Employee happiness and job satisfaction should be the top concern of any HR pro, and therefore, they should be good at handling employee grievances. Starting from small businesses to multi-national companies, every workplace has employees who are not much satisfied with their work environment or does not fit with the organizational culture. It is HR managers‘ responsibility to look into the matter and sort things out accordingly.
Employee Grievances
Despite all the efforts that you are putting in to make the workplace culture better, there would be some of the concerns that employees would like to share with you or the company. After all, handling employee grievances in a better way will let you know about the workplace issues and address them in a better way. Knowing about the concerns that are bothering your company’s employees will help you create a better culture and work environment for everyone.
Here are some tips on how to handle grievances at work:
Acknowledge grievances
When employees come to you with some complaints, they expect that you would lend an ear and would take the necessary actions to make it right. Listening is an art; we’ve got two ears and one mouth for a reason. After they have explained the matter to you and you have formally acknowledged it, they can go back to their work with the assurance that you will do something to sort the matter. Also, you need to make sure that some action is taken to make it right, just listening is not enough.
Ask more questions
Asking questions will help you in handling employee grievances in a far better way, as you will get their perception on the matter. It will let the employee know that you understand what they are saying and you are trying to gain more information to help them further. Asking open-ended questions will let you know why they are saying what they are saying and as a result, you comprehend what they are feeling.
Don’t be argumentative
If you have any information that says otherwise, present it in a persuasive manner. Being argumentative will create friction and employees will try harder to get the complaint addressed regardless of the fact. Instead, discuss the information and ask for an explanation.
Treat all employees equally and with respect
All the employees should be given respect regardless of the type of complaint that they are presenting. Belittling an employee will result in deteriorated communication, respect, and trust. Also, criticizing or disrespecting someone is not considered as a quality of a leader, so you don’t want to do that.
Take the necessary action
After gathering facts, you have to make sure that you resolve the issue in a decent manner. You can go through the employment contracts or some of the legal documents including company policies if need be, to reach to some conclusion. Such efforts will not only end the issue, it will also increase job satisfaction for most of your employees.
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