Strategic Planning, Part III: HR's Role as Strategic Diplomat

Strategic Planning, Part III

HR’s Role as Strategic Diplomat

To better understand how HR has found itself with a seat at the strategic planning table, we look to HR’s first forays into its role as employee advocate, one that it gained as part of its evolution from its days as “the Personnel Department”. Much of what hospitality HR directors learned about advocacy came from defining moments in large, urban hotels where unions had long been entrenched and thrived on the “status quo”.

The rechristening of the Personnel Department as “Human Resources” advocate troubled the unions. Their collective mistrust of management’s motives had been burnished over many years of seeing crude, ill-trained managers mistreating hourly employees. When Personnel became “HR”, and some of the big chain hotels were announcing that henceforth Human Resources would play a central role in union/management relations, the unions wondered, “what’s next?”

HR’s equanimity, instead of being welcomed by organized labor was instead often misunderstood. Union business agents viewed HR’s ascent with alarm, particularly when the HR director wouldn’t back down from a position. Bullying department supervisors and complaining to hotel general managers about “worker abuse” had brought unions credibility. So why would they want to talk with Human Resources?

Not really believing HR’s proffer of cooperation, ironically unions saw HR’s rise as divisive to the labor movement’s goal of keeping the focus on “us versus them.” Who needed someone to forge better relationships, especially if that meant that unions would no longer tell management the way things were going to be?

What happened next was thus not very surprising.

Labeling HR as a potential Trojan horse, a supporter of “scabs” who would roll back hard fought union gains, unions fought back, painting HR first as insincere mouthpieces for management and then, in an insult that really bothered HR, as people who should just be ignored.

What had we done wrong, HR leaders wondered? How could HR find its way out of this thicket and regain employee trust? How would we tame the unions’ annoying habit of taking advantage of every management misstep?

Initially the best that HR could achieve was an uneasy stalemate, and even that often came on the heels of a walkout by an entire shift of waiters. Every time we thought we might have made some progress with a union business agent, he or she would claim we “lied” and the relationship would once again turn frosty.

HR chiefs approached these early union/management struggles with admirable patience, considering that the typical HR director had not been schooled in how to deal with labor unrest: though some in the big city hotels had plenty of background in listening to the problems unions seemed to create, most HR directors were either new to labor relations or had limited authority to discuss or resolve employee grievances.

HR’s impatience with the slow pace of progress in union/management relations grew more intense and eventually, some HR directors were given a little rope to explore ways of defusing union/worker angst. In my case this experience proved challenging, to say the least.

Not long after I had won a limited authority to engage the unions I was summoned to a meeting with a local union president and our labor attorney. The union president proceeded to excoriate me for my “holier than thou” attitude and my “ignorant interference”. He threatened a work stoppage if I didn’t back off.

Two weeks or so went by. I implored my general manager for answers: What had I done? I asked. He would only say that he thought I’d been a little too aggressive.

Ordered to stay out of the union’s way I nevertheless remained convinced that all of our lives would be more peaceful if we could forge better relationships with the union business agents.

I tried another tactic. The next time that the business agent for our hotel strode into my office, prepared for a fight, I offered her a seat, and then asked The Question: “Why are you doing this?”

We sat there for a moment in stony silence. Then, as if a light switch had been flipped, the agent’s face softened, and she managed a thin smile. “Management,” she began with a long sigh, slumping in her chair, “cares only about itself. The workers be damned.”

Thus began for me a real relationship based on understanding and ultimately, trust. This union advocate was not perfect, nor was she always right. But her advice, cooperation and “take no prisoners” negotiating style taught me much about what really matters to hospitality employees.

Be honest and be well. -- Chuck

Copyright 2008 by Charles A. Conine and Hospitality HR Solutions

www.hospitalityhrsolutions.com