Description
A grievance can be defined as any sort of dissatisfaction, which needs to be redressed in order to bring about the smooth functioning of the individual in the organization.
MACHINERY FOR SETTING GRIEVANCES
Industrial Management & Human Resource Development
Grievance
?
A grievance can be defined as any sort of dissatisfaction, which needs to be redressed in order to bring about the smooth functioning of the individual in the organization. As such, the discontent or dissatisfaction can be either stated or unvoiced, written or oral, legitimate or ridiculous. Employee dissatisfaction is anything that disturbs an employee, whether he expresses his unrest in words or not. When the dissatisfaction is made known by one employee to another, it is known as a complaint. A Grievance on the other hand is a complaint, which remains unattended to, or dismissed without consideration, results in the employee feeling a sense of injustice.
?
?
?
Individual and Group Grievances should be distinguished.
?
If the issue involved relates to one or a few individual employees, it needs to be handled though a grievance procedure.
When general issues with policy implications and wider interest are involved, they become the subject matter for collective bargaining.
?
?
Ideally speaking, trade unions should not play a significant role in individual grievance redressal whereas they need to be involved in grievance handling of a collective nature.
?
Any grievance procedure can be either one of the following two types :
A Formal Grievance Redressal Process ? An Informal Process of Grievance Handling
?
CAUSES OF GRIEVANCES
Machinery for Setting Grievances
Causes Of Grievances
?
Grievances occur for a variety of reasons: Economic: wage fixation, wage calculation, overtime, bonus, etc. Employees feel they are getting less than they ought to get. Work Environment: Poor working conditions, defective equipment and machinery, tools, materials, etc. Supervision: Boss’s attitude and disposition towards the employee. Perceived notions of favoritism, bias, etc. Work Group: Strained relations or incompatibility with colleagues. Feeling of neglect, and victimization. Work Organization: Rigid and unfair rules, too much or too less responsibility, work overload or under load both qualitative as well as quantitative, lack of work appreciation.
?
?
?
?
?
Causes…..
?
?
It is important to note that grievances, as expressed by the individuals often do not point to the heart of the problem, the apparent causes of grievances may not always be the real ones. A deeper probing and analysis is needed about the policies, procedures, practices, structures and personality dynamics in the organization to explore the root causes of grievances. Each one can be carefully studied and analyzed.
Grievances can be categorized as:
1.
2.
3. 4. 5. 6.
The real cause and the apparent cause Chronic grievers Fears in the minds of employees Breaking rules Rigidity of the system Intra-personal problems
?
Therefore, management must be clear about the process of grievance generation and the approach to its solution. If the employees are assured that their grievances would be looked into sympathetically, they become favorably disposed to management; and the climate for human relations becomes congenial.
IMPACT OF GRIEVANCES AND IMPORTANCE OF GRIEVANCE HANDLING
Machinery for Setting Grievances
IMPACT OF GRIEVANCES
Feelings of discontent or dissatisfaction amongst the workers leads to the following problems: •Indiscipline •Unrest & Unhappiness •Low productivity •Poor quality of production •Increase in absenteeism •Increase in employee turnover •Increase in wastage and costs •Loss of interest in work •Lack of morale and commitment
Importance of Grievance Handling
?
Thus Grievances affects the interest of the organisation very adversely.
Quite often minor grievances are accumulated, major problems creep in like work-stoppages, strikes, lockouts etc causing long-term damage to productivity. Therefore it becomes extremely essential to handle grievances at the earliest possible moment.
?
?
?
Therefore management must be alert to signs and symptoms of employee dissatisfaction and attempt to uncover rootcauses of the ill-feelings so that harmony and productive results can be achieved in the organisation.
The Human Resource Manager thus has a significant role in grievance redressal.
?
Role of Human Resource Manager
?
He must know and understand the causes which lie behind grievances and how to set them right. His skill in observation of behaviourism, attitudes and habits of people may be highly useful in exploring early symptoms of changes in individuals due to unexpressed grievances. He has to explore the best possible method of settling grievances. He has to help the top management and line managers, particularly supervisors in the formulation and implementation of the policies, programmes and procedures for effective grievance handling.
?
?
?
PRINCIPLES
Machinery for Setting Grievances
Listen and record what the employees says
?
