Employee Relations is the Key to Your Labor Relations Success
Unionization in the private employment sector has been on the decline for decades. The statistics are pretty clear. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, union representation has been steadily dropping since 1983. Proponents of Labor Unions are absolutely aware of this fact. Labor Unions and some political leaders have been working to slow the pace of decline. The most recent examples of these efforts came under the previous Presidential administration. Many employers have been resisting these efforts and some may have found solace in the recent reversals at the National Labor Relations Board. Regardless, some things we can all agree upon; dealing with an NLRB election and fighting against a union campaign is a costly event with lasting, often damaging consequences. The surprisingly simple and often overlooked fact is that avoiding this kind of expensive and divisive experience is relatively easy and, frankly, quite inexpensive. Developing personal relationships with your employees is the most effective strategy anyone can implement.
Human Resources professionals call this "Employee Relations" and it is the key to securing your workforce. Managing the relationships between supervisors and employees is often seen as the HR team's responsibility. HR should be guiding supervisors, mentoring and coaching them on the finer point of performance management and the progressive disciplinary processes. However, even the best HR team cannot manage every single supervisor to employee interaction. And, it is in the daily person-to-person moments, between supervisor and employee, that are the key to Labor Relations success.
Saying "Good Morning" at the start of the work day; asking "how was your weekend?" at the first break period; looking for an opportunity to legitimately say, "nice job on that project", these are quick and easy ways to let an employee know that they are important, they are visible and they matter. When engaged with sincerity, simple interactions are a great opportunity to learn about employees's interests and find common ground upon which to build a foundation for trust. This requires honesty, of course. Feigning interest undermines the effort. Supervisors and managers that engage with sincerity establish a connection with their employees as people. Employees that feel they are treated as people, feel respected. Employees that feel respected begin to see their leaders as a people, not just "management" and will begin to trust the leaders. Respect is the foundation upon which trust is built.
Like all structures, the foundation, trust is important and must be maintained to ensure Employee Relations success (or avoid Labor Relations failure). Engaging employees with respect when interactions are tense and outcomes are critical is not as easy. This is where the HR team can and should provide additional coaching and support. With assistance, leaders can continue to engage with honesty and respect, even in difficult discussions. Employees that feel respect and that trust their leaders, do not look for other people to intervene in their relationships. These employees don't need nor want a union to defend them from the employer. (They often don't need the HR representative to help them either.) These employees can speak directly to their supervisor with confidence.
Union representatives and organizers will promise employees many things. Some will promise better wages. Others still may promise bigger bonuses and more vacation time. But, the most effective union representatives understand that the promise of respect will generate greater interest and most passionate commitment. Promising to get employee respect from the employer is a brilliant strategy. If company leaders are not already engaging with the employees on a personal level, the union will. The union is just as capable of using the key of "employee relations". If companies are relying on the HR department alone to understand the employees, a savvy union is only to happy to step between the employer and the employees, acting as a trusted representative.
Unionization in the US may continue to decline in the coming years. Labor Unions may find significant support from future political leader and elected officials. Regardless of how these trends continue, unlocking the front doors of any business to a union, securing a union free workplace or even ensuring the greatest levels of labor peace in a unionized workplace will b e determined at the local level. Success or failure will be decided by the employees and the supervisors with whom they interact every day. Developing trust and building personal relationships between supervisors and employees is the most effective strategy anyone can implement; it is the key to labor relations success.