by Employee Relationship Management or ERM is the process of managing relationships in an organisation. These relationships can be between the organisation and employees as well as co-workers working at the same level.
For employees to be productive, they need to have a working environment that allows them to be creative. When employees have an easy-going relationship with others at work, it will show in their performance and productivity. There will be more communication, collaboration and cooperation.
An effectively managed ERM will pave the way for a fulfilling employee experience and a feeling of satisfaction from the work your employees do.
It is rightly said that the success and failure of an organization is directly proportional to the relationship shared among the employees. The employees must share a cordial relation otherwise they would always end up fighting with each other. Nothing is possible without trust. You need to trust people to expect the best out of them. Trust only comes when you are comfortable with the other person. An individual can’t always take decisions alone. Employees together can discuss things among themselves, come out with innovative ideas and accomplish the tasks at a much faster rate.
A human resource professional plays a key role in binding the employees together. He/she must undertake certain activities which help in strengthening the bond among the employees and bring them closer.
The individual taking care of the HR activities plays a key role in involving all the employees into something productive which would give them an opportunity to know each other well. Individuals are so engrossed in their daily routine work that they hardly get time to interact with each other. Many of them don’t even know the full names of the person sitting next to their workstations. The human resource department must ensure that several group activities are being organized at the workplace to bring all employees on a common platform.
Research says that if the employees are satisfied with their job responsibilities, they tend to remain happy and avoid conflicts with each other. Individuals develop a feeling of trust and loyalty towards their organization and don’t waste their time and energy in unproductive tasks.
Organize various activities like potlucks and small get togethers at the workplace. Ask each one to bring some dish according to his taste and convenience. Let the employees enjoy together. Employees tend to discuss lot many things apart from routine work in these kinds of informal get togethers.
One day probably the last day of the month should be earmarked with the sole objective of celebrating birthdays falling in the particular month. For example all those born in the month of May should celebrate their birthdays together on the last day of the month i.e. 31st May which will help a great deal for them to remain charged for next one year. The HR should send a formal mail inviting all. Let everyone enjoy and have fun. Divide individuals into groups and ask each group to do something. One group can probably be responsible for the decoration of the venue; the other group can take care of the cake as well as other eatables and so on. The HR person should ideally support each group to ensure that no one faces any difficulty in getting things organized.
It is the responsibility of the human resources team to organize various events like sports day, annual day, green day etc. The employees must be encouraged to participate in these kinds of extracurricular activities. Employees are able to relax this way and take a break from their routine work. Problems crop up when the work tends to become monotonous. Employees should enjoy coming to office, rather than treating work as a burden.
The HR in coordination with the team leaders must display the names of the top performers every month on the company’s noticeboard. Send a congratulations mail as well. The human resource professional along with the supervisor can even hand over a small trophy as a token of appreciation to the top performers. Do this activity in the presence of all. The one who has performed well starts trusting his management more and strives hard to win many more trophies in the future. Everyone is aware about each other’s performance and gets inspired as well.
While making the organization’s policies, the human resource department must fix a common time for lunch for all the employees. Assign half an hour for the same and make sure that no one during the lunch time is seen working at their workstations. Everyone should come together at the office canteen and take lunch together. When people sit together, half of their problems disappear on their own. Employees share their sorrows, displeasures and various other problems with their colleagues and this way come closer to each other. People develop better bonding this way.
When a new employee joins an organization, make sure he receives a warm welcome by all. The induction program should be conducted at the auditorium or the conference room so that everyone can be invited. Ask the new joinee to introduce himself well. Let others know that a new member has stepped into their family to help them in their assignments.
The HR along with the line managers must communicate the key responsibility areas clearly to the employees to extract the best out of them and avoid dissatisfactions later.
