Newsletter
April 2004
Spotlight: HR Without Borders
Think you have it tough in the HR trenches? Then consider the case of Diane S. Bégin, an Ottawa-based consultant and associate of Flaman Management Partners Limited, who tests her mettle by working on projects in the developing world. In the first of a series of articles, Diane shares some of her experiences facilitating change in Botswana, Africa....more
This Issue:
Queen's IRC – HRPAO clinics: Here is a superb, intense learning experience for mid- to senior-level HR professionals....more
In conversation with Don Carter: What are the latest trends in labour arbitration? This long-time expert gets us up to speed on burgeoning human rights cases and frozen witnesses....more
An inside look at a school board redesign: The IRC's Brenda Barker and Christina Sutcliffe will be discussing their involvement in a big school board change project at an upcoming OD Network meeting....more
Alumni in action: Susan Lonergan tells how she applied what she learned at OD Foundations to the real world....more
Casa Bella Club: Our participants compose a tune, and you can sing along....more
Winners: We have the prizes that folks want to win....more
Practising HR in a challenging neighbourhood: Diane S. Bégin delivers “extreme HR” in a country sorely in need of help....more
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In Conversation With Don Carter: Discrimination Complaints, Frozen Witnesses, and the New Challenges of Labour Arbitration
Professor Don Carter is a member of the Queen's University Faculty of Law, and a lawyer with 30 years of experience in labour arbitration. He spoke to us recently about what's new in the field — and how this affects the skill set needed by today's practitioners. Professor Carter served as dean of law at Queen's from 1993 to 1998, and as director of the Industrial Relations Centre and the School of Industrial Relations from 1985 to 1990.
What types of grievances are heard most often in labour arbitration?
Over 50 percent of the cases involve issues of discipline and discharge. Very few unresolved discharges fail to go to arbitration, as so much is at stake for the employee. The union, of course, has the choice of whether to go to arbitration, but it normally will in this type of case. The onus in these cases is on the employer to establish just cause. So whether an employee was dismissed for smoking marijuana, or of theft, or anything else, there is the factual issue of whether the allegation actually took place that has to be dealt with, and it is up to the employer to prove the allegation.
As well, a lot of claims are based on seniority. For example, an employee may say, “This is a breach of the collective agreement because I have the skills for the job.” This often comes up in relation to job postings and promotions, and the rules governing these cases depend on what the collective agreement says. The onus of proof here is on the union.
There are also an increasing number of discrimination complaints, especially regarding disabled workers.
How has the job of an arbitrator changed since you entered the field?
I started working as an arbitrator 30 years ago, and things were quite different in those days. Normally you had a one-day hearing, and it was only occasionally that hearings went longer. If the case wasn't resolved beforehand and actually went to a hearing, it was unlikely to get settled there – usually the arbitrator would hear the case, then go away and write an award.
These days, there's a much greater element of settlement and attempts at mediation. In fact, there are many times now when I can go to a hearing and find that the parties are talking settlement at the outset. If the case does not settle, then it is likely to go on beyond the one day that was standard 30 years ago.
This is the exception, rather than the rule, however: if the parties haven't settled, it's because it is a very difficult case. As well, the impact of human rights arguments has made arbitration more complex. Cases can go on longer, which tends to encourage settlement because of the costs involved. Where cases were once typically a day, at times today they can last up to 12 days, or even longer.
Could you talk a little more about how human rights legislation has changed labour arbitration?
One major issue is accommodating disabled employees. Employers are responsible to accommodate up to the point of “undue hardship.” This obligation is imposed by human rights laws. What constitutes undue hardship is itself often a key issue to be decided at arbitration. Other cases involve discrimination on different grounds – family status, sex, sexual orientation. I just finished reading a case involving the issue of whether providing more generous leave to adoptive parents than to biological parents discriminated on the basis of family status.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms and human rights legislation provide a whole range of new issues that can now come up in arbitration. The Supreme Court of Canada has said that not only must arbitrators apply human rights laws, but that these laws form a floor of rights in the collective agreement itself. This emphasis on individual rights is a significant change for the arbitration process.
