Employee relations and benefits management (ER & BM) play an important role in attracting and retaining quality employees. However, in many organizations ER & BM focuses only on basic activities and lacks benchmarking or alignment with company strategy. Strategic benefit planning through ER & BM can improve employee satisfaction, attract and motivate workers, and retain top performers. Communicating benefit information helps employees understand available options and increases the psychological value of the benefits package. Building better relationships between ER & BM, employees, unions, and organizational strategy can help bridge existing gaps.

1. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS AND
BENEFIT MANAGEMENT
Chamara Ekanayake
MBA (Peradeniya) Chartered Marketer DipM MCIM (UK) MSLIM

2. How important is ER & BM
“Good benefits package” far ahead of high
salaries or opportunity for advancement
According to US chamber of commerce
employee benefits are the one of the greatest
challenges in business today in attracting and
retaining quality employees
Employees are increasingly aware about
benefits they receive and how those benefits
compare to what other companies are offering

3. Where ER & BM stand in typical
organization?
• Only focus on basic activities
• Less relationship with other competitor
organization
• No benchmarking strategy
• Deviated from company’s strategic direction
• Perceptional, attitude problem
• Reactive strategy rather than proactive

4. How ER & BM can assist company?
1. Strategic benefit planning
• Improve employee satisfaction
• Meet employee health and security requirements
• Attract and motivate employees
• Retain top performing employees
2. Allowing for employee involvement
• Consultation with employees
3. Benefit for a diverse workforce
• Benefit programs must reflect continually occurring
changes in society
4. Providing for flexibility
• Cafeteria plans

5. Communicating employee benefit
information
• Employees select the benefit to match their
individual needs
• Benefit sections adapt to a constantly changing
workforce
• Employees gain greater understanding in the
benefits offered to them and the cost incurred
• SLT maximizes the psychological valve of their
benefit program by paying only for highly desired
benefits
• SLT gain a competitive advantage in the
recruiting and retention of employees

6. Perception change model
Awareness
Communicating
employee
benefits
Curiosity
Interest to
understand
employee
benefits
Aspiration
Further more
digging in to
what does SLT
provides us
Inaction
Sentimental
value with SLT
and
productive
employee

7. How this will work short and long
term?
Perception
change
• The way they think about the company will change
• HR will encourage that change
Attitude
Change
• Opinion leaders will be targeted for WOM
• Change agents will influence others
Loyal
Employee
• Company becomes part of their family
• Productive employee who will perform on their job functions

8. Healthy working environment
Org.
strategic
direction
Trade
unions
Employees
ER & BM
section

9. How to bridge the gap?
• Categorization of unions according to a
defined criteria
• Categorization of employees based on a
defined criteria
• Enhance the relationship with stakeholders
by strategic activities (more emotional less
functional)