Do Learning Partnerships Reduce Conflict in the Workplace: A summary Report

  1. Introduction and background to the project

The research was carried out in 2012 as a jointly supported study for the University Forum for Human Resource Development and TUC Unionlearn[1] in the North West. Its objective was to investigate a little studied element of employee relations and employee development:

To what degree do learning partnerships between trade unions and management have an impact on managing conflict in those organisations?

With the support of TUC Unionlearn, a cross-sectoral sample of organisations in the North West of England, with clear evidence of successfully promoting learning through the partnership route, were invited to participate in the study in order to establish the degree to which these partnerships had also impacted on employee relations more generally.

Contextually it is of note that, despite the change in government in May 2010, and more significantly a change in employee relations policy and strategy in contrast to the previous government, the on-going commitment to the Union Learning Fund demonstrated that the added value that union-led learning brings to the economy continues to be recognised (Union learning fund, 2012).

Crucially, the original remit of the researcher to define and investigate the impact of learning on individual conflict (as measured through absence, staff turnover, grievance and discipline) and collective conflict (as measured collective disputes) was redefined through the analysis of the data. It became clear in the analysis, and is a significant finding of the research, that learning impacted on both individual and collective employee relations in many other ways.

The organisations are anonymised in the report but include: a local authority, an SME in the engineering sector, an acute trust, a large transport organisation, a union learning fund[2](ULF) project and a large food manufacturer. In total, thirty participants were interviewed, representing the views of union project workers and learning co-ordinators and managers and training and development professionals. In this way a balanced view of the advantages, but also the limitations, of a learning partnership in relation to managing conflict could be established.

It must be stressed thatthe aim of the project has not been to postulate that learning is in any form a ‘cure all’ for the conflict that is an inevitable part of any employment relationship. Rather, it has been to argue that given the common aims and objectives that a workplace learning partnership can realise, an important added outcome of that strategy could be less individual and collective conflict within that organisation.

The main body of findings are contained in the full report. Its pedagogic utility is set out in an accompanying tutor guide. This summary report is intended to give an overview of the project and covers: the objectives of the project, a short literature review, the methodology adopted, key findings and closes with a discussion on the degree to which the objectives of the project were achieved and planned evaluation of the materials.

  1. Overall objectives of the project

Pedagogic strategy

A key aim of the research was to not only offer new insight into how learning in partnership impacts on the employee relations climate within an organisation, but also how those findings could usefully inform the teaching of human resource development within both business schools and trade union education units. To this end the final report would be supplemented by a separate teaching guide with suggestions of how best to utilise the report as a medium for learning. The report and its associated tutor guide would also be designed so that it could satisfy the delivery needs of colleagues working both with university students and union representatives on TUC courses.

To that end the report and research is underpinned by a detailed critical review of the literature on both the causes and consequences of conflict and, specifically in relation to the core element of the study, the role of trade unions in promoting learning in the workplace and its concomitant impact on workplace conflict. This knowledge for students would then provide context for the research and its findings.

Practical objectives

Working with the TUC, the first objective was to identify a number of potential case study organisations and union projects which were seen as representative of successful learning partnerships in the region. From this a cross-section of management and union representatives would be approached to participate in the research.

With respect to the overall research question, the original remit of the researcher, as agreed with UFHRD and the TUC, was to investigate the impact of learning on individual conflict (as measured, for instance, through absence, staff turnover, grievance and discipline) and collective conflict (as measured through collective disputes). This data would be obtained through qualitative semi-structured interviews with respondents and also appropriate sets of metrics on conflict management from the participating organisations.

  1. Short literature review

The research is underpinned, and is covered in depth in the full report, by current research on conflict, its causes and its resolution, and the work of the unions in promoting learning in the workplace. This critical review acts as a conceptual base for then investigating the far less studied HRD issue of how this learning strategy, in partnership with management, can also contribute to the reduction of workplace conflict. As context for this short summary report, the following concise literature review is offered.

Cause and consequences of conflict

There are a number of other potential causes of conflict in the workplace that it is important to consider (Watson, 2006):

  • Poor management skills or style of management
  • Perceived lack of promotion opportunities or development (see more below)
  • Poor personal relationships between staff or with their manager
  • Downsizing, and in particular the poor management of redundancy, has been seen as potential cause of conflict. This is certainly so if not just the effect of resultant job losses but also the rationale and ‘fairness’ of the overall process is not clear to the workforce (Redman and Wilkinson, 2009).
  • If a company has not included their equality responsibilities under law in all relevant policies and procedures, for instance ensuring that no aspects of their human resource practices such as recruitment or promotion are discriminatory, then this could result in poor management actions leading to a claim of discrimination against that company.
  • Similarly, if measures have not been taken to ensure that all managers and employees know about their rights and responsibilities under equality law, this again could lead to a person or persons being treated unfairly and so raising a grievance against the company[3].
  • If there are inadequate rules and regulations in place in the organisation to ensure the health and safety of staff and other people on site as set in The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other associated regulations and codes of good practice.

