Dear Friends, Pass the baton. Renaming industrial relations as Employee Relations can only have a cosmetic effect, but the skills required to handle this domain remain largely the same. Since it is a string of relationships between capital and labor, its nuances have to be understood in different dimensions with the change of time. There may not be a critical standoff between employer and labor as it used to be during the sixties to eighties or violent demonstrations or fights in present times, but that does not mean it has disappeared. Until there is labor to work for capital, relationship management has to be a core function as a compulsive necessity.
An employee's lifespan in any organization from entry to exit is nothing but all about moving through healthy, sound, and genuine relationships, and to achieve that, HR professionals must possess excellent IR/ER skills. Industrial relations cannot be taken for granted because it is an era of informed workers versus less-informed HR professionals. Today, managers and business leaders' concept may be of managing employee relations through engagement and R&R practices, but it should not be forgotten that the major chunk of the workforce is either contract labor through service providers or gig workers whose issues are not on the priority list of organizations as they don't "belong" to them.
Since the organizational workforce is either in very few numbers or works in an executive cadre, it is wrongfully conceived that industrial relations skills are not required in this workforce management ecosystem. Rather, in fact, it is more required in the new working model with new out-of-the-box thinking and innovative skills and practices. One more reason given why industrial relations skills are fading away is because of technology penetration in all business and people processes. This holds no water. HR must always keep in mind that relationships cannot be nurtured through technology. People are not mere headcounts. They are living souls contributing to organizational growth. It is an irony that technology has just reduced people to numbers. HR professionals can't afford to ignore this domain.
It is a worrying signal that at present there may be a numbered HR professionals in the country who possess excellent IR skills. The new generation must learn and develop these skills to become a complete HR person, and seniors can play an important role as mentors in this respect. The baton has to be passed.
With this edition, your magazine completes twenty-five years of publication and enters into the twenty-sixth year. This silver jubilee anniversary issue carries a cover story on the most important aspect of HR function - IR skills to understand from the IR experts who are legends of this domain about the present and future relevance of IR skills.
Regards, Anil Kaushik, Business Manager - HR Magazine B-138, Ambedkar Nagar, Alwar - 301001 (Raj.) Mob.: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons] www.businessmanager.in
From India, Delhi
Acknowledge(0)
Amend(0)
181An employee's lifespan in any organization from entry to exit is nothing but all about moving through healthy, sound, and genuine relationships, and to achieve that, HR professionals must possess excellent IR/ER skills. Industrial relations cannot be taken for granted because it is an era of informed workers versus less-informed HR professionals. Today, managers and business leaders' concept may be of managing employee relations through engagement and R&R practices, but it should not be forgotten that the major chunk of the workforce is either contract labor through service providers or gig workers whose issues are not on the priority list of organizations as they don't "belong" to them.
Since the organizational workforce is either in very few numbers or works in an executive cadre, it is wrongfully conceived that industrial relations skills are not required in this workforce management ecosystem. Rather, in fact, it is more required in the new working model with new out-of-the-box thinking and innovative skills and practices. One more reason given why industrial relations skills are fading away is because of technology penetration in all business and people processes. This holds no water. HR must always keep in mind that relationships cannot be nurtured through technology. People are not mere headcounts. They are living souls contributing to organizational growth. It is an irony that technology has just reduced people to numbers. HR professionals can't afford to ignore this domain.
It is a worrying signal that at present there may be a numbered HR professionals in the country who possess excellent IR skills. The new generation must learn and develop these skills to become a complete HR person, and seniors can play an important role as mentors in this respect. The baton has to be passed.
With this edition, your magazine completes twenty-five years of publication and enters into the twenty-sixth year. This silver jubilee anniversary issue carries a cover story on the most important aspect of HR function - IR skills to understand from the IR experts who are legends of this domain about the present and future relevance of IR skills.
Regards, Anil Kaushik, Business Manager - HR Magazine B-138, Ambedkar Nagar, Alwar - 301001 (Raj.) Mob.: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons] www.businessmanager.in
From India, Delhi
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)CiteHR is an AI-augmented HR knowledge and collaboration platform, enabling HR professionals to solve real-world challenges, validate decisions, and stay ahead through collective intelligence and machine-enhanced guidance. Join Our Platform.
Industrial Relations Management.pdf
Employee Relations.ppt