Employee and Labor Relations Academy the Ratio Gap. Organizational Risk. Close the Gap Strategy

Employee and Labor Relations Academy

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS THAT WORK(S)!MARCH 2, 2017

FACILITATED BY:

ANITA D. TINNEY, ESQ.

[email protected]

215-600-5090 PH

3/2/2017

Cop

yright © 2017 Em

ployee a

nd La

bor Rela

tions Aca

dem

y

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mailto:[email protected]

Anita D. Tinney, Esq.

The Employee and Labor Relations Academy is a consulting firm focused on training and best practices in Employee Relations, Labor Relations, HR Compliance, Workplace Investigations, Preventative and Proactive Labor Relations and Organized Labor.

Anita became Principal Consultant at ELRA after twenty-two years in the private sector as an internal consultant in HR, Operations and Employee and Labor Relations. She has had a very successful career in ER/LR at some of the largest Fortune 100 Companies in the world, including Merck & Co., Inc., Johnson & Johnson World Headquarters, Comcast Cable and AmerisourceBergen Corporation. She has extensive experience in all facets of Employee and Labor Relations in both U.S and Global ER/LR.

Anita holds an Employment and Labor Law degree from Temple University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Hampton University. She is Six Sigma certified, a certified Mediator and EEO Investigator, a certified Corporate Trainer, and member of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Contact Information: [email protected] or 215-600-5090

Copyright © 2017 Employee and Labor Relations Academy

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3/2/2017


Defining the Terms and Language


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3/2/2017

HR C

ompl

ianc

e Those activities necessary to ensure the organization is in compliance with Company policy and employment laws

e.g. Compliance posters, harassment training, OFCCP audits, AAP planning, FLSA audits, policy management

Wor

kpla

ce C

onfli

ct Those activities by People Managers and/or HR professionals to properly manage conflict (or potential) in the workplace and to ensure a harmonious working environment

e.g. Conflict resolution, workplace investigations, performance improvement and corrective action, building employee relations capabilities

Prev

enta

tive

Labo

r Rel

atio

ns Those activities by People Managers and/or HR professionals to maintain a workplace free from unionization.

e.g. Labor Risk Assessment, Straw Polling, Preventative Labor Training, Managing Labor Disruptions, Managing Labor Campaigns

Labo

r Rel

atio

ns Those activities by People Managers and/or HR Professionals to properly manage the Company-Union relationship of a workplace that is already part of an organized labor union

e.g. Contract Negotiations and Management, Grievance and Arbitration Management, Decertification procedures

Engagement and Diversity and Inclusion (activities designed to ensure each employee can maximize their individual potential

When I Say Employee Relations Today, I mean …

Building an Effective Employee Relations System

Strategize

Build the Team

Align the Policy Portfolio

Track and Measure

Engage and Institutionalize

3/2/2017Copyright © 2017 Employee and Labor Relations Academy

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The Impact of HR Transformation on ER/LROrganizational Alignment

Strategic HR Business

Partners

Centers of

ExpertiseHRSC


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The ER Wo(Man)

Goal Planning Upside Down

List of all activity you have been asked or think you need to do

Prioritized by who screams the loudest or has the most resources

Executed based on the available talent


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2016 Goals

Strategic Planning Right Side Up

Vision: What are we playing for?

Mission: What outcomes do we expect?

Strategic Objectives: How will we impact the outcomes?

Assessment: Where are We Today Against these Objectives?

Goal Planning: What Activity will we do next year to close the gap?


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Inspirational/Motivational

Not This:Using best practices in Employment, manage and resolve employee

conflict to create harmonious working

environments.

Something Like This: Create and maintain a highly engaged and

inclusive work environment where our employees, individually and collectively, have the best opportunity to

maximize their potential to optimize business

results.



Mission: What outcomes do we expect?

Strategic Objectives: How will we impact the outcomes?




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The Vision Personified: What Outcomes Look Like!

OUR Vision

Create and maintain a highly engaged and

inclusive work environment where our employees,

individually and collectively, have the best opportunity to maximize

their potential to optimize business results.

Sample Mission Statement – What Outcomes Do We Expect?

Something Like ThisThrough expert guidance and execution, create and maintain a highly engaged and inclusive work environment where:

Employees are treated fairly and consistently in all aspects of employment

We preserve the Company’s reputation internally and externally and mitigate unnecessary employment risk

Employment Issues are resolved compliantly and effectively, at the lowest level possible


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The mission is the vision personified in the workplace – what would the vision feel like?

NOT THIS: MISSIONS ARE NOT METRICS Increase Employee Survey Results by 20 % YOY

from 2016-2018

Employee complaints are decreased by 60% by the end of 2017.

Reduce the number of employee lawsuits by 50% in 2016.

Employees customer satisfaction with ER/LR services is above 80%

Metrics are indicators as health and progress

Metrics as goals can generate bad behavior



Mission (Outcomes): Employees are treated fairly and

consistently in all aspects of employment

Strategic Objectives (Impact): Develop and implement harmonized employment policies,

tools, practices and systems.