The effects of conflict

Having considered some of the main causes of conflict, it is important to consider its potential consequences. A number of writers have usefully highlighted the consequences of industrial conflict, both in a collective and individual sense (Blyton and Turnbull, 2004; Rollinson and Dundon, 2007). The outcomes of collective conflict are various and but generally more visible. At their most extreme, it can result in the withdrawal of collective labour in the form of the strike. Less extreme, but arguably no less damaging to the organisation is the slow-down of work through ‘work to rule’ action. Where workers avoid the use of any usual initiatives and typically ‘stick strictly to the rule-book’ as agreed by contract and agreements. Overtime bans are another good example of the partial withdrawal of goodwill by the workforce that has an immediate effect on the flexibility of labour normally open to the organisation.

In the context of learning and its impact on conflict are perhaps the less visible incidences of ‘industrial action’ that can be taken by the individual. Kersley et al. (2006) in their analysis of the 2004 workplace employment relations survey cite absenteeism and voluntary resignations as ‘potential indicators of discontent’ reported by respondents to the survey. They suggest that, ‘studies have clearly indicated how absenteeism and resignations may be used by employees as alternative means of expressing discontent when …[other forms]… of expression are either unavailable or are less attractive’ (ibid:230). Crucially, Dunn, C. and Wilkinson, A. (2002) highlight the growing realisation within organisations of the damaging effects of a lack of effective management of staff absence in terms of causes and consequences.

Solutions to conflict

An area growing in prominence in recent times with respect to managing workplace conflict is the notion of alternative dispute resolution (Roche and Teague, 2012) and, in particular, the practice of mediation. Mediation is a model of dispute resolution, it is argued, which lends itself particularly well to situations where the parties have become entrenched in their positions. From a practical perspective, it is a method of resolving workplace disputes that, it is further argued, seeks to avoid a more formal and often more confrontational route, such as grievance and discipline procedures, and rather than attribute blame looks to rebuild damaged relationships for the future (ACAS, 2011: Ridley-Duff and Bennett, 2011).

Given the theme of this report is learning partnerships, and its focus is on both individual and collective solutions for when conflict occurs, ADR does not figure in the discussion. Rather, the emphasis is on the extent to which training and development, and learning partnerships in particular, can impact on workplace conflict. The next section considers the development of the union learning agenda.

Promoting learning through partnership with the trade unions

Arguably, one of the most successful recent initiatives by the union movement has been the development of a network of union learning representatives (ULRs) trained to give advice and guidance to employees and employers in areas of training and development and lifelong learning (Moore, 2009; Stuart et al., 2010). It is an initiative that has arisen partly in the context of the continuing pressure on the UK government and employers to find supply-side solutions to the increasing demand for the new and updated skills needed to remain globally competitive (Stuart, 2007). As a part of a government-sponsored strategy for learning partnerships, dedicated union learning funds (ULF) for Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales have been in operation for over a decade to allow unions to bid for resources to initiate and run learning projects. A number of surveys of unions have highlighted that ‘the achievements of union learning reps should not be underestimated’ (Hollinrake et al., 2008: 407) and offer evidence that ULRs ‘represent a substantial boost to union workplace activity’ (ibid).

This strategy, however, has not been without its critics in terms of both delivery and, it is argued, ‘the weaknesses inherent in a supply-side strategy for vocational training and skill development’ (Stuart and Cooney, 2008: 347). Furthermore, for some commentators, a partnership strategy built around learning consigns unions to a more junior role in terms of the balance of power with employers. The extent to which the ULR role can specifically revitalise trade unions has also attracted critical comment in the literature. Hoque and Bacon (2008; 2009) counsel caution in overestimating the influence of the ULR. Their studies found only a weak link between ULR activity and recruitment of new members.

Nevertheless, overall having gained statutory rights in 2002 (Wallis et al., 2005) the ULR is now well established at union branch level, with unions having clear strategies for recruiting, training, organising and supporting ULRs. Furthermore, recent research has revealed that learning has both enabled the unions to utilise these new resources in terms of being better organised to support their members more generally, and so offers an opportunity to revitalise their broader position in collectively representing their members in the workplace (Heyes and Rainbird, 2011; Findlay and Warhurst, 2011; Stuart et al (2010a, 2012b)). In terms of unions also being better able to manage both the causes and consequences of conflict, these studies were valuable in critically assessing the findings that are reported below.

