As mentioned previously, there are many influences on employee relations in organizations. One of the most relevant today is the amount of information that is available.
There are numerous sources of information available to us as students, employees, labor union representatives, HRM professionals, and business managers. Before we use information that we have found, however, it is important that we evaluate its authority and appropriateness.
That's an excellent point. The sheer volume of information available today makes information literacy—specifically the ability to evaluate the authority and appropriateness of sources—a critical skill for anyone involved in employee relations, HRM, or management.
Here is a discussion of the types of information sources, how to evaluate them, and why this is particularly relevant to employee relations.
The information influencing employee relations can generally be broken down by source and content:
This information is generated within the organization and is generally considered the most direct and authoritative regarding specific employment conditions.
Sources: Employee handbooks, collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), company policies and procedures, financial reports, HR records, internal memos, and minutes from labor-management meetings.
Relevance: Used to determine specific employee rights, the scope of management prerogatives, and the procedural rules for discipline and grievances.
This information sets the mandatory baseline for all employment relationships.
Sources: Federal and state statutes (e.g., Fair Labor Standards Act, National Labor Relations Act), judicial decisions (case law), and regulations published by government agencies (e.g., EEOC, OSHA).
Relevance: Critical for ensuring compliance and avoiding litigation.
This provides context for negotiating terms and conditions of employment.
Sources: Wage and salary surveys (BLS, private consulting firms), industry-specific safety standards, economic forecasts, and competitor practices.
Relevance: Used during contract negotiations to justify wage demands or management’s proposals (e.g., referencing "market rates").
This provides evidence-based practices and theoretical frameworks.
Sources: Scholarly journals (e.g., Industrial Relations Journal), academic research papers, reports from professional HR organizations (SHRM), and authoritative textbooks.
Relevance: Used by HRM professionals and union strategists to design effective performance management systems, collective bargaining strategies, or training programs.
When dealing with high-stakes issues like employee discipline, contract adherence, or legal compliance, the reliability of your information is paramount. A standard method for evaluating information sources is the C.R.A.A.P. Test:
| Element | Description | Relevance to Employee Relations |
|---|---|---|
| Currency | Timeliness of the information. | Is the information source (policy, law, or statistic) up-to-date? A labor law ruling from 1980 may be irrelevant if a precedent was set last year. Wage survey data from 5 years ago is useless for current contract negotiations. |
| Relevance | Importance of the information for your specific need. | Does the source directly address the issue? A general article on HR strategy may not be appropriate for deciding a specific grievance procedure. |
| Authority | Source of the information. Who is the author/publisher? Are they qualified? | Is the source a recognized expert (e.g., a labor attorney, a published academic) or an amateur blogger? Is the union representative citing their own opinion or the official Collective Bargaining Agreement? |
| Accuracy | Reliability and truthfulness of the content. Can the information be verified? | Is the data biased or based on flawed methodology? Ensure statistics on absenteeism or turnover are calculated correctly and consistently with generally accepted HR metrics. |
| Purpose | The reason the information exists (e.g., to inform, persuade, sell, or mislead). | Is the source objective (e.g., a government statistical report) or biased (e.g., a union leaflet designed solely to inflame membership, or management presentation designed solely to justify layoffs)? |
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