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How will we impact the outcomes?

OUR Vision











Assessment (Metrics): % harmonized policies/tools; claims of favoritism, SC questions on interpretation, complaints

about job posting/movement



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Where We Today using Metrics Here as Indicators!

OUR Vision











Assessment (Metrics): % harmonized policies/tools; claims of favoritism, SC questions on interpretation, complaints

about job posting/movement

Goal Planning (Activity): Create a harmonized job posting policy across the enterprise.


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The Smart Goal!

OUR Vision


inclusive work environment where our employees, individually and collectively, have the best opportunity to

maximize their potential to optimize business

results.


Strategize

Build the Team


Track and Measure



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Employee Relations Team Considerations

Ratios• How many Employee Relations Professionals Do You Need?

Profile• Who makes the best Employee Relations Employees?

Location and Assignment• Where/How should Employee Relations Professionals be located to optimize their effectiveness?

Skills• How to assess Employee Relations Professionals skill level and build individual development plans•


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THE FORMULA

General HR Ratio at

your Company

Account for Your Scope

Account for Your

Skill

Account for Your Culture

Number of ER on Your

Team


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Closing the Ratio Gap

Organizational Risk

Close the Gap Strategy Financial Cost

Hire more Employee Relations professionals!Increase the skill level of the existing staff through training and/or experiencesNarrow Your ER/LR Scope of Services (eliminate services)Outsource some of your ER/LR Scope of Services (shift services)Streamline Your Non-Harmonized ProcessesIncrease ER ownership across stakeholders and release low level workIncrease Risk Tolerance


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What if you don’t have what you need?

What Type of Background Should My Team Have?

Lawyer+ can see and appreciate the risks

+ can develop solution strategies

-- may be too conservative

-- may miss the big organizational picture

HR Professional+ can align with business needs

+ can connect ER/LR to larger HR strategy and processes

-- may lack analytical aptitude

-- may dismiss risks to make the business happy

Operations Leader+ can connect from experience

+ can balance employment with business risk

-- may lack HR technical aptitude

-- may oversimplify the complexity of the ER/LR profession


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What about Law Enforcement Professionals?

What Key Characteristics Should Everyone On Your Team Possess?

The Art: The ability to:… influence, train and coach… quickly engender trust and credibility… see and hear what is not being said… be intellectually curious… manage their own emotions and stress… deal with difficult subjects and people and de-escalate matters… simultaneously manage multiple issues… manage employee advocacy with objectivity

The Science: The ability to… identify employment and labor risk… analyze facts and data and draw reasonable conclusions… find the root connection of ER/LR to D&I and Engagement… engage in both objective and persuasive writing… read, understand and apply employment, labor law and policy… create technically sound, productive solutions


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Should Your ER/LR Team be Virtual?

Maintain objectivity (actual and appearance)Larger recruiting poolForces more best practices and harmonization tools, systemsIncrease Job SatisfactionIncrease Retention

Focus and Disciplined Work EthicPotential Disconnection from realities of businessOversight and managementHigher skill levelHarder for LR support


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How Should ER/LR Professionals be Aligned?

Alignment Considerations

Example Pros Cons

Aligning the work by skill and background or subject area

Breaking down ER into sub-specialties: Higher skilled ER doing EEOC charges; lower skill doing PIPs/CAPs; some do labor only

Higher quality output; job satisfaction and retention

Lose development opportunities through stretch assignments; total resource count goes up; can’t cover for each other

Aligning the work geographically

ER professional per geographic area of the country; ER for West, ER for NE, etc.

Consistency and familiarity with client areas / business partners; broader skill background

Can’t cover for each other; potentially lower quality output

Aligning the work by businessclient

ER professional assigned to a business client: ER for sales, ER for operations, etc.

Stronger client support and alignment with business goals

Perceived lack of objectivity


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Strategize

Build the Team


Track and Measure



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Policy Management Protocol

Compliant

Updated

OwnedSimple

Transparent


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If Employees can’t see it, it isn’t a policy. Train

managers on interpretation

Regular cadence, acknowledgement

In Compliance with Fed, State and Local. Include

“lead to”

1) Portfolio Mgmt 2) Subject Matter Expertise 3) Local

Business

Simple words, not contracts, no fine print

Policy Content Principles: The Big Five

Good Policy

ContentProcessRelevantPermissive

Standard-ization

For the Many


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Do not makePolicies for the 1% unless required by Law.

Standardize Smartly and only when you need it

Tell employees what they can do vs. what they can’t

Always leave discretion

*Example

Scenario #3: Permissive

Unpaid Personal Leave PolicyNOT: “Employees may receive an unpaid personal leave for no more than 30 days each calendar year. This time cannot be approved until the employee has exhausted all of their allotted PTO time.”

