A STUDY ON EMPLOYEE RELATIONS IN

MANUFACTURING SECTOR.

SUBMITTED BY:
ROLL NO

NAME OF STUDENT

78

ANMOL KHATRI

110

DEEPA KEWALRAMANI

106

AMRITA DEWANI

104

PRERNA NARANG

92

ABHISHEK MAKHIJA

88

RAHUL AIDASANI

90

SAHIL CHELLANI

Objectives
1. To study the level of co-ordination among Employees in manufacturing sector.
2. To study the factors influencing employee relation.
3. To study the Employee relation from designation.
4. To study the initiative taken by Employer for Employee relations.

Research Methodology:
Primary Data:Primary data is collected by sample survey from 20 Employees of Greaves ltd.
In manufacturing sector.

Secondary Data:Secondary data is also known as readymade data. Data which is already available
in books, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and the main source now-a-days is Internet.
Secondary data is collected from following sources:

Magazine

Newspapers

Blogs

Internet

Introduction

The objective of this study was to have an overview of HRM and Employee relations
in manufacturing sector in KISHORE PUMPS Pvt. Ltd, GREAVES COTTON Ltd., KINETIC
ENGINEERING Ltd. The objective was to study the employee relations in manufacturing sector.

The Human Resources Management (HRM) Function Includes A Variety Of Activities,

And Key Among Them Is Maintaining Amicable Relations With The Workforce. Both The
Sectors Are Such Where Employees Become The Crux Of All Operations. For The Plant
(Factory), It Is The Employee Who Works On The Machine. Even At KINETIC, Where Most Of
The Operations Are Automated, Workers Need To Operate The Machines.

The goal of Employee Relations is to end up with a productive and motivated

employee that will help effectiveness. According to me, HR department gets concerned in 3
types of relations. First the employer to the employee, second employees to employer and third is
amongst the employees. There is comprehensive information on all 3 and how it benefits the
company.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human Resource Management is an integral part of management. It helps the management in

taking a strategic view of a very important resource i.e. Human Resource. It helps management
in identifying key skill sets, knowledge, values required in the employee and the rewards that are
needed to be given to the employees so that the organisation goals are fulfilled. Also like other
management functions, it has to ensure that these resources are available at an optimal cost. It
has to look into various training and development activities to ensure this. This is a key area for
Human Resource Management as it shows their contribution in terms of money. The money here
would be the opportunity cost incurred due to appointing of new employees instead of
developing current employees for the task in hand.

Functions
From recruiting to orienting new employees, from writing job descriptions to tracking vacation
and sick leave, and from instituting and monitoring policies to monitoring benefits, there has
been a need for an HR generalist to assist senior management in both establishing a "structure" to
holding down costs of administration.

HRM is a function that helps managers recruit, select, train, and develop employees for an
organization.

1. Human Resource Planning: is understood as the process of forecasting an organizations

future demand for, and supply of, the right type of people in the right number.

2. Job Analysis: is the process of studying and collecting information relating to the
operations and responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate products of this analysis
are job descriptions and job specification.

3. Recruitment: is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment.
The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are
submitted. The result is a pool of applicants from which new employees are selected.

4. Selection: is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to identify (and

hire) those with greater likelihood of success in a job.

5. Placement: is understood as the allocation of people to jobs. It is the assignment or

re-assignment of an employee to a new or different job.

6. Training and development: It is an attempt to improve current or future employee

performance by increasing an employees ability to perform through learning, usually
by changing the employees attitude or increasing his or her skills and knowledge.
The need for training and development is determined by employees performance
deficiency, computed as follows: Training and development need = Standard
performance Actual performance

7. Remuneration: is the compensation an employee receives in return for his or her

contribution to the organization.

8. Motivation: is a process that starts with a psychological or physiological deficiency

or need that activates behavior or a drive that is aimed at a goal or an incentive.

9. Participative management: Workers participation may broadly be taken to cover all terms
of association of workers and their representatives with the decision making process, ranging
from exchange of information, consultations, decisions and negotiations to more
institutionalized forms such as the presence of workers members on management or
supervisory boards or even management by workers themselves as practiced in Yugoslavia.
((ILO)

10. Communication: may be understood as the process of exchanging information, and

understanding among people.

