MightyRecruiterA labor relations specialist helps administer and facilitate work contracts between unions, employees and managers. Common tasks include drafting proposals, communicating between union leaders and company managers, and dealing with compensation and work environment complaints. Most labor relations specialists have a firm understanding of legal contract language and help create collective bargaining agreements to govern relations between managers and employees.
Strong interpersonal skills are essential in a labor relations specialist job description. It’s also important for candidates to have experience with labor contracts through formal education or work history in human resources or a similar field.
Excellent verbal and written communication abilities are extremely important for successful interactions with managers and employees. Candidates should also show strong decision-making skills, especially in relation to conflict resolution. Find out what other information to include in your job requirements by reading through the labor relations specialist job description template below.
Labor Relations Specialist Job Summary
We are looking for a detail-oriented labor relations specialist with a passion for creating a fair, positive working environment and facilitating communication between employees and managers. You will have a chance to create comprehensive labor contracts that ensure effective performance while upholding our company’s commitment to valuing every employee. We know how important our employee relations experts are to our success, and we encourage our team to innovate new ways to resolve disputes and improve cooperation between managers and employees. We place a great amount of trust in our employee relations team, especially during contract negotiations and grievance resolution, so you can look forward to competitive pay, excellent benefits and career advancement opportunities.
Job Responsibilities
- Provide advice and guidance to management as needed during labor relations contract negotiations, including drafting proposals and facilitating meetings with union representatives
- Oversee collective bargaining procedures, including drafting, reviewing and modifying proposals, verifying legal contract terminology and suggesting additional rules and regulations as necessary
- Communicate effectively with managers, executives and union representatives daily to create positive working environment, address worker grievances and verify compliance with contractual protocols
- Analyze current work contracts and human resources policies to determine overall state of employee relations and make innovative changes to improve morale, efficiency and overall performance
- Manage labor grievances as needed by investigating circumstances of incident, validity of claims, adherence to contract policies and completion of resolution procedures
- Coordinate with HR and other departments to create and sustain positive employee relations and facilitate effective communications between employees and management
- Develop and present informational briefings for management to improve understanding of labor relations and promote improved contract and management solutions
- Assist management during crisis situations, such as labor strikes, to facilitate effective negotiations and resolve issues quickly
Job Skills & Qualifications
Reqiured:
- Bachelor’s degree in labor relations or related field
- Minimum 3-year experience in human resources or employee relations
- Strong decision-making skills with ability to manage multiple projects at once
- Exceptional verbal and written communications abilities with conflict resolution experience
- Detail-oriented and dedicated to meeting deadlines
Preferred:
- Professional training in labor law or collective bargaining
Labor Relations Specialist Job Responsibilities
If you find that you consistently receive applications from unqualified candidates, then it is time to look at ways in which to improve your labor relations specialist job description. The section with the meatiest content, and thereby highly significant to the results of your search for new employees, is the list of responsibilities. Thus, expect to put a lot of attention and care into devising the labor relations specialist job responsibilities section. When you do, you not only have better applicants and a reduction in the time and cost of hiring, you also have better employee retention rates.
How does strengthening this section help you to retain employees? Because you give them a strong understanding of their daily tasks before they even apply. To do this, detail the most important duties and tasks. Focus on the 6-8 most important aspects of the role. List them in bullet points, using a strong action verb to start the sentence. Consider incorporating the core deliverables and exciting projects.
The following are potential responsibilities to include in your labor relations specialist job description:
- Negotiate on behalf of employees for higher wages, better benefits and other issues
- Meet with union leaders, company representatives, government agents and other parties to discuss grievances and/or contract negotiations
- Investigate grievances and complaints to determine their validity
- Ensure employer practices remain in compliance with local and national governmental regulations
Labor Relations Specialist Job Specifications
Another important part of your labor relations specialist job description is the skills and qualifications section. It is here where you detail the criteria for personnel. A well-written section makes it easy for jobseekers to judge for themselves whether they have the right specifications for the role. The section might be short, but if you dismiss the importance of it, you will receive a significant number of applicants who are simply not qualified. You waste time filtering through them trying to find a pearl.
In addition to including the required education, training and skills for the job, also create a list of preferred labor relations specialist job specifications. Perhaps you would like someone to have an HR certification but it is not a deal breaker. In that case, you would list it under the preferred qualifications. Alternatively, you could put a bachelor’s degree in business or human relations under required, although you might include that you prefer a master’s degree.
Below are examples of skills and qualifications to include in your labor relations specialist job description:
- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business or related field; master’s preferred
- 2-4 years of experience in the field
- Certification in HR
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Excellent negotiating skills
