Strong Employee Relations Skills for the Employee Relations Manager of Organization

 

Employee Relations Manager

Since resolving disagreements between employees is the manager's main priority, an employee relations manager is under HR. The duties of employee relations managers include creating corporate initiatives for employee relations and putting policies and procedures into action all the while promoting and upholding positive relationships and communication among staff members. In an ideal world, the employee relations manager would have the expertise, resources, and backing from the business to resolve conflicts at any level within the organization. By dissecting the term, consider this position: the employee relations manager oversees the interactions between staff members and the organization. ( Humanresource, 2023 )

 Strong Employee Relations Skills for the Employee Relations Manager

The two main categories of talents for employee relations managers are hard skills and soft skills. Soft skills include interpersonal abilities like empathy and dispute resolution as well as your general work style. Hard skills, which include all of the technical components of the work as well as your knowledge and proficiency in areas like performance management and labor regulations, are far more quantifiable.(  Careeraddict, 2022 )

• Skills in communication

Having a strong foundation for communication at work promotes positive staff and employee interactions. It is your responsibility as an employee relations expert to use your communication skills to make sure that information is effectively shared from the office cleaners to middle management to the company's top executives.

For instance, you may have to use your communication skills to write or telephone senior managers to request a change in workplace regulations on behalf of junior employees. To really succeed, therefore, invest some time in honing your communication abilities.

• Analytical  skills

Since they serve as a liaison between employers and workers, employee relations experts must possess good analytical abilities in order to appraise work environments, analyze data, and make precise observations. For instance, if five out of thirty workers in a business submit letters of resignation within six months, the professional needs to investigate the causes for the resignations. In the event that the departure is due to employee dissatisfaction, the HR professional needs to come up with workable alternatives, such providing career coaching, counseling, and support services.

• Interpersonal skills

Strong interpersonal skills are essential for employment relations experts in management roles to engage with and preserve positive working relationships with other workers. For example, while looking into a worker who disobeys an organization's policy, you'll utilize both your investigation and people skills to find the truth without jeopardizing your relationship with the worker. Additionally, they employ conflict resolution techniques to settle disagreements among employees that can compromise the effectiveness of the company.

• Ability to make decisions

You will have to make significant judgments on a daily basis in this job. Even if you might not have the last say in whether to discipline or fire an employee, you will still have the final say in the matter. You'll need to rely on your decision-making abilities to get you through a case where you're looking at several employees' perspectives on the same issue. When managers or executives ask for your advice on what to do next, you'll need to be ready to respond. Whatever the situation, practice your decision-making techniques and be ready for those talks!

•  Working together skill

Teamwork is another name for cooperation; it's crucial to have this ability in employee relations as much of your work involves interacting with others to reach a consensus. In the end, you're collaborating with an employee—or even the employer—to find a solution that works best for everyone. You should always cooperate and hone your teamwork abilities if you want to be an effective.

• Creativity

You'll need to think creatively and unconventionally as an employee relations expert or manager in order to come up with fresh approaches to the same problem. You'll forecast future requirements for the company's HR procedure through innovation and offer suggestions for enhancement. Rather of rushing about with your hair on fire when a scenario arises, you want to be ready for it before it happens. Even if your company doesn't need to undergo significant adjustments, there's always room for improvement!

• Leadership

The key to success in employee relations is support, and honing your leadership abilities will keep you moving in the right path. Even if you aren't a direct supervisor, you may still have a good impact on every person, which will help you succeed. Possessing strong leadership traits allows you to drive others, inspire them, and set an example for them. It's your responsibility to use your leadership style to bring out the best in your team members and make sure they are all working toward the same objective.

Barriers to Improving Employee Relations Management

• It is incredibly challenging to fulfill every employee's expectation.

Workers shouldn't anticipate financial rewards that are greater than what the business can afford. When management declines to provide desired benefits or incentives to staff, they become irrational and start spreading rumors. Their relationship suffers as a result of their disdain for their bosses and lack of enthusiasm in their jobs. It is crucial that the staff members have reasonable expectations in order to prevent such a scenario. Avoid making requests that you know are impractical or that might negatively impact the organization's finances. After consulting with his team, the team leader is required to create an incentive scheme from the start. Everybody must use the same incentive scheme. ( Managementstudyguide, n.d. ) 

• There's no employee's mental process can ever be altered.

It is impossible to peek inside someone else's mind and learn what they are thinking. Even if you say something casually, the other person could misinterpret it and take it personally against you.
Even if someone says something lighthearted, the other person may take it seriously and get into an argument. At work, it is always preferable to be accurate and succinct. Steer clear of side topics and avoid having long conversations at work.

•  It's possible that team members can't always get in touch with their boss.

The team leader could have to depart for an urgent meeting when a team member approaches him with a query. In such a scenario, the employee shouldn't feel abused or ignored. The team leader has a duty to reply to his teammates as soon as he has a moment to himself. 

• Be sensible.

On his birthday or the anniversary of his marriage, don't invite any staff members to his workplace. When one knows an employee has a party to attend, one should never ask them to remain late at the office. Recognize the issues that others are facing. When a team member is aware of the strain at work, he should also refrain from requesting time off.

 

References

• Humanresource., 2023. Employee relations manager: [Online]  Available at: https://www.humanresourcesmba.net/lists/5-functions-of-an-employee-relations-manager/ [Accessed 11 April 2024].

• Careeraddict., 2022. Skills requires in employee relations: [Online]  Available at: https://www.careeraddict.com/the-skills-required-in-employee-relations [Accessed 11 April 2024].

• Managementstudyguide, n.d. Employee relationship management challenges. [Online]Available at: https://managementstudyguide.com/employee-relationship-management-challenges.htm#google_vignette [Accessed 11 April 2024].