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Published on: 10/12/2008
Last Visited: 3/4/2007
George C.B. Smith, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Organization at CBC/Radio-Canada, shared lessons from his 33-year career as a management negotiator at November's Don Wood Lecture at Queen's University School of Policy Studies.
"If you can create organizational alignment, manage the interpersonal aspects, and manage the complexities of the process, you have a good chance of being successful in strategic negotiations," Smith told more than 80 attendees.
The three key success factors, identified by academic theory, are borne out by his experience, Smith said.And they apply equally whether you are on the management or the union side of the table.
Smith should know: over the past three decades he has participated in more than 100 negotiations of all descriptions.Since July 1996, he has been responsible for all aspects of human resources and industrial relations at CBC/Radio Canada, and was a senior negotiator during the broadcaster's two-month lockout of 5,500 employees last year.Previously he worked in the Canadian transportation industry, in positions that include VP of Industrial Relations at CP Rail System, and Senior Director of Employee Relations at Air Canada.
Drawing on his varied experiences, Smith elaborated on each of the three success factors.
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"Negotiation is far from being a rational business process," Smith reminded the audience."I've seen people break down in tears, grown adults playing children's games to relieve the stress, people gain or lose 20 pounds, and people from both sides of the table suffering from a type of post-traumatic stress disorder."
Companies that are successful in negotiating find a way to manage the human element, he said, recommending training in team-building and stress management.The pressure can become intense, and it is important to find ways to keep a human face on the conflict.Smith said his daughter once gave jellybeans to Buzz Hargrove after a tense negotiation between CP Rail and the union, and a photo of this lighter moment was featured on the front page of both organizations' magazines.
Smith also cited the example of a pilot who had been involved in difficult Air Canada negotiations in the 1980s, who later told him that the experience was good preparation for being held hostage by a hijacker with a fire-axe in the cockpit of his plane.The pilot, using techniques he had learned during negotiations, struck up a conversation with the hijacker, asking him why he smoked, helping to defuse tension.
Managing complexities at the bargaining table"You need to be well-prepared; recognize the fundamentally adversarial nature of the process; that there is no magic formula; and that power and perceptions of power affect the negotiations," Smith said.In particular, "consider the government of the day and how its agenda might impact your issue," he emphasized.The Don Wood Visiting Lectureship in Industrial Relations is organized by the Queen's University Industrial Relations Centre and Master of Industrial Relations ( MIR ) Program, School of Policy Studies . It features distinguished individuals, such as Smith, who have made an important contribution to industrial relations in Canada or abroad.
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