Voice in Employee Relations Systems

A systematic and comprehensive assessment of the performance impact of alternative ER patterns requires an integrated framework that draws together the discrete strands of the relevant literatures. There has been little attempt to integrate systematically the HRM strand of the performance literature, which is centred predominantly on the level of the individual employee, and the IR strand, which is mainly concerned with the effect of collective structures and institutions. The concept of voice can, however, provide an overarching framework within which to locate both literatures so as to capture a wide variety of ER patterns. This chapter outlines the concept of voice mechanisms and the resultant ER approaches. The links between the attributes of particular types of voice mechanisms and firm performance have been explored in detail in Chapter 4. The voice concept has been widely used in the HRM and IR literature in recent years (Benson, 2000; Dundon et al., 2004; Roche, 2000). There is a broad consensus on the forms and functions of voice (McCabe and Lewin, 1992; Millward, Bryson and Forth, 2000; cf. Gollan, 2001). Building on this consensus, which can be traced back to Hirschman (1970), voice is defined here as: information sharing to provide means to air workers’ grievances, suggestions about ways to improve the firm’s products/services or production processes, as well as information from management to employees or their representatives and consultation; power and influence ranging from veto rights for employees or their representatives, and devolved decision-making powers to improve the effectiveness of team work and control over methods of work; governance systems to alleviate information asymmetries, problems associated with incomplete labour contracts and principal-agent problems.