A fair and impartial process The respondent has the right to put their side
?
?
The person against whom a complaint is made has the right to know details of the complaint against them
E.g. Investigatory Interview
?
Be genuine
?
A grievant should be able to raise a complaint and get advice in confidence A complaint should not be referred elsewhere, formally investigated, or discussed with others without the grievant’s consent E.g. Reports shouldn’t be used against the person registering for a redressal
?
?
Be aware
?
Rules, Agency Standards Law Enforcement Bill of Rights Employee Record Evidence Past Practice E.g. Use the expertise of the legal advisors
?
?
?
?
?
Think farther
?
Delays can also result in more time being expended in dealing with a grievance once action is taken Records can be used for statistical purposes to identify systemic problems If the allegations are complex or serious, record the complaint, the response, the evidence of witnesses E.g. Prevention of a repetitive problem by taking proactive action
?
?
?
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
Machinery for Setting Grievances
Steps in Grievance Handling
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Defining the nature of the grievances clearly. Gathering all facts to explain when, how, where, to whom and why the grievance occurred. Establishing tentative solutions. Ascertaining the best possible solution. Following up to see whether the grievance has been handled satisfactorily.
Essential Features
?
Simple, fair & easy to understand. Should specify time limits within which the aggrieved employee can expect to be notified of the outcome of his complaint. Should encourage employees to put forth their grievances.
?
?
It can be.....
?
Open Door Type: Grievances can be taken up directly with the senior management.
Step Ladder Type: Grievance Procedure consists of going through a number of stages.
?
Step Ladder Type
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative
48 Hours
Settlement of Grievance
?
? ?
Aggrieved employee obtains grievance form (Annexure-1) from dept. representative or shift incharge. After filling necessary details, hands it back. Dept. representative makes necessary inquiries, resolve if he can, and returns the form with his remarks within 2 working days.
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative
48 Hours
HOD 3 Working Days
Settlement of Grievance
If still not satisfied.....
?
?
Employee obtains Annexure-2 form and submits it to the head of dept.. HOD discusses issue with the concerned supervisor and employee and puts forth his remarks within 3 working days.
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative
HOD
48 Hours 3 Working Days Unit Grievance Committee 7-10 Working Days
Settlement of Grievance
Still not satisfied....
?
?
? ?
?
May appeal to the Unit Grievance Redressal Committee through Annexure-3 form. Comprises of 10 members: 5 representing the management & 5, the employees nominated by the union. May include the Plant Head as Chairman. Should reply to the employee within 7-10 working days. If no objections are raised within 10 days of the reply, the recommendations will be made final.
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative 48 Hours HOD 3 Working Days Unit Grievance Committee 7-10 Working Days Central Grievance Committee 7-10 Working Days
Settlement of Grievance
If still not satisfied.....
?
?
?
?
?
May appeal to Central Grievance Redressal Committee. Comprises of 8 members: 4 representing the management and 4, the employees. Under the administrative control of the General Manager. Should reply to the employee within 7-10 working days. The matter, if still unresolved, maybe further put in front of the Vice-President & President.
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative HOD
48 Hours 3 Working Days
Unit Grievance Committee
7-10 Working Days Central Grievance Committee
7-10 Working Days
Voluntary Arbitration
Settlement of Grievance
?
?
If the matter still remains unresolved, it may be taken up for voluntary arbitration i.e. involvement of 3rd or impartial party. 3rd party to be mutually decided between management and union.
INFORMAL GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
Machinery for Setting Grievances
?
Apart from the formal system, there can always be an Informal method of resolving grievances.
?
?
In fact, according to various surveys, most employees say that the informal method of resolving grievances by way of oral consultants with their superiors is a much better and less complicated method to undertake. Most feel that the formal system is too tedious and time consuming.
?
In the informal method, the aggrieved employee can directly approach his shift in-charge or the section head (in case of a major grievance) engage into a direct consultation and have his grievance resolved amicably.
?
Therefore, he not only saves himself from a lot of time but also mental tension and pressure, which many employees claim to have acquired during the course of a formal grievance redressal procedure.
?
Nonetheless, the formal procedure of handling grievances exists and has been successful in resolving extremely major grievances which the informal system cannot claim to have done.
