflected in the right policies and practices. Anything less is disastrous.

In my opinion, India is at a critical inflection point as far as ER is concerned. What we do now singularly and collectively, will determine whether or not we secure a sound ER future for ourselves.

(Concluded)

(In the second of this two-part article, the writer presents a model to describe the drivers of ER climate – good and bad.)

(The writer is the founder and CEO of totus consulting, a strategic HR consulting firm. He is also the co-founder of the Executive & Business Coaching Foundation India Ltd. He can be reached at ganesh@totusconsulting.com)

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