Preparing for Negotiations

The time to prepare for negotiations is not when the current contract enters the final year; it starts the day after the current contract is ratified and stays open until you get back to the table!

Constant planning is required to ensure critical goals are reached and needed adjustments are made at every opportunity.  Don't just wait until the formal process begins with meetings between management and the union, work throughout the contract to ensure vital information is collected, processed and understood well before the 'demands' hit the table and most critical - before the table is frozen.

Less than favorable conditions exist when either party attempts to bring up grievances, demands or concerns after both parties have agreed to forgo any additional items thus 'freezing the table'.  What usually happens is the individuals responsible for the actual negotiating receive concerns or demands from those they represent after the initial presentation of concerns or demands.

To ensure this does not happen, I encourage leaders to keep a folder available on their desk marked negotiations and throughout the contract period place items of concern along with extