Glyndr University

Business School









Assignment On: Placing Trust in Employee Engagement



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Submitted To:


Date of Submission:
Placing Trust in Employee Engagement
Introduction:
In todays rapidly evolving businesses around the world, companies need to be faster and
efficient than ever before it was. Now in business, managers and supervisors have a more
complex responsibility to maintain strong relationship among a very wide range of employees.
Using strategic frameworks alongside with attaining business goal must be interesting and
enlightening for all employees. Leadership training is also an essential element of strategic
execution. It can help companies to improve the habit of trust between managers and other
employees.
Employee engagement means a workplace approach that is designed to ensure that employees
are dedicated to their organizations goals and values, motivated to contribute to the
organizational achievements, and are able to enhance their own sense of well-being at the same
time.

At the very starting time many organizations review their strategies and goals for the upcoming
time. Its important for the leaders to find out how to enhance organizational effectiveness. And
on this run strengthening employee engagement should be top in priority.
Employees engagement covers more than traditional factors of job satisfaction. It consists of an
active commitment to doing the job well and helping the organization that achieves its goals and
strategies. Engaged employees take pride in their organizational success and achievement, take
lead of their projects, discuss about the future plans, help their employer to achieve the goals,
view working for their organization as a career, they perform their job not just to complete the
task but also love their job and perform better. In short, an engaged employee experiences are a
blend of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job involvement and feelings of
empowerment. It is a concept that individual power is greater than the sum of its parts.
Despite there being some debate about the precise meaning of employee engagement there are
three things we know about it and those are it is measurable, it can be correlated with
performance of the employees, and it varies from poor to great. Most importantly employers can
do a great deal to impact on peoples level of engagement what makes it so important, as a tool
of organizational success.




Task-1
Task 1.1: Explain what is meant by the unitary and pluralistic perspectives taken in
relation to employee relations
Unitary System:
Unitary system means the organization is perceived as an integrated system, viewed as one
happy family. A core assumption of unitary approach is that management and staff, and all
members of the organization share the same objectives, interests and purposes by working
together, hand-in-hand, towards the shared mutual goals. Furthermore, unitary has a paternalistic
approach where it demands loyalty of all employees. Trade unions are deemed as unnecessary
and conflict is perceived as disruptive.
From employee point of view, unitary approach means such things like:
Working practices should be flexible. Individuals should be business process
improvement oriented, multi-skilled and ready to tackle with efficiency whatever tasks
are required.

If a union is recognized, its role is that of a further means of communication
between groups of staff and the company.
The emphasis is on good relationships and sound terms and conditions of employment.

Employee participation in workplace decisions is enabled. This helps in empowering
individuals in their roles and emphasizes team work, innovation, creativity, discretion in
problem-solving, quality and improvement groups etc.
Employees should feel that the skills and expertise of managers supports their endeavors.
From employer point of view, unitary approach means that:
Staffing policies should try to unify effort, inspire and motivate employees.
The organization's wider objectives should be properly communicated and discussed with
staff.
Reward systems should be so designed as to foster to secure loyalty and commitment.
Line managers should take ownership of their team/staffing responsibilities.
Staff-management conflicts - from the perspective of the unitary framework - are seen as
arising from lack of information, inadequate presentation of management's policies.
The personal objectives of every individual employed in the business should be discussed with
them and integrated with the organizations needs.
Pluralistic perspective:
In pluralism the organization is perceived as being made up of powerful and divergent sub-
groups - management and trade unions. This approach sees conflicts of interest and
disagreements between managers and workers over the distribution of profits as normal and
inescapable. Consequently, the role of management would lean less towards enforcing and
controlling and more toward persuasion and co-ordination. Trade unions are deemed as
legitimate representatives of employees. Conflict is dealt by collective bargaining and is viewed
not necessarily as a bad thing and if managed could in fact be channeled towards evolution and
positive change. Realistic managers should accept conflict to occur. There is a greater propensity
for conflict rather than harmony.
They should anticipate and resolve this by securing agreed procedures for settling disputes.

