subject: Enhance Engagement to Avoid Industrial Action [print this page] Enhance Engagement to Avoid Industrial Action
Businesses must work harder to engage their employees during the economic climate in order to avoid industrial action.Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed that seven in ten employers expect that they will experience growing levels of industrial action such as strikes over the coming year.This feeling comes as public spending cuts are set to test the relationship between management and trade unions and one third of organisations think that their employees are likely to strike in the next 12 months.The CIPD found that publically owned organisations face the greatest risk of industrial action because of spending cuts and it is the responsibility of managers in this sector to reduce the risks of strikes through discussion and consultation.Eight in ten public sector organisations forecast that employers will experience growing levels of industrial action in the coming year and nearly half believe that their workforce will strike over the next 12 months. The private sector appears to be much more prepared for potential disruption in the next year as only 18 per cent of the private services sector and just 11 per cent of the manufacturing and production industry anticipate industrial action.CIPD senior public policy adviser Ben Willmott said that just because many organisations are forecasting increased incidences of industrial actions, recent history has demonstrated that managers and unions are capable of working together.He said: "The economic crisis led to management and unions working together in the private sector in many cases to try and save jobs. The recession saw many employees opting to take a pay cut or to work part time instead of occupying the picket lines to save their jobs." Businesses in all sectors should hire the services of performance improvement consulting professionals if they are concerned about the potential impact of industrial action over the next year.Performance improvement consulting experts can help an organisation enhance employee engagement and plan for the post-recession recovery to ensure they are in the best position to take advantage of a growing economy.Recent CIPD research discovered that the majority of employers thought that developing employee engagement was a priority for maintaining positive workplace relations in the future. Employee engagement can be enhanced through communication and consultation so that workers are fully informed about organisational developments and feel that their views are taken into consideration before management decisions are made.
