Improving Manager Skills & Resources for HR & Labor Relations at Algonquin College, Study notes of Communication

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The President’s Listening Tour 2014 | 1

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

PLAN

2 | The President’s Listening Tour 2014

INTRODUCTION

In 2014, our President, Cheryl Jensen, embarked on her Listening Tour to understand the

opportunities and challenges facing our College. One of the opportunities identified through

that process was a focus on Union-Management Relations. The opportunity was captured in

the President’s Listening Tour final report as follows:

“Faculty, staff and administrators all raised the opportunity that surrounds improved labour

relations. They recognized that the current combative approach serves neither side well and

expressed a sincere hope that both sides would begin to work collaboratively. Those who

raised the topic talked wishfully about the opportunity that constructive relations could bring

to the College and our students.”

Significant work has taken place to seriously address this opportunity and to provide a path

forward for Algonquin College in order to more meaningfully engage with our union partners,

in a way that is sustainable over time. The entire leadership team and management group

worked together to develop a vision statement and guiding principles that will guide our

discussions with our partners. The result of that work is the development of this Employee

Relations Plan.

The Employee Relations Plan is a living document that is subject to change based on the

dynamic nature of the labour relations environment and to reflect that changes will evolve

over time as the Plan is actioned.

The high level of participation in the development of this Plan and the formulation of the path

to move forward was an encouraging sign of the commitment of everyone involved to take

on this work with open minds and a sustained commitment to realize positive change in

Union-Management relations.

The Employee Relations Plan is ambitious, but one that we believe is worth the investment in

order to create the necessary cultural shift at all levels within Algonquin College and with our

union partners and stakeholders. It should be noted that many of the initiatives proposed are

from the perspective of all levels of management.

As our union partners become involved in this new approach, the initiatives and

recommendations must remain flexible and open to change based on their input and

engagement. This document may be revised at any time through this consultative process, in

the best interests of all parties.

Employee Relations Plan March 2016 | 3

2016/2017 Goals

1. Managers are prepared and equipped to solve

problems.

2. Managers understand where to find information and

how to use it in order to make decisions.

3. Managers assign work and workload in a manner

consistent with the collective agreement.

4. Managers take a leadership role in building and

maintaining a positive union-management relationship.

1A - Delivery of targeted training program for all managers.

Development and delivery of a 7-module training program to all college managers that includes both skills training (SWFs, Salary Calculations, Classification) and competencies training (Communication, Problem Solving, Relationship Building, Trust). The purpose of this training is to (a) better equip managers to resolve issues and improve employee/labour relations within their own departments, both with employees and union representatives, and also to provide them with the tactical skills and knowledge regarding key issues in order to do so. Each module is delivered in half-day sessions for a total of 3.5 days of training for all academic managers and 2.5 days of training for non-academic managers. ACET and ACLT members will be included in training.

OPSEU Locals 415 and 416 Executive Committees will be invited to attend the sessions jointly with management staff.

1B - Additional support provided to managers by HR, LR, and Executive/ Leadership Teams, and peer networks.

During consultation phases with the leadership team and management group, a consistent theme from participants was that they required more support in order to address issues in their departments in a timely and effective manner.

Support can mean different things to different people. Broadly, feedback indicated that effective support included the ability for managers to have timely access to key individuals in order to obtain input and feedback regarding challenges they are facing on a daily basis. Effective support also meant that managers were given permission to apply their problem solving skills in a safe environment where they are then given constructive feedback.

Key supporting individuals include:

1. ACLT representatives - for regular access, mentoring, and advice on people management issues;
2. ACET representatives - for advice regarding area- wide or college-wide people management issues;
3. Peer Networks – for general support and sharing of best-practices regarding common issues and approaches on a variety of issues, both formally (e.g., Chairs Council) and informally (e.g., Peer Mentoring);
4. HR experts – for advice and consultation regarding matters of policy and people management issues; and,
5. LR experts – for advice on complex matters and/or matters related to labour and employee relations, most often in person and in advance of formal meetings with union representatives.

1C - Clarification of roles and responsibilities of those within the organization (LR, HR, managers) and those external to the organization (unions, provincial partners) as it relates to Employee Relations.

As we move forward with the Employee Relations Vision and Guiding Principles, it will be important for all stakeholders to understand the roles and responsibilities of those involved, both as it pertains to our own internal resources and those external to college management. Understanding these intra- organizational and inter-organizational drivers will better equip all parties to engage with one another more productively, with reduced duplication of effort and greater respect for the role of the other party. With respect to our union partners, the College will seek out and encourage formal and informal opportunities to exchange information regarding roles and responsibilities generally, in order to increase shared understanding and appreciation about how best to engage in joint problem solving strategies.

Within the management structure, there needs to be clarification of the roles within HR and the line manager as it relates to people management issues. Further to Recommendation 1-B, the role of the Dean/Director needs to be articulated as a support person to the manager in this regard. By doing so, an accountability framework is established which will guide how we approach and manage our people related matters. Identification of core leadership competencies will also inform management job design, recruitment practices, orientation, and professional development.

This process will be iterative and informed based on ongoing consultation, feedback, and/or grievance and arbitration activity.

