Human resource professionals faceemployee grievances almost every day. Their main task is to work with the humans they employ. This isn’t an easy one to tackle, though.
Human resource persons have multiple other things to look after. They also need to resolve queries fast and be active listeners.
For them to cater to their employee issues is not always possible at the first call-to-action.
With a properemployee grievance handling policy and system, that issue can be resolved. If you’re an HR person, you must note these points further on in this blog post.
You will learn the right execution steps to handle workplace grievances effectively.
There has to be anemployee grievances redressal system as the primary step to tackle it. Any staff can complain with valid proof of distress, dissatisfaction, demoralising episodes, and the like.
Human resource professionals must assign a team to handle the different emotions of distressed employees in this system. This could be online as well for nurturing and listening toemployee’s grievanceacross borders.
You can incorporate a grievance box or a separate helpdesk in theuKnowva HRMS. It will centralise all the problematic tickets. The team can manage queries centrally without changing tabs.
Give your employee the provision to anonymously raise tickets with proof. That could be an advantage to bringing positive change without bias in the firm.
You have to act fast and listen attentively. Without that, employees won’t feel that youremployee grievance handling team cares. For that, you can open a chatbox on the social intranet or HRMS.
Let employees talk openly to the team without bias. Show them that their grievances are being handled with the process status. They can check the ticket number of their grievance in the system to see if their grievance is resolved on time.
Otherwise,let employees talk their hearts out if they come up to you personally (offline). Give them genuinely workable solutions to solve those grievances before things turn bad.
Also, let them know your solutions to close those grievances with complete sincerity and integrity. Prove it as you start executing the steps.
While learning and studyinghow to reduce employee grievances, the investigation is an important step. Employees will often come to you with their issues. That’s if you’re their reporting manager or an HR person.
At times, they will have proof of their distress. Other times, they might not. You cannot bluntly ask them to show the proof if they have been hassled brutally and verbally. Asking them can increase their mental pressure and trauma.
Instead, you need to set up an internal investigation team. This could be an anonymous team, non-known to employees. That’s necessary because otherwise, the investigation around the company culture and its grapevine wouldn’t be complete.
You should delegate the investigation tasks with deadlines to your anonymous team. Simultaneously, assure the victimised employee to be patient and wait for things to resolve.
Give them regular and frequent updates on the status of their investigation if need be. This helps build trust between subordinates and superiors even in very tough times.
You must call both the grievant and the suspect to the meeting. Your team has already given you evidence that is why you’re holding this meeting. By this time, you will have a fair idea of what went wrong with whom, how, and why.
You let both parties speak for a few minutes separately to put their last point of view forward. Then, show them the pieces of information and evidence gathered. If need be, there might be other board of members or C-level executives involved in this meeting.
The verdict of the meeting has to be completely objective and purposeful. Both parties must learn a lesson on how to handle theseemployee grievances.
At times, both parties might have clashes due to their opposite perspective. You have to teach them to be respectful and compassionate despite sharing different takes on life at work.
Once everything is on the table and discussed between parties straightforwardly, it’s time to decide. Board members can take up a few minutes in private with team leaders or reporting managers.
Either way, the verdict of such anemployee grievance might be in favour of one or none. Employees too have to understand it. They grasp the knowledge in the initial discussion only mostly.
However, you have to declare the decision to the grievant and suspected party. Keep your tone light or monotonous. It should not be in favour of anyone intentionally. Make sure there is a moderator of the meeting writing down the minutes for evidence as well.
Ultimately, employees have to accept the verdict and decide how they want to react to it. That counter-reaction can go in multiple directions. But at least, with a concrete verdict, employees take back home a justified learning for life at work.
As explained above, employees might reject your decision. They have the right to appeal for a new solution. It should be under your company policy when learninghow to reduce employee grievances.
Dissatisfied employees must write a letter of appeal. They wait for reconsideration from higher management. The appeal acceptance/rejection must be from another supervisor who was not in the meeting for an objective response.
If rejected again, the complaint could be raised to the employment tribunal.
As an HR manager or team leader, you have to review the situation. See if the grievant is happy or not. Check what solutions you could offer more to the person for a better working environment for everyone.
Verify other methods for dissatisfied employees to reappeal or get compensation for the distress. Ensure that there is no rumour or gossip around this episode in the company. Lest, it could hamper both employees working conditions in the organisation.
If that happens, their productivity will reduce, and so will their appraisals.
Employee grievances are not easy to handle. These can be distressful for an entire organisation's environment. It could be raised and solved online using HRMS systems for hybrid employees. But there should be a proper system in place.
From the steps discussed above, form the base of the grievance handling structure in your firm. Work closely with CHROs, policymakers, lawmakers, and other concerned persons while setting up a grievance handling committee and policies.