The implications of this approach include:
The firm should have industrial relations and personnel specialists who advise managers
and provide specialist services in respect of staffing and matters relating to union
consultation and negotiation.
Independent external arbitrators should be used to assist in the resolution of disputes.
Union recognition should be encouraged and union representatives given scope to carry
out their representative duties
Comprehensive collective agreements should be negotiated with unions

















Task 1.2: What are the key ingredients of effective collective bargaining arrangements?
Collective Bargaining:
Collective bargaining is specifically an industrial relations mechanism or tool, and is an aspect of
negotiation, applicable to the employment relationship. As a process, the two are in essence the
same, and the principles applicable to negotiations are relevant to collective bargaining as well.
However, some differences need to be noted.
In collective bargaining the union always has a collective interest since the negotiations are for
the benefit of several employees. Where collective bargaining is not for one employer but for
several, collective interests become a feature for both parties to the bargaining process. In
negotiations in non-employment situations, collective interests are less, or non-existent, except
when states negotiate with each other. Further, in labour relations, negotiations involve the
public interest such as where where negotiations are on wages which can impact on prices. This
is implicitly recognized when a party or the parties seek the support of the public especially
where negotiations have failed and work disruptions follow. Governments intervene when
necessary in collective bargaining because the negotiations are of interest to those beyond the
parties themselves.
In collective bargaining certain essential conditions need to be satisfied, such as the existence of
the freedom of association and a labour law system. Further, since the beneficiaries of collective
bargaining are in daily contact with each other, negotiations take place in the background of a
continuing relationship which ultimately motivates the parties to resolve the specific issues.
The nature of the relationship between the parties in collective bargaining distinguishes the
negotiations from normal commercial negotiations in which the buyer may be in a stronger
position as he could take his business elsewhere.
Unfortunately the term "bargaining" implies that the process is one of haggling, which is more
appropriate to one-time relationships such as a one-time purchaser or a claimant to damages.
While collective bargaining may take the form of haggling, ideally it should involve adjusting
the respective positions of the parties in a way that is satisfactory to all, for reasons explained in
the Paper entitled "Principles of Negotiation".


Collective bargaining has become a very important base in the area of industrial relations and
describes all negotiations that take place between employers and (one or more) worker
organizations to determine the working conditions and terms of employment. Collective
bargaining describes a process by which trade unions protect, safeguard and improve the
conditions of their members working lives. Like bargaining in the service market where the
sellers try to sell merchandise at the highest possible prices, and the buyers seek to purchase at
the lowest possible prices, in collective bargaining, the sellers of labor services (workers) bargain
for obtaining better and improved terms and conditions of employment, and the buyers of these
services try to purchase them at lower price as possible. In this process of give-and-take, the final
conditions are determined on an agreed basis. Collective bargaining is built upon the classical
employment relationship. This employer-employee relationship is a necessity for collective
bargaining. Where there is no such relationship as in the case of self-employment, the question
of collective bargaining does not arise.


What does it do?
The chief object of collective bargaining is the determination of terms and conditions of
employment through negotiations and the process of give and take. If negotiations succeed, the
parties arrive at an agreement, which is called collective agreement. In the event of the failure
of negotiations, the parties generally take an alternative to corrective measures. The agreement
arrived at during the course of bargaining may relate to a number of subjects of the terms of
employment and working conditions, or to only a single issue. It just depends on the scope of
work defined between the two parties. As the terms of employment and working conditions have
widened during the course of time, so also has the subject matter of collective bargaining.
Collective bargaining is confined not only to employer and worker, but the state has also come to
play a notable role in regulating various aspects of collective bargaining. Some of these aspects
include: selection of bargaining agent, determining the enforceability of collective agreements,
obligating the employer and trade unions to bargain collectively and imposing restrictions on
industrial actions in the event of failure of negotiations and so on.
















Key Features Of Effective collective bargaining arguments:
Collective bargaining could also be defined as negotiations relating to terms of employment and
conditions of work between an employer, a group of employers or an employers' organization on
the one hand, and representative workers' organizations on the other, with a view to reaching
agreement.
There are several essential features of collective bargaining, all of which cannot be reflected in a
single definition or description of the process:

It is not equivalent to collective agreements because collective bargaining refers to the
process or means, and collective agreements to the possible result, of bargaining.
Collective bargaining may not always lead to a collective agreement.
It is a method used by trade unions to improve the terms and conditions of employment
of their members.
It seeks to restore the unequal bargaining position between employer and employee.
Where it leads to an agreement, it modifies, rather than replaces, the individual contract
of employment, because it does not create the employer-employee relationship.
The process is bipartite, but in some developing countries the State plays a role in the
form of a conciliator where disagreements occur, or where collective bargaining impinges
on government policy.



























