Sustainable cooperation with social partners,
that's how you do it!
Frustrations around working with social partners, we all know it. Either because we have felt the frustrations ourselves, or because we have heard others express them.
In this article, we would like to give some tips on how to achieve that necessary cooperation in a sustainable way.
Why invest in sustainable relations with social partners?
Social relationships are sometimes compared to a 'forced marriage': whether you like each other or not, you have to find a way to live together. On top of that, staff representatives are protected by law to perform their role. It is therefore not surprising that we hear quite a few frustrations within companies: "We are too soft", "They only work for their own interests", "They don't have the right level", "They hold back change" ...
It can also be done differently. It is quite possible to build a sustainable relationship with social partners that does help you achieve your strategic goals!
As a first step, consider the following questions:
- How much time does your organisation invest in social consultation?
- How many managers, at different levels, find these relationships constructive? Or how many are frustrated by them?
- What are you currently getting out of social consultation?
5 tips for working sustainably with social partners
The following 5 tips will get you off to a good start in working sustainably with your social partners.
Tip 1: Make sure your social partners know your vision and strategy
It is important to have a clear vision and strategy, both at company level and in your HR approach. Moreover, you need to make sure that the members of your consultation bodies also know, understand and support this vision and strategy.
Why?
You cannot expect the social partners to think along if they do not know, understand or can't frame certain choices within the overall strategy of the company.
How?
Ask yourself how much time you invest in aligning your management team strategically? If you translate that to your social partners, you might already have an initial lever secured.
Tip 2: Know your social partners
As in personal relationships, the same applies in the relationship with social partners: the better you know each other, the smoother the coexistence, or in this case cooperation, goes. Therefore, make the effort to fully understand the staff representatives and trade union organisations involved.
Why 1?
Understanding the deeper interests, values and objectives of the social partners helps you work with them. How they come to a decision, who plays what role in it ... is important.
Why 2?
It is not the intention to 'censor' yourself in your proposals beforehand, but rather to assess what really matters to them.
Why 3?
Like any relationship, social relationships are about respect, more than about "agreeing". Disagreeing respectfully gives you much more opportunity to get closer to each other than giving in disrespectfully. After all, that only creates frustration.
How
Start by listing what you think you know about your social partners: make a list with 3 columns:
- in the first column list what, in your opinion, are their crucial values, problems and objectives,
- in the second column the things they would like to have without being a breaking point at the moment,
- in the last column, the things they consider somewhat less important.
Test your hypotheses and (pre)judgements! Speak to the social partners. If you don't, your own brain will twist all your 'observations' during moments of collaboration to confirm your prejudices.
Tip 3: Know what is truly important for your organisation
It seems like a simple statement: "know what is truly important for your organisation". But in practice, we often find that a point is made at the negotiation table to "get something in", on principle, even though it is not really that important for the organisation.
Why?
Too often, managers come to the table with very concrete "positions": "This is what we must have". But what is behind it? What is the real importance, the real problem, the ultimate objective of the organisation? If you can make a distinction between this problem on the one hand and the concrete proposal ('position') you put on the table, there are many more possibilities to reach an agreement. After all, there are several roads to Rome, so why limit yourself to one?
How?
Also make a list for yourself with 3 columns.
- In the first column, write down what the crucial values, issues and objectives are for you;
- In the second column, the things you would like to see changed but can live with.
- In the last column the things that are actually not that important.
Then, especially in that first column, ask yourself, "Why do I need this?". Be sure to ask that why question at least five times.
Tip 4: Ensure discipline!
Ensure discipline, both in unions and in your own organisation.
Why?
Consultative bodies are not a talking shop. Absurdly magnifying problems does not help anyone. Broken promises come back in your face later. Agreements are agreements.
How?
Screen the whole of your process:
- when preparing for meetings: set a clear agenda, decide who comes for what point, think in advance how to ensure that the right message is delivered in the right way ...
- during meetings: ensure intellectual honesty, avoid endless ideological debates ...
- after meetings: watch over the implementation of promises and follow-up of open points, make sure everyone receives the report in time ...
Tip 5: Build transparent, informal channels
Invest in building transparent, informal channels. That way, you avoid creating secret informal contacts at sensitive moments.
Why?
Sometimes the official channels, with their formalism, are not the right way to simply wave sensitive topics on the table. It is better to find out informally beforehand how they will respond to an idea.
How?
Organise structural informal meetings, where you can test certain things. This could be a standard Monday morning coffee moment, an afterwork drink on Thursday, a fortnightly joint lunch on Tuesday ... If you have nothing special to discuss, at least you are maintaining good social relations.
What if you don't invest in sustainable relationships with social partners?
The consequences of not investing in the relationship with your social partners can easily be summed up in two simple questions:
1. What if your social relationships are a delaying or blocking factor in achieving your strategy and operations, now and in the longer term?
When your social relationships are a delaying or blocking factor in realising your strategy and operations, there can be key consequences:
- reduced productivity,
- an increased turnover,
- a negative impact on employee engagement,
- an impediment to innovation and creativity,
- damage to your brand image,
- ...
In short, it is important to ensure optimal social relations within an organisation to improve overall performance, satisfaction and competitiveness, and to ensure sustainable long-term success.
Sphere-Work is happy to help you vet your relationship with your social partners. With our long, practical and proven experience, we help take important steps quickly.
2. What if you and your team, are not sufficiently armed to get social partners on board in a constructive way?
Companies sometimes face complex change. Think of companies undergoing restructuring, or with a need for deeper substantive changes. More often, companies face changes that will have a significant impact on the organisation, such as a new labour code, a new bonus system ...
Are you and your team not sufficiently equipped to get social partners on board in a constructive way? Then chances are that, in order to achieve your goal, you will have to incur silly costs, in one form or another.
Sphere-Work is happy to assist you in negotiating with your social partners. With our long, practical and proven experience, we will help you take important steps quickly.
Ready to tackle
your productivity?
We are always open to an informal conversation.
Bert Van Rompaey
Functietitel
Bert heef 20 jaar ervaring op het gebied van HR en verandertrajecten, waarvan 14 jaar als lid van Executive Committees in grote organisaties, voornamelijk in de bank- en luchtvaartsector. Bert werkte met en in verschillende culturen (Belgisch, Nederlands, Frans, Duits) en was succesvol in het realiseren van diepgaande & pragmatische veranderingen in die verschillende omgevingen. Het laatste jaar werkte hij voor kleinere bedrijven (bv. de fusie van 4 organisaties met in totaal 150 FTE's, strategie-implementatieproject in een IT-bedrijf van ~1000 FTE's, ...).
Focus: Strategische HR, reorganisaties & herstructureringen, fusies & overnames, sociale relaties, reward, strategische scenarioplanning, prestatiecultuur, personeelskosten & HR-gegevens.
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