11. Safety and health: Safety means freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury or loss. In
order to ensure the continuing good health of their employees, the HRM focuses on the need
for healthy workers and health services.
12. Welfare: as defined by ILO at its Asian Regional Conference, defined labour welfare as a
term which is understood to include such services, facilities, and amenities as may be
established in or in the vicinity of undertakings to enable the person employed in them to
perform their work in healthy, congenial surroundings and to provide them with amenities
conducive to good health and high morale.

13. Transfer: involves a change in the job (accompanied by a change in the place of the job) of
an employee without a change in the responsibilities or remuneration.

14. Separations: Lay-offs, resignations and dismissals separate employees from the employers.

15. Employee Relations: is concerned with the systems, rules and procedures used by unions
and employers to determine the reward for effort and other conditions of employment, to
protect the interests of the employed and their employers, and to regulate the ways in which
employers treat their employees.

16. Disputes and their settlement: Industrial disputes mean any dispute or difference between
employers and employers, or between employers and workmen, or between workmen and
workmen, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or terms of
employment or with the conditions of labour of any person.

EMPLOYEE RELATION

Introduction

People in organisations interact with each other during work, formally and officially as well as
socially and informally. During the course of interaction, relationships develop, which are
invisible connecting links, coloured by emotions of love, hate, repulsion, respect, fear, anxiety
and so on. These are usually mutual but not necessarily reciprocal. If A hates B, it does not
follow that B hates A. It is possible that B loves A and even sympathizes with his thoughts.
Relationships imply feelings for each other. They may be positive (friendly, wanting to
be close) or negative (unfriendly, wanting to be distant). Relationships always exist between
interacting persons. There is no neutral point. Indifference is not neutral. Indifference tends to be
negative.
Relationships influence behaviours at work. Expectations of each other, perceptions of
the intentions of either, distributions of assignments, readiness to conform or to rebel, enthusiasm
to contribute, etc., are to some extent outcomes of these relationships. Attitudes and motivations
influence, and are influenced by, the nature of these relationships.
Employees are among an organization's most important audiences with the potential to be
its most effective ambassadors.

Employee Relations are practices or initiatives for ensuring that Employees are happy
and are productive. Employee Relations offers assistance in a variety of ways including
employee recognition, policy development and interpretation, and all types of problem solving
and dispute resolution.

Once there was a time when "Employee Relations" meant labor relations everywhere
around the world. Negotiate. Orchestrate. Dictate. HR professionals helped negotiate collective
bargaining agreements. The provisions of that contract defined the relationship between
management, unions, and workers.

Today, Employee Relations is a much broader concept. It involves maintaining a work

environment that satisfies the needs of individual employees and management. Improving
employee morale, building company culture, conveying expectations

An effective employee relation involves creating and cultivating a motivated and productive
workforce. People are generally motivated from within, but what can you do to help foster the
type of environment where employees thrive, enabling your company to outperform the
competition

Employee Relations starts with determining the type of workplace the company wants.
It starts by considering what the company wants its employees to say about working for the
company. In a competitive market, it is important to that employees dont feel that they might be
treated more fairly elsewhere. After all retention is one of the major functions of HRM.
By considering what the company wants employees to say about working for it gives
shape to the companys culture. The company culture conveys organization's core values to its
employees, customers, vendors, and community.
In addition to the workplace climate, the company also considers the types of processes
or systems it wants to employ within the workplace to support the company culture and enhance
the working relationship that exists between the company and its workforce. Such systems could
include communications, policies, training, and development.
Also, an essential step in building effective Employee Relations is to evaluate the human,
financial and other resources available that reinforce the values and guiding principles the
company wants echoed throughout the organization. For example, what type of supervisors and
managers does it believe can bring out the best in people and projects?
The company should also make certain from the start that employees are not in counter
productive work environments where work is more arduous than it needs to be. Is the workplace
compliant with employment law? A major source of frustration for employees is the feeling that
they were treated unfairly. Good liability management tools are necessary to ensure that the
company avoids unnecessary confrontations, time wasters and costly legal battles