Task 1.3: Partnership, engagement, employee voice are some of the more contemporary
attempts to promote trust and effective employee relations in an organization. Discuss the
merits/demerits of these approaches and explain the reasons why these approaches have
emerged.
Become "Partners"
It's important to approach the union as a business partner. We want to work with it, not against it
and when we select this approach everyone can get benefit. We can communicate openly and
share ideas by one way. For example, imagine that Manager is having trouble with employee
who's consistently late. We've tried several strategies to try to get through to this person, and
none have worked. In most cases, the union only hears of this when we are ready to fire the
employee. However, imagine instead that we tell the union representatives about the problem.
They can work with us to turn around this team member's behavior, and they may also be able to
provide assistance that we can't. Good partnerships are built on strong working relationships and
these relationships take time to build. Put time into establishing trust with everyone on our team,
including union representatives. Next, build good relationships by spending time with team
outside of work. This could include work socializing , or even volunteer days, where everyone
on the team volunteers for a social project. Tell union representatives about upcoming changes or
breaking news early, to give them a chance to brush up on the issues. That way, they'll be
prepared to answer questions from members. When we give them a heads up, it builds trust and
establishes a practice of open communication. When we have a good partnership with union
representatives, we can ask for their help in solving disciplinary issues. A good example is the
situation we described earlier, where people are consistently using all of their allowable sick
days.

Employee voice is the key

Employee voice has to be more than just a cosmetic exercise. Employers need to listen to and
trust their employees, involving them in the decision-making processes of the business. It is a
challenge for lots of employers to listen to staff who may not be telling them what they want to
hear. To do it properly is a real departure from traditional command and control style
management. Of the four enablers for engagement, employee voice is arguably the most
important. Research shows that influence over decision-making is the primary driver of
engagement, which in turn improves performance and productivity. Employers approaches to
employee voice have become more diverse theyre doing far more than just running annual
staff surveys, which are a limited form of listening. Organizations need a diversity of channels
for employee voice because they have to meet the different needs of individual employees and to
help facilitate different types of conversations. Sometimes employees need to engage, one to one,
with their line managers; at other times a cross-organization conversation through a staff forum
may be appropriate.





Engagement

Companies that weathered the recession well did it through engagement; the challenge now is to
keep that going when staffs are faced with a rising cost of living. The role trade unions played in
mitigating the worst effects of the recession. There was a willingness to accept measures such as
short-time and flexible working, and pay freezes rather than risk redundancies. However, there
are signs that this healthy employer-employee relationship is becoming strained, largely because
pay has not kept up with the cost of living. Employee engagement could be part of the solution to
low pay. Good employee engagement can not only improve staff relations and boost productivity
but is also likely to exert pressure for fairer distribution of pay and profits within the firm.
Increasing employee engagement could therefore be an important part of a strategy to address
low pay and poor career progression. The last few years have seen a massive increase in interest
in engagement and employee voice in particular. Measuring engagement through levels of staff
satisfaction offers a more encouraging picture. Generally, people are more satisfied at work.
Engagement has held up through the recession despite the significant challenges facing the
workforces here. The movement to promote employee engagement doesnt stand still. This will
require employers to take more than a piecemeal approach to employee communication and
involvement. To give employees a real voice in the workplace one that is capable of making
tangible change to the business will require a significant shift in organizational culture.




























TASK 2

Using your understanding of dispute resolution processes research an organisation with which
you are familiar and evaluate their approach to handling disciplinary issues.


