Control your narrative through effective labour relations communications

Canada’s summer of labour talks are heating up. High-profile negotiations have unfolded across multiple sectors in Canada, touching large swaths of the economy. Whether its West Jet, LCBO, CN Rail, CPKC, or the TTC, a clear lesson has emerged: proactive communication is crucial in shaping the narrative around your organization while the bargaining is happening at the negotiating table.  

Communicating early and consistently with your stakeholders protects your reputation by taking the initiative to define your organization before others do it for you – oftentimes to your detriment. Here are some tips for getting your labour relations communications effort tuned-up: 

Start early. 

While all the bargaining happens at the negotiating table, the groundwork for successful outcomes is laid well before talks begin. Organizations should embrace a campaign-style approach to communications, characterized by early, consistent, and ongoing interactions with stakeholders that are important to the organization – and that includes your people. Don’t cede that ground to others. Communicating indirectly to your people throughout is critical – communicating core information about the organization’s values and the realities that are driving its position will help form a cohesive understanding for employees of the company’s vision, goals, threats, and opportunities.  

Be proactive. 

Organizations can scramble to communicate with employees just before labour negotiations begin, but that puts them at a disadvantage. It also potentially leaves a communications vacuum that will get filled by others.  

Waiting until the eleventh hour – or until the counterparty begins communicating – allows other stakeholders to control the narrative and shape the environment and perceptions among stakeholders. This can also create a more challenging negotiation environment for the employer. 

Creating a proactive plan of communication mitigates this risk and can give you the upper hand by allowing you to be the one who is shaping the environment around negotiations – or at least balancing it. Achieving this begins with strategic communication planning so that an organization is ready to say the right thing at the right time to all the stakeholders that are key: customers, clients, regulators, suppliers, and employees. 

Build trust. 

The cornerstone of effective communication in labour negotiations is trust. Even during tough talks, establishing goodwill with stakeholders well before negotiations begin makes them more open to the employer’s message. A campaign-style approach allows organizations to take control of their narrative. An environment of trust will allow employees to understand where the employer is starting from and any pressures, risks, liabilities, or challenges the organization may be facing. 

Plan and execute consistently. 

To prepare for labour negotiations, organizations should start by developing a strategic communication plan. Align the employer’s communication strategy with organizational goals. An effective plan should consider the following: 

• Map audiences and think about different stakeholder groups that are in the organization’s orbit; not all will have the same interests, but they should hear from you before they hear from your counterparty. Within any stakeholder cross-section there will typically be differing levels of interest, institutional memory, and organizational awareness and needs.   

• Establish a narrative that elevates your message to a level that enables it to resonate with all your audiences. This narrative should bring unity in your communications, be coherent, and reflect the organization’s objectives and values. Deliver the narrative consistently in all you say and do. Remember: when you get tired of saying something, it’s likely the first time your audiences are hearing it. 

• Create a communications focal point that becomes the hub of what your organization is saying to create a coherent narrative around what’s happening at the bargaining table. This is frequently a digital microsite where all your updates and campaign communications live. This should be scalable – can quickly become bigger, or smaller – to match the communications needs of each individual circumstance. 

• Use a variety of communications vehicles to match the characteristics of your audiences like video and written content. This doesn’t have to be costly or complicated, but using the types of communications that your stakeholders can more easily receive gives you an advantage in balancing the communications playing field.  

• Execute tactics in your campaign strategy by determining the best means of communication and relying on those chosen approaches consistently.  Regular updates build a foundation of trust and prepare employees for upcoming discussions. Ensure the organization is active in the right forums and channels. 

Move forward confidently.  

A strong, healthy communications environment strengthens your organization and prepares it for long-term success. Investing in a proactive communication plan that aligns with your organizational goals, and committing to engaging your employees regularly, will yield benefits beyond the negotiation table – fostering trust and collaboration that supports organizations, employees, and anyone that relies on you.