Effective Negotiations with Trade Unions

Introduction

Businesses today face ever-growing employee demands for higher pay, improved benefits and a better work-life balance. Balancing the needs of the employees with the need of the business is a challenge for even the most experience negotiators. Getting it wrong costs the UK economy billions of pounds each year in lost work hours and reduced output.

This training programme encourages delegates to think again about their approach to and style of negotiating to ensure it is fit for modern business. By providing a thorough understanding of the different approaches to negotiation balanced with the legal context; delegates can decide on the right approach for the situation at hand.

Understanding the rules of Trade Union Negotiations Course Overview

The course runs for approximately 6.5 hours.

Who will benefit from attendance:

LINE MANAGEMENT, TEAM LEADERS, FUTURE LEADERS, HR, EMPLOYEE RELATIONS, OPERATIONS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT NEW TO WORKING WITH UNIONS.

What our delegates say about our In-house training courses:

“Excellent, down to earth and easy to understand.”

“I’m yet to have direct dealings with Trade Unions, however, I’m privileged to have this insight before being ‘thrown in the deep end’ in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Learning objectives

By the end of the training your team will:

• Understand the difference between communication, consultation and negotiation
• Understand how Union policies and processes impact your negotiations, including national policies
• Understand the legal framework of dealing with Unions
• Know how to deal with disputes
• Move away from point-scoring to constructive dialogue
• Learn tricks and tips for breaking deadlock
• Move beyond percentage-focused pay negotiations
• Reduce the risk of industrial action
• Improve employee confidence and trust in your organisation

Key training topics:

• Understanding the different approaches to negotiation
• Identifying how regional and national policies will affect your negotiations
• Examining why talks break down
• Legal issues to consider right now
• Collective bargaining in practice
• The principles of strong negotiation: strategic planning, building a team, questions to ask
• Shared outcomes
• Tricks and tips for maintaining the balance of power
• Dealing with union tactics
• Disputes and resolution
• Putting the theory into practice: scenarios and role play (optional)

All in-house training with BFI includes:

Pre-course team SWOT analysis; pre-course attendee engagement to ensure objectives and issues are addressed; trainer matched to your specific challenges; interactive and engaging course design to maximise learning outcomes; full course notes and supporting documentation; post-course analysis of team strengths and weaknesses; post-training three-month review and clinic

Make an in-house training enquiry

Click here to fill in our enquiry form or to have a confidential discussion about your requirements, please contact Catherine Ouston our Head of In-house Training on 01983 861133 or email Teamtraining@bfi.co.uk