Labor relationships *

The problem involved in labor-relations work

The labor-relations segment of the public-relations field is concerned with the basic internal factor of labor on which a company depends for its prosperity and survival, just as it depends on the basic external factor of sales which are determined by the public acceptance of the company's product. If either of these two factors fails to function properly, the company immediately finds itself in trouble. Although the public-relations workers who enter the labor-relations field are in a minority, and the labor problem is usually handled by labor-relations and personnel experts, a sound public-relations policy depends to a considerable extent on adherence to effective methods of handling labor relations.

The kernel of the labor-problem nut, when stripped of its political and ideological shells of many hues, is simply whether or not the worker is willing to produce to the best of his ability? On this depends not only the success of an individual factory or an entire industry, but also the success and even the survival of the nation itself and its democratic way of life. Consequently, its importance cannot be overestimated. Lagging labor means strife, financial upsets, and eventual broadening and intensifying of government power over all the people. Enthusiastically producing labor means happiness, prosperity, and a nation rich and powerful enough not only to survive, but to make unlimited progress.

Labor discontent is caused only in part by the work of labor politicians, communistic elements or social visionaries of various types. Basically, it results from a lack of understanding between employer and employee. In totalitarian countries of any shade, employer-employee differences are resolved by the ruling power that possesses the guns and the state "apparatus." This is an impersonal, Marxian description which almost tells its own story in its revelation of a mechanistic attitude. People are not just mechanical appendages of a moving production belt. They are human beings, with odd, lovable, hateable, incalculable quirks and motivations. Dealing with a member of the labor force means dealing with a basic interest of a human being, that of making a living.

A good public-relations worker is a practical psychologist, who is able to sense individual reactions to almost any condition or situation or proposal. A labor-relations expert is also a practical psychologist, but one who is more intimately acquainted with labor problems and conditions. The similar qualifications of the two workers mean that they can cooperate in developing a labor-relations policy that will make possible the carrying out of a sound over-all public-relations program. This is important to the public-relations worker, since the maintenance of good labor relations is a prerequisite to success in the inclusive and broader field which is covered by public relations.

Establishing a labor-relations policy

The first step in establishing labor relations on a sound basis is to analyze and evaluate existing rules, customary practices, and all aspects of a company's contacts with its employees. These include the wage structure; the hours of work; methods of recruiting, hiring, transferring, and promoting; the grievance procedure; the program for training apprentices; the facilities and methods for safeguarding the employees' health and safety; and the provisions for their future security. Once the proper practices in connection with these matters are determined, the next step is to educate the employees to appreciate the fair treatment which they will receive under this labor-relations policy.

If a labor-relations policy is soundly conceived and consistently administered, the public-relations worker will regard the employees as one of the company's publics and, in dealing with this public, he will operate upon the same principles and employ some of the same techniques which he finds wise and effective in dealing with other publics. This means that he will never take for granted the employees' good-will, but will continuously take measures to nourish it. He will proceed upon the premise that, in a company's relations with its employees, as in its relations with persons in other groups and segments of society, is frequently the result of ignorance about a company because the company fails to disseminate information about itself.

Another factor which is disturbing to good labor relations is the feeling of fear among employees. "Out of fear and uncertainty," as Don D. Lescohier, professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin points out, "come suspicion, imaginings, worryings, defensive attitudes, obstructive tactics, and the carrying of chips on shoulders." By allaying fears through keeping employees fully informed of company policy and intention, the labor-relations worker can do much to prevent employees from developing grudges against the company and, in consequence, from harming both themselves and the company by falling down in their productivity.

There are various means by which a labor-relations worker can help employees become better acquainted with and more interested in their company. One means is the "open house" which has already been discussed. Another means is the employees' manual.

The employees' manual

For providing information to new employees as well as for guiding old employees, many companies furnish their workers with a booklet which was formerly called the employees' rule book but is now usually known as the employees' manual. This change in the name may be ascribed to the change which has taken place in managerial thinking.

There was a time when the rule book was regarded merely as a code of working conduct. It told the employees what the working hours were; when, how and where employees were paid; and the amount that they would be docked for absence, tardiness or for leaving early. It also laid down the law concerning such matters as ringing the time clock in and out; smoking on the premises; work apparel; cleanliness of working space; and the replacement, at the employee's expense, of tools that were lost or carried away.

The present-day employees' manual differs primarily from the old rule-book in that it avoids a dictatorial approach but seeks to appeal to the understanding of the employee. Necessarily, the new manual still lays down rules. It informs the employee as to what he must do and as to what he cannot do, because efficient production demands teamwork, and common decency demands, on the part of everyone at work, an intelligent and unremitting regard for the safety and the rights of others. A business enterprise cannot operate without order, and the maintenance of order is a highly important and wholly proper managerial function. Nevertheless, the modern-day manual for employees recognizes that rules can be rationalized and explained so that decent-minded men and women will accept these rules as necessary, and willingly abide by their provisions.