Traditionally Employee Relations programs were centered around labor union relations.
Today, Employee Relations does not necessarily involve unions. However, it does involve
cultivating the leadership style and workplace practices that help make union organizing
activities a less attractive option for employees.
Establishing workplace and management principles set the stage for fostering a
successful work climate and establishing your company's culture. Effective Employee Relations
is about establishing processes that address and nurture that culture.
Employees in such organisations develop attitudes very different from those in another
organisation that does not make any such distinction and is more secular in its policies. These
different attitudes will be reflected in their behaviours outside the organisation and will either
strengthen or weaken the social fabric. An organisation in which authority is highly centralised

and does not allow its people enough discretion, will develop among its people tendencies for
dependency and inability to take responsibility. These tendencies are handicaps in their roles as
parents or citizens. The extent of concern shown for the effect of working conditions on
employees health has an impact on the society, not merely in terms of general health and costs
on medical care, but also in terms of the kind of activities that the members of the society
participate in.
When an organisation is sensitive to its impact on society, and responds to the societys
concerns, it is said to be socially responsive. On the contrary, if it is concerned only with its own
purposes and ignores the impact that it has on society, it is said to be socially not responsive
Relationships also contribute to stress and conflicts at work, which in turn, affect quality
of work life of individuals as well as the quality of organizational outputs, measured in terms of
customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, innovation, and so on.

Advantages Of Maintaining good Employee Relation

The Kishore Pump Organisation study proved that a more engaged employee is also a more
productive employee. The research also proved, that a more engaged employee is also a more
profitable employee, a more customer-focused employee, a safer employee, and an employee
who is more likely to withstand temptations to jump ship and in turn it is also true that the longer
employees stay with an organization, the less engaged they become.

Following are the advantages of maintaining good relations with the employees.

Reduced Absenteeism

One reason, outside of illness, that employees are absent is stress, and
the number one reason employees are stressed has to do with their relationship with their
manager/supervisor. Management styles that are too authoritarian tend to promote high levels of
absenteeism among employees also increase turnover, job burnout, and employee health
problems such as backaches and headaches. Employees may also reduce turnover and absences
when they begin to feel that working conditions are satisfactory and that they are becoming more
successful in their jobs.The absenteeism rate at GREAVES COTTEN is 8 % and increases by
3 % reaching to 11 % during the summer holidays.

Improved Morale And Motivation

The secret of creating a motivating employee review lies in the

relationship between accuracy and money. The right combination provides with a highly
motivated employee. Maintaining good Employee Relations creates an environment of trust and
increases morale. This improves the motivation of the employee. A motivated employee is
contagious and is beneficial for the growth of the company.

Harmony in The Organization

Increase in the level of job satisfaction has a direct relation with the
smooth workflow. There will be lesser arguments and more discussions. Employees will be
ready to share information and help each other out.

A good relation with the employee also inculcates discipline. Thus harmony is
maintained.

Attract Good Talent

Attracting the most qualified employees and matching them to the

jobs for which they are best suited is important for the success of any organization. A good
company with good Employee Relations will be talked about. There is a brand image created in
the mind of the employees which attracts them to the company like a drop of honey.

Lesser attrition - reduced cost on training, less cost of retention

A reduced attrition rate will reduce the cost of training and

induction. No new employees will need to start afresh. The company can save on getting to know
new employees.
Kishore Pumps spends around Rs.5 Lakhs on training every year with the attrition rate
being less than 2 %.
At Kinetic Engineering, it seems the employees are not interested in leaving at all. The
attrition rate is a minimal at 2-3% for staff, and between 1-2% for its workers.

Responsible For Increase In Productivity

As the saying goes, a happy worker is a productive worker.

Thus a satisfied worker will take lesser breaks, spend lesser time in the canteen gossiping and
more time working for the company. There will be Greater commitment which means quality
output.
There will be loyalty and less wastage of company resources. The employee will seek for
opportunities for intensifying the business and look out for new chances of expanding the
company. They identify themselves with the work and this leads to an improved performance.
Finally, the act of participation in itself establishes better communication, as people mutually
discuss work problems.

Open To Organizational Changes

The workers self-esteem, job satisfaction, and cooperative with

the management is improved. The results often are reduced conflict and stress, more
commitment to goals, and better acceptance of a change.

Shared Learning And Continues Improvement

A satisfied employee will look for ways of continuous

improvement. They will participate in programs such as kaizen and try for the better of the
company. Employees in a good employee relation management will share their new learnings
and wisdom with his colleagues.

Comparative Study

Parameters/compan
y

Kishore Pumps

Greaves Cotton

Kinetic Engineering

ORGANISATION
STRUCTURE

Flat

Flat

Flat

NO. OF WORKERS

289 workers

742 workers

589 Workers

69 staff

30 staff

42 Staff

47 managers

150 managers

52 Managers

INDUCTION

7 days & compulsory

for all

15 days only for

managers and staff.

