The supervisor: The linchpin of employee relations

For every organisation there are at least several publics, the support of which is critical to organisational success. Many scholars and practitioners have argued for the primacy of the employee public, because of the effect of employee attitudes and behaviours on the experience of customers, and th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of communication management (London, England) England), 2004-04, Vol.8 (2), p.120-129
Main Authors: Therkelsen, David J., Fiebich, Christina L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business communications
Communication
Corporate culture
Decision making
Effects
Employee attitude
Employee communication
Employees
Executives
Human resource management
Human resources
Human resources practices
Organisation loyalty
Organizational behavior
Skills
Stockholders
Studies
Success
Supervisor as communicator
Supervisor training
Supervisors
Turnover
Work environment
Workplace climate
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Summary:For every organisation there are at least several publics, the support of which is critical to organisational success. Many scholars and practitioners have argued for the primacy of the employee public, because of the effect of employee attitudes and behaviours on the experience of customers, and the productivity and innovation of the enterprise. Organisations that accept this premise often respond with traditional employee communication programmes and techniques. This paper accepts the primacy of employees in the hierarchy of publics, but argues especially for the role of the frontline supervisor as the key to effective communication with an engagement of the employee population. The paper is in part a macro review of literature on the employee public going back 50 years. It comments on the new social contract between organisations and their employees. It documents business results that are associated with an involved employee public. It asserts that employee loyalty lies primarily not to the organisation itself but with the work unity - especially the immediate supervisor. The authors also examine behaviour that increases or reduces employee trust, and describe the necessary skills and support systems that organisations must provide for their supervisors in order to make them superb communicators.
ISSN:1363-254X
1478-0852
DOI:10.1108/13632540410807592