Joanna joined Acas in 2006. As an accomplished conciliator, facilitator and mediator she has extensive experience in dispute resolution. She works with and supports organisations and trade unions through their dispute resolution processes, as well as assisting parties to improve their industrial relations before and after disputes.
Bringing partners together
It's been just under a month since we launched our new strategy 2025 to 2030. We know that to deliver on our ambitions, we need to work closer with our partners across all 3 nations of Britain.
At our roundtable event in Cardiff last week, one of the objectives was to hear from key partners. We wanted to hear what they see as the unique challenges impacting workplace relations in Wales, and to think about how we can work better together to address them.
The new strategy is structured around 3 overarching goals: to prevent, resolve and manage conflict better, and provided a useful anchor point for the conversation. It also allowed us to explore other specific aspects of the strategy such as the role early, informal dispute resolution can play in improving workplace relations.
As Interim Chief Conciliator, this topic is close to my heart. My objective is to assist parties to resolve their disputes before formal positions are taken and industrial action ballots are announced. Skilled negotiators understand the value of early resolution and the positive impact this has on the ongoing industrial relations of an organisation.
I have seen many disputes where the parties come to Acas when an impasse has become total. We know that when Acas gets involved earlier in the process, we can help to facilitate positive outcomes. And to be clear – I'm not saying that all workplace conflict can be resolved informally, or at an early stage. But I know from experience, there are real long-term gains to be made shifting the mindset from adversarial positions and instead refocusing on dialogue and the possibility of positive outcomes for both parties. But this can only take place before positions become entrenched.
Problems and solutions
We asked our partners at the roundtable about the causes of workplace conflict in Wales. Some of the recurring themes included:
- generational divides in attitudes towards work, rights and identity
- the need for managers to have better people management skills
- that formal procedures are the default (fear of managing informally)
- economic pressures and the effect on pay negotiations
We then talked about solutions. It's clear from the conversations that there's a desire and urgency to provide line managers and leaders with much needed training and support. The skills required to have productive and meaningful conversations with colleagues does require training, but it also requires practice. As does the art of negotiation.
Some helpful tips and thoughts that came out of those conversations included:
- After a manager has received training, do not expect them to be expert practitioners straightaway. They also need experience, and will need time to practice the skills they've learnt.
- Managers need to be empowered to do their jobs. A key to this is having a strong and supportive relationship with HR.
- Senior leaders should role model the behaviours they expect to see.
- Not all conflict can be resolved informally; this is about understanding how conflict can escalate and addressing those situations early.
- Taking a broader collaborative approach to conflict resolution.
The importance of partnerships
The Social Partnership and Public Partnership Act 2023 feeds the Fair Work Wales agenda and has seen great interest from employers and trade unions in both the public and private sectors since its introduction.
It is clear from the discussion that this legislation has had a positive impact on industrial relations in Wales. The Welsh government, employer bodies, TUC Cymru and individual trade unions have together promoted the core values of inclusion, dialogue and genuine joint working as being at the centre of what we heard often referred to as 'the Welsh way'.
This does not mean an end to disputes in Wales, but the way they are conducted. This is because a greater commitment to partnership working has created a positive industrial relations landscape. We hope it will continue to become the norm across all sectors of working life in Wales.
At Acas, we are looking forward to continuing the conversation with our partners on how to prevent, manage and resolve workplace disputes in Wales.