For example, an employees' manual may state that smoking in the plant is prohibited except in certain rooms expressly provided for that purpose. But the manual does not stop with that bare statement. It goes on to explain that the plant presents a considerable fire hazard, and that a fire, besides injuring a number of persons, might throw everybody out of work. In another section, a manual may state that employees in certain areas and for certain operations must wear certain kinds of apparel as, for instance, toe-armored shoes. It then explains that such kind of shoes are required because they help to protect the employee from injury. Thus, step by step, and with rule after rule, the manual addresses itself, reasonably and tactfully, to reasonable people. In presenting rules in this way, the management of a company not only avoids irritating its employees, but it makes them feel that the company is concerned with their interests as well as its own.

Many modern-day manuals go beyond the mere presentation of rules, and provide information about the importance of the company, so as to instill pride in the worker. For instance, a manual of this kind might convey such information to employees as was conveyed to visitors at the plant of Stockham Valves and Fittings, Inc., in Birmingham, in connection with Alabama's statewide program of "open house." As described elsewhere, visitors at the valve and fittings plant were told about the company in terms of its contribution to the economy of Birmingham and its environs. They were told about the money the company brought into the area as proceeds from its sales, the money it paid in taxes, the money it paid to its employees in the form of wages, and the money that it paid in the form of dividends to its stockholders, all of whom were residents of Birmingham.

Information along similar lines, which is directed to the self-interest of employees, is the kind of information that many companies include in their employees' manuals. Furthermore, the modern-day manual undertakes to "sell" the employee on the fact that the plant is a good place in which to work; that it is a friendly place, a place in which a man can get ahead, and a place in which he can be proud of the job he holds down and of what he contributes through that job to the welfare of the general public.

The employees' magazine

The basic function of the employees manual, which is to convey information and to interpret that information favorably, is a function that is often carried forward on a continuing basis by a magazine for employees. A typical magazine of this kind is usually edited by a former newspaperman, and, as its name implies, is generally a publication about the employees and for them.

In most cases, the contents of an employees' magazine includes such news as items about births, engagements, marriages and deaths. In addition, the magazine covers and interprets "company events," such as plant enlargements, developments in research, and company picnics. It covers company sports—baseball, basketball, bowling. It devotes space to "feature" stories about individual employees, telling about their years of service with the company, or their achievements and accomplishments in the world outside the factory gates. It reports on awards bestowed upon employees under the company's suggestion plan. The magazine may also devote space to a presentation of economic truths, being careful in this connection, however, to avoid paternalism and purely political issues.

Posters and bulletin boards

Allied in purpose with the employees' magazine are bulletin boards that, at strategic spots throughout the plant, display posters and "flash" company announcements or other news. Material for use on the bulletin boards may be "homemade," that is, prepared by the plant's art department or by the editor of the employees' magazine, or it may be obtained from such outside sources as business associations. In many instances, the boards are used to aid such community causes as Red Cross drives and community chest campaigns.

Like the employees' manual and the employees' magazine, posters and bulletin boards provide the media through which employees are informed about the company, about their relationships with other persons on the company's pay roll, and, in some instances, about their relations with persons outside the company.

Employees' annual report

Nearly every worker is interested in knowing how well his company is succeeding financially. If he has a reasonable amount of intelligence, he knows that fundamentally his well-being is tied up with the well-being of the company for which he works. He likes to be sure, however, that he is getting, in the form of wages, his rightful share of the company's income. Sometimes, he has a biased view and thinks he should get a greater share than the company can afford to pay, and thus becomes easy prey for agitators. Consequently, it is a sound labor-relations policy for a company to provide its employees with the facts about its business, and the reasons behind its operating and financial policies.

The best method of providing this financial information to employees is to supply them with the figures appearing in the company's annual financial statement, but to present these figures in such a way that they make clear to the employees the kind of information that they want. This means preparing a special report for the employees just as a special report is frequently prepared for the stockholders, emphasizing the facts in which the stockholders are interested. Stockholders are particularly concerned with the size of their dividends and they want the kind of a report which clearly answers their question about the prospects in this respect. When stockholders feel that their dividends should be increased at a time when such an increase is not feasible, a company can generally maintain their good-will by specifically explaining the facts.

A special financial report to a company's employees is worked up in a similar manner. It presents the facts in such a way that the employees can easily understand why they are not entitled to a great share of the company's income. The report avoids as far as possible technical accounting terms, and tells in plain language what the company took in and what it did with the money.

The report points out that the share of the company's income which went to the management and to the stockholders was relatively small as compared with the amount paid to labor. It brings out the reasons for depreciation reserves, for devoting funds to new plant construction, and for spending money to develop new products. It explains why a dollar saved for the business is not a dollar taken away from the worker. It emphasizes the fact that such a dollar, spent for replacing obsolete machinery, for more capacity, or for better products, is the worker's best security. It is the only kind of security he can get and still remain a free agent. It is the kind of security neither a labor union nor the government can give him.

