Activity everywhere. Rallies in Chicago, webinars with 1000's of attendees, AFL-CIO advertising, article after article all talking about the Employee Free Choice Act. Go ahead; google it and see what you get.
The time to prepare for this potential new business climate is right now. While we are giving you different factors to look for; the best and most solid defense is a business environment that would not want or need a union. That means employees that trust your company and feel they are valued and receiving value for their work. If you could pick one area where you could have the greatest impact on your business it would be the front line manager/supervisor. This is the person that can make the most mistakes but can also help cover and make-up for mistakes in the business.
No other team of poeple within your company can have a bigger short term or long term impact.
Obviously with great opportunity comes great risk. You are at more risk in this area than any other as well. What these folks do affect your profitablity in both the short and long term. One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.
Step One: Assess your front line management team.
Who are they?
Which ones are Roses (great)? Which ones are Daisies (Middle of the pack)? Which ones are weeds(no explanation needed)?
How many people are your weeds responsible for?
Are the weeds people that have shown a propensity to change or are they un-changeable?
Are your Roses really any good or just better than a poor pool to choose from?
What is your investment in this group?
Have you tried to make them better?
Are you capable of making them better? Can they learn?
What does your next level of management that runs this group look like?
Are they capable of instituting change?
If your front-line management is a strong group you are at an advantage and you are in good shape to compete for your employees if you are ever challenged by a union. Yes, I said compete. That is what you are going to end up doing. You will compete for your employees.
If this is a weak group, the cost to fix it is much less than the cost of working with a union. Assess your team today.
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