Partnership Council Training

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Partnership Council Training
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Overview

• The Five Ws of Partnership Councils
• What are the Roles?
• What are the Operating Guidelines?
• How is it Managed?
• How are Problems Solved?
• How is it Assessed?
• Mission

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What

• A voluntary, mutually developed process with an
  established structure for joint control, written
  ground rules, direct and representative
  participation, frequent and timely feedback,
  sharing of information and expertise,
  collaborative problem solving, consensus
  decision making.
• It is an additional dimension of the collective
  bargaining relationship which does not require
  either party to lose its identity or relinquish
  its role.

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Why

• Facilitate two-way communication between
  management and employees
• promote a joint understanding of the problem of
  the enterprise and the parties who make up the
  enterprise
• avenue of expression for employee complaints
  before they become grievances
• a means for employees to participate in
  organizational decision-making and use the skill
  and knowledge of employees.

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When

• Regularly scheduled meetings for continuity
• frequency and duration based on the needs of
  individual situations
• consistent in starting and ending times (no gripe
  sessions)
• only cancel scheduled meetings in an emergency
  (lack of commitment).

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Where

• adequate meeting room (size, lighting,
  accessibility)
• butcher block paper
• comfortable seating and a table
• free of distractions and interruptions.

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Who

• An equal number of management and labor
• balance having the right people with having a
  group small enough to permit informality and ease
  in reaching consensus
• everyone participates
• everyone is committed
• participants are responsible capable people who
  are willing to make decisions promote trust.

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Roles

• Co-chairs Labor and Management
• Facilitator- Designated or rotating?
• Recorder Member or other?
• Timekeeper - Enforcer
• Council members participate monitor

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Operating Guidelines
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Structure

• Equal parts labor and management
• Co-chairs are the top management and union
  officials
• Regular meetings when, how long, cancellations,
  breaks, etc
• Room arrangements and seating comfort, privacy,
  technology, etc

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Quorum

• Required to conduct business (make decisions)
• Usually a minimum of 2/3 of labor and management
  members

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Substitutes

• Members are appointed based on their position
  (ATAG, COS, Union President, Union
  Vice-President)
• Substitutes are only appropriate if the member is
  on a long-term absence and another individual has
  been appointed to act in their place

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Agenda

• Co-chairs establish the agenda
• Gate-keeping method is vital
• Distributed to the group prior to the meeting
• Purpose and objectives considered
• Information, Dialogue or Decision?
• Contentious issue requiring IBB?

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Minutes

• Identify items, issues raised and end status
  (decisions, next steps, etc)
• May be driven by flip chart record
• Verified by co-chairs
• Distributed within 14 days (include LRO)

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Management
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Direction

• Ground Rules How will we interact?
• NATO Nature, Agenda, Time, Outcome
• Bin or Parking Lot - for important but not timely
  concerns
• Issue Tracking (issue, start date, description,
  status)

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Butcher Block

• Used to Record the meeting
• Communicate issues, options, agreements
• Tool to keep the group on track
• Provides a running narrative
• Charge the board

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Graphics

• People learn in different ways
• Visuals combined with words are powerful
• Separate Information
• Colors can communicate emotion, status

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Participation

• Icebreakers
• Exercises
• Soliciting input
• Asking for volunteers

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Problem Solving
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Information

• Usually a one-way communication of facts, policy,
  regulation, tactics, techniques, procedures, etc
• May be simple or complex may require a subject
  matter expert
• If information surfaces a contentious issue, a
  decision on how to proceed must be made

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Dialogue

• Purpose is to build understanding, not debate
• Set aside decision making during dialogue
• Be open and suspend judgment of others
• Speak from your own perspective
• Listen with empathy
• Look for common ground
• Be aware of hidden assumptions (yours and others)

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Interest Based Bargaining

• Six-step process
• Select issue
• Discuss interests
• Establish standards
• Generate options
• Evaluate options
• Develop solution

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Interest Based Bargaining (Contd)

• Partnership problem-solving method
• Based on open communication and identification of
  common goals
• Considers the feelings, needs, wants, fears of
  parties
• Decisions are made by consensus of the group
• Often difficult, but the quality of the solution
  is better

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Assessment
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Measuring Success

• Full Membership and training status
• Membership Trained LM Orientation Training,
  Facilitation (SQA)
• Regular Meetings at minimum Quarterly as per
  co-chairs with updates to track issues Issue,
  Description, Date Started, Disposition (In
  Process, Completed, Cancelled, Level of
  Resolution)

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Measuring Success

• Communications tools
• Minutes distributed within 15 days
• Partnership Webpage in development
• Periodic self assessment Subcommittee (members
  to be named)
• Perception of effectiveness locally
• Perception of effectiveness at other levels
• Awareness of the L-M partnership processes by the
  workforce

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Mission
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Partnership Mission

• To transform labor-management relations from
  confrontation over rights to collaboration on
  achieving improved
• Military Readiness,
• Public Service, and
• Individual Quality of Life

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Partnership Meetings

• Serve as a forum for labor-management
  collaboration on issues appropriate to that level
• Providing information, dialogue for
  understanding, and consensus decision-making are
  potential objectives
• Is this a meeting or a facilitated problem-
  solving?

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Summary

• The Five Ws of Partnership Councils
• What are the Roles?
• What are the Operating Guidelines?
• How is it Managed?
• How are Problems Solved?
• How is it Assessed?
• Mission

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Questions?