Are You a Pro-Employee Company?

I attended a great HRMA meeting today regarding EFCA or "Card Check". The presenter, Nicole Monachino with Jackson Lewis LLP, did a wonderful job explaining how the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act) operates in the workplace today, what the key provisions of EFCA are and addressed the importance of having positive relationships between management and employees.

If you aren't sure how to answer the title of this post, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you listen to your employees? You can do this a number of different ways. Some companies survey their workers to find out the negatives and positives of their jobs. Others place comment boxes throughout their locations so employees can make comments and or suggestions, which can be anonymous.


2. Do you encourage open dialog between you and your employees? Do they feel comfortable asking questions during an employee/management meeting?


3. Do you communicate with your employees about issues or problems the company is having prior to taking any action (wage reduction, layoffs, etc.)?


4. Do you know the names of all of your employees? I know this may seem obvious to some and to others an impossible task, but it is definitely worth your time to know who is on the payroll.


5. Do supervisors treat certain employees differently? Do they play the "favorite" game?


6. Do you know the warning signs of unhappy workers? If your employees start using different terms (legal wording) when asking questions, chances are they are listening to an outside source. Or if they scatter when you or top management walk into an area, that is definitely a bad sign.

The good news is that it is never too late to start having a positive relationship with your employees. Start today.