8 | Employee Relations Plan March 2016 Employee Relations Plan March 2016 | 9

Goal 1

: Managers are prepared and equipped to

solve p

roblems.

SHORT-TERM

MEDIUM-TERM AND ONGOING

MEDIUM-TERM AND ONGOING

3A - See 1-A, specifically the delivery of targeted training program for all managers in the areas of (1) SWFs, (2) Salary Calculations, and (3) Classification.

These specific skills-focused training modules will be offered to all college managers over the course of three half-days. Designed to address key areas of concern identified by OPSEU Locals 415 and 416, managers will be provided with the necessary tactical skills in order to assign work and workload in compliance with applicable provisions of the collective agreements, the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, and college policies. Multiple sessions will be offered in partnership with the Deans for all Chairs with best practices and norms in each of the schools and faculties being discussed. These sessions will be complemented by the other four competency-based training modules.

OPSEU Local 415 and 416 Executive Committees will be invited to attend the sessions jointly with management staff.

3B - Creation of an accountability framework for SWF assignments.

In order to ensure that Academic Managers are properly supported in assigning academic workload, and commencing with the next round of workload assignments, the Deans will put a mechanism in place to ensure accuracy of assignments.

Following completion, the SWFs shall be submitted by normal process to Human Resources, where they will be reviewed in a timely manner by the assigned resource in order to ensure compliance with college-wide requirements. The HR resource will be accountable to identify and track inconsistencies, errors, and/or frequent issues raised by the union in order to better inform the process at all levels. The HR resource will be able to produce metrics for ACET upon request.

12 | Employee Relations Plan March 2016 Employee Relations Plan^ March^2016 |^13

agreement. a manner consistent with the collective Goal 3: Managers assign work and workload in

SHORT-TERM^ SHORT-TERM

14 | Employee Relations Plan March 2016 Employee Relations Plan March 2016 | 1 5

4A - Delivery of targeted training program for all managers.

See 1-A.

4B - Inclusion of an Employee Relations- focused goal for all 2016/17 performance contracts for Administrators.

Building on the guiding principle of Accountability, the inclusion of an Employee Relations-focused goal in all 2016/17 performance contracts is a signal to the organization and our union partners that this issue is being taken seriously at all levels of management. Managers should build outcomes and metrics in such a way as to demonstrate how they are taking a leadership role within their own departments, both with employees and union representatives, in order to realize the Vision set out by ACET.

4C - Request the re- establishment of academic joint union- management committees under the collective agreement.

The academic collective agreement provides for two local joint union- management committees – the College Employment Stability Fund (CESC), which addresses issues related to job security and layoff, and the Union College Committee (UCC), which is a forum for broad discussion on issues arising from the collective agreement which impact on the bargaining unit and/or the union-management relationship. Both of these committees have been dormant for several years and their re-establishment could provide a forum for productive discussion of issues that impact both the college and the union without having to resort to the grievance/arbitration process. Note: Both the CESC and the UCC committees operate successfully with OPSEU Local 416 and have increased the level of communication and our ability to resolve issues generally between the parties.

4D - HR (Labour Relations) report will be provided to ACET and ACLT on a quarterly basis.

In keeping with the guiding principles of Transparency and Fact- Based Problem Solving, Labour Relations will provide a quarterly update to the Executive and Leadership Teams regarding key metrics and trends with the purpose of informing executive decision making and monitoring progress. The update shall also include discussion regarding emerging issues and labour relations strategies that are relevant to the Executive Team and Leadership Team. Sample metrics could include: grievances filed per bargaining unit, individual vs union grievance numbers, status of grievances (e.g., settled, withdrawn, referred to arbitration), ongoing arbitrations, etc. The purpose of the report will be to inform executive strategy and decision making as it relates to issues that may impact on union partners and stakeholders and to monitor progress.

Goal 4

: M

anagers t

ake a l

eadership role in building

and m

aintaining a

p ositive u

nion-management

relationship.

SHORT- TERM

SHORT- TERM

MEDIUM- TERM

MEDIUM- TERM

4E - Creation of a “Collaboration Space” for employee relations activities.

Leadership team and Management group feedback indicated that access to labour relations experts and Human Resource Officers for face-to-face meetings is something that is not resourced appropriately at the present time. This included the ability to meet in advance of formal meetings with our union partners in a safe and private environment where cases can be freely discussed. It also included a confidential space where managers might potentially meet with employees and/or union representatives to problem-solve sensitive issues related to labour and employee relations. Generally speaking, Labour Relations books dozens of meetings across the College each week but does not have dedicated meeting space, which often results in meetings being held in less- than-ideal locations and within tightly constrained periods of time.

The idea of a dedicated Collaboration Space, which would include office and private meeting space, would enable Labour Relations and Human Resources Officers to conduct the necessary meetings with managers, employees, and union partners in order to attempt to resolve issues face-to-face and earlier in the process. A physical space in which the work of employee relations could operate would increase the quantity and quality of support which could be provided to college managers.

MEDIUM- TERM

SKILLS TRAINING

*Although designed for academic managers, registration will not be restricted.

18 | Employee Relations Plan March 2016 Employee Relations Plan^ March^2016 | 1^9

COMPETENCY TRAINING

20 | Employee Relations Plan March 2016 Employee Relations Plan March 2016 | 21