14 days & compulsory

for all

TRAINING

Systematic and

Annual

occurs.

annual.
For mangers, staff &
workers.

Managers and workers

Technical and
behavioural

Technical for workers,

behavioural for
managers

Internal and
external

Done as need

External for managers

and internal for workers.

Managers only
Behavioural
Cross department
trg.

Internal and
external.

BENEFITS

Canteen

Uniform

Yes, with subsidized

food.

Yes, with subsidized

food.

Yes, with subsidized

food.

Selected employees,
also monsoon &
winter wear

Selected employees,
also monsoon & winter
wear

For Workers.

For Security guards

Housing

Other

at subsidized rates

Holiday hone scheme

and Marriage gift
scheme.

MONETARY BENEFITS Retirement services

and benefits

For engineers and

Technicians in the
compound.

For selected
employees like Front
office manager.

Production incentive
and festival allowance.

Transport for
employees and
Workers

ECS employee credit

society

Credit group in
Harmony group.

Credit society.
MEDICAL FACILITIES

2 in house doctors

3 in-house doctors

1 in-house doctor.

and 1 nurse.

and 3 nurses.

Medical

Medical check-ups
once in 3 yrs.

Medical check-ups
every 6 months.

Reimbursement

Reimbursement.

reimbursements and
are planning for
insurance.

of medical expenses
SAFETY

Ambulance room.

Regular training

Regular training.

50 first aid trainers.

And regular training

Guard for all

machines.

Smoke detectors

ERP & safety squad.

First aid box in prime

locations

First aid box in all

departments.

First aid box & fire

extinguishers in all
departments.

Safety day and drills

Safety day and drills.

CAREER GROWTH
AND DEVELOPMENT

Job bands.

Job enrichment

Job rotation and job

enrichment.

STRESS
MANAGEMENT
Leaves

Sports

21 AL + 14 CL +
21 SL

16 AL + 7 CL +
10 SL

Inter-

Inter-

30 in all
Interdepartment

department
matches 2-3
times a year
Picnics

Others

department
matches 4-5
times a year

matches
monthly
Annual picnics

Annual picnics.

Stress
management
Training.

Annual picnics.

Regular
tournaments
on the playground.

Department
parties every 6
-7 months.

COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
Trade union

Kaamgaar utkarsh
sabha

Kaamgaar
utkarsh sabha

Strikes

No.

No

Suggestions

Suggestion
Box

Suggestion box
at prime
locations

No.

No.
Quarterly Town
hall meetings and
Suggestion box.

FEEDBACK

Employee Satisfaction
Survey.

None

HR balanced scorecard
and satisfaction survey.

PERFORMANCE

Online for managers

and informal for staff

For management and

staff (90degree)

For management and

staff

ANNUAL EVENTS

Annual picnics

Annual picnics

Picnics

Annual dassrra puja

Annual picnics and

department picnics.

Puja

House magazine called

Samvaad.

APPRAISAL

House magazine

WELFARE

Annual prize

birthday celebrations

HARMONY

distribution

crche

Note book
distribution

jagruti group.

Other offers with

Airtel.

Counseling

quarterly
competitions

Worldwide Employee Relations

1

UK

The British were once notorious for industrial disputes and walkouts. In fact, they were
daily occurrences in the 1960s and 1970s, such that industrial relations were perceived as a
'problem' which brought down governments. Weak management and intransigent unions
produced industrial chaos, manifested by low productivity, hostility towards change and highly
publicized disputes, fundamentally weakening the UK as an economic power.
The reputation of British personnel managers was not enhanced during this period. When
HRM came on the scene in the 1980s, personnel management had become bogged down in a
form of industrial relations characterized by 'firefighting' - undermining any claim to being
strategic or proactive (Hendry, 1995:12).
The situation changed dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s. Recessions, New Right
politics, restrictive legislation on industrial action and massive restructuring in many
organizations considerably reduced the power and role of unions.
The Employment Relations Act (1999) revised trade union recognition and a number of
other rights.
Since the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1958 there have been several attempts to
develop community-wide initiatives on employee participation and corporate industrial relations.
Progress in harmonizing this area has been slow but there has been a considerable convergence
of employment conditions.
The Government embarked on a 12-week consultation on long hours working and the
operation of the individual opt out in the UK. The Government believes that the statutory
recognition procedure should be a fall back, only turned to when voluntary efforts have been
tried, but have failed to reach agreement. It therefore does not consider the issues covered for
collective bargaining under the statutory procedure should exceed those typically covered by
voluntary collective bargaining recognitions. For this reason, the statutory procedure does not
currently cover training and pensions. The 1998 Workplace Employment Relations Survey
(WERS) showed that whereas 36% of employee representatives said they were consulted over
training, only 7% said they negotiated over it.
UK has a statutory law for every aspect of Employee Relations. One thing that USA lacks
is security of the job. The pink slip system which is very prevalent is a cause of concern for the
employee.
Employees have the right to join or not join a trade union of their choice. Their employer
may not dismiss them, select them for redundancy or make them suffer detriment for being or
proposing to become a union member, nor for taking part in the union's activities at an

