Employees, irrespective of how many employees there are or how big the business or entity is, must be provided with opportunities and mechanisms to lodge complaints or grievances. Although it holds true that the core business is to make money management must be aware of the fact if your employees are dissatisfied for whatever reason, they can make or break any business.
A grievance can be defined as any feeling of dissatisfaction of an employee with regard to any aspect in his work situation, or any cause of dissatisfaction experienced by an employee or group of employees arising from the work situation. When dealing with grievances of employees it is important to accept the fact that employees may have grievances that such grievance may be expressed, and should not be perceived as negative or putting management in a bad light. If management should view grievances as a negative phenomenon employees will not have the confidence to express their grievances, and even if employees express their grievances, they would not trust management to actually attempt to solve their grievances.
The purpose of any grievance mechanism is to draw managements attention to employees grievances and to settle them in the most effective way at the lowest possible level.
A grievance procedure is nothing more than a communication mechanism which is directed upwards, and makes provision for an employee to have the right to discuss a grievance at different levels of authority, with the aim of finding a meaningful and constructive solution. Grievances should be handled within a series of predetermined steps with the right to refer a grievance to a higher management authority if a grievance could not be satisfactorily solved at a specific level. The objectives of a grievance procedure are as follows:
Maintenance and promotion of sound employer/employee relationships.
Speedy identification and settlement of grievances to the satisfaction of both parties.
Prevention of conflict and friction in the work situation.
Identification and eradication of harmful practices.
Protection of the rights of personnel members and management.
Granting of actual and objective attention to a grievance.
Ensuring a uniform manner of dealing with grievances.
A grievance procedure should be formal and should be written down and it should be applicable to everyone. No exceptions should be made. Grievance procedures should take place along line management to prevent line authority from being undermined but it should have at its disposal formal channels which give the aggrieved the right to appeal. Furthermore, it should protect the employee against possible victimization. In conclusion, the aspect of channels to vent grievances within an organization is nothing new and not that difficult. It should only be realistic, easily obtainable, understandable, and known to everyone.
