Maintain Direct Relations
The path to a stable productive workforce is paved with positive employee relations
When management suddenly faces a union organizing attempt or serious employee relations issue, the cause of such unrest is often a puzzling and disappointing surprise to the management team.
As experienced labor relations consultants, the
professionals with The Mickus Group have
developed a comprehensive understanding
of those factors that commonly lead employees
to seek union representation.
Our professionals can help management "put the pieces together" with a variety of services that allows our clients to choose the best and most cost-effective way to put the "puzzle" together, address the issues, and obtain a satisfactory resolution.
Union Organizing Services
The path to success for positive
employee relations and responding to
union organizing or representation
election campaigns
Representation Organizing and Election Campaigns
Effectively responding to a union organizing or representation election campaign can be complicated, demanding and is often fraught with legal, strategic and ethical landmines that have a tendency to explode at the worst possible time. The Mickus Group offers both consultation and direct support in managing the campaign to a successful conclusion for the client. With an unparalleled 95% win rate for their clients, The Mickus Group works with and through management to conduct the campaign efforts. A unique team building approach helps to ensure that management is strengthened by the process and better able to handle future threats. Even more important, The Mickus Group conducts all activities with scrupulous attention to legal and ethical details lest a mistake affect the outcome of the campaign or come back to haunt management in the future.
Union Corporate Campaigns
An organization’s positive name recognition and reputation are valuable assets. Although the use of “corporate campaigns” by labor against organizations is not a new tactic, its use has significantly increased in recent years to pressure an organization into: accepting voluntary union recognition; making bargaining concessions; silencing opposition to pro-labor reforms; attempting to deal with negative employee and community sentiments about the organization; and/or affecting the outcome of authorization card signing or representation elections. All too often we have all seen instances of organized labor’s success in achieving its objectives by submitting an organization to this tactic of “death by a thousand cuts.” Unlike the normal efforts of marketing and public relations in an organization, a situation involving union corporate campaign tactics against an employer requires a high level of both practical and legal considerations that affect and determine the outcome of a response effort. The Mickus Group has assisted numerous clients through various types of union corporate campaigns to minimize or negate the effects of such tactics. In every instance our professionals have worked hand in hand with marketing, public relations, human resource, employee and labor relations, and corporate leadership to achieve successful efforts and positive outcomes. In addition, as an important component of prevention and preparedness, our professionals have worked with clients to review and/or prepare appropriate response guidelines, practices, and coordinated programs for implementation in the event a union corporate campaign is ever initiated against that client.
Union Orientation and Education Programs
In today’s world of persistent efforts by organized labor to achieve labor reforms either legislatively or through the rules making authority of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), such matters are of utmost importance to employers. The Mickus Group offers both information to its clients as labor reform events develop, and also offers programs and services designed to keep both management and employees ahead of any labor reform developments. Our belief is that the time for preparedness and prevention is now, not after reforms occur. New hire screening, selection, and continuing employee education regarding labor relations and our clients' preference for a direct working relationship rather than a third-party union relationship will only increase in importance to organizations who want to maintain a positive and direct employee relations workplace. Further, the preparation and preparedness of the management team, especially managers and first line supervisors, in labor awareness and positive employee relations policies and practices are necessary as an employer’s first line of defense against union organizing activity and success. The Mickus Group works with its clients to ensure that these important efforts complement and reinforce any employee relations audit or assessment process that an employer might undertake.
Manager and Supervisory Labor Relations Training
With the many laws that affect organizations today, specialized training to understand and properly administer those laws has become a staple in most manager and supervisory training programs. Proper understanding, practices, and appropriate actions and decisions under laws that affect every employer are essential for compliance. The National Labor Relations Act, as administered by the National Labor Relations Board, is no exception. Labor unions have developed new, effective tactics to project an image attractive to today’s more sophisticated employees that appear to be responsive to their needs. Mickus Group consultants are well aware of all the approaches, tactics and issues that a modern union organizer will use to gain leverage against an employer. The first lines of defense are the managers and supervisors of an organization who must not only establish and practice good employee relations, but must also be aware of the legal requirements affecting their organization in the event "concerted activity" or union organizing occurs. Offering Labor Relations Awareness Training Sessions, and even extended workshops that include a "mock" campaign exercise, Mickus Group consultants equip managers and supervisors with the knowledge and instructions they need to positively, effectively and legally recognize and respond appropriately to either "concerted activity" or union organizing efforts within their departments.
