With all the calls for HR to be more strategic and more influential on the board, it’s sometimes easy to forget, that it’s a subset of HR people – employee relations (ER) professionals – that really make the day-to-day difference when it comes to impacting the employee experience.
ER professionals typically handle a wide range of employee issues – everything from staff time and attendance, to performance concerns, as well as more serious policy violations including allegations of harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
In fact data from HR Acuity suggests that over the past few years, the scope of employee relations has expanded and now routinely includes ER analytics (85%), proactive ER training (77%), policy development (68%), policy oversight (67%) and required employee training (66%).
But in a post-pandemic landscape, where hybrid working complicates the very essence of ‘employee relations’, have pressures/workload on ER professionals now magnified, and is it a cause for concern?
