Executive Summary
The main reason for compiling this report is to clarify how relevant the abolition of the Employment Relations (ER) manager’s position at Aldi Supermarkets might be. In this regard, the main components were considered so that they could facilitate the choice. Firstly, ER specialists have the necessary specialized knowledge to work with employees.
Secondly, it is easier for companies to chart the course of their relationship with employees through ER expertise compiled by these specialists. Thirdly, when eliminating the position of an ER manager, the organization may face serious risks for employees. In connection with the indicated aspects, the report gives some recommendations.
Aldi needs to expand the role of ER managers so they can take on more employee relations responsibilities. In addition, cooperation with external lawyers may also be beneficial due to the correction of some data. Another recommendation is to implement a proactive risk mitigation approach.
Introduction
This report is the basis for keeping Employment Relations (ER) managers. The new CEO, Beatrice Potter, questions whether keeping ER managers in ER positions or using external labor law specialists and HR managers would be more profitable. In this regard, three critical arguments should be considered when considering whether to retain the position of ER manager. This question can be answered by giving three arguments that will help to realize the importance of ER managers as employees of Aldi Supermarkets. At the same time, the boundaries for the report take into account relevant scientific sources and the context of the specifics of the work of supermarkets.
One of the key terms in this report is employment relations, a concept that covers the sphere of interaction between employees and organizational stakeholders. Another term is specialist ER managers, who are specialists in interpersonal relations and have specific knowledge of managing labor relations and respecting employees’ rights (Duggan et al., 2020). Strategic ER Specialists are employees responsible for ER management and implementing Aldi Supermarkets’ designated strategy and employee analytics.
The report outline is designed to assess the following issues:
- The role of specialized knowledge and skills of ER specialists in solving complex issues regarding employment and working rights of employees.
- The results of a regular internal examination of ER personnel;
- Potential risks that arise when canceling an ER position.
The Importance of Specialized ER Knowledge and Skills
Labor relations management at Aldi Supermarkets is integral to a workflow of varying intensity and complexity. ER professionals’ specialized skills and knowledge can be decisive in resolving dangerous and conflicting situations associated with labor law and other work areas (Yin et al., 2019). One of the reasons the employees discussed is of key importance to the organization is the understanding of complex employment issues.
ER personnel have the necessary training and long experience in Aldi, which makes them aware of the importance of applying their knowledge in the best possible way. Conferences and negotiations with employees, taking disciplinary action, and resolving work disputes are the main aspects of the activities of ER managers. These categories of specialists will not have sufficient awareness of the company’s specifics and its employees’ actions, which may cause them to make wrong decisions.
Another important aspect is the succession of the position and the preservation of specific knowledge within the organization. These categories of information are unique to ER staff and can therefore be handled as efficiently as possible. This is important since a lot of knowledge is formed over a long period of time that employees spend in the organization (Meijerink & Keegan, 2019). In this regard, their replacement may provoke several complications in Aldi’s work, which will be associated with the operation of facts inherent in the organization and unknown to outside employees. Their familiarization may require a long period of adaptation, and freelancers cannot fully consider all aspects of the company’s corporate activities.
With the employees of an ER organization, managers can work most effectively as they combine a set of necessary communication skills. Due to their experience in the ER organization, the staff cannot be replaced by temporary hiring third-party specialists or labor law lawyers (Bonaccio et al., 2020). This is explained by ER managers having the necessary qualities that combine several essential characteristics and attributes. Thus, to continue to provide employees with all the necessary services, the company will need to hire more employees, ultimately leading to high financial costs.
Internal ER Expertise
ER specialists are responsible for conducting specialized expertise to define key HR functions and solve significant problems. ER managers are primarily responsible for ensuring the company’s progress aligns with sustainable development goals. This aspect is necessary for Aldi to fully achieve its corporate goals, which will help the organization better meet the needs of customers and their specific requests (Wang & Seifert, 2021). In this case, ER managers are indispensable for better customer focus, as they can prepare special analytical reports that reflect the essence of sustainable development and ways to accelerate its achievement. Employee training and education can be carried out regularly to maintain the proper level of service and regulate the operation of supermarkets.
Engaging and retaining employees in the context of ER expertise can help identify factors that improve employee opportunities and enable them to perform better in the workplace. Thus, the work of ER specialists is more complex than it seems. In this regard, their abilities are necessary for Aldi supermarkets, as they can provide more comfortable working conditions for employees at their expense (Wang & Seifert, 2021). At the same time, this concerns not only the harmonization of any norms with trade unions but also the improvement of the workplaces themselves. Thus, the expertise carried out by ER managers is of value in increasing the motivation of employees and their suffering in work positions.