How to develop an internal dispute resolution process
If you want to develop an internal dispute resolution process, the following tips can help you
plan and implement it effectively.
Identify the needs of your employees.
You must know the needs of your employees to develop an effective internal dispute
resolution process. Factors such as the resources you have available can help you decide what
kind of process makes sense for your organization and how long it will take to develop.
Input from employees and visible support from your organizations leadership will also help
build a successful internal dispute resolution process.
Make the process simple, informal and flexible.
If the process is simple there will be less delays and costs. Internal dispute resolution
processes should be less formal than law courts and offer participants different ways to
resolve disputes. This means being flexible enough to respond to different peoples needs.
Be inclusive from the start.
Make sure you consider all of your employees from the very beginning. Try to include people
from diverse backgrounds in the development of your process.
Train the people who will be involved.
Training should be provided to all persons involved in managing or advising about dispute
resolution. This can include your organizations leadership, managers, directors, and human
resources and legal staff. Training should include information about human rights and how
the internal dispute resolution process will work.
Communicate with your employees.
Your employees need to know your organization has a dispute resolution process available.
Tell people about the process at a special launch; put information on your website; write
about it in your newsletter; and post information in places where people get together. Make
sure you also include information about the process in your daily operations.
Monitor and evaluate how the process is working.
Monitor and evaluate the process to see if people are having problems accessing or using it.
Evaluation processes should be voluntary and confidential. Evaluation helps you identify how
confident people are that the process will help resolve disputes. It also tells you how satisfied
people are with the results.
You can evaluate your process by asking questions like:
Has the process been implemented as designed?
What are the results? (For example, number of complaints and whether issues were
resolved)
Is the process fair?
What do people involved have to say about the process?
Are there changes that would improve how the process works?
Adjust the process as needed.
Include instructions about how to make changes to the process if evaluations reveal that it is
not meeting your organizations needs.
Guiding Principles for addressing disputes within your organization
Make the process accessible.
A process is accessible when employees can easily use it. It should not have barriers, like the
need for a lawyer. All documents that explain the process should be in clear language. Make
sure any timelines are fair so that they do not become a barrier or a source of frustration.
Obtain employee feedback about the process.
Organizational acceptance is important if you want your process to be successful and
accountable. Encourage input from all employees.
Make sure the decision-maker knows about human rights.
The decision-maker should be trained in human rights principles and laws; or be able to easily
access human rights advice from someone who is trained in human rights principles and laws.
Examples of potential decision-makers include:
a committee made up of staff and managers
a lawyer or judge
an impartial third party (i.e. professional arbitrator/mediator)
Ensure impartiality and independence.
The decision-maker must not be biased. This means they should have no personal, political,
business or other reason to favour one side over the other. The decision-maker should be able
to make an independent decision. This means they should not be influenced improperly by
anyone involved in the dispute.
Allow people to bring a representative.
In some instances, mediation or a similar option may be offered. When this happens, both
sides should be allowed to bring a person of their choice, including a family member, a union
representative or a lawyer.
Give people the opportunity to be heard.
All of the people involved in the dispute should be allowed to have their say and tell their side
of the story. This can be done orally, or in writing, as long as both sides have enough time to
prepare and present their case.
Encourage people involved to share information.
The people involved in the dispute should share information with each other. They must
understand each others side of the story to be able to respond effectively.
Keep information confidential.
Always keep information that is shared confidential. This shows that everyone involved
respects the process and the other people involved.
Give reasons for decisions.
The decision-maker should give detailed reasons for their decision, either orally or in writing.
Ensure the process is acceptable to everyone involved in the dispute.
Remember to consider your process from a human rights perspective. This means making
sure the dispute resolution process treats everyone involved with equality, dignity and respect.
Make your process fair by ensuring that there are ways to balance the power of the people
involved. Find ways to provide support to people who might be intimidated by the process or
afraid of retaliation from the other side. If a settlement is reached, both sides of the dispute
should agree to the terms.

















