Chapter 11 Flashcards
What is HR’s role in employee relations?
The state of employee relations in an organization is determined by how human resource planning, placement, training and development, evaluation, and compensation is handled
Human resource initiatives – such as policies on workplace and sexual harassment, conflict resolution procedures, and employee involvement programs – play an important role in enhancing employee relations
Why is employee relations important? (Why is it strategically important?)
1) Imporve productivity: Productivity is significantly impacted by ability and attitude (good attitude - better productivity)
2) Implementation of Organizational Strategies: Goals and strategies are communicated to employee and employee is comitted to goals.
3) Reduce Employment Costs : Reduced absenteeism and turnover. Provides recruitment advantage (people want to work there)
4) Help Employees Grow and Develop : Help employees achieve personal goals. Improve morale, loyalty & productivity.
What are the 5 key dimensions of employee relations?
1) Employee Involvement
2) Employee Communication
3) Employee Counselling
4) Employee Discipline
5) Employee Rights
What is downward and upward communications?
Downward: Get information to employees (topdown). Nessary for decision makers to have decisions carried out, orgs use any methods (multipul channels will help ensure it gets to intended people).
Upward: Obtain information from employees. Usully needs improvment in most organizations. Open communication (informal day to day communications) is usually sufficient in most situations. If open communication doesnt exist other approaches are needed.
What are some forms of downward communications?
In-house publications/ prerecorded messages: Internal magazines,newspapers, information booklets for employees. Inform employees about current developments and foster long term understanding of objectives/mission
Electronic communications: Common for employers, many people ignore these emails. May not be approprate for some interactions. More emploiers use intranets (internal internet). Employers should consider the policies about internet usage during work hours (employees can become distracted).
Social media and mobile devices: Increasing usage during work hours. Banning soical media use may not increase productivity. Major concern is security of networks and data breaches (Employees may leak firm data). Main uses for business: advertising, communication with customers and finding customers. Biggest concerns with social media: brand damage, disclosure of confidential information, corporate identity theft and legal violations. Many benefits included with using cloud baised computing.
Information sharing and open-book management: Some employers provide reports to employees about the firms economic performance giving employees stronger feeling of communication and belonging. Open-book management educates employees about how the firm earns profits giving the workers a stake in performance.
What are some forms of upward communications?
Grapevine: Informal system, arises naturally (people to people). HRD usually receives off-the-record feedback like employee problems, quality of labour and areas of dissatisfaction.
HRM and technology: covid has made it more common to work remotely. employers may moniter and evaluate productivity using technology (work computers). Records can be helpful to firm and employee. May be valuable for HR by using it for mentoring, leadership transparency, and quick communications. Wearables can be a privacy issue.
In-house complaint procedures: Formal methods through which an employee can submit a complaint. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) can esolve disputes in a timely manner such as open door policy, peer review panel, mediation and arbritration (imposes settlement).
Manager-employee meetings: Meetings between managers and groups of employees to discuss complaints, suggestions or questions. encourages upward communication (usualy many employees or all to discuss)
Suggestion systems: Formal methods for generating, evaluating and implementing employees ideas. These elements are crutial for a successful system.
Employee attitude/opinion serveys: Systematic method of determining what an employee thinks about their organizations (Seeks to learn things like: working conditions, policies, supervisions etc). Employees want to see suryay results and want to see problems being solved.
What is employee counselling and EAP?
Counselling: The discussion of a problem with an employee, with the general objective of helping that employee resolve the issue or cope with the situation in order for them to become more effective.
Managers should aviod giving professional help.
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP): Assist employees with personal problems that may be affecting their performance at work. Digital EAP is growing.
What is discipline?
Management action to encourage compliance with organization standards.
What is preventive and corrective discipline?
Preventive discipline: Action taken prior to an infraction to encourage employees to follow standards and rules. HR is responsible for developing programs and communication of firms expectations.
Corrective discipline: Discipline that follows a rule infraction. Seeks to discourage future acts. Objectives: To reform the offender, to deter others from similar actions, and to maintain consistent and effective group standards.
What are restrictions on discipline?
May be restricted by union contracts and government legislation.
Due process to ensure established rules and procedures are followed
A useful guide for corrective discipline is the hot-stove rule:
- With warning
- Immediate
- Consistent
- Impersonal
What is progressive discipline?
Most common discipline system.
Stronger penalties for repeated offences
- Verbal reprimand by supervisor
- Written reprimand; with a record in file
- 1-3 day suspension
- Suspension for 1 week+
- Discharge for cause
It is essential that employers document discipline efforts
Serious charges my not have a progressive system and my require dismissel immediatly.
What is positive discipline?
Takes a problem-solving approach (highlights the positive aspects of employees behaviour and explains the positive actions the employer is seeking)
Emphasises mutual respect.
Employee accepts that a problem exists and takes responsibility
4 suggestions for positive disciplinary interviews:
- Focus on the conversation, not the disciplinary action
- Change the name of disciplinary steps (from reprimands and warnings to notice and conversation)
- Provide employees with the opportunity to clear their record
- Avoid unpaid suspensions
What is dismissal, wrongful dismissal and how do you determine just cause for dismissal?
Dismissal: The ultimate disciplinary action, seperation from the employer.
Wrongful Dismissal:
- The termination of an employee without just cause or without giving the employee reasonable notice or pay in lieu of notice
- Non-union employer who does not have just cause for dismissing an employer may be sued for wrongful dismissal
Determining Just Cause for Dismissal:
- Any act by an employee that could have serious negative effects on the organization or reputation of the firm. (Fraud, drunkness, dishonesty or refusal to obey reasonable orders)
- Employer is responsible for proving just cause
What is incompetent work performance?
Incompetent work performance is one justification for just cause dismissal.
Contract containes an implied warranty that the employee is reasonably competent and able to complete the work. Employer must be able to prove this and must be able to establish real incompetence.
Requirements in dismissing an incompetent employee include:
- Providing reasonable, objective standards of performance
- Showing that employee failed to meet standards
- Establishing that employee was given a clear warning including warning that dismissal could result if standards were not met
What is employee misconduct?
Employee misconduct can also potentially lead to just cause dismissal
Four classes of misconduct identified in the case law including:
- Unfaithful service to the employer
- Misconduct of a general nature
- Theft, fraud, or dishonesty
- Willful disobedience of a reasonable and lawful order.
Theft, fraud and dishonesty can be cause for immediate dismissal in some cases.
Business or economic reasons are not just cause for dismissal because such factors are not related to the employee’s behaviour
Court considers nature of conduct and position of employee
