When not done properly, rewards presented to chosen workers can be grieved: Mediator
Once a year, the staff at Island Savings Credit Union in Duncan, B.C., get together for a large-scale recognition event called Night of Stars. It celebrates employees reaching service milestones as well as team achievements, community service and educational accomplishments.
As with other pieces of the bank’s recognition and rewards program, no distinction is made between non-union staff and those who are members of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees union (COPE).
“Everyone’s treated the same, even in terms of recognition of service,” says Ilka Bene, senior manager of human resources at Island Savings. “In a union, they really value length of service in terms of seniority. At Night of Stars, it’s really recognition for having been part of Island Savings.”
But getting the right fit for a reward and recognition program in a unionized environment can be tricky, according to Diana Chomichuk, human resource strategist with HR Inc., a Winnipeg-based consulting firm.
She has established programs in both unionized and non-unionized workplaces and says to be successful, without causing divisions, one of the key philosophies to keep in mind is “fair is not necessarily exactly the same.”
If training and development is being used as a reward, for example, an accountant working towards a CGA designation may be sponsored by the company whereas members of the production team on the floor may get “pizza Friday” where there’s learning or development.
“The rule of thumb should be, ‘We’re going to treat everyone reasonably and fairly,’” Chomichuk says, adding rewards are usually governed by the collective agreement — for example, a 0.07 per cent raise based on the unionized group’s overall performance — and the terms and conditions often limit the ability to give monetary individual rewards.
For this reason, it’s all the more important to have a solid recognition program in place, she says. But even then, she urges employers to avoid a one-size-fits-all program and be mindful of how it may be received.
She recalls once giving T-shirts to a group of unionized workers to recognize outstanding performance only to cause resentment and animosity among the other groups of unionized employees as well as the non-unionized staff.
“You’ve got to know your workforce, your culture and practices and include everyone,” she says, adding that any recognition and reward program should be carefully considered in terms of the precedent it could set and the collective agreement articles it might contravene. She also recommends consulting a lawyer.
Even then, employers should be prepared for accusations of bias or unfairness, Chomichuk says. She has heard of a grievance based on hurt feelings at not being recognized.
Many collective agreements do include the capacity to reward individuals monetarily, especially among professional unionized employees, says Blaine Donais, a Toronto-based mediator and author of Engaging Unionized Employees, published by Canada Law Book (available at www.carswell.com).
The key to including terms around individual reward is to work with unions to understand their interests and needs from the start, he says.
“In many ways, this is an advantage,” says Donais. “In a unionized environment, you get feedback. A union will not be afraid to tell you what’s not working.”
Doing so may also avoid a future grievance. In 2007, COPE Local 397 in Saskatchewan filed an unfair labour practice complaint against SGI, the provincial insurance and licensing agency.
The grievance was based on an engagement program established without the knowledge or involvement of the union, a program that involved tangible rewards.
COPE said it only became aware of the employee recognition awards when five employees reported receiving gift certificates. The union asked the employer to retract the awards or sign a letter of understanding paying the same amount to all employees.
The insurance agency was ordered to return to the status quo, but Donais says the case demonstrates the risks of rewards if they are not done properly in a unionized environment.
“If it’s not enshrined in the collective agreement and if the process is not followed, it can be grieved,” he says, adding the most important element of a reward and recognition program is having a “good, solid, trusting relationship” to begin with.
That’s been at the heart of the success of the Island Savings reward and recognition program, according to Bene.
Aside from the Night of Stars, the credit union also recognizes 25 people quarterly for a job well done. One of the perks to choose from includes lunch with the executive. It’s not uncommon for unionized workers to make this choice, says Bene. She credits the company’s vice president of human resources and the union steward.
“They’ve worked really hard to build a culture of inclusion so the differences (between union and non-union staff) are only apparent in the collective agreement or with policies that affect it or not,” she says.
