Industrial relationships between businesses, their employees and union representation are never cut and dry – and can’t be remedied with a one-size-fits-all approach. However, for Anna Holmes, director of Collectively.Consulting – balance board in collective bargaining and industrial relations experts – the tangibility, the politics, the economic, the labour market and the people-focusses associated with industrial relations, are what gives her role its greatest appeal.
“I essentially ended up in industrial relations (IR) by accident. You don’t typically set out to do an HR degree with IR being your end goal – it’s heavy business matters,” muses Anna Holmes. “However, having first-hand union experience when working whilst studying – where I did what I thought was right – and simultaneously learning about IR at university – where they take a very legal and procedural approach, I solidified my focus.”
Weighing up so many competing elements, and engaging a strategic, analytical and tactical approach, when managing and resolving industrial relations, is not for the faint of heart – sentiments Anna attests to.
“When it comes to a career in IR you do need some kind of inclination towards it because it is so multi-faceted – we’ve got politics, economics, socio-economics – all a part of the puzzle, so you’re not working off solid HR foundations. Bringing all these quite tangible matters together isn’t easy,” explains Anna Holmes. “As a consultant I can separate the emotion out of the piece and remain decisive. For businesses dealing with industrial relations situations on their own, it can impact very personally – especially if they’ve never had to deal with disputes before. It’s part of my job to step in and educate the company management – inform them of what’s happening, what’s not happening, what might happen – and take them on the journey too.”
For Anna, those journeys to-date have included negotiating over $200,000,000 contract settlements for businesses nationally; working with over 15 NSX companies; and representing companies with six collective employees through to 35,000 employees. And, while she is comfortable working across many an industry – from manufacturing, to building, to health – her focus remains steadfast.
Weighing up so many competing elements, and engaging a strategic, analytical and tactical approach, when managing and resolving industrial relations, is not for the faint of heart – sentiments Anna attests to.
“When it comes to a career in IR you do need some kind of inclination towards it because it is so multi-faceted – we’ve got politics, economics, socio-economics – all a part of the puzzle, so you’re not working off solid HR foundations. Bringing all these quite tangible matters together isn’t easy,” explains Anna Holmes. “As a consultant I can separate the emotion out of the piece and remain decisive. For businesses dealing with industrial relations situations on their own, it can impact very personally – especially if they’ve never had to deal with disputes before. It’s part of my job to step in and educate the company management – inform them of what’s happening, what’s not happening, what might happen – and take them on the journey too.”
For Anna, those journeys to-date have included negotiating over $200,000,000 contract settlements for businesses nationally; working with over 15 NSX companies; and representing companies with six collective employees through to 35,000 employees. And, while she is comfortable working across many an industry – from manufacturing, to building, to health – her focus remains steadfast.
“With any balance board in collective bargaining, the goal is to get an agreement that is operationally and commercially viable for a business and its people, for the next three-to-five years plus,” says Anna.
Operationally
From a people perspective, means people performing productively – quality, low waste, good results – which means an engaged workforce. Employees need to feel trusted and so does the company.
Commercially
Refers to cost – which doesn’t always mean vying for the cheapest settlement deal. Why? Because sometimes you have other problems you are trying to resolve within a business i.e. at the moment it is really difficult to get labour.
Regardless of union affiliation, collective bargaining and industrial relations activity shouldn’t be conducted in isolation to hone a fair and ethical settlement, she says.
“It’s so important – when dealing with any IR matter – to focus on an organisation or businesses group as a whole. A collective workforce sits within your total employee population, it shouldn’t be separate to the rest of your people goals,” says Anna.
“When you’re facing IR issues, it’s very easy to think’ “we’ll deal with the union and forget about the rest because they’re not union” or spend all your energy on the union piece when your non-union population is actually bigger. To remedy the problematic and create better, more sustainable, pathways forward you’ve got to think in the bigger picture.”
Which is why a business’ balance board in collective bargaining approach should be driven towards an end goal and strategically aligned with the principles of the organisation, its current operations, its risk adversity – if any, and take into consideration other wider region – and local – union settlements that have played out or are playing out.
“When I first go into an organisation, I ask a bunch of targeted questions, which may or may not sit well with them, but it’s essential to building that fuller picture. Then I can start to unravel what it is they want to achieve – and hone that end goal.”
Sustaining ongoing discussion to work out each bargaining step and ultimately achieve that end goal, is critical says Anna. So, she addresses questions, such as:
What are your principles? Do you want to achieve anything new from settlement? If not, that is okay, if you do, then what?
What previous union settlements – and IR action – have you been involved in?
For any business seeking collective bargaining and industrial relations expertise, that delivers a non-partisan approach, and works practically and pragmatically to create viable solutions for businesses and their employees, seek the experience and guidance of Anna Holmes and her Collectively.Consulting team: anna@collectively.consulting