appropriate time. They are similarly protected if they choose not to belong to a union or refuse to
join one.
Dismissals which infringe these rights may be taken to an employment tribunal regardless
of the employee's length of service. Employees who claim to have been unfairly dismissed in this
way (except those complaining of unfair selection for redundancy) can also apply to the tribunal
for an order of interim relief (which requires the employer to continue their contract of
employment or to re-employ them pending the final outcome of the case).
An employee may not be dismissed, selected for redundancy (when others in similar
circumstances are not selected) or subjected to any detrimental action for taking certain types of
action on health and safety grounds. These rights apply to all employees, regardless of their
length of service
Workers are entitled to be accompanied at certain disciplinary and grievance hearings by
a fellow worker or a trade union official of their choice, provided they make a reasonable request
to be accompanied. They also have the right to a reasonable postponement of the hearing, within
specified limits, if their chosen companion is unavailable at the time the employer proposes.
Workers have the right to take paid time off during working hours to accompany fellow
workers employed by the same employer.
These rights apply to workers including agency workers and home workers, though not to
those who are in business solely on their own account.
Complaints to an employment tribunal must normally be made within 3 months of the
date of the infringement of the right. Exceptions to this general rule are detailed in the documents
about the particular individual rights.

JAPAN

Japanese Employee Relations methods have relevance in two contexts: Japan itself and
transplant factories in the Pacific area, North America and Europe. Nissan, for example, has been
particularly active in overseas expansion and - in common with many other Japanese
corporations - has a specific attitude towards trade unions. Effectively, independent unions and
multiple union representations are resisted in favour of 'staff association' and tame single-union
representation
More intensive efforts are being made to unify and realign industrial labor unions at
Japan. The nation's labor union organizations are three-layered - consisting of the independent
unions at the lowest level (enterprise unions are the mainstream), industry-level organizations
and national centers. The enterprise union remains the basic unit for organization. There are
more than 100 industry-level labor organizations, five have over 500,000 members. Many of
these organizations do not satisfactorily function as industry-level bodies. They are unable to

adequately survey their members, to formulate industrial policy or to unionize the labor force.
Many are understaffed and inadequately financed.
Following the end of World War II there was a long period when four national centers
competed. They were particularly divided ideologically and in terms of their support for political
parties. One result was the creation of competing organizations within the same industry.
However, with the formation of Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) in 1989, a move
was made to unify and to realign union organizations at the industry level under the umbrella of
one national center.
In 1993, the Japan Institute of Labour (JIL) began a research project on industrial
relations and decisions on working conditions at companies without labor unions (Head: Prof.
Tsuyoshi Tsuru of Hitotsubashi University).
According to the report, More than 60 percent of companies without unions have an inhouse employee organization, of which 80 percent have a "fraternity-type" organization, and
fewer than 20 percent have an organization in which "employees have a say." The organization
in which "employees have a say" means those who replied that they have "labor talks with
management on revision of wages and matters pertaining to such working conditions as working
hours, holidays and vacation and welfare provisions" or "labor discusses production plans and
management policy."
As for an individual voicing body, a high of 47 percent of companies without unions
adopt a self-appraisal system, followed by the proposal system (34.2%) and a round table
discussion by those responsible for personnel management (26.1%). Even among companies
without unions, 42.2 percent stress employees' participation in decisions on working conditions,
and 44.7 percent stress their participation in formulation of strategies, thus showing an emphasis
on employees' overall participation in both areas. This, it seems, is the background for
introducing a variety of in-house organizations where employees can have a say, the report
analyzes.
The Japanese employment system has often been referred to as a "lifetime employment"
system. Firms compete with each other every spring to recruit the best of the new university and
high school graduates as regular employees normally determined as much by the prestige
attached to their university or school as by academic record. Regular employees enter the firm
with the expectation that they will be kept on until they reach the mandatory retirement age of
60.
The traditional Japanese wage system was based on seniority. However, in recent years,
Japanese companies increasingly have shifted towards a wage system that is linked to
performance because of increasing global competition and need to further motivate their
workers.
Participation in the Worker's Compensation Insurance System is mandatory for all firms
in industry and commerce. All medical expenses are paid for injured workers. Japan has a