Ensure that the solutions each verdict provides are long-lasting for the benefit of all.
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You must acknowledge the growing importance of a structuredworkplace grievance process as an employer. It boasts satisfactory resolution for employees in distress because of rising issues in the company’s policy or culture.
Set up grievance redressal systems properly to gauge thecause of employee grievances. These tribunals limit the cost and shorten lengthy processes. Committees can be internal and anonymous to avoid bias and roll out an objective verdict.
The scope of the grievance process is unsurmountable. But understand it critically throughout the blog post below.
A grievance is a complaint formally raised by an employee in the firm. It could be against any staff/employee, policy, discrimination, mental torture, workplace harassment, or similar issues.
The issues raised by employees need to be heard and addressed formally in the company. Otherwise, it could lead to several severe issues like a bad reputation, adverse effects of word-of-mouth, breach of trust, and lower job involvement.
Internal branding suffers the most whencauses of grievances are not solved timely.
There has to be a management or committee in place. These people will be independent of the management to discern and dismiss the case with clarity and conscience.
Overall, a stableworkplace grievance system helps curb the issues rising between employees and management. But that’s one example of those common issues in organisations.
There could be wage wars, price issues, and collective resistance against changing cultural norms.
What matters here is how fast, intelligently, empathetically, and diligently the committee releases the verdict. Clear-cut investigations should be carried out. These can be anonymous and overt. It varies with cases in the limelight.
A robust and justemployee grievance redressal system helps solve employee relations, management differences, and similar problems.
It understands the pain points of each case. Later, it breaks down each case into sections for hearings, discussions, and appeals to be held.
In the end, employers need a structured format for these systems. The employee then knows how to approach the helpdesk using theinnovative uKnowva HRMS solutions. That’s again one of the examples to make the journey easy for the grieving employee.
Each organisation identifies a grievance system differently. There can be five steps in one; eight in another. It depends on the complexity of the workplace grievance hierarchy created within.
But a few steps always remain constant to complete the grievance cycle from one end to another. These are:
Employees who feel distressed or unheard must submit the complaint in writing. It would be best if the grievant attaches as many pieces of evidence as possible while raising the ticket.
The letter has to be specific. It must list all issues, time, place, and date of the incidents that occurred. To some employees, this might sound rude or hurtful. But they have to be strong and list out all the case scenarios to get the compensation for the distress.
Organisations can set up aworkplace grievance submission box in their HRMS systems. These submissions will be forwarded either to the immediate reporting manager or the committee.
The reporting managers have to vet the e-submission from every perspective. They can also approve or reject a submission before it goes to the committee.
However, employees are often suggested to directly submit their complaint letters to the committee to avoid any manipulation.
This committee on themodern HRMS systems can be anonymous or identified. It varies with the company policies.
The raised issue should get a ticket number. Employees should check its status on the platform.
Following this step assists human resources flawlessly in discerningcauses of grievances without delays. Additionally, employees witness/experience a transparent system. The committee must notify the employees of the process and the hearing dates if allotted any.
If thecause of employee grievance is not solved remotely, meetings are conducted. Now, these could be online or offline. That happens when matters are serious and not easily solved.
The grieving employee must be present at the meeting. They have to face the person they accused. However, if the issue is about wages, cultural or policy changes, the management gets directly involved.
So, it would be a case of the employee vs. the management/employers/policymakers. There has to be a moderator in each hearing. These could be committee members acting as the jury and moderators.
The case will be heard from both perspectives. Soon after, the verdict will be rolled out. It could be in any favour of either party or no one in general. That means it could be a settlement, too, if both parties involved agree.
The outcomes of these hearings might not be satisfactory to grieving employees. They must have another way to get their justice. This could be by appealing the decision from the higher court.
This could be a labour court next time if the firm’s internal committee cannot resolve the issue for the employee (s).
However, this stage ofworkplace grievance is unfavourable, highlighting a lousy impression of company culture to the world.
A structuredworkplace grievance procedure should be objective and error-free. It has to be run by committee members unrelated to the management. Only then can employees have faith in such a committee for hearing them out without a halo effect.
The rising importance of structure is seen in how formal steps can decrease confusion and ambiguity between employees. Anyone distressed in the company can reach out to the committee without being under anyone else’s influence or pressure.
Employees want to work at a firm where their voice matters and is heard.
A structuredemployee grievance redressal is precisely what they need as a representative of a dignified workplace.
Form aworkplace grievance system in your firm when the number of employees keeps growing from 10 to 100. Or it could be more. Do not let your organisation land in human resource issues without such a system.
That is why this blog post clearly explains steps in addressingthe causes of employee grievances.
When employees know your firm has such a procedure or policy, they favour your culture more. Then, they know they have an educated and valued vote in shaping the firm’s culture where they want to work more.
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