Can you voice your view, in detail, on the importance of positive employee relations and how to build those relations? Can you present a respectable business case for positive employee relations when conferring with leaders who see employee relations as an undiluted contractual relationship (Employees do X for us; we pay them $X in return-that's the extent of the relationship)?

Having worked in the Human Resources field for over 20 years with different types of service organizations, I have witnessed all kinds of employee relations, from exemplary to less than stellar. My experience has solidified my belief that employees are a strategic asset and not just a commodity. Employees are the most elastic resource that a company has at their disposal to capture the competitive advantage. Building positive employee relations is not in conflict with success and profitability. It is, in fact, an essential ingredient of real success.

Yet many leaders stammer and stutter when challenged to discuss the worth of positive employee relations in business terms. I find this fascinating, because these same leaders are able, with little notice, to present a respectable business case for building positive customer relations. Leaders, instead, begin speaking the language of values ("Treating employees well is the right thing to do," etc.) rather than speaking the language of business-- as though you have to choose one corner or the other.

Here's the good news: You don't need to make a choice. Positive employee relations can be supported from the standpoint of values and it is smart business.

Business Case Scenario 1: The impact on the customer

Let's think like customers: our view of a company is often formed by our first impressions of the employee we initially encounter. The employee's tone of voice, the smile (if they smile!), the professionalism or lack of it, the energy, the employee's whole demeanor-- whether by phone or in person--create our impression. At that moment, the employee is the organization to the customer. What's the link to employee relations? Study after study shows that how employees feel about their employer determines how they treat customers. Sears found this to be true years ago (1978), in an 800-store survey, where they uncovered the fact that when employee attitudes improved by just 5%, customer satisfaction jumped 1.3%. Not surprisingly, Sears saw revenue increases as well. Studies over the last 25 years confirm the Sears study. Employees who believe they are valued and well-treated create positive customer relations and bring revenue increases. Employees who feel their employer does not care about them and does not treat them well create negative customer relations--and that means lost business and decreased revenue. It's just that simple.