E-News – June 2014 | Queen's University IRC

June 2014

Articles

Strategic Grievance Management in Today's Unionized Environment
Lori Aselstine, Director, Employee Relations and Strategic Human Resources Government of Ontario (retired)

The word "strategic" gets thrown around pretty loosely these days – it's one of those business buzz words meant to instill confidence that we've thought this through and it's all under control: trust us, we've got a strategic plan!

But there's more to it than just calling something "strategic." The term "strategic" implies there is a thoughtful, organized strategy guiding your efforts; that a particular issue has been viewed in the broader context and your decision to proceed is based on the impacts that decision will have across the organization. More so than any other time in history, employers in today's unionized workplaces need to view their union-management relationships, and their dispute resolution efforts, through a holistic, strategic lens. We can no longer afford to deal with issues and complaints in isolation. As bargaining agents become more sophisticated in using dispute mechanisms to further their corporate agendas, so too must employers.

There are three key elements to being strategic about conflict management.

>> Read Article

Looking Back on Spring 2014…
Stephanie Noel, Business Development Manager, Queen's IRC

As we prepare to enjoy the long-awaited summer with our family and friends, I would like to take a minute to thank all the sponsors, and the participants who attended programs this spring. Congratulations to those who have earned their certificates.

This year, we began offering programs in Ottawa, in our continued effort to meet the professional development needs of human resources, organizational development, and labour relations practitioners. We also continued to extend our international presence with our partnership with the University of the West Indies.

In the past year, we have produced over 80 videos including a Tip of the Week series, Q&A interviews with our facilitators and experts, and videos about our programs. Our Director, Paul Juniper, has been invited to speak at a number of conferences and events, and we are always open to new opportunities for speaking engagements.

We will be releasing our practitioner-focused research on the State of HR in Canada this fall, as we tour across the country. For the first time ever, we will be offering a special promotion for team training – watch for details on the unprecedented volume discount for our fall programs.

I am proud of the work we are doing at Queen's IRC, and I encourage you to take a few minutes to review the excellent papers and articles we have released this spring.

Developing Organizations: A Metaphorical View – Brenda Barker Scott
The Future of Unions in Canada's Private Sector: How Can Unions Overcome their PR Problem? – Stephanie Noel
The Way Forward in Employment Relations – Using Social Dialogue as a Means of Improving the Organizational Effectiveness of a Credit Union – Christa Sankarsingh
Recruiting Talent Using Applicant Tracking Systems – Lori Stewart
Change Management 101: What Every Change Manager and Change Leader Needs to Know BEFORE Jumping into Implementation – Sharon Parker
The Professionalization of Human Resources – Claude Balthazard
Young Workers and the Union Movement in Canada – Stephanie Noel
The Government of Alberta's Organizational Design Journey: The Ministry of Innovation and Advanced Education's experience using the 4-D process – Marina Christopherson, Dianna Wilk and Judi Carmichael
Enhancing Your Strategic Value as a Human Resources Professional: Playing to Win in HR– Kevin Yousie
Managing People and Labour Relations in Municipal Government – Terry Wagar

Latest News

Strategic Workforce Planning

Curious about our new Strategic Workforce Planning program? Check out this video as Director Paul Juniper explains what you will learn, why Queen's IRC introduced this new program, and how having these skills can benefit your organization.

>> Strategic Workforce Planning Video

>> Information and registration for the Strategic Workforce Planning program

Tip of the Week Videos

Throughout the Spring program season, we have released a video "Tip of the Week" from our expert facilitators and speakers each week via our social media sites. Below is a complete list of our 2014 tips:

Derik McArthur: Labour-management committee meetings
Henry Dinsdale: Presenting at an arbitration
Peter Edwards: Executing your strategy
Brenda Barker Scott: Finding organizational design solutions with prototypes
Anne Grant: Difficult conversations
Paul Juniper: Get out of your office
Jim Harrison: Getting a seat at the table
Anne Grant: Workplace investigations
Gary Furlong: Managing conflict
Brenda Barker Scott: Employee engagement
Carol Beatty: Creating an effective change vision
Henry Dinsdale: Read the collective agreement
Anne Grant: Review your own actions
Paul Juniper: Build support for the HR function within your organization
Henry Dinsdale: Preparing for arbitration
Craig Flood: Effective cross-examination at arbitration
Al Orth: Starting your career in labour relations
Peter Edwards: Move fast, forget the fluff
Anne Grant: Start a journal club
NEW Stephanie Noel: Deciding on a training program

Our Spring 2014 Tip of the Week video recap is now online. You can also view the Tip of the Week recap from Fall 2013 here. All of our videos are available on our YouTube channel.