Personnel work of the Bell Telephone System

An excellent example of broad-gauged programs designed to improve employees' relations with their company, with each other, and with the general public is provided by the personnel-relations work of the Bell Telephone System. The Bell System believes that the more thoroughly an employee understands the work in which he is engaged, the more efficient will be the service that he can render. As a means of helping its employees in this respect, the Bell personnel program has been devised to include the following:

• Explanation of the Bell System and its policies to new employees to supplement their training for particular jobs.
• Group discussion of company policies and results. In discussion groups, any question about the company may be asked and the answer discussed in full.
• Use of company magazines for conveying information to employees.
• Meetings between executives and large groups of employees.

Such a comprehensive personnel-relations program as that carried on by the Bell System is expensive both from the standpoint of time and money, particularly because of the company's nationwide scale of operations. Nevertheless, a smaller company may find that it is worth its while to adopt a similar program in view of the good results obtained by the Bell management. The reasons for the success of the Bell System's program may be summed up as follows:

• It makes every employee a more productive worker and a better informed individual.
• It helps train supervisors and potential supervisors, who later will manage the business.
• It enables the company to give better and more efficient service to the company's customers.
• It keeps managerial policy more closely in tune with the employees' opinions, needs, and desires.
• It reveals to employees that the management is a group of intelligent, forward-looking, fair-minded, sympathetic and understanding persons.

Use of motion pictures to educate employees

The use of motion pictures as an aid in personnel work deserves special consideration. For example, the kind of "industrial" picture which is primarily designed for presentation before outsiders can be shown before groups of employees with beneficial results. This is the type of film that tells the enterprise's general story—its origin, its economic and social purposes, the far-flung sources of its raw materials, its research, its operating methods, and its products and their uses.

Presentation of such a picture seldom fails to stimulate an employee's interest in the company; to provide him with a real understanding of the company's operations; and to impress him with the worth-whiteness of working for the company. After seeing a picture of this kind, the employee is likely to go home at night and tell his family: "Today, I saw a movie about our company; and it was as good as anything I've seen in a long time in a theater."

Films which deal with specific subjects and are designed especially for employees are also highly useful in personnel work. For instance, a picture may deal with safety. In another case, a picture may be used to assist in employee training-on-the-job. In still another instance, industrial engineers, who were formerly called "efficiency experts" may use motion pictures as an aid in shortening and making less burdensome certain manual or mechanical operations, and in increasing plant production.

Use of motion pictures to increase efficiency

The old-time "efficiency expert" used to stand behind a pillar, stop-watch in hand, for the purpose of studying and analyzing the movements of a worker at a bench or at a machine. This method seldom failed to arouse the antagonism of the worker and to put the "efficiency expert" at a disadvantage. Today, the "efficiency expert's" successor, the industrial engineer, deals frankly with the worker. The engineer brings along a motion picture camera and explains his purpose in detail to the worker whose job he is about to study. "I'm sure," the engineer tells the worker, "that after I have studied how you do your job, I can suggest ways in which you can make your work easier, and thus earn more money."

Then, with the cooperation of the worker, the engineer takes pictures of a complete cycle of the worker's operations. The pictures taken, the engineer retires to a projection room, where, after the film has been developed, he projects it in slow-motion. As the film unrolls, he studies it in detail. He watches the worker's hands, arms, and possibly his feet. He looks for waste motions and for motions and postures that unduly induce fatigue.

When he has completed his study, the engineer goes back to the worker and says: "Let me show you a new way that I have worked out for you to do your job." The engineer demonstrates. Then he says, "Now you try it." In trying it, the worker may be a little awkward, but he realizes that it is an improvement over his old method and agrees to go on with it. The engineer says: "In a few days, after you have perfected yourself, I will bring my camera back and take another picture."

A few days later, the engineer returns. He takes another film of pictures and develops it, so that now he has two films. For convenience, he cements together the two ends of each film so that each film forms a loop. The two loops he carries to the worker and says: "Here are the before-and-after films. I thought you would be interested in seeing the difference. As you notice, this one we took before we revised your method is twice as long as the other."

Naturally, the worker is interested, particularly when the engineer invites him to drop into the projection room at his next rest period and see himself on the screen. By securing the worker's cooperation in this way, the industrial engineer is much more successful in increasing the worker's output than was the old "efficiency expert" who antagonized the worker.

Contribution of motion pictures to better labor relations

For many years, "efficiency experts," and even industrial engineers, in seeking to improve workers' productivity, encountered labor's opposition. Labor called the system the "speed-up" and the "stretch-out." Although labor today does not universally endorse the adoption of more scientific methods, its opposition has lessened. This change in labor's attitude may be accounted for in part by the fact that industrial engineers have learned to employ the motion picture camera in the following two ways:

• As a scientific instrument for detailed motion study.
• As a means of helping "sell" to employees the idea that better methods step up production, reduce effort and strain, and enable the workers to earn more money through their increased productivity.

Thus, a better understanding has developed between management and employees. This has made for better relationships which, in turn, have made for greater happiness among employees and more productive work.

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