Unions and Third-Party Representatives

Representation. It is imperative that all constituencies have input to the Organizational Survey process. This includes planning and questionnaire development all the way through to action planning and follow-up. Among the important constituencies will be the executive office and direct reports, human resources, administrative staff, and possibly board members and customers. In addition, support groups which will perform administrative and analysis roles should also be considered. These might be communications, facilities management, printing and reproduction services, the research staff, and information technology services.

Third-party organizations. In our experience, good relationships with third-party organizations, whether they are negotiating representatives or professional associations, can greatly advance the objectives of an Organizational Survey. Even when these relationships are contentious, careful solicitation toward these parties can promote better working relationships and guarantee a successful survey.

Inattention to, or disregard for, these relationships can result in a subversion of the survey process and damage to good employee relations. For example, third-party organizations have been known to counsel their members on what to answer on the questionnaire or not to participate at all. Such leadership may not be motivated by malice but feel that certain actions on their part are important for their negotiating strength in contract talks.

Without assessing the state of labor relations at your company, there are a number of ideas which come to mind that can enhance cooperation with third-parties and promote a successful survey. These suggestions will have to be judged individually as to the appropriateness for organization and consistency with its labor relations policy:

Advise third-party leadership of the upcoming survey project Consult with the third-party leadership during the questionnaire development phase. Solicit comments and suggestions from the third-party leadership. Obtain a commitment from third-party leadership to announce support for the Organizational Survey to their members, and to encourage their members to participate fully and honestly.

Offer feedback to the leadership on the results. This can take two forms. The first might be a presentation of the relevant results by your survey consultant or head of industrial relations. The second might be to give them a copy of the survey data for their organization. The third-party leadership may get the results anyway, in part or in total, so it may be important to initiate this dissemination of results so that an open dialogue be maintained. The survey questionnaire might be customized for members of the third-party organization.