To start with, what is it that constitutes employee relations? Well, for starters, employee relations refer to the relationship between the employer and employee within an organization and also that which exists between the employees themselves. It is the responsibility of the organization to engender harmonious employee relations, and in order for this to happen, there has to be a planned, focused, and strategic set of initiatives.

Have you ever wondered exactly what task the employee engagement team or person in your organization is actually tasked with? Is it all just fun and games, organizing the year-end Christmas or holiday party, showing up at your desk to congratulate you on your work anniversary, or organizing the cake for employee birthdays?

No man is an island, and this saying holds especially true for organizations which rely on their human capital to run and do business in the first place. Unhappy employees will adversely affect the company not just in terms of the environment but eventually, its bottom line too. Not only should there be an environment that fosters cooperation, harmony, mutual respect, and open communication within the organization and its team, but this must also be present across all levels of the organization, be it amongst members of a given team, those employees who are all at the same level, superiors and managers, the senior leadership, and more.

In today’s highly competitive, globalized market, with so many options available to prospective employees, especially younger ones, there has been a shift in the way employers have had to think of and engage with their workforce. This is especially true when taking into account the somewhat fickle millennial workforce, for whom satisfaction, engagement, and worklife balance are often equally important to salary and benefits.

Employee relations are an essential and important part of the operations of every business, whether it is a small, medium, or large sized enterprise. Employee relations, as the term suggests, refers to the relationship between the employees themselves, as well as the relationship between employer and employees. In other words, it is the way all people, who are part of a given organization, associate with, think of, and work with one another.

An integral part of an organization’s employee relations will start and end with employee engagement. Putting the policies and creating the right environment to foster employee engagement means happier and more satisfied employees. And when employees are happy, they work better and are more productive. Communication is perhaps the single most important aspect to improving employee engagement when employees feel like they are in the know, that management respects and trusts them enough to share information, and that there is no unilateral decision making, they feel more secure and thus have more buy in.