Strategic Human Resource management
Labor relations is an essential aspect to the effective operation of any organization and involves a system in which workers and their representatives , employers and even the government directly or indirectly interact in order to set rules that govern work relationships. In modern management of human capital, labor relations involves the establishment of various laws and regulations which provide a framework for essential aspects of work life which include minimum wage, equality in payment , occupational safety and health and psychological harassment. Labor relations also involve different forms of workers participation, personal employment relations between a worker and an employer under an employment contract (Casademunt, 2016). Organizations gain various benefits from the existence of good labor relations especially when human capital management and workforce work towards the same objective or goal of a successful business with higher profits and employees satisfaction. There need not be adversarial relationship since when labor relations are strong an organization will succeed in the long-run.
In modern management of human capital, labour relations assist in lowering of turnover costs since it assists in the reduction of employee turnover. Every time workers leave an organization, costs are incurred that relates to the separation of employees and replacement with new ones. Labour relations also helps in human resource management structural changes which assist in retention of the best skilled human labor and attracted highly skilled o flexible workforce. Having labor relation interests is a good way of spotting any arising problems and generating various solutions to these problems at work level. Management requires a workforce that has effectively developed soft skills like communicating clearly, active listening and the ability to empathize or even react to any situation non-defensively. The management also requires workers who can be comfortable with the exceptions norms as they would be with what is norm (Kochan &Litwin, 2011). This because the workplace is changing too fast as the work changes and such changes if not handled with care can bring a lot of disharmony between the management and workers in relations to what each party expect from the other. Good labor relations ensures that the current workforce participates in a good education system that helps them in developing the analytical skills needed to be productive in workplace that is increasingly becoming technological and information driven. As such, workers are provided with opportunities for learning and utilizing their kills in value creation as per their talents, values and abilities. This psychologically lifts the workers motivation as they enjoy the value of what they have created (Kochan &Litwin, 2011). Employee’s motivation is an important aspect in human capital management which applies even in the modern working environment and it determines the productivity of employees.
Labor relations play an essential role in ensuring the safety and health of employees at the workplace. By reducing the work fatalities in organizations such as manufacturing firms , labor relations helps in minimizing compensation costs , cost for health insurance , absenteeism and hence assures workers productivity. By ensuring the safety and health of workers, human capital managers do not have to worry about low productivity (Casademunt, 2016).
Issues that concern the trade unions include collective bargaining, unfair practices, employee welfare and legislation. Trade unions are essentially established to provide workers equal bargaining power with employers. Traditionally, employers have had the ability to set the rules, terms and conditions of employment exclusively. The trade unions play the role of representing the workers in various industries in carrying out negotiations with employers. They are effective given that they are made up of a group of employees and this gives them a good chance that if they were to negotiate the terms individually (Aidt & Tzannatos, 2008). In addition, unfair practices are a big issue for trade unions, and the unions are established to check such practices perpetrated by employers. Issues such as discrimination, victimization or abuse of workers by employers are major ones among those that concern the unions. This goes hand in hand with workers welfare, since the unions are involved in active fight for employees for workers terms and conditions at the workplace. The aim I to give workers dignity and constantly facilitate improved living standards. The other major issues concerning the unions include participating in the development of labor laws or regulations for effective protection of workers (Aidt & Tzannatos, 2008).
In the current global business environment that is highly competitive, retention of employees has been a major concern for human capital management. It is necessary for any organization to implement various strategies of employee retention so as to efficiently and effectively manage employee turnover. A high percentage is an indication that the organization is losing higher number of employees as compared to those who have been recruited (Ramlall, 2004). It is an indication that there is no appropriate job selection or creation of an environment that can help employees in staying within a firm for longer periods. As firms in almost all industries decide on staking a bigger portion of growth plans on expansion globally, consistency and precision with which talent management capabilities are approached, the human resource leadership development and policies have to be increased(Ramlall, 2004). A major concern for the organizations that have global presence or which are intending on going global is the retention of employees. Retention serves as a strategic opportunity that is used by many organizations in the maintenance of a competitive workforce. The retention strategies are enhanced when workers are provided with benefits and compensation, the work culture is supportive and when they are allowed engages in activities that help in attaining work-life balance (Oladapo, 2014).
Retention management is essential in the global workforce given the large differences in the global markets which means that organizations have to bear with cost which comes with it. There is a big difference in labor laws which can be irreconcilable, workers policies and attitudes, leadership styles and which can undermine the operations of organizations that have global presence. The recruitment and hiring of employees amongst such differences can be very costly and time consuming especially in development of talents (Frank, Finnegan & Taylor, 2004). Therefore, it is in the interest of all organizations to retain their competitive workforce and highly dynamic global environment. This enables the companies to adopt and maintain global position which is competitive for their own profitability and success. Since the hiring process is tedious, costly and time consuming, the retention of recruited employees is an essential strategy for organizations. In addition, retention management helps companies to save on time and resources used in preparing employees from different cultural backgrounds to understand and work in a corporate culture. It would be a total waste of time and resources for an employee to leave a firm that tapped his talents suddenly. The human resource management function has to restart the recruitment process for the same position all over again. The retentions strategy also helps in preventing an employee from joining competitors in the global market as they are likely to take all the advantages to the rivals (Frank et.al 2004). In a global environment, individuals who have remained with a firm for a long time become accustomed to an organization and its management. Firms benefit always when workers are have been trained to become compatible with one another in a world market that is very diverse. Replacing an existing employee with a new person makes problems to arise. People in such an environment can find it very tough to build a comfort level with other persons. Moreover, hunting for the appropriate skills in the global market can be very challenging especially in countries whose human capital development levels are very low. In such areas, organizations would have to use a lot of resources in training of employees or sourcing talents from other developed markets, a process that can also be very time consuming (Oladapo, 2014). In addition, completing such a process can be hectic in some countries whose labor laws are very prohibitive. In such a scenario, it would be important for organizations to retain their employees at all cost rather than losing them to competitors. Hence retention management involves the use various techniques by firms to help the workers to remain them for the longest time possible. Employee retention becomes a real concern for firms with global presence.
Reference
Casademunt, A. M. L. (2016). Strategic labor relations management in modern organizations. Hershey, PA, USA: Business Science Reference.49 -105
Kochan, T., Litwin,A.(2011). The Future of Human Capital: An Employment Relations Perspective.4-17. Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2051&context=articles
Aidt, T. S., & Tzannatos, Z. (2008). Trade unions, collective bargaining and macroeconomic performance: a review. Industrial Relations Journal, 39(4), 258-295.
Oladapo, V (2014).The impact of talent management on retention: Journal of Business Studies Quarterly 2014, Vol. 5.3. Retrieved from: http://jbsq.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/March_2014_3.pdf
Ramlall, S. (2004). A review of employee motivation theories and their implications for employee retention within organizations. Journal of American Academy of Business, 5(1/2), 52-63.
Frank, F. D., Finnegan, R. P., & Taylor, C. R. (2004). The race for talent: retaining and engaging workers in the 21st century. People and Strategy, 27(3), 12.
