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Volume 6, Issue 6, June 2007
LABOUR / MANAGEMENT For a number of years now we have been conducting our 15-point relationship management program in various companies throughout the province. Many have been municipalities, regions and counties. Our program begins with a survey that identifies the corporate culture. The aim of the program is to eliminate 2% behaviour in the workplace. After we get the results of the survey we meet with both labour and management to discuss the depth of which there is a disconnection between the two groups. It is interesting to note that in many cases, management sees the culture different to that of labour. Generally management believes that all is well and labour perceives that management is not listening to their issues and is turning a blind eye to their plight. I have to make it clear at this point that there are many great managers out there who truly care about the staff and of course there are many labourers who simply want a good place to work and to get some recognition for a job well done. The individuals on both sides who see each other as the enemy are the 2%ers who cause the issues and the breakdown of a good cooperative working environment. Each employee (labour and management) participate in a six hour relationship management seminar featuring the Mouradian Model for Cooperative Action©. After the seminar, an Account Facilitator begins the process of changing the culture. The Account Facilitator begins a series of meeting with all departments and all levels of the company in order to facilitate the changes needed to eliminate 2% behaviour. Any employee who wants help dealing with 2% issues is afforded coaching from the facilitator and there are interventions set up to deal with 2% incidents. A Cooperative Action Committee is set up with volunteers from all areas of the corporation. Representation is also encouraged from the unions and the management teams. This entire process lasts about 6 months with follow-up surveys conducted at 3 month intervals in order to measure change. OK, now to the point of this article. At the beginning of the process many in the management team are in favour of the process and many in the unions are skeptical of the process. The managers believe we are there to fix the problems with labour and honestly believe that there are little or no problems within the management team. Labour believes we are hired to do the bidding of the management team and are therefore suspicious of our intent. After the first three months, it is finally recognized that we are not on anyone's side. We are in fact against one thing and that thing is 2% behaviour no matter where it is present. Managers quickly recognize that they are accountable for their actions. The managers who understand the program embrace the fact that the better treatment labour receives, the better employee they have. The 2% managers begin to realize that the program will affect their ability to bully and will challenge their power base. These managers begin to resist and actually in some cases do their best to sabotage the process. Here is where it gets interesting. The unions and most of the labourers begin to trust the process and step up to the plate in order to deal with 2% behaviour. Many of the brothers and sisters within the union understand that any 2% behaviour by union members actually adversely affects other union members. So, the skeptical unions now become an integral part of the process and in some cases actually self police 2% behaviour within their ranks. As for the managers, the 2%ers dig in and become more problematic as they do their best to discredit the program. I remember one department manager who went into the director of HR and told the director that I was "too pro-staff". The director of HR was taken aback as this was near the end of the 6-month process and this manager was thought to have been on board. The fact was that this manager was only giving lip service to the program and was not taking it seriously. The unfortunate thing with this manager is that he has not understood that most of the issues the employees have is with his way of managing and unless he changes his view (that in fact he should be pro-staff), nothing will ever change and the program will be lost. Lucky for us we make sure the CAO and the director of HR understand that a good corporation is pro-staff. When the employees are content many issues such as absenteeism, grievances and on-the-job injuries are reduced. Productivity increases and customer service improves. In conclusion, the unions and the labourers come to embrace the process and actually enhance its successful completion. It is the management (not all, but many) who are resistant to change. They must learn to understand and accept that being pro-staff is not anti-management. Managers who are pro-staff are the managers that all companies strive to hire and strive to maintain. The old adversarial labour management culture is dead and anyone who still thinks in those terms will be seen as a 2%er. Peace... Ted.
SIDEBAR
By Pierre R. Ouellette Hon.B.A., LL.B.
I was recently invited to participate in a program relating to Restorative Justice. I have to admit that I had never really taken a close look at this concept and had dismissed it as a program for ‘traditional’ or ‘native’ communities. That simply is not the case and I was struck by how powerful a force it could be for building safer communities everywhere. Restorative Justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behaviour. It is an approach to justice that emphasizes healing in victims and the meaningful accountability of offenders. Restorative Justice acknowledges that crime is a violation of people and relationships and its processes works to repair the damage and promote healing. It was interesting to note that victims who participated in a restorative justice process have a far higher rate of satisfaction than they had previously gained from the traditional justice system. I expect that this it is simply a better way to reach some form of closure. There is also some surprising results in the debate as to whether a restorative justice process is ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ on crime. Most offenders who have participated in a restorative justice process have stated that it is much harder to be accountable and acknowledge their crimes, face their victims and community members rather than to simply ‘do time’. In my next Sidebar I will explore some of the other principles and values associated with Restorative Justice. As usual I welcome your comments and observations and can be reached at Pierre@CooperativeAction.com.
Submitted by Brodi Mouradian
"Our mission statement about treating people with respect and dignity is not just words but a creed we live by every day. You can't expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don't exceed the employees' expectations of management."
To find out how we can help you or your organization please browse our website: www.CooperativeAction.com or contact us at 905-682-7380/1-877-393-3433.
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