Employee Relations Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Employee Relations

Clarifies what employee relations encompasses versus HR broadly. Grounds the chapter by distinguishing ER's unique focus on the employment relationship.

Lesson 2 • Historical Development of ER

Traces ER from early industrial labor practices to modern frameworks. Provides context for why current ER norms and expectations exist.

Lesson 3 • ER Roles and Responsibilities

Maps responsibilities across ER specialists, line managers, and senior leaders. Clarifies accountability structures that shape ER outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Core Principles of the Employment Relationship

Examines the psychological contract, mutual obligations, and trust as ER foundations. Connects these principles to day-to-day ER practice.

Lesson 1 • Employment Law Fundamentals

Covers the sources and hierarchy of employment law affecting the workplace. Establishes the legal literacy needed for all subsequent compliance topics.

Lesson 2 • Wage, Hour, and Leave Entitlements

Reviews minimum wage, overtime, and statutory leave requirements. Equips learners to spot and correct common wage-and-hour compliance gaps.

Lesson 3 • Privacy, Data, and Monitoring Compliance

Addresses employee privacy rights and lawful monitoring practices. Prepares ER professionals to balance organizational oversight with legal boundaries.

Lesson 4 • Workplace Safety Regulations

Outlines employer duties to provide a safe work environment under regulatory standards. Links safety compliance to ER's broader duty-of-care responsibilities.

Lesson 1 • Essential Workplace Policies

Identifies the core policies every organization needs and their key provisions. Builds a practical policy inventory learners can adapt to their contexts.

Lesson 2 • Policy Auditing and Continuous Improvement

Introduces systematic review cycles to keep policies current and effective. Prepares learners to proactively identify gaps before they become liabilities.

Lesson 3 • Communicating and Enforcing Policies

Examines methods for rolling out policies and ensuring consistent enforcement. Addresses how inconsistent enforcement creates legal and morale risks.

Lesson 4 • Employee Handbook Development

Guides creation of a comprehensive employee handbook as a policy vehicle. Connects handbook quality to reduced disputes and clearer expectations.

Lesson 1 • Managing Terminations Lawfully

Covers the legal and procedural requirements for ending employment. Reduces organizational risk by ensuring compliant, respectful separation processes.

Lesson 2 • Ongoing Performance Feedback

Teaches techniques for delivering timely, specific, and constructive feedback. Connects regular feedback to reduced formal disciplinary actions.

Lesson 3 • Setting Performance Expectations

Covers goal-setting frameworks and job standard communication. Establishes the baseline against which all performance and discipline decisions are measured.

Lesson 4 • Formal Performance Appraisals

Examines appraisal formats, rating scales, and common evaluator biases. Equips learners to conduct defensible, objective performance reviews.

Lesson 1 • Understanding Workplace Conflict

Analyzes the sources, types, and escalation patterns of workplace conflict. Provides the diagnostic foundation for all resolution strategies in this chapter.

Lesson 2 • Informal Conflict Resolution Techniques

Teaches early-intervention methods such as facilitated dialogue and peer resolution. Emphasizes resolving issues before they require formal procedures.

Lesson 3 • Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Introduces mediation, arbitration, and ombudsman models as ER tools. Expands the resolution toolkit beyond traditional grievance channels.

Lesson 4 • Formal Grievance Procedures

Walks through the stages of a formal grievance process from filing to resolution. Ensures procedural fairness and consistent application across cases.

Lesson 1 • Contract Administration

Details how to interpret, apply, and administer collective bargaining agreements daily. Prevents grievances by ensuring consistent contract application.

Lesson 2 • Collective Bargaining Fundamentals

Covers mandatory, permissive, and prohibited bargaining subjects and good-faith duties. Establishes the legal and strategic framework for negotiation chapters.

Lesson 3 • Union Organizing and Recognition

Explains why employees organize, the recognition process, and employer rights. Builds awareness of organizing dynamics before bargaining topics are introduced.

Lesson 4 • Managing Labor-Management Relations

Focuses on building a constructive ongoing relationship with union representatives. Reduces adversarial dynamics through joint problem-solving and communication.

Lesson 1 • Measuring Engagement and Satisfaction

Covers survey design, pulse checks, and qualitative listening methods. Connects measurement rigor to actionable, credible engagement data.

Lesson 2 • Designing Retention Interventions

Guides development of targeted retention plans for at-risk employee segments. Integrates engagement data with actionable organizational responses.

Lesson 3 • Retention Risk Identification

Teaches methods to identify flight-risk employees before they resign. Enables proactive intervention rather than reactive replacement.

Lesson 4 • Recognition and Reward Strategies

Examines monetary and non-monetary recognition programs and their effectiveness. Links recognition practices to sustained engagement and discretionary effort.

Lesson 1 • Restructuring, Layoffs, and Redundancy

Covers the legal, procedural, and human dimensions of workforce reductions. Ensures learners conduct reductions fairly, lawfully, and with minimal reputational harm.

Lesson 2 • Workforce Planning and ER Implications

Examines how workforce planning decisions create ER risks and opportunities. Prepares learners to anticipate ER needs during growth, restructuring, or decline.

Lesson 3 • Aligning ER with Business Strategy

Connects ER priorities to organizational goals, values, and competitive positioning. Elevates ER from a reactive function to a strategic business partner.

Lesson 4 • Managing Organizational Change

Applies change management models to ER challenges during transformation. Equips learners to maintain trust and engagement through periods of uncertainty.