DONCASTER COUNCIL
"We find our employees are far more motivated now there is trust between management and workforce"
- Mandy Coalter, Head of Human Resources, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
DMBC sought help from Acas to develop a partnership approach between management and the unions. The partnership started in 2002 and following an initial workshop six sub-groups were set up to take forward issues as follows:
- Translate into DMBC working practices a model of employee relations consistent with the principles of working together
- Joint employee communications survey to be conducted
- Bid to be put forward to DTI partnership fund
- Develop a disputes resolution procedure
- Devise strategy to ensure the workforce understand joint commitment to improve employee relations
- Organise an employee relations conference
Initially there were six separate joint working groups however since then the steering group has concentrated on communications. A considerable amount of progress has been made as demonstrated by the following successes:
- Employee Relations Conference in September 2003 which was attended by high-profile speakers including Phil Hope MP
- The Play - run by the Garnet Foundation (approximately 500 staff involved)
- Development of a Dispute Resolution Policy with a partnership approach to resolving issues. The use of this procedure has avoided disputes
- Two employee surveys have been conducted. DBMC are working in partnership with the unions on key issued raised, particularly bullying and harassment
- The council has introduced a new approach to trade union consultation
Both the unions and management agree that the partnership approach has improved relations but there is still further work to be done to spread the message and a need to ensure the momentum of their work together had a focus. It was agreed by the Steering Group that a further workshop was needed. An action plan from this workshop has been agreed to ensure that the principles of partnership are embedded both into policy development and the daily business of management and unions working more effectively together.