Employee Relations Vulnerability
Audit and Assessment
The path to a positive and direct employee
relations effort is paved with an honest
and professionally conducted assessment
of potential vulnerabilities
Employee Relations Audit Program
The Mickus Group Employee Relations Audit Program© is our most cost-effective service used to identify problems and issues that adversely affect employee morale and can be addressed in ways that will help strengthen management and supervisory teams. The audit has three major components. First, carefully designed interviews and discussions with selected individual and small groups of supervisors will be conducted to develop a “personalized” assessment. Using this in-depth process, The Mickus Group consultant is able to identify organizational forces that are negatively affecting employee morale and motivation. Second, the consultant will review all employee relations policies, practices, programs and other objective information and compare the results to the best-practices of other organizations identified over the many years of consulting and research by our Firm. Third, the consultant will review and assess additional "objective" factors that could affect vulnerabilities in the client's overall employee relations efforts. Finally, at the conclusion of the review, a comprehensive report will be submitted that identifies real or potential problems and recommends specific solutions for management to resolve those problems. Through participation in the subsequent problem-solving process, the management team will experience personal growth and development. The end result is an operation that is best positioned to achieve competitive superiority while maintaining a positive, direct working relationship with employees.
Employee Relations Audit and Vulnerability Assessment Survey
Taking the employee relations audit to an even higher level of data gathering, The Mickus Group has developed the Vulnerability Assessment Survey (VAS©) to provide an optional component to its audit services. The VAS© is a customized on-line and completely anonymous survey instrument that is completed by members of the management team for analysis and findings by our professional consultants. This level of both audit and assessment utilizes an in-depth fact-finding process, including interviews, a review of current policies, practices programs and other objective factors, and the data gathered from our Vulnerability Assessment Survey (VAS©) for management team members, that allows The Mickus Group to provide a detailed and comprehensive analysis of a company’s employee relations and potential vulnerability to unionization, including specific recommendations presented with the findings in a final report. Based on the premise that the best union election campaign is one that never happens, The Mickus Group's professionals use the results of a vulnerability audit and assessment audit to develop specific, effective recommendations for changes in client policies, procedures, and practices that will dramatically increase positive employee relations results and lower the risk of a successful union organizing attempt.
Since the quality of employee relations remains an important concern for our clients who are unionized, particularly as it affects the client's existing labor relationship, a modified version of the VAS© has also been developed for unionized organizations that provides a detailed and comprehensive analysis of contract administration, labor relations management, and employee relations including specific recommendations in a final report that can assist a client in more effectively managing an existing labor relationship to produce positive overall results for the client. More detailed information regarding the use of this specially modified VAS© can be found by going to Manage Labor Relations on this web site.
Employee Attitude Surveys
Partnering with The Center for Values Research (CVR) and the Stanard group, The Mickus Group is able to offer a choice of simple, yet highly effective, tools to survey employee attitudes. With databases of over 1 million participants in over 80 corporations, the CVR and Stanard surveys are proven to be statistically valid and reliable tools to achieve insight into how employees view their relationship with their organization. Results from the short questionnaires are evaluated by The Mickus Group consultants and the client is provided a comprehensive report with descriptive analysis and specific recommendations for action. The Mickus Group consultants are available to provide direct assistance in implementing the recommendations.
An Important Note About The Mickus Group's Employee Relations
Vulnerability Audit and/or Assessment Programs:
Some employee and labor relations consulting firms claim that their audit and/or assessment services are the best available because they do not rely solely on "subjective" input to reach their findings. Since our Firm's inception, The Mickus Group has always recognized that an effective audit and/or assessment program must encompass both objective as well as subjective factors to develop the most accurate "quantitative" and "qualitative" findings possible.
The fact is that in order to produce accurate findings and solid recommendations, an effective audit and/or assessment must include a combination of both an experienced subjective and objective analysis to develop accurate findings and solid recommendations for the client. A higher standard of "quantitative" and "qualitative" results are achieved from a balanced combination of facts and experience. Hard factual data that is collected matters in an employee relations audit and/or assessment to provide "quantitative" findings. However, there is no substitute for the "qualitative" experience and knowledge that Mickus Group employee and labor relations professionals bring to any audit and/or assessment effort and provides our clients with an experienced-based analysis of both objective and subjective findings.
The audit and/or assessment services of The Mickus Group can be tailored to include options that will work with each client's organization and leadership team in a manner that produces both "qualitative" and "quantitative" findings, analysis, and recommendations that effectively meet their needs, financial requirements, and desired outcomes.
Contact Us — Toll Free: 800.827.7130
847.948.7130 – Corporate Office 630.750.0224 - Frank Merrick Cell 480.734.5132 - Tom Grimes Cell
630.231.7018 – Corporate Office Fax 630.231.7018 – Office Fax 480.951.0205 Regional Office Fax
The Mickus Group Corporate Office — 4320 Winfield Road, Suite 200 — Warrenville, IL 60555
Western Regional Office — Scottsdale, AZ 85258
© Copyright The Mickus Group 2011