How has this changed the job of a labour arbitrator?
Before, you needed to have a good understanding of labour relations, and you certainly still need that now. For arbitrators today, you need to add to that knowledge of human rights issues, and expertise as a mediator. There hasn't been a complete change in the skill set needed; it's more a shift in emphasis. It's increasingly important that an arbitrator be able to function in two roles: that of arbitrator, and that of mediator. If you know mediation won't work, then you need to put on your arbitrators' hat. You need to be more able to be sensitive to the interests of the parties, and what they want.
What key strengths are essential for advocates working in labour arbitration?
You really need to pay attention to preparing your witnesses. Every advocate's worst nightmare is if the witness freezes. I once saw a very senior supervisor freeze during a hearing: she couldn't say a word. They had to settle the case. If your witness can't testify, your case is over. Another thing to remember is that if there are going to be surprises, they will probably come from your own witness – no matter how well prepared you are!
What competencies are taught in the Queen's IRC Labour Arbitration Skills seminar, of which you are a faculty member?
The course is excellent vehicle for teaching essential skills for arbitration: people learn about the role and powers of the arbitrator, governing legislation, how to prepare for hearings – including how to prepare a witness. Arbitration and human rights is also covered, as well as legal research. And participants get a chance to practice their new advocacy skills in a mock arbitration. It is a very valuable program, designed for people who have labour relations experience, but want to participate more actively.
For information on our upcoming Labour Arbitration Skills program, go to:
www.industrialrelationscentre.com/labour-arbitration/
Queen's IRC at the OD Network
On April 15, Brenda Barker and Christina Sutcliffe from Queen's Industrial Relations Centre (IRC) will share their experience in partnering with an Ontario school board to facilitate system-wide change and to create a new organization design. Their discussion, “Creating Change from the Bottom up at Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board: Organizing to Support Students First — Excellence for All”, will describe the action learning process used to involve the whole system in defining their preferred future.
Date: April 15, 2004
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Venue: Room B026, Bahen Centre for Information Technology, 40 St. George Street, Toronto (2nd building north of College on west side)
Price: OD Network members free; Guests $20
For more information: Russ Milland > rmilland@cogeco.ca or 905-469-3373.
Alumni in Action: Susan Lonergan on OD tools
Susan Lonergan, Learning Consultant with Ryerson University (OD Foundations, Fall 2003) shares her take-away lessons from Queen's IRC training:
“What really stuck with me was the idea of getting everybody involved – for example, the Learning Curve, the application of the mind map exercise, and the recognition that being a facilitator with good questions is critical when working with OD projects.
“I have used the mind map exercise in different ways to facilitate. I used the Four Room Apartment in training sessions and as a facilitation tool for a group-setting priorities. We also used the Blueprint for Organization Effectiveness to educate the HR management team and on an OD project with HR.
“The biggest impact for me was creating a three-hour information/training session on the material that was covered in the week for 20 members of the HR team. I used the medical analogy and the Viewfinder as the application tools for the training. What was really helpful in my own learning was trying to teach this to someone else in a manner that was practical for them.
“We have OD projects on the go all the time, and I pull together different approaches. Once I ran the training session, I felt a shift: I actually understood the material better, and it has changed my approach.”
Here are the top OD Foundations tools our alumni are applying in their workplaces:
- The Blueprint for Organization Effectiveness: a floor-plan for well-aligned OD that shows key elements and allows for diagnosis and intervention planning
- Viewfinder: a focusing device to help define problems and plan an ideal future scenario. It highlights the tendency to separate economic, technical, and people issues, and identifies the potential for considering them part of a single strategy
- Trends Mind Map: a method for group brainstorming that captures all ideas and maps connections among them
- Four Room Apartment: a model for what people experience when going through change
New Music from the Casa Bella Club!
