The question has been asked of many an employer's organisation as to what the benefits are, if indeed any exist, of joining or belonging to an employer's organisation. Employers see valuable staff members spending vast amount of company time running many of the smaller employer's organisations for no apparent reward to either the company or the individual.
This question on behalf of many employers has seen the membership numbers of many of the smaller employer's organisations dwindle, or with the organisation having many disinterested members who do not bother to attend meetings or pay their annual subscriptions.

So then, why join an employer's organisation?

Employer's organisations are basically business' version of trade unions, and equally perhaps, the area where employer's organisations add the most value to a company is in industrial relations and human resources. By belonging to an employer's organisation a company can be represented in the various dispute resolution forums by more experienced fellow members of the organisation. This strategic advantage must never be underestimated, especially in terms of possible cost savings in a dispute that a competitor company may not have, but also from the point of view that employees will get the message that the company will act fairly at all times and in accordance with the best advice available to the company. By belonging to a network of other companies, one can learn valuable lessons from the painful and costly mistakes made by others. The representation issue will assume greater importance should the proposed amendments to the Labour Relations Act be promulgated. These proposed amendments have conferred even greater importance to employer's organisations, as well as severely curtailing the right of representation by (eg) advocates, attorneys, consultants etc. in (eg) the CCMA.Should these amendments be promulgated therefore, it would mean that companies would have to defend themselves in disputes by either their managers, legal staff in their employ or by fellow members of an employer's organisation.

The costs of this type of representation, should a company not belong to an employer's organisation, can never be underestimated. It is possible for a company to run a very effective HR/IR department without in fact having to employ the professional staff required to run such a department. Further cost savings can be achieved by obtaining advice on such matters as advertising vacancies or recruitment procedures. Should these types of issues not be dealt with correctly, a dispute launched by an aggrieved applicant can cost the company dearly. For small labour intensive companies there is only one viable alternative.

One must also not underestimate business-networking opportunities that can be gained through belonging to an employer's organisation. UDESA for example has members in nearly every industry sector, and members are far more likely to pass on business to fellow members than to non-members, or to make fellow members aware of business opportunities that exist. Employer's organisations, in many instances, have code of conduct that they insist that member companies abide by. This at least gives prospective clients some piece mind when dealing with member companies.

Training also forms a large part of the services offered to the member companies by the employer's organisation. Members receive this training, which is carried out by respected professionals within the organisation, at a greatly reduced cost to that which is normally to non- members of the employer's organisation.

In conclusion then, the question that companies should be asking is " Can we afford not to belong to an employer's organisation?" The only sacrifice that has to be made is that of time given up by an employee, and the advantages that can be gained far outweigh the few hour's a month given up.

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