?
The time factor involved with the formal process makes the informal method more successful and preferable, but it definitely does not deteriorate the effectiveness or importance of the formal system.
INDIAN LAW AND THE GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
Machinery for Setting Grievances
?
?
In 1957, the Indian Labor Conference accepted The Code of Discipline. This basically laid down that ‘The management and the unions will establish, upon a mutually agreed basis, a grievance procedure which will ensure a speedy and full investigation leading to a settlement’.
?
?
The guiding principles evolved under the code formed the Modern Grievance Procedure. The guiding principles are :
? ? ?
Conformity with existing legislation Need for simple and expeditious machinery Workmen should know whom to approach
CONCLUSION
Machinery for Setting Grievances
?
Grievance Redressal is a major factor in Job satisfaction among employees of an organization. The causes of Grievance amongst employees are primarily related to economics, work group, work environment, work organization and supervision. Unresolved grievances can result in poor morale, decreasing productivity and even strikes and lock-outs.
?
?
?
As such, effective systems are developed to ensure the successful redressal of grievances caused by these factors.
In most industries, an Informal system of resolving grievances also exists which is used more commonly.
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
For any corporation, it can thus be said that the establishing of an effective Grievance Redressal System is something any Human Resource manager must take as a key responsibility. In today’s customer-centric world, the HR manager must remember that Grievances also exist from the customer. And so, an effective system for dealing with those must also be designed and established. In most cases, this includes the entire Help-Line services, free replacements in case of warranty, Service Centers to solve minor problems and in some cases, for certain products, even make house calls to repair malfunctioning units. Now, the development of a pro-active and pro-quality culture in the organization is a must for reducing customer grievance. However, it must be realized that the customer must not be left hanging, so to speak, if he or she experiences some problem. To prevent further complaints, it would be better to have a well-thought out Redressal Procedure to resolve a customer’s grievance as well.
References
? ? ? ?
Human Resource Management – Dr.Anjali Ghanekar Powerhouse Consultants Wikipedia Personnel Management - C.B.Mamoria
THANK YOU..
-Sharmeen Sahibole
doc_162864935.pptx
A grievance can be defined as any sort of dissatisfaction, which needs to be redressed in order to bring about the smooth functioning of the individual in the organization.
MACHINERY FOR SETTING GRIEVANCES
Industrial Management & Human Resource Development
Grievance
?
A grievance can be defined as any sort of dissatisfaction, which needs to be redressed in order to bring about the smooth functioning of the individual in the organization. As such, the discontent or dissatisfaction can be either stated or unvoiced, written or oral, legitimate or ridiculous. Employee dissatisfaction is anything that disturbs an employee, whether he expresses his unrest in words or not. When the dissatisfaction is made known by one employee to another, it is known as a complaint. A Grievance on the other hand is a complaint, which remains unattended to, or dismissed without consideration, results in the employee feeling a sense of injustice.
?
?
?
Individual and Group Grievances should be distinguished.
?
If the issue involved relates to one or a few individual employees, it needs to be handled though a grievance procedure.
When general issues with policy implications and wider interest are involved, they become the subject matter for collective bargaining.
?
?
Ideally speaking, trade unions should not play a significant role in individual grievance redressal whereas they need to be involved in grievance handling of a collective nature.
?
Any grievance procedure can be either one of the following two types :
A Formal Grievance Redressal Process ? An Informal Process of Grievance Handling
?
CAUSES OF GRIEVANCES
Machinery for Setting Grievances
Causes Of Grievances
?
Grievances occur for a variety of reasons: Economic: wage fixation, wage calculation, overtime, bonus, etc. Employees feel they are getting less than they ought to get. Work Environment: Poor working conditions, defective equipment and machinery, tools, materials, etc. Supervision: Boss’s attitude and disposition towards the employee. Perceived notions of favoritism, bias, etc. Work Group: Strained relations or incompatibility with colleagues. Feeling of neglect, and victimization. Work Organization: Rigid and unfair rules, too much or too less responsibility, work overload or under load both qualitative as well as quantitative, lack of work appreciation.
?
?
?
?
?
Causes…..
?
?
