Our second Employment Relations and Engagement development programme finished last week. We ask the delegates to tell us what they are taking from the programme back to their workplaces and these presentations are always a highlight for us. We are keen to see personal development of course, but the sponsoring organisations need to see their investment is worthwhile - so what is the impact in the organisation?
Understanding their company history and culture helps make sense of their approach to employment relations. It also enables them to question it and ask if it is still fit for purpose
As the world of work changes, organisations change, expectations of employees change and so will the approach to employment relations
Changing your approach to ER is rarely revolutionary - more of an evolution. Incremental, small changes to meeting behaviours, language, what information you share – add up and start to make a difference to an organisation’s employee relations climate
You can't influence everything in your role but you can make a difference by focusing on your own behaviours – building trust, listening, understanding perspectives, reflection, getting to the root cause of the issue without judging
An investment in line manager capability in employee and industrial relations has a huge impact so look at how you recruit, select, induct and develop into key line manager roles
They value getting to know people doing similar jobs across a diverse range of industries, learning from each other and supporting each other. So much valuable information on what works in industrial relations is being shared when it wasn't before.
We have a great group of people in senior ER and IR roles willing to share their knowledge to support those on the programme who are earlier in their careers. When the mentor relationship works well, its very powerful in building confidence, having space to test ideas and sharing concerns outside of your own organisation. Valuable long term relationships are being built.
Thanks to our delegates for their great participation and to our network for their support throughout this programme. We look forward to cohort three in September. We are developing an excellent alumni of employment relations practitioners across the UK and its beginning to feel less like a lonely job!
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