BUT: “The Company recognizes that employees may have personal needs that require attention away from work beyond the allotted PTO time. After PTO has exhausted, the employee is allowed an additional unpaid person leave for up to 30 days each calendar year.”


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Policy Content Principles: The Big Five

Good Policy

ContentProcess

Relevant and

NecessaryPermissive

Standard-ization

For the Many


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Do not makePolicies for the 1% unless required by Law.

Standardize Smartly and only when you need it

Tell employees what they can do vs. what they can’t

Always leave discretion

*Example

Beware of solutions looking for problems you don’t have.

Process should enable, not drive policy.

1st let the policy create the experience, then build a policy to support it.

Unambiguous, enables consistent interpretation, does not force the same answer


Strategize

Build the Team


Track and Measure



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Case Management System

Who?

Intake Process

Practices

Documentation

Escalation

Tracking /Retention


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Management System

What is a case and who manages them? EXAMPLE

Managing Cases … Who Does It?

Smart Management with Consultation Intervention Investigation

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Trained HR investigator conducts the investigation

Employees and Managers with or without the assistance from HR.

HR conducts an intervention or mediation or coaches parties through the conflict to facilitate resolution.

Case Management System

Who?

Intake Process

Practices

Documentation

Escalation

Tracking /Retention


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What is a case and who manages them? EXAMPLE

Articulate a specific way issues get into the case management

system

Articulate employer and employee rights

Some standardization here

Have a place for it to go!

Invest in a Case Tracking System

Employee Relations Metrics: 3-Part Approach

Employee Relations Culture

How HEALTHY is the environment?

Ex: Surveys, Manager Performance, EE Productivity

Employee Relations Process Excellence

How are ER matters handled through our process?

Ex: Case Volume and Efficiency, Escalations

Risk MitigationKeeping an eye on Systemic ER

Issues

Ex: Emerging Issues; Class Action issues like FLSA, Labor Risk


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Employee Relations Dashboards and Metrics


Strategize

Build the Team


Track and Measure



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Background of Employee Engagement


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What is It? What Does It Look Like?

Why Do It? How to Measure It?

How to Realize It?

*When companies focus on measuring engagement rather than on improving it, they often fail to make necessary changes that will engage employees.

Investment v. Impact

Workforce At-LargeThe 5C’s

Targeted High

Impact Execution

High Engagement

Workforce


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75% of the investment;25% of the results

25% of the investment75% of the results

Engaging the Workforce At-LargeC

ultu

re How do I feel about the work environment in which I work?

Do I feel included as part of my environment? C

onne

ctio

n Do I know what is going on in my company, my department, my work?

And, do I understand how my work brings the Company value

Con

sider

atio

n Do I feel rewarded and appreciated for my contribution?

Do I have a voice in the things that matter to me in the work environment?

Car

eer Do I have career

options, even if unrealized?

Can a person like me advance here?

Cyc

le Consider the natural engagement cycle based on tenure.

What stage of my employment experience am I in?


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Cycle

• High level engagement

• Happy to have a new job!

• Window of tolerance is open

0-2 Years

• The honeymoon is over!

• Too much red-tape

• I didn’t get promoted yet

• Grass not greener

3-5 Years • Contentment• Acceptance• Established social

circles• Feeling of security

6-10 Years

• The good outweighs the bad!

• Vested in career and company

11+ Years


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3/2/2017

Front Line Managers are the Key

Sr. Leadership

Frontline Sups and Managers

Non-Management Employees

Traditional Engagement Plan

lifts from the bottom


Targeted High

Impact Execution

High Engagement

Workforce


25%

Targeted High Impact

Execution75%

Dedicate engagement efforts here!


*Engagement levels stagnated since 2011

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Defining the Ownership

Management Owns The relationship with their employees and between multiple employees

Safeguarding the Company Culture

The final decision for any employee/labor relations issues for their employees

Human Resources Owns Skilling and coaching business leaders and employees on all aspects of ER/LR and maintaining productive and

positive employee relations environment.

Providing expertise for complex employee and labor relations and compliance issues

Developing the ER/LR Strategy for the Company and supporting Leaders in the execution of those strategies

Monitoring the Effectiveness of the ER/LR Strategy, Programs and Processes


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Principle Alert: You can’t absolve managers of vicarious liability.

Employee Relations is most effective at the point of decision!

How to Engage Leaders

Prepare Them

Talent Mange Them

Support Them

Raise the Value


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Engaging Front Line Leadership

THE BIG 5… Employee Relations Concepts

EEO

“Give me the same

chance”

At Will

Vs. Notice, Opportunity and Warning

Due Process

“I Didn’t Do It!”

Transparency

“What I Can’t See …”

Pre-cursors

Predict what is coming …


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Contact Information


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Employee and Labor Relations Academy

http://www.elraacademy.org/[email protected]

Anita D. Tinney, Esq.SVP and Principal [email protected] ph

http://www.elraacademy.org/



Documents

Employee and Labor Relations Academy the Ratio Gap. Organizational Risk. Close the Gap Strategy