One of our key maxims regarding union avoidance goes something like this: An employees doesn’t choose a union to protect him from the company, he chooses a union to protect him from a supervisor. Front line supervisors can make or break a company in many ways, including opening the door to the type of unrest that leads to a union organizing drive. Attorneys at Fisher & Phillips recently posted a great article on this issue, focusing on the role of front line managers as part of the management team. Seen in this light, it is imperative to 1) hire properly, 2) train effectively, and 3) assess constantly the dynamics between the workforce and their direct supervisors. Business guru Tom Peters reiterated the point in this brief video: [flashvideo provider=youtube file=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7ue3XwGMAw /] Peters provides a litany of operational practices for hiring, training, and evaluating first-line managers in what he calls The First-Line Managers20. Read, implement, and reap the benefits! If you need help beefing up the training component (teaching supervisors how to NOT be jerks), check out our Online Active Interval Training, one of the most powerful and cost effective training solutions available.
