Chapter 7 - Employee Relations Flashcards
(79 cards)
State Labor and Employee Relations Laws
- expansion of benefits beyond those provided for in federal law
- state disability insurance programs
- unemployment insurance programs
- paid sick leave
- equal employment opportunity protections for classes beyond those in federal law
- wage and hour requirements for overtime rates and rules of application
Federal Regulations
- after Congress passes a law, DOL and the National Labor Relations Board develops and publishes proposed regulations that will implement a new law
- requirement for public comment period
- review comments and make changes if necessary
- once final, the regulations will carry an implementation period
- once the date arrives, all employment organizations subject to the new law and regulations will be obligated to comply
Rights and Responsibilities
- as with any relationship, each party must meet certain rights and certain responsibilities for the relationship to continue in a healthy and productive way
Rights and Responsibilities – Employer
- responsibilities include things such as treating employees in accord with the principles of “good faith and fair dealing”
- more than an ethical requirement
- employers are expected to honor commitments made to employees when employees are convinced to act based on those employer promises
- employer rights include the expectation that employees will work for a full 8 hours each day they are scheduled for 8 hours
- the employer has the right to ensure worker behavior while on the job meets with policy requirements, and the employer has the right to inspect employee work product, work space, and communication related to work
Rights and Responsibilities – Employee
- employees have the right to expect they will be treated with good faith and fairly by their employer
- have the right to proper wage calculation and prompt payment
- right to full benefit provisions as provided by organizational policy and contract provisions
- responsibility to give a full 8 hours of effort for an 8-hour workday, compliance with all employer policies, and treatment of everyone in the workplace with civility
Employee Feedback
- necessary to assess many conditions in the workplace, including morale, job satisfaction, and ideas for innovation and improvements
- communication cycle depends on feedback to assess the quality of the communication
Employee Feedback EXAM TIP
- since employee feedback is so critical to successful business operations today, you can expect that the certification exam will contain questions about the methods of collecting employee feedback and how it can be used
Employee Surveys
- methods for assessing employee morale, work satisfaction, and communication quality and effectiveness
- a tool that can gather information directly from the employee body and can be applied in a timely way immediately following a major employment event
Employee Surveys – Attitude Surveys
- can be done by telephone, mail, or online
- usually prepared by professional consultants (psychologists) to assure that information can be gathered that will be useful
- used to improve morale, productivity, and engagement, and to reduce turnover by gathering actionable feedback on job experiences
- topics include job-related training, supervisor treatment, employment policies and their impact on individual employees, satisfaction with compensation programs, and satisfaction with benefit programs such as healthcare insurance and vacation policies
Employee Surveys – 360-/180-Degree Surveys
- ask everyone around an employee to provide feedback about that person’s competencies, behaviors, and contributions
- managers use it to get feedback (usually anonymous) from their subordinates as well as their peers and supervisors
- nonmanagement can’t be subject of 360, so 180-degree surveys are used where only their manager, coworkers, and internal customers are asked to provide input
Employee Surveys – Stay Interviews
- one-on-one meeting between a manager and a highly valued employee who may be at risk for leaving the organization
- identify factors that will entice the employee to stay with the employer rather than change jobs
- just listening to an employee can go a long way to making them feel they are valued by the employer
Processes for Obtaining Feedback – Paper Surveys
- properly prepared questions will yield a wealth of information that can be digested and then produce actionable items
- having a third party summarize the responses can create a wall against identifying individual responses
- cover a wide range of issues; responses can be offered on a scale (“more likely” to “less likely” or “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”)
Processes for Obtaining Feedback – Computer-Based Surveys
- advantages: the speed of response summaries and the ability to track which employees have responded and which have yet to log on and take the survey
- flexibility of access can increase initial participation rates substantially
Processes for Obtaining Feedback – Focus Groups
- offer an excellent opportunity to probe initial responses and go into more detail
- provide excellent information about employee beliefs
Workplace Behavior
- workplace policies usually include a description of acceptable behaviors and/or unacceptable behaviors
Attendance and Absenteeism
- actually showing up to work and being on time is viewed as a requirement by many employers
- an employee who can’t do one or the other may not be acceptable in the eyes of the employer
Identifying Standards for Attendance and Punctuality
- each employer must establish its own standards for attendance and punctuality
- a key step in managing those 2 behaviors that have a great impact on work performance
Violation of Standards
- when the standard is not met, what happens?
- should happen: disciplinary action
- beginning with a discussion and working through the progressive discipline process until the problem is silved because the behavior has changed
- should be consistent from one situation to another when the circumstances are the same
- treating employees inconsistently can result in charges of illegal discrimination
Improvement Programs
- a formalized approach to correcting inappropriate behaviors
Sample Attendance Improvement Program
- 1: have initial meeting with employee to review attendance record
- 2: compare record to the standard expected of all employees
- 3: explain that the employee will be expected to have no absences (paid or unpaid) during the coming 30 days
- 4: any absence in the next 30 days will result in an unpaid suspension of 2 days and a job-in-jeopardy warning
- 5: after suspension, a new 30-day period will begin; any absence during that period will result in termination of employment
- 6: it is common for the supervisor to have the employee sign the improvement program, making a contract out of the expectations for improved behavior
Violation of Code of Conduct
- a Code of Conduct is a list of behavioral expectations the employer has for each employee
- violation can fall from minor to worthy of immediate dismissal
- should be identified in the employer’s policy manual
Code of Conduct EXAM TIP
- even in today’s work environment of greater sensitivity to employees and their needs, it is still necessary for employers to establish an maintain employee codes of conduct; you should expect that there will be questions on the exam about what a code of conduct is and how it should be administered
Employee Behavior
- when someone does or says something that is unacceptable, there should be consequences of some sort
Employee Behavior - Minor Violations
- frequent tardiness
- frequent absence (excused, unexcused, or both)
- minor insubordination
- pilferage from employer supplies
- frequent incomplete or inaccurate work product
- abuse or misuse of office equipment
- arguments with coworkers