universal health insurance system, under which all citizens can receive medical attention if they
become ill or injured. Businesses with at least five workers must provide their employees and
their families with government-managed health insurance or comprehensive insurance obtained
from a health insurance association. As of March 1999, 37.6 million workers participated in
government-managed plans, while 32.6 million had comprehensive insurance.
Collective bargaining is practiced widely in Japan. In the private sector, most aspects of
labor management relations are determined through collective bargaining. However, issues
affecting management and production, such as new plant and equipment and subcontracting
usually are resolved through regular consultations between the unions and management.
Government workers have limited collective bargaining rights. The Government determines the
pay of public sector employees based on a recommendation by the independent National
Personnel Authority (NPA). The NPA recommendation is based on wage surveys.
Standards are set by the MHLW and issued after consultation with the Standing
Committee on Safety and Health of the Central Labor Standards Council. Japan has a total of
343 Labor Standards Inspection Offices, whose staff carry out safety inspections and accident
investigations and provide judicial punishment for serious violations of the law.
As for recreation is concerned, Overtime accounted for 9.8 working hours per month in
the year 2000. In addition, Japanese workers utilized roughly half of the paid holidays and
vacation days to which they were entitled. The Government of Japan has set a goal to shorten the
number of working hours to 1,800 per annum by 2009. To attain its target, the Government is
attempting to make Japanese businesses adhere to the 40-hour workweek, is encouraging
workers to use their vacation days, and is trying to reduce the number of overtime hours.

USA

Labour unions date back to the late 18th century in the USA, although it was not until the
late 19th century that the 'modern' labour movement was born.
Unions were organised primarily at the level of the workplace, and it was at this level or
the employer level that their main activities took place, with unions seeking to 'take wages out of
competition' and hence maximize membership gains by co-coordinating settlements across
workplaces and employers.
Despite these relatively conservative goals, unions were initially able to gain employer
recognition and engage in meaningful collective bargaining only where their members had skill
levels sufficient to effectively shut-down an employer without fear of being replaced.
The abundant supply of qualified college graduates and experienced workers should
create keen competition for jobs. Overall employment of human resources, training, and labor
relations managers and specialists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations

through 2012. In addition to openings due to growth, many job openings will arise from the need
to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.
Legislation and court rulings setting standards in various areasoccupational safety and
health, equal employment opportunity, wages, health, pensions, and family leave, among
otherswill increase demand for human resources, training, and labor relations experts. Rising
healthcare costs should continue to spur demand for specialists to develop creative compensation
and benefits packages that firms can offer prospective employees. Employment of labor relations
staff, including arbitrators and mediators, should grow as firms become more involved in labor
relations, and attempt to resolve potentially costly labor-management disputes out of court.
Additional job growth may stem from increasing demand for specialists in international human
resources management and human resources information systems.

Personal Observation
Sponsorships of MBAs or engineering programmes are successful retention tools. There are a
couple of popular models. Managers can take short on-campus courses. Some companies pay for
courses with the rider that managers return to the company once the course is over. For instance,
Coke has started an internal cadre-building programme that promotes the executive (graduates
and technical trainees) cadre to the management cadre through a two-month course in XLRI.
It has also started the Pegasus programme where high-fliers interact with the CEO at an
off-site location. Cadbury and HLL have also ramped up the process of identifying HIPOs in
their respective companies. IT companies are re-training managers in new software, which is
working as an important retention tool.
Prominent banks, IT companies, BPOs and FMCG companies in Bangalore, Mumbai and
Delhi share the angst of their employees in a different way. They are on the donors lists of many
prestigious schools, which reserve some seats for them. Since donations are unaffordable for
most employees, this becomes a huge add-on for them. A few MNCs also provide children
scholarships to some prestigious foreign universities.
Some companies are even altering work schedules. Pepsi has told its employees in the
north to pack up at 6.30 every Wednesday. According to Sanjay Luthra, director of Mumbaibased BPO 3 Global Services, We also try and build a very creative work environment with a
multi-cuisine canteen, which is converted into a discotheque once a week. It has an array of
recreational facilities including a video game parlour, and library.

