Our fast paced one-day training course is packed full of useful advice and guidance. It explores the role of staff reps and employee representatives. It explains their duties and the skills needed to be highly effective in post.

Effective employee representation plays a critical link between staff and management, helping both to understand the others’ views and perspectives.  This, especially in times of turbulence, growth or change, enables a far higher quality of planning and decision-making, helps keep staff informed, on-board and committed to the latest business development and efficiency strategies. 

The role of the employee representative is seldom an easy one. Individuals, the workforce as a whole and the business itself often have very different needs and priorities.  Employee’s representatives need to remain enthusiastic, show loyalty to all and always present the differing positions in a positive thought through manner.

This course helps embed such a culture and provides a raft of hints, tips and guidance to help employee representatives meet the challenges, the role presents and become more effective in role.

For Whom
The workshop is for new, potential or recently elected employee representatives from all business types and sectors. It also acts as a refresher for existing employee representatives looking to understand how they can be more effective in role.  It is important to remember that the role usually presents a different set of challenges, duties and responsibilities to the representatives’ “day job” and representatives at all levels benefit from both the training and its associated team building benefits, as well as bringing transferable skills to the “day job” and voluntary activities

Aims and Objectives
This one-day workshop helps employee representatives become more effective in role.  It improves their knowledge and understanding of their role, duties and responsibilities.  It explores the typical challenges faced by reps when carrying out their duties and provides a wide range of hints, tips and guidance on how to carry out their duties more effectively and manage the challenges the role poses.

CONTENT

1    The Role of the employee representative

• The role, duties and responsibilities of the Employee Representative
  • Including: Representation Structures, Forum Constitutions, Formal Consultation
• The benefits on offer to both the employer and the employee/s
• Consultation Vs Negotiation
  • Understanding the difference and explaining it to others
  • Which, when and why

2    Doing the job – what’s needed?

• What makes for an effective representative?
• Personal qualities, skills, experience and knowledge needed?
• The Employee Rep person specification

3    The ever-changing world of work
Successful businesses never stand still.  Driven by the need to deliver success, meet legislation and engage the workforce change is ongoing.  Effective employee representation pays a pivotal role in planning, communication and ongoing success.  This session provides useful guidance on the challenges reps face.

• Business needs v individual staff needs
  • Cascading difficult messages
  • Managing conflicts
• Maintaining a Professional Position
  • What the professional looks and feels like
  • Maintaining enthusiasm and positivity
• Overview of roles and duties in some sample situations illustrating:
  • What is in scope and what is better handled by team leaders
  • Contributing to ongoing business success and workforce engagement
  • Situations where formal consultation may be required
• Specific organisational circumstances

4   Personal Awareness and Development
Session 4 explores participants existing skills/abilities and the requirements of the role including:

• Flexibility and openness to change
• Professional and customer orientated approach
• Effective team worker
• Championing the aims and values of the company
• Commitment to personal and professional development
• Commitment to continuous improvement in service delivery
• The importance of representing the views of others even if they conflict with personal values

5   Skills for Success

The final session explores the personal skills and behaviours that help employee representatives be more successful in role.  It includes a raft of hints tips and guidance on good practice, which are fully transferable to other situations

• Excellent communication skills and listening skills
• Confident in public speaking (speaking in front of groups of people including managers)
• Ability to motivate and influence

In exploring the above the session includes a focus on:

• More Effective Communication
  • active listening
  • observational skills
  • body language: posture, gestures, tone, voice, use of words
• Questioning techniques
  • closed, open, supplementary, probing, hypothetical
• Influencing others
  • Assertive – Aggressive – Passive – Passive/Aggressive Behaviour
  • Six techniques to deal with difficult situations
• Negotiation
  with a reminder that much of the role is consultation not negotiation
  • The five key stages in any negotiation situation
  • planning your approach in meetings
  • knowing how and when to intervene
• Reporting Back and Public Speaking

   

• Planning and Organisational Skills
  • Being Proactive – able to seek out the views of all staff represented
  • Organised – able to ensure the views of most of the service area group are sought prior to and after meetings