Negotiation Skills In Employee Relation-By Dr Siddhartha Pandey (Linkedin Article)

Negotiation skills to maintain excellent industrial relations or employee relations are very vital for any manager specially HR manager. These skills are not learnt or developed overnight.  Unless the managers have sufficient knowledge of industrial relations issues, union dynamics and the environment under which the organization works, the skills may not draw desired results.HR professionals who hone their negotiating skills are in a tremendous position to influence company morale, improve productivity, boost the bottom line and foster a culture that is harmonious and competitive to both. Being a better negotiator makes you effective at managing your workforce, with all of its complexities. Competent negotiating is essential to HR people.

In collective bargaining the approach is being shifted from adversarial bargaining to more needs or interest focused approach. In present times both unions and employers should understand that as far as possible outcomes of successful negotiations should be mutual gains rather than sub optimal compromise or win- lose outcomes. Negotiation skills in the workplace, as a consequence, have attained a much greater importance.

 The present era in industrial relations is of individual relationship. Organizations are not inclined towards encouraging collective relationship at workplace. But it remains the fact that whenever there has been an industrial relation crisis, the root cause was failure of strengthening individual relationship.  Collective relationship model we did not encourage and individual relationship model did not work. And the result would be a breakdown in harmonious work environment.

 Collective bargaining can be advantageous for both, employer and employees. For employers, collective bargaining helps to stabilize industrial relations by maintaining industrial peace that otherwise may be disrupted by labour discontentment. For employees, collective bargaining, more so than individual employment relations, ensures equal wages and working conditions by providing them a collective voice. It also helps them achieving fair distribution of gains. Through collective relationship, Employers can also address the need of restructuring and modernization.

There are few common areas where you need to use your negotiating skills frequently such as employees’ conflict, salary /wages increase, day to day labour disputes, change initiatives, hiring employees and benefit packages etc.

 This all can be achieved by enhanced negotiation skills. Stages of negotiation can be summed up by dividing into four stages of Preparation (collecting/ setting objectives, establishing priorities, assessing other party and its case /noting details.), discussion, bargaining (Willingness of parties to compromise, focus on problem rather than person) and agreement.

During negotiation you should focus on interest of the negotiation and not to take a hard stand. Sometimes taking a position may push back your objectives thus achieving the net result become difficult .One has to be creative during negotiation. It means to offer alternate options by thinking creatively. Focus on problems and not the person. When we concentrate on a person during negotiation, it may create biases. It may hinder the negotiation process by shifting your target from the problem to person. Sometimes we need to invent multiple solutions for the problem because it is not necessary that whatever solution we offer to the other party (employees), they will accept it.  Next, you should be ready to expand the pie.  In all situations it may not be possible to fix the deal within your pre-decided budget. Give the other party such things which are valued by them and not by you. You should put yourself in their shoes and build understanding. No negotiation can be successful unless you do good research and home work. Half preparation can lead you to a state of confusion where you have no clarity about why to do and why not? Few more tips of good negotiations:

1. Never start with an assumption that whatever you offer will be accepted. You don’t know what is on the other person’s mind. Assumptions and biases have no place in good negotiations. Stay focused on what is being said by both parties.
2. Assess the real needs of the other party. It will help you finding out the breaking point. Have deep understanding of workers interests and current situation. Do their SWOT analysis.
3. Identify your own limitations and define the space in which you can play. Assess the problems of other party too. Bring other party in your area of comfort. If need be, expand your area in the interest of long terms objectives. Sometimes it is wise to lose battle to win the war.
4. Express consent to small non financial /intangible demands initially to create feel good environment. It helps building confidence. Always discuss in package and not on individual demand. This gives you room for flexibility.
5. Create an understanding that whatever management will give in terms of increase in salary and benefits, that extra financial load has to be mitigated by generating additional revenue by other party.

During negotiations, you need to use your listening and reasoning skills very effectively. Speak less; listen more is the mantra of successful negotiating skills. Emotions can overwhelm you in any negotiation. It is considered a foot cutting weakness. But sometimes people play emotional card to break the deadlock. It has to be used very intelligently but not all the times. You need to follow highly structured systemic method based on sound reasoning. It requires discipline and self awareness that brings good results.

At the end of the negotiations the result could be WIN-WIN, WIN –LOSE, LOSE-WIN, LOSE-LOSE. Though many thinkers and practitioners have termed the WIN-WIN formula as only compromise and nothing else which is emotion based and not logic based but I differ. In negotiation it is give and take. Both have to leave something and be flexible in their approach. We have witnessed in the past that whenever the outcome of any negotiation   remain otherwise than WIN-WIN, the problem continued. You can not bring peace and happiness in the minds of workers who are your growth engines unless they feel that they have achieved enough out of negotiations. It is not a question of making everybody happy by striking a deal on the demands of workers but at the end both should emerge as winners on certain points. Overall effect of any successful negotiation should be to enhance mutual trust and confidence between workers and management.....  at the end of the H.R has to play a very important role in building trust and harmony in any organistion... it cant be pro-employer or Pro- employee, it has to maintain and strike a balance ...

Signing off

Dr. Siddhartha Pandey