Employee grievance is indicative of discount among employees arising out of management policies, practices and procedures. Grievances are s sources of feedback to the management about managerial actions.
These provide useful diagnostic data to the management. At any one stage of the grievances machinery, the dispute must be handled by some member of management.
In the solution of a problem, the greater burden rests on management.
For this reason, many firms have specially trained their supervisors on how to handle grievances or complaints properly.
The dispute or grievances constitutes a managerial problem, and the scientific method is usually most productive in arriving at a satisfactory solution.
Steps in Handling Employee Grievances Procedure
A manager steps n handling an employee grievance are a s follows:
1. Immediacy of Action
The employee grievances of employees must be recognized and settled immediately as and when they arise.
The first-line supervisors, therefore need to be trained to handle a grievance properly.
If grievances are settled at the first stage itself and corrective action can be taken immediately, the employee’s performance will be improved.
Related: Principles of Handling Employee Grievances.
2. Acceptance of Grievance
A grievance, when presented to a supervisor, must initially be accepted as an expression of genuine feeling on the part of the employee.
Acceptance does not necessarily mean agreeing with the grievances it simply coveys the willingness of the supervisor to look into the complaint objectively.
The supervisors should show greater concern for their employees.
This creates a climate where grievances are drastically reduced.
3. Define the Nature of Dissatisfaction
The manner and attitude with which the supervisor receives the grievance is very important.
They should assume that the employee is fair in presenting the companies. Statements should not be prejudged based on experience with this or other employees.
The supervisor should not be too busy to listen and should not give an impression of condescension in doing so.
Research indicates that the supervisors basic leadership style can do much to reduce the number of grievances. He must have “Consideration for people“.
Related: Top 8 Methods of Knowing About Employee Grievances.
Instead of trying to deal with a vague feeling of discontent, the supervisor should attempt to define the problem properly. Sometimes the wrong complaint is given or received.
He or she must listen carefully and with empathy, to make sure that the true complaint or grievance is being voiced.
4. Determining the Correct Grievances
The complaint made by an aggrieved employee usually has emotional overtones and may, therefore, be a vague exaggerated statement of the problem.
The supervisor needs to listen to the complaint properly and to provide help in identifying real problems. Many grievances, after being “settled,” turn up again to plague management.
The trouble in such instances invariably is that the wrong grievances have been handled.
This could have been avoided if care had been taken at the outset to describe as accurately as possible the issue at the heart of the employee’s complaint.
As it is, superficial aspects of grievances are adjusted, while the fundamental cause trouble remains untouched.
The chances of getting at the right grievances are increased of care is sed in the initial contact with the employee.
Encouraging a person to talk is one means of getting close to the truth. A practice of asking the aggrieved to put the case in writing s also desirable.
5. Gathering Facts
Having defined employee grievances as accurately as possible, the next step is to gather all relevant facts about the issue.
It is important to know when the alleged grievances were first experienced, whether or not it has been repeated, how and where it took place, and the circumstances under which it transpired.
This does not imply that grievances should be handled like law cases. It does mean that if the confidence of employees is to be gained and held, they must be thoroughly convinced that management is completely sincere in seeing that justice is done.
Such fact gathering or sifting requires a knack for interviewing and listing to employees.
Facts must be separated from opinions and impressions.
In gathering facts, one quickly becomes aware of the importance of keeping proper records, such as performance ratings, job ratings, attendance records and suggestions.
6. Analyze and Establish Tentative Solutions
With the problem defined and the facts in hand, the manager must now analyze and evaluate them and then come to some decision. There is usually more than one possible solution.
The manager must also be aware that the decision may constitute a precedent within both the department and the company.
But how are tentative solutions determined? It requires the managers’ own experience.
He should see similar cases in the past.
Also, he should observe how other companies have handled similar grievances.
Alternative answers may be collected from technical and trade publications. A manager should make a thorough search for alternative solutions.
7. Check Tentative Solutions
For checking tentative solutions, the manager can rely on trial and error or can check by applying a decision.
The second choice is to evaluate alternatives based on personal experiences or the experiences of others.
10 Steps to Follow in the Disciplinary Action Process.
8. Applying Solutions
The manager must apply the solution even though the solution decided upon by the superior is adverse to the employee.
Subordinates dislike supervisors who refuse to take a definite stand, one way or the other.
The decision, having finally been reached, should then be passed along in clear, unequivocal terms.
After all, grievances cannot be handled just by listening to employees’ companies, something must be done about it. The ultimate decisions the tool of action.
9. Follow up of the Grievances
The objectives of the grievances procedure are to remove a disagreement between an employee and the organization.
The purp[ose of its follow up phase is to determine whether the clash unsatisfactorily or that the wrong grievances have been processed.
Then, redefinition of the problem, further fact-finding, analysis, solution, and follow up are required.
The manager may encounter some common errors in the processing of grievances. These are as follows:
- Stopping too soon in the search of facts,
- Expressing a management opinion before the time when all pertinent facts have been discovered.
- Failing to maintain proper records.
- Resorting to the executive flat instead of discussion and conference to change minds and,
- Setting the wrong grievances a mistake may in turn produce a second new grievance. Follow up is the step in the procedure that tells use when a mistake in handling has been made.
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