It is important to note that grievances, as expressed by the individuals often do not point to the heart of the problem, the apparent causes of grievances may not always be the real ones. A deeper probing and analysis is needed about the policies, procedures, practices, structures and personality dynamics in the organization to explore the root causes of grievances. Each one can be carefully studied and analyzed.
Grievances can be categorized as:
1.
2.
3. 4. 5. 6.
The real cause and the apparent cause Chronic grievers Fears in the minds of employees Breaking rules Rigidity of the system Intra-personal problems
?
Therefore, management must be clear about the process of grievance generation and the approach to its solution. If the employees are assured that their grievances would be looked into sympathetically, they become favorably disposed to management; and the climate for human relations becomes congenial.
IMPACT OF GRIEVANCES AND IMPORTANCE OF GRIEVANCE HANDLING
Machinery for Setting Grievances
IMPACT OF GRIEVANCES
Feelings of discontent or dissatisfaction amongst the workers leads to the following problems: •Indiscipline •Unrest & Unhappiness •Low productivity •Poor quality of production •Increase in absenteeism •Increase in employee turnover •Increase in wastage and costs •Loss of interest in work •Lack of morale and commitment
Importance of Grievance Handling
?
Thus Grievances affects the interest of the organisation very adversely.
Quite often minor grievances are accumulated, major problems creep in like work-stoppages, strikes, lockouts etc causing long-term damage to productivity. Therefore it becomes extremely essential to handle grievances at the earliest possible moment.
?
?
?
Therefore management must be alert to signs and symptoms of employee dissatisfaction and attempt to uncover rootcauses of the ill-feelings so that harmony and productive results can be achieved in the organisation.
The Human Resource Manager thus has a significant role in grievance redressal.
?
Role of Human Resource Manager
?
He must know and understand the causes which lie behind grievances and how to set them right. His skill in observation of behaviourism, attitudes and habits of people may be highly useful in exploring early symptoms of changes in individuals due to unexpressed grievances. He has to explore the best possible method of settling grievances. He has to help the top management and line managers, particularly supervisors in the formulation and implementation of the policies, programmes and procedures for effective grievance handling.
?
?
?
PRINCIPLES
Machinery for Setting Grievances
Listen and record what the employees says
?
A fair and impartial process The respondent has the right to put their side
?
?
The person against whom a complaint is made has the right to know details of the complaint against them
E.g. Investigatory Interview
?
Be genuine
?
A grievant should be able to raise a complaint and get advice in confidence A complaint should not be referred elsewhere, formally investigated, or discussed with others without the grievant’s consent E.g. Reports shouldn’t be used against the person registering for a redressal
?
?
Be aware
?
Rules, Agency Standards Law Enforcement Bill of Rights Employee Record Evidence Past Practice E.g. Use the expertise of the legal advisors
?
?
?
?
?
Think farther
?
Delays can also result in more time being expended in dealing with a grievance once action is taken Records can be used for statistical purposes to identify systemic problems If the allegations are complex or serious, record the complaint, the response, the evidence of witnesses E.g. Prevention of a repetitive problem by taking proactive action
?
?
?
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
Machinery for Setting Grievances
Steps in Grievance Handling
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Defining the nature of the grievances clearly. Gathering all facts to explain when, how, where, to whom and why the grievance occurred. Establishing tentative solutions. Ascertaining the best possible solution. Following up to see whether the grievance has been handled satisfactorily.
Essential Features
?
Simple, fair & easy to understand. Should specify time limits within which the aggrieved employee can expect to be notified of the outcome of his complaint. Should encourage employees to put forth their grievances.
?
?
It can be.....
?
Open Door Type: Grievances can be taken up directly with the senior management.
Step Ladder Type: Grievance Procedure consists of going through a number of stages.
?
Step Ladder Type
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative
48 Hours
Settlement of Grievance
?
? ?
Aggrieved employee obtains grievance form (Annexure-1) from dept. representative or shift incharge. After filling necessary details, hands it back. Dept. representative makes necessary inquiries, resolve if he can, and returns the form with his remarks within 2 working days.
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative
48 Hours
HOD 3 Working Days
Settlement of Grievance
If still not satisfied.....
?
?
Employee obtains Annexure-2 form and submits it to the head of dept.. HOD discusses issue with the concerned supervisor and employee and puts forth his remarks within 3 working days.
