Industrial Relations Colesworths

Question: How to manage industrial relations? Answer: Long-term employee relation objectives: Employee relation refers to the relationship between employers and employees in order to achieve desired working environment that would meet the needs of employees and help the organization to achieve its strategic, tactical and operational objectives (Kelly 2012).As a part of new industrial relations agreement, following three long term employee relations objectives has been identified To implement training and development plans for employees to increase productivity and job satisfaction To implement proactive conflict management and dispute resolution procedures To develop contingency plans in case negotiations break down As stated above, the purpose of employee relations is to increase interaction between the employers and employees and development of optimum workplace conditions so that organizational goals can be achieved. Therefore, to achieve these identified objectives, the management and the employees are required to develop and implement action plans. Employee relations objectives are designed to provide employees with better working conditions and help the organization to increase its productivity. Therefore, to achieve these objectives employees can collectively bargain and negotiate terms of employee relations to achieve desired objectives (Poole 2013). Analysing existing employee relations performance in relation to the above workplace objectives The effectiveness of existing employee relations performance can be measured by evaluating the results of current practices on the employees motivation and satisfaction and organizational productivity. In order to analyse the performance of current employee relations performance with identified long-term objectives following methods can be employed Performance appraisal: the effectiveness of employees training and development needs can be analysed by performance appraisal. This method, in particular provides information about the effectiveness of training programs implemented by the organization. Observation: this method is can be used to analyse the effectiveness of conflict management and dispute resolution procedures employed in the organization. Personal interviews can also be employed to measure the effectiveness of existing employee relations performance Organizational survey is another method that can be employed to analyse current employee relations performance (Richardson 2013). Evaluation of options while developing the action plan When developing the plan, it is important to evaluate various options and then selecting the best alternative available. Evaluation of various options can be undertaken in terms of cost benefit analysis and/or risk analysis, discussed as Cost benefit analysis: cost benefit analysis is a decision making tool that helps in understanding the positive outcomes (benefits) and negative outcomes (costs) of different decisions alternatives. Therefore, while developing plans for employee relations for development of strategies all possible means of achieving those strategies are evaluated on the basis of associated costs and benefits and the alternatives that yields maximum benefits are selected (Bartram et al. 2015). Risk analysis: while developing plans it is important to access all tangible and intangible factors affecting the success of selected plan. This helps in the understanding the risks associated with the selected plans and enable the management to devise strategies to minimize the effect of risks. Risk analysis helps in quantification of discovered risks and enables decision makers to arrive at confident choices informed by data. The most common methods of risk analysis are financial risks and operational risks. Ensuring compliance with following legislative requirements Workplace laws: there are several work place laws such as fair work act 2009, registered organizations legislations and regulations, related legislations and many others that needs to be followed. Its compliance can be ensured by developing strategies and plans that are in accordance with the legal frameworks (Shields et al. 2015). Workplace, health and safety: it requires providing a safe workplace for employees that can be achieved identifying and controlling hazards, providing health and safety training to employees. In addition, constantly communicating with employees to keep them informed and involved in health and safety processes as well as keeping records of all accidents and reporting of serious injuries to Occupational Safety and Health Service are to be followed. Equal employment opportunity: to ensure the compliance with equal employment opportunities, the organization needs to follow fair and transparent employment standards. Therefore, while advertising for a post a wide a range of communication media should be used so that every eligible candidate can apply for the job. Further, during the selection process a standardized selection method should be employed to avoid subjectivity and biasness by the hiring executive. In addition, fairness in employment terms, exit policy and principles of confidentiality need to be followed(Burgess et al. 2014). Anti-discrimination laws: the following laws constitutes anti discrimination laws Age Discrimination Act 2004 Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 Disability discrimination Act 1992 Racial Discrimination Act 1975 Sex Discrimination Act 1984 By following the provisions of above laws, the organization can ensure legislative requirement of anti-discrimination laws (Forsyth 2016). Working with higher management to develop plan and policies In order to work with higher management to develop plan and policies, management by objective (MBO) strategy can be applied. This approach includes determining and assigning roles and responsibilities to the employees and working in synergy to achieve the desired objective. In addition, proper communication medium and channels needs to be identified to periodically review the progress and to take corrective actions if required (Ellem 2015). Skills and knowledge required to implement the policy In order to effectively implement the policy, the HR manager must be able to communicate the objectives of the policy to the employees and solicit their support to make the new policy a success. Further, it is important to devise strategies for wide dissemination of the policy information. The HR manager, should have the skills to develop models for policy evaluation and get the reviews from the employees and key shareholders and undertake necessary corrective actions before full scale implementation of the policy (Kaine 2016). References Bailey, J. and Peetz, D., 2013. Unions and collective bargaining in Australia in 2012.Journal of Industrial Relations,55(3), pp.403-420. Bartram, T., Boyle, B., Stanton, P., Burgess, J. and McDonnell, A., 2015. Multinational enterprises and industrial relations: A research agenda for the 21st century.Journal of Industrial Relations, p.0022185614564379. Bomers, G.B. and Peterson, R.B., 2013.Conflict management and industrial relations. Springer Science Business Media. Burgess, J., Cameron, R. and Rainnie, A., 2014. Contemporary research on work, workplaces and industrial relations in Australia.The Economic and Labour Relations Review,25(1), pp.5-9. Currie, D., Gormley, T., Roche, B. and Teague, P., 2016. The Management of Workplace.