OD practitioners are a fun bunch. I was thinking of this last week during the high-spirited bus ride to our Thursday evening OD Foundations wrap-up dinner. The fun lasted right through dinner, held at the now traditional IRC OD eatery, Casa Bella in Gananoque. And the next morning, as the final session ended, one of the participants, Richard Yun from Bruce Power, led us all in the following little ditty. Hum along, will you?
The OD Ballad
By Richard Yun
(sung to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies theme song)
Now listen to the story of our OD session
With a group of people who made a big impression.
We met for a week at the Sher-a-ton
Where we learned a lot of stuff, and had a lot of fun...
Ka Ka that is, and dinner out, having ice cream
The first thing we did was to learn some metaphors
Being a cook and architect, or a slave boy without drawers
The next day we learned from gurus where we've been
To see the evolution of tools to intervene...
Force field analysis that is, mind maps, focus groups
In the Strategy room we check where we are going
While in Leadership we see behaviours we are showing
Infrastructure is the room to set the form and process
Capability and Resources, to ensure that we're a success...
With our clients that is, to get healthy, athletic even
The next room along, Relationships are a dream
And Talent is the Place where we look to build our team
In our six-room house, we seek to diagnose
Before our sick patient turns to comatose...
We'll intervene of course, with tools and expertise
Just one more verse to finish off this tale
Some friendships have been built, and stories were regaled
The experience was rich because we learned so much
And as we finish off, we look to keep in touch...
Email that is, phone calls, or the next course
We have our winners
Congratulations to Luigia Giovinazzi, who won a $500 certificate to be used towards a Queen's IRC training program of her choice. Luigia won her prize during a presentation on employee ownership by IRC Director Dr. Carol Beatty at the February HRPAO convention.
And congratulations to the following lucky people who won a copy of Carol's book, Employee Ownership: the New Source of Competitive Advantage : Linda Allen-Hardisty and Peter J. Barrett.
Spotlight: HR Without Borders
By Diane S. Bégin
Diane S. Bégin is an Ottawa-based consultant and associate of Flaman Management Partners Limited who thrives on projects in the developing world. When we met at the HRPAO conference in February, she spun a mesmerizing tale about practicing her skills in rather difficult circumstances. In the first of a series of articles, she shares some of her experiences facilitating change in Botswana, Africa. In future, she will be sending dispatches from Kabul, Afghanistan, where she headed in early April.
I first set out on my journey as an international HR consultant in nations in special circumstances with a knapsack full of knowledge, gained over 25 years of working in the Canadian public sector. I have always felt infinitely grateful for the knowledge and experiences imparted by my employers, whose leaders inspired me and provided me with invaluable reference points. So far, the fascinating world of building and renovating bureaucracies has taken me to Africa, and soon I'll be embarking on a new adventure: Kabul, Afghanistan.
Public sector reforms and initiatives in countries in special development circumstances have gained momentum in recent years, resulting in an emerging practice of specialized work for many consultants. According to the UN Development Programme, “special circumstances” refers to countries “faced by chronic natural disasters and environmental crises, as well as those that are either faced with incipient internal armed conflicts or wars.” The development of human resources is particularly critical in such countries, and can become a definite calling for any consultant who plans to practice abroad.
In future articles, I'll be sharing accounts of my consulting experiences in countries with special development circumstances; particularly as they relate to the formidable challenges encountered in designing and implementing government-wide reforms. These experiences are significant in a Canadian context: relating, for example, to the creation of the new nation-state, Nunavut ; the devolution of services and privatization endeavours at all levels of government; and nascent civil service reforms. Clearly, there is a convergence on the priorities given to establish a high performing public service as a tool for good governance. The focus on challenges in reform design and implementation will be relevant to everyone involved in public service reform.
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Fax us: 613 533 6812
E-mail us: ircentre@post.queensu.ca
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