Keeping Your Voice!!! Avoid Unions: Fresh View

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Kenya Smith is a Human Resource Professional with over 10 years experience in the service industry. She has evolved in Hospitality, Healthcare, Technology, and HR Consulting. Her recent encounter with unions has brought new lights to her understanding of employee relations. Kenya is currently working for a Retail/F&B company where she serves as a Field HR Manager for the ATL, IND and DET locations

 

Keeping Your Voice!!!

So there was a plan to open the business and there was a plan to hire people to work for the business…but what is the plan to ensure that there is a balance between taking care of the business “and” the people? Neither should be neglected; however, both should continuously be a top priority if an organization wants to control what will or will not happen in that organization in the future.

I recently went through a ratification process where just a “little” over half of the employees wanted Union representation. It was their right; however, after only working for the organization for less than a year and hearing some of the complaints, I saw so many ways were the organization “could’ have remained Union-free. Employee morale initiatives cost almost a little to nothing but when applied appropriately the ROI is priceless. There is so much that goes into recruiting the right people for open positions…but what happens once an employee joins the team? Is there follow-up on how the employee is doing after a month or two, or even three months?

Do Your Employees Matter?


Most employees just want to know that they matter. When an Organization gives a feedback on comments on what is and is not working in the eye of the employee, it helps to turn that bitter employee into a better one. It is not always about an increase in salary. Sometimes it's just about being recognized as a contributor. I am always amazed at what a front line employee reports whenever I have a conversation with them about how is everything going.

Prudent Path: Do as If...


Although there are some organizations that produce their product better with Union relations, most organizations could learn to pattern themselves as if they were in a Union environment. It is as simple as  being fair and consistent with regards to employee relations.

Having to spend time away from planning and production keeps organizations from moving forward at the pace originally desired. 

Galerie de photos : EN IMAGES: La manifestation contre le dumping social à Bruxelles - La Libre.be

Galerie de photos : EN IMAGES: La manifestation contre le dumping social à Bruxelles - La Libre.be
En Synthèse...

Kenya rapporte une récente expérience dans le milieu hôtelier: sa toute première rencontre avec les syndicats. 

Eviter le syndicalisme demande un simple effort. Un effort d’écoute réel. Le petit employé ou celui de la production, ou celui qui est en contact avec le client ne demande pas grand-chose la plupart du temps. Ce n'est pas toujours question d'augmentation de salaires: c'est plutôt le besoin de reconnaissance de valeurs, la reconnaissance de la contribution de l’employé.

La contribution de l'employé qui se trouve face-a-face au quotidien de la production ou du service peut influencer la performance de votre compagnie. Plus important: cela peut être la route pour éviter la formation de syndicats.

 Alignez vos people plans avec vos business plans. Le temps passé avec les syndicats pour discussion et négociations, c'est du temps passé en dehors de la productivité, dit Kenya: cela inhibe le développement de l'entreprise au rythme souhaité.

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