Stage 1
Describing the behavior.
Example: 'When you do this... ... ...'
Stage 2
Express the feelings.
Example: 'I feel... ... ...'
Stage 3
Empathize.
Example: 'I understand why you ... ... ...'
Stage 4
Offer preoblem solving alternatives.
Example: 'I want you to consider changing to either ... ... ...'
Stage 5
Indicate consequences.
Example: 'If you do/don' t, I will ... ... ...'
Human Resources
MANAGERS GUIDE TO HANDLING A DISCIPLINARY ISSUE (SUPPORT STAFF)
Introduction
The procedures agreed for the handling of disciplinary and grievance matters are set out in the
relevant procedure agreements for support staff (clerical & related; technician; manual), and the
Disciplinary Rules for Officer and Ancillary Non-Academic Staff are set out in booklet no.10.
Clear disciplinary rules are necessary because they set out the standards of conduct required by
the University, helping employees to know what is expected of them, and helping managers to
deal fairly and appropriately with those who do not keep to the rules. The disciplinary procedure
is the means by which the rules are observed and standards are maintained. An effective
disciplinary procedure is corrective rather than punitive, providing a structure within which
shortcomings in performance or conduct can be dealt with and an employee who is performing
poorly can be supported to become effective again.
This document is not intended to alter the agreed rules and procedures, but to be used in
conjunction with them as a practical guide for managers involved in potential disciplinary
investigations and subsequent cases. It has been created utilising current good practice
recommendations including guidance from ACAS, and in consultation with the relevant Unions.
Handling a (potential) disciplinary matter
As a manager handling a potential disciplinary matter, ensure that you have read and understand
the Universitys Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. The process for dealing with a (potential)
disciplinary matter follows four steps:
Investigation
Hearing
Judgment, including the application of a sanction where appropriate
Appeal (except for verbal warnings)

The main purpose of the exercise is to encourage improvement
See Is it a Disciplinary matter? below.
Matters need to be handled calmly and investigated promptly
Gather all the relevant facts before memories fade and establish whether a prima facae case
exists. This may involve taking statements and collecting relevant documents. It is important to
be objective, fair and consistent, and to consider each case on its individual merits. It is also
important to avoid making judgements until all the facts are known. 2 Managers Guide to
Handling a Disciplinary Issue (Support Staff)
The investigators role needs to be clear
It is important that careful thought is given to the question of who conducts the initial
investigation. Be aware of the risk of the person conducting the investigation becoming both
judge and jury at a subsequent disciplinary interview.
In less serious cases, it may be appropriate for the line manager to both investigate the facts and
conduct any subsequent hearing. However, it is not always easy to tell at the beginning how
serious a case may actually be. In some cases it may be appropriate to ask a manager from
another area to conduct the investigation in order for manager(s) involved in the Hearing to
maintain impartiality.
In the most serious cases it is recommended that the investigator does not participate in the
deciding of the case, although it may be appropriate to have them available at the hearing to
assist in understanding the evidence collected. If in doubt, please seek advice from your
Personnel contact.
The Disciplinary Rules (booklet no.10) provides examples of the types of misconduct that are
considered serious and less serious.
A decision to take disciplinary action must be reasonable in the circumstances and consistent
A decision as to whether disciplinary action is necessary should only be taken once all the facts
are known, and account has been taken of the situation and people involved. If a case exists for a
disciplinary hearing, the appropriate disciplinary procedure should then be followed. (See the
relevant booklets, and if in doubt, seek advice from your Personnel contact).
In some cases, the outcome of the investigation may be that there is no case to answer, or that the
matter is so trivial as to not be worth pursuing. You may also need to consider the employees
past record and work performance.
Possible outcomes of disciplinary hearing may be;
case dismissed
verbal warning
first written warning
final written warning
dismissal
other outcome
Other outcomes may be appropriate in some cases, for example coaching, further training,
adjustment to working times/work environment etc
Whilst disciplinary issues are, by their very nature, not predictable please try to bear in mind
some good practice issues on timing. Initiating action on a Friday afternoon, or just before a
holiday, or at the end of someones shift should be avoided if possible, as it tends to leave them
unable to establish the details of the problem raised, or to seek advice and support from their
trade union representatives, personnel contact etc.
As a general guide, the earlier in the working week and day that you can advise an employee
(and your personnel contact) of a disciplinary issue, the better; with due sensitivity given to other
operational constraints. This should include being aware of what the employee is likely to be
doing in the immediate aftermath; for example, are they likely to be distressed? Will they be
expected to deal with staff, students or visitors? Do they have any meetings scheduled?
Is it a disciplinary matter?
A key point for a manager to establish is whether a case of poor performance or conduct merits
formal disciplinary action. When the job performance of a member of staff is considered to be
inadequate, their line manger is expected to take the matter up with the member of staff so that
reasonable efforts may be made to improve the situation.
As a guide, poor performance will to fall into one of the following categories. The response most
generally appropriate is given alongside.



If the employee Doesnt know what to do Clarification required
Doesnt know theyre not doing it right Feedback required
Cant do it right Training/Support required
Wont do it right Disciplinary action required