Cost-effectiveness is an important aspect that ER managers regulate in their activities through corporate expertise. In such cases, relying on the participation of external employees of law firms can be pretty costly, as a comprehensive analysis of the cost of work and assessment of the efforts made by supermarket employees may require a full-fledged reporting system instead of a quarterly examination by the ER department (Lisic et al., 2019). Thus, replacing employees in this structure without significant consequences for Aldi’s financial performance will not be possible. Internal expertise allows the company to more effectively and quickly solve emerging financial problems related to the revaluation of labor costs or staff complaints.
Risks of Canceling an ER Position
The dismissal of all employees responsible for employee relations may entail certain risks associated with Aldi often having to rely on externally hired workers. In some aspects, external lawyers can actually be helpful to the company. However, they may encounter limited organizational knowledge in certain areas of work. This aspect has been discussed above, but its implications are worth considering from a risk control approach.
Its consequences can be the emergence of incorrect judgments among specialists, which can cause management actions that harm the organization (Nosková & Peráček, 2019). In addition, to make complete and competent judgments about the individual employees of the organization, specialists must have specific knowledge about the vision and traditions, as well as corporate ethics. Lawyers can study the first two aspects; however, the ethical side can only be perceived by direct experience in the company.
Another associated risk may be an increase in response time to a potentially dangerous situation that has occurred to workers. In supermarkets throughout the chain, emergencies that require the ER department’s close attention can occasionally occur. In such cases, as a rule, HR specialists should use all resources to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Employees in a company’s branches or near any sector where an emergency has occurred can quickly respond to it (De Stefano et al., 2021). External lawyers, on the other hand, have several clients simultaneously with a tightly planned schedule.
Another risk is limited attention to employees. ER managers who are constantly in their positions can know more about their team and what needs and opportunities are inherent in each employee. At the same time, freelance lawyers may have problems because they also do not spend much time on the team. Thus, the company may risk losing trust and building low-quality relationships.
In this case, the company will not be able to achieve its goals due to an increase in the misunderstanding risk indicator (Nosková & Peráček, 2019). Subsequently, this will lead to effects that are opposite to the activities of ER managers and which they must eradicate. This is because for freelance lawyers, the priority task is to harmonize the norms of the law, and for other employees who manage the staff, the extra burden will not be a positive aspect.
Conclusion
A comprehensive analysis of the aspects that may be affected by the abolition of the position of ER managers shows that this may bring some deterioration. Management and building good relationships with employees are imperative for Aldi supermarkets. In this regard, during the analysis, the main points that should be considered when deciding whether to retain specialist ER managers were identified.
First of all, Aldi supermarkets can benefit from ER managers’ specific knowledge. In addition, they are familiar with the staff and can assist them in their affairs. Secondly, ER managers regularly conduct due diligence, revealing some critical factors that an organization must know in order to plan further actions better. The third important aspect is that external employees can be associated with certain company productivity risks. This is because immersion in the working environment is impossible, and, accordingly, such employees will not be able to fully and timely solve the team’s problems.
Recommendations
The fact that ER managers have unique skills and knowledge makes them valuable employees who will be costly to replace. Based on the analysis carried out, Aldi needs to strengthen the role of ER managers for them to be able to fulfill more obligations (Ajibola, 2022). This will make sure that these specialists are valuable personnel for the organization. In addition, the ER department can be developed so that corporate values and ethics become fundamental aspects of providing employees with suitable working conditions.
The expertise of ER managers is an essential aspect of a company, but it can be improved through cooperation with external law firms. This will allow ER staff reports to be more detailed and elaborated in terms of legislation and compliance with the company’s norms and parameters of behavior (Shahzad et al., 2020). This way, Aldi can maximize internal value and strengthen the organization’s expertise. At the same time, it is essential to realize how much employees can depend on the actions and assessments of ER managers to control their powers.
The company must implement a proactive strategy for working with employees and ER specialists to avoid risks. This approach will create a more supportive work environment that will focus on providing the best possible interaction, including the initiatives and wishes of employees (Maheshwari et al., 2020). ER personnel will resolve issues promptly and comprehensively, which will allow the development of open communication channels to prevent conflict situations and misunderstandings.
References
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