2018 witnessed some major shifts in employment laws and regulations. From GDPR to #MeToo to a renewed focus on employee engagement, 2018 was a landmark year for employee relations (ER) professionals globally. Â Here are our top three predictions for 2019 ER trends.
Employee relationship management is key to every business’ competitive advantage. Healthy employee relations result in better engagement and improved productivity. Employee relationship management can be defined as managing the employee-employer interactions to achieve broader business goals. While most people use the terms employee relations and industrial relations interchangeably, there are subtle differences between the two. For instance, industrial relations are typically negotiated between an employer and a worker’s union while employee relations are typically managed through one-on-one discussions between an organization’s employee relations (ER) team and individual workers.
In recent years, ER as a specialization has become more and more important. Low unemployment levels, skills gaps, and changing workforce demographics have contributed to the growing prominence of ER as a core business strategy. Today, ER includes a whole gamut of HR functions including, employer branding, internal communications, HR marketing, and employee investigation.
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From GDPR to #MeToo to a renewed focus on employee engagement, 2018 was a landmark year for ER professionals globally. Â Here are the top three employee relations trends that will shape 2019:
- Centralization of the ER function: ER has traditionally been organized using one of the three models – decentralized, centralized, and mixed. Centralized design refers to an ER team that is responsible for managing employee relations issues and conducting investigations across the organization. The team does not have to be geographically centralized. The mixed ER model relies on a centralized team for managing some or most of the employee relations cases and investigations with field representatives (HR professionals) to manage some employee relations issues. In the decentralized model, employee relations issues are managed within specific functions or verticals by ER and HR professionals. A recent survey by HR AcuityOpens a new window suggests a shift towards the centralization of the ER function. The survey report noted a year over year decline in the number of organizations using a decentralized approach for employee relations. Industries like pharmaceuticals and technology were found to be heavily dependent on the centralized model, while other industries like finance, insurance, and healthcare took the mixed approach to ER.
- An increasing focus on metrics and analytics: Like other HR functions, ER is also becoming more data-driven and outcome driven. Organizations are increasingly focusing on cost, root cause, and tracking metrics to drive continuous improvement. By analyzing key trends, ER teams can also benefit from significant cost savings and determine the actual cost of grievances and litigation. In 2019, the ER function will increasingly rely on prescriptive and predictive analytics to predict, mitigate and even prevent ER issues from blowing up.
- Workplace safety will be in the spotlight: 2017 and 2018 brought to light numerous new allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace. The #MeToo movement gathered momentum and raised uncomfortable questions about ER practices in the organizations affected. ER professionals could expect more employees to open up and report sexual misconduct and be ready to act in anticipating employees’ public allegations. Building awareness of anti-harassment laws isn’t going to be enough, ER professionals will need to proactively create an environment in which all employees feel safe.
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It’s exciting to see a widespread change in the way ER teams are thinking about improving employee relations in the workplace. Broadly, the focus is shifting towards empowering employees, becoming outcome driven, and centralization. If you’re heading into 2019 with a renewed effort to build trust among your employees, overcommunicate, empower them, chances are you’re on the right track!
What key trends do you see emerging in ER for 2019? Let us know in the comments below.