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PART VI Governance

CHAPTER 13 Developing Employee Relations

CHALLENGES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to deal more effectively with the following challenges:

1 Know the roles of the manager and the employee relations specialist.
2 Become aware of developing employee communications.
3 Learn practices for encouraging effective communications.
4 Describe employee recognition programs.

One approach companies are using to sustain positive employee relations and morale is by valuing fun in the workplace. This trend was displayed in the popular TV series The Office, which featured a manager, a character named Michael Scott, who likes to play light-hearted pranks on his employees and encourages them to play pranks on him and each other. In one episode, Scott invites the entire office to a local restaurant where he presents a recognition award to each employee based on their having done something humorous during the year, modeling the event after an Academy Awards show. After receiving the award from Scott, each employee attempts to make a humorous speech to thank their coworkers for their support, or lack of it. For example, one of the female characters receives an award for having the cleanest tennis shoes, after which she thanks a long list of people for making her achievement possible.

One real-life company that institutionalizes fun in the workplace is Blazer Industries, a $35 million maker of modular buildings located in Aumsville, Oregon. Marv Shetler, founder and CEO of Blazer Industries, appointed Kendra Cox, a project manager with an outgoing personality, to be a “chief fun director,” a role like a cruise director on a ship. Kendra organizes fun activities, such as holiday parties and pizza nights, and is responsible for taking candid photos of colleagues having fun. She is also responsible for personally inviting each of the 220 employees to events.

Source:Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.

Paul Spiegelman, CEO of Beryl Companies, a call-center company in Bedford, Texas, plans fun events for his employees to reduce the stress and tedium of their jobs (the call-center industry is known for low morale and high attrition). One time he arranged for the staging of a murder mystery on the call-center floor, and teams spent the next eight weeks solving it. Every August there is a talent show where employees sing, play an instrument, or perform a stand-up comedy routine to try to get a laugh. The point of these events is to have fun on a consistent basis. Often the CEO allows himself to be on the receiving end of a joke so that employees can see that he does not take himself too seriously. On one occasion, he roller-skated in a matador outfit and another time he played a short-order cook at a company party.1

The Managerial Perspective

By instigating fun in the workplace, the managers in the examples given strive to provide an environment with positive employee relations, the subject of this chapter. Companies with strong employee relations benefit because their employees are highly motivated to expend their best efforts. In exchange, the employees expect to be treated fairly and recognized for their achievements. To develop and sustain relations, employers must keep employees informed of company policies and strategies. That way, employees can learn new behaviors or skills as needed and understand the workings of the firm more fully. In addition, employers must have policies that allow employees to discuss problems with or communicate important information to company representatives who can respond effectively.

As a manager, you will play a key role in employee relations. You must listen to your employees’ concerns and feelings, observe their experiences, and help keep employees informed about changes in the business and the effects of such changes.

HR specialists also play a crucial role in employee relations. If they develop communication policies and procedures that apply appropriate communication tools in a timely manner, employees can access more abundant, higher-quality information and can communicate more effectively with management. Managers and HR specialists must work in partnership to ensure that the communication policies and procedures bolster employee relations.

In this chapter, we explore how managers and employee relations specialists can work together to coordinate an employee relations program. Next, we present a model of communication and explore specific policies that give employees access to important information. Finally, we examine some programs for recognizing employees’ individual and team contributions to company goals.

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Table of Contents for PART VI Governance

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Table of Contents for
PART VI Governance