2013

What is Grievance ?What is Grievance ?

• Grievance is “any discontent or “any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether expressed or not, dissatisfaction, whether expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company which an connected with the company which an employee thinks, believes or even feels to be employee thinks, believes or even feels to be unfair, unjust or inequitable.”unfair, unjust or inequitable.”

CAUSES for Grievance CAUSES for Grievance

Need for Grievance ProcedureNeed for Grievance Procedure1. Management can know the employees’ feelings employees’ feelings

and opinionsopinions about the company’s policies and policies and practices.practices.

2. It keeps a check on the supervisor’s attitude supervisor’s attitude and behaviorbehavior towards their subordinates.

3. Employee gets a chance to ventilate his feelingsventilate his feelings4. Build good moralegood morale, maintains code of discipline.discipline.5. Brings uniformityuniformity in handling grievances.6. It develops faithfaith of employees.7. Reduces personality conflictspersonality conflicts.8. Provides judicial protection judicial protection to the employees.

Processing of GrievanceProcessing of Grievance

– Primary Stage (Supervisor)– Intermediate Stage (Group head)–Organization Level (Management head)– Third Party Mediation (Legal authorities)

Errors in processing of GrievanceErrors in processing of Grievance

1. Stopping too soon in the search of facts2. Expressing a management opinion prior to the time

when all pertinent facts have been discovered3. Failing to maintain proper records4. Resorting to executive fiat or orders instead of

discussion and conference to change minds5. Setting the wrong grievance a mistake which may in

turn produce a second new grievance.

Objectives of a Grievance Handling Objectives of a Grievance Handling ProcedureProcedure

a) To enable the employee to air his/her grievance.b) To clarify the nature of the grievance.c) To investigate the reasons for dissatisfaction.d) To obtain, where possible, a speedy resolution to the

problem.e) To take appropriate actions and ensure that promises

are kept.f) To inform the employee of his or her right to take the

grievance to the next stage of the procedure, in the event of an unsuccessful resolution.

Steps in Grievance Handling Steps in Grievance Handling ProcedureProcedure

Acknowledge DissatisfactionDefine the ProblemGet the FactsAnalyze and DecideFollow up

Benefits of a Grievance Handling Benefits of a Grievance Handling ProcedureProcedure

1. It encourages employees to raise concerns without fear of reprisal.

2. It provides a fair and speedy means of dealing with complaints.

3. It prevents minor disagreements developing into more serious disputes.

4. It saves employers time and money as solutions are found for workplace problems

Organization IncidentOrganization Incident• When: When: On 23rd September 1983• How many: How many: A few hundred employees• Of:Of: Taj (Bombay) • Did what: Did what: expressed their unhappiness• By:By: setting fire to a few sofas in the lobby, breaking

furniture and shouting anti-management slogans.• Owner:Owner: J.R.D. Tata• Reason:Reason: Management communications problem

Organization Incident (contd.)Organization Incident (contd.)

• HR team: HR team: Provided an effective, internal channel for grievance anticipation and counseling.

• Effects:Effects: Employee attrition reduced and customer satisfaction improved.

• J.R.D:J.R.D: “I agree with your diagnosis. One lesson I have learnt through 50 years of working with people is that there are no union problems…only management problems.”