Gaurav Lahiri, head of Indian operations in HR consultancy Hay Group, says, The key to talent
management is to identify top executives and treat them differently. Cross functional training is a
must for such employees. Plus, the strategy is to create such a dominant work culture that
employees find it difficult to adjust in some other organisation. ICICI is one such company
which follows this strategy.

When Kumar Mangalam is concerned, any Birla story is about people. He just cant take
his mind off people issues; this is one CEO who looks at himself and his group through peoplefocused glasses, there are a select few CEOs who act as enablers in the business, by identifying
the leaders in individual businesses and set goals, giving freedom through explicit decision

making rights and a set of values and principles based on which decisions are to be made.
Explains Maira (HR - Executive), Its about moving from being tacit to being explicit
My objective has been to build a meritocracy and there are lots of nuances about it,
says Birla and adds,You are not talking about an object, an organisation is about people who
make it and it would continue to be my focus in days to come. Getting the right people on board
was a priority, and Birla was willing to do everything to grab them. Internally it raised eyebrows,
not because scores of senior managers working for the group for decades had been asked to put
in their papers, but because a company which had never invested much on HR was suddenly
spending Rs 16-17 crore on management development programmes which would later be called
Gyanodaya.
For Birla, people issues continue to attract maximum attention. One of the most
important functions he has cornered for himself is a regular performance appraisal for people
who directly report to him. Senior employees confide that its something he spends hours on.
Being the employer of choice is an objective thats dear to his heart, but Birla feels that theres
still way to go on this front. On his short list of immediate priorities, the one that is most
prominent is, We need to spend much more time grooming our brightest stars.

It seems simple. However, balancing employee expectations with those of the company is
easier said than done. Employee Relations in my view is an ongoing activity. It starts from the
day the employee is recruited, with the training, induction process, and goals and norms that are
expected out of the employee. Explaining the vision and core values of the company so that the
goals for the future are set straight.
In the site greatplacetowork.com, there seems to be one common factor in all 100
companies which got them to this reputation. The universal cause was that all of them cherished
and nurtured their human resource. Wegmans Food Markets (#1 on 2005 "100 Best" list,
Supermarket Chain) Robert Wegman, says "No matter how much we invest in our employees,
they give us more in return."

As per Hertzberg theory of motivation, the first three needs are already met by our
parents and guardians. The monetary needs, social needs of communication, and are
physiological needs are fulfilled by our parents, society or friends. The fourth need to be
recognized and rewarded, this is where the employer comes in. The desire to be renowned by the
employer is the prime motivating factor. Motivation then initiates a cycle of development for the
employee. The employer achieves this by engaging the employee decision making and other
activities.

Conclusion
Each company that I interviewed was from Same sector but had different modus operandi. In
manufacturing sector a very important tool of Employee Relations is communication. It plays a
crucial role in Employee Relations. It is important to motivate the employee and make him aware
of the policies.

Employee Relations is necessary in an organisation as salt to food. As one cant imagine eating
food without salt, a company cannot run without maintaining Employee Relations.

I noticed that internal recruitment plays a very important role in employee relations. Internal
recruitment is when the company recruits someone from within the organisation to fill the
vacancies, as opposed to external recruiting i.e. recruiting from the open market.
Internal recruitment helps with the industrial relations since external recruitment can be
seen as depriving the workforce of opportunity.

Greaves Cotton has mixed recruitment. It follows internal as well as external. It has a Database
of People who want to seek employment. It is prepared on the basis of resumes left by jobseekers.
Kinetic engineering is strong follower of Natural succession. It strongly believes in
internal recruitment. If the company is looking at improving Employee Relations, then internal
resources should be the first considerations when planning for recruitment.

This is a very effective means as many qualified people can be reached at a very low cost
to the company. The other advantages are that the employees would bring only those referrals
that they feel would be able to fit in the organization based on their own experience. The
organization can be assured of the reliability and the character of the referrals. In this way, the
organization can also fulfill social obligations and create goodwill.