Crossword 12 - Employee Relation

Across
2. Individual work together to achieve the single goal is called ____ (12)
5. Employee_____ is one of the most important factors which go a long way in retaining employees (11)
6. ___ expectations from the job also lead to employee looking for a change (11)
8. Team leader must ____ those who perform well (10)
10. Opposite of Turnover (9)
11. Healthy Employee Relation means no ________ (9)
12. Organization most important asset (8)

Down
1. Continual exit of key workers cause can cause ___ effect among employee (6)
3. ___ Scheme to motivate top performers (9)
4. Employees are advised about the rights and discrimination and ____ protection (13)
7. Freedom of ____ is of utmost importance at the workplace to retain employees (10)
9. ___ dissatisfaction is one of the major reasons for an employe to look for a change (8)

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Avoid the pitfalls in keeping safety committees productive

Is your safety committee as productive as it should be? Your company values the committee, has high expectations for it, and pours substantial resources it. But is that enough? Failure to articulate a purpose and top-heavy management representation are among mistakes to avoid when establishing a safety committee. Other common pitfalls that hold safety committees back from success include:

·         Unclear roles. Do members know their roles on the committee? Develop a written agreement or mission statement that clearly defines the committee’s functions and member duties. Among other things, it should ensure that the committee meets regulatory requirements and communicates with employees about its activities.

·         No budget. A committee should be considered an investment and management needs to provide adequate tools and resources. Funds may be needed for member training and to conduct safety and health fairs and other activities.

·         Size. The size of the organization and the hazards workers face should influence the type and size of a committee. Keep committees relatively small so that all members can participate actively. Subcommittees can be established for special projects. Many large employers have multiple committees that serve individual divisions, buildings, or shifts.

·         Failure to orient new members. Those new to the committee may be unaware of group dynamics and past issues. Bring new members up to speed by providing minutes and other documents. If possible, let departing members orient the newcomers.

·         Lack of follow-up. Committees can rise and fall on their reputation for doing what they say they will do. Committee leaders should request formal status reports and should review assignments at the end of each meeting to keep everyone on the same page. Many committee agendas list not only the topic to be discussed, but also the person responsible for seeing the issue through.

·         Lacklustre participation. The experts say the best members are active, involved participants who eagerly share their passion for safety with their co-workers. Leaders should find ways to get all members involved and fully representing their department or work group.

·         Same old, same old. Committees must innovate to maintain interest and involvement. Encourage leaders to learn about successful committees at other businesses and borrow good ideas. Plan a committee-led safety day or safety mentor program. Canvass employees to make sure their good ideas are getting through. Ask a safety committee member to address your board of directors annually so that those at the top are aware of the committee’s activities.

Source: hr.blr.com

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3-day work week will 'increase productivity' says Telecoms tycoon

A three day working week is the key to productivity, according to Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim.

The world’s second richest man called for a “radical overhaul” of people’s working lives, suggesting at a business conference in Paraguay that workers should retire later, but take more time off.

“People are going to have to work for more years, until they are 70 or 75, and just work three days a week – perhaps 11 hours a day,” he said.

The self-made billionaire’s suggestion that a three-day work week would generate a healthier and more productive work force comes in the same month that leading British doctor, Professor John Ashton, called for the country to implement a four-day work week to combat work-related stress.

Mike Emmott, Employee Relations Advisor at The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said Slim was at risk of ‘over-claiming’.

“The implicit message that you can work less and produce the same amount and live a happier life is overstated,” he said.

“Three days is a stretch to get a full working week in, if you regard a work week as at least 35 hours. But there’s quite a lot of anecdotal evidence of people working a four day week, particularly in parts of the civil service among a number of governmental departments.”

Slim backed his view that three work days per week and longer careers would improve quality of life by offering a voluntary scheme to employees of his Telmex fixed-line phone company in Mexico, which would allow staff to keep working on full pay beyond the age that they are eligible to retire, but for only four days a week.

Emmott commented: “The real problem with these stories is it looks too good to be true, and that’s because it is – because people imagine that they are being told that they’ll be as productive working three reasonable length working days as they would in five and that just isn’t true – the sums don’t add up.”

“I think the argument for flexible working is a strong one, but flexibility doesn’t mean exactly what you want it to mean, if you want to produce the output and run a reasonable life outside of work there’s a limit to how many hours a day you can sustain in the long term. But I’m all for working longer in so far as the work is able to match people’s preferences.”

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