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative
HOD
48 Hours 3 Working Days Unit Grievance Committee 7-10 Working Days
Settlement of Grievance
Still not satisfied....
?
?
? ?
?
May appeal to the Unit Grievance Redressal Committee through Annexure-3 form. Comprises of 10 members: 5 representing the management & 5, the employees nominated by the union. May include the Plant Head as Chairman. Should reply to the employee within 7-10 working days. If no objections are raised within 10 days of the reply, the recommendations will be made final.
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative 48 Hours HOD 3 Working Days Unit Grievance Committee 7-10 Working Days Central Grievance Committee 7-10 Working Days
Settlement of Grievance
If still not satisfied.....
?
?
?
?
?
May appeal to Central Grievance Redressal Committee. Comprises of 8 members: 4 representing the management and 4, the employees. Under the administrative control of the General Manager. Should reply to the employee within 7-10 working days. The matter, if still unresolved, maybe further put in front of the Vice-President & President.
Aggrieved Employee Departmental Representative HOD
48 Hours 3 Working Days
Unit Grievance Committee
7-10 Working Days Central Grievance Committee
7-10 Working Days
Voluntary Arbitration
Settlement of Grievance
?
?
If the matter still remains unresolved, it may be taken up for voluntary arbitration i.e. involvement of 3rd or impartial party. 3rd party to be mutually decided between management and union.
INFORMAL GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
Machinery for Setting Grievances
?
Apart from the formal system, there can always be an Informal method of resolving grievances.
?
?
In fact, according to various surveys, most employees say that the informal method of resolving grievances by way of oral consultants with their superiors is a much better and less complicated method to undertake. Most feel that the formal system is too tedious and time consuming.
?
In the informal method, the aggrieved employee can directly approach his shift in-charge or the section head (in case of a major grievance) engage into a direct consultation and have his grievance resolved amicably.
?
Therefore, he not only saves himself from a lot of time but also mental tension and pressure, which many employees claim to have acquired during the course of a formal grievance redressal procedure.
?
Nonetheless, the formal procedure of handling grievances exists and has been successful in resolving extremely major grievances which the informal system cannot claim to have done.
?
The time factor involved with the formal process makes the informal method more successful and preferable, but it definitely does not deteriorate the effectiveness or importance of the formal system.
INDIAN LAW AND THE GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
Machinery for Setting Grievances
?
?
In 1957, the Indian Labor Conference accepted The Code of Discipline. This basically laid down that ‘The management and the unions will establish, upon a mutually agreed basis, a grievance procedure which will ensure a speedy and full investigation leading to a settlement’.
?
?
The guiding principles evolved under the code formed the Modern Grievance Procedure. The guiding principles are :
? ? ?
Conformity with existing legislation Need for simple and expeditious machinery Workmen should know whom to approach
CONCLUSION
Machinery for Setting Grievances
?
Grievance Redressal is a major factor in Job satisfaction among employees of an organization. The causes of Grievance amongst employees are primarily related to economics, work group, work environment, work organization and supervision. Unresolved grievances can result in poor morale, decreasing productivity and even strikes and lock-outs.
?
?
?
As such, effective systems are developed to ensure the successful redressal of grievances caused by these factors.
In most industries, an Informal system of resolving grievances also exists which is used more commonly.
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
For any corporation, it can thus be said that the establishing of an effective Grievance Redressal System is something any Human Resource manager must take as a key responsibility. In today’s customer-centric world, the HR manager must remember that Grievances also exist from the customer. And so, an effective system for dealing with those must also be designed and established. In most cases, this includes the entire Help-Line services, free replacements in case of warranty, Service Centers to solve minor problems and in some cases, for certain products, even make house calls to repair malfunctioning units. Now, the development of a pro-active and pro-quality culture in the organization is a must for reducing customer grievance. However, it must be realized that the customer must not be left hanging, so to speak, if he or she experiences some problem. To prevent further complaints, it would be better to have a well-thought out Redressal Procedure to resolve a customer’s grievance as well.
References
? ? ? ?
Human Resource Management – Dr.Anjali Ghanekar Powerhouse Consultants Wikipedia Personnel Management - C.B.Mamoria
THANK YOU..
-Sharmeen Sahibole
doc_162864935.pptx