  1. Methodology

An initial study of existing TUC reports, and discussions with officers at TUC Unionlearn in the North West, helped identify a number of potential case study organisations and union projects which were seen as representative of successful learning partnerships in the region.

Table 1: Background of respondents

Organisation / Respondent and role
ULF project / Project manager and two project workers
SME engineering company / MD and lead ULR
Acute Trust / HR manager, T&D manager, union convenor and lead ULR
Local Authority / Lead ULR, second ULR and workforce development director
Large food manufacturer / Operations manager, T&D manager, lead ULR
Large public transport organisation / HR director, union convenor, lead ULR and project worker
GMB ULF project / Project manager
Cross sectoral sample of TUC Unionlearn support officers and union project workers in North West / Thirteen
Total / Thirty respondents

From this initial research, the subsequent study was based on semi-structured interviews with a cross-section of thirty managers and union learning co-ordinators from the case study organisations, and union project workers and TUC officers who have supported those organisations. The majority of meetings were face-to-face with a smaller number conducted by telephone. Interviews averaged an hour in duration. Table 1 gives a breakdown of the respondents.After discussion with all respondents it was decided to anonymise the organisations involved. Key areas of discussion with respondents included:

  • The causes and consequences of conflict
  • The state of employee relations pre and post establishing the learning agreement
  • The type of learning initiatives taking place in the organisation
  • The impact of learning on individual conflict in the organisation
  • The impact of learning on collective issues around conflict in the organisation
  1. Key findings

Overall, the findings support earlier research that learning partnerships can have positive outcomes, both in terms of ‘staff morale’ and ‘employee commitment’ and in ‘improving levels of trust between management and unions’ (Stuart et al., 2010b).The research produced a number of key findings, in that a majority of respondents reported:

  • The reduction or pre-empting of performance and discipline issues by prior support for worker skills and knowledge acquisition through learning and development
  • The impact of learning on the ‘well-being’ of the individual and its consequential positive impact on individual conflict (for instance, improved health and safety and the more effective management of stress).
  • The impact of learning on other key measures of individual conflict reduction through increased morale, commitment, trust, managing job loss and recognition (in addition to more formal measures like absence and resignation).
  • The impact of learning on the collective elements of conflict: managing change, better communication, more extensive consultation, managing redundancy and redeployment and building greater trust and understanding between management and the unions through partnership
  • In terms of union organisation, the learning agenda facilitated greater co-operation and less conflict between the different unions.
  • Union reps were generally more confident in their dealings with members and management and that learning initiatives had had a positive impact on branch organisation in terms of recruitment and member activity.
  • The significance of the learning centre as a fulcrum for supporting the learning partnership
  • The importance of a collective learning fund in sustaining learning in all case study organisations.
  1. Reflecting on the initial objectives

Crucially, the original remit of the researcher to define and investigate the impact of learning on collective conflict (as measured by collective disputes) was also redefined through the analysis of the data. It became clear in the analysis, and is a significant finding of the research, that learning also impacted on collective employee relations in many other ways. This potential effect of a joint union management learning and development strategy was captured through a number of key themes, which included:

  • Managing change,
  • Better communication
  • More extensive consultation
  • Managing redundancy
  • Managing redeployment
  • Strategies in address discrimination through learning (for instance ESOL training for non-indigenous workers )
  • Building greater trust and understanding between management and the unions through partnership

Similarly, the analysis of the findings enabled the extension of our initial focus on manifestations of conflict such as absence and resignation to no less important areas of the employment relationship like health and safety, individual recognition and commitment. A key finding of the research, for instance, was the relevance of addressing employee ‘well-being’ through learning and lifestyle. The unions and the TUC had thus extended their HRD remit by helping members to also consider broader lifestyle issues (such as exercise and diet) that could impact on their well-being and ultimately reduce the pressure and stress in the workplace that can be often associated with individual conflict.

It is of note that the original objective of gathering metric as evidence of the impact of learning on conflict,through for instance figures on the reduction in turnover or grievances, had limited success. Whilst all respondents saw the value of this measure only one case study organisation had this information. As a comparator of impact, therefore,metrics were not included in the final analysis[4]. That said, there is clear evidence of other initially unsuspected consequences of learning partnerships, both collectively and individually in relation to conflict. The impact on the broader psychological contract of the individual is as particularly unpredicted outcome of the research. Similarly, the way that given the current climate unions were able to work with management and other agencies to more systematically pre-empt collective disputes through targeted training and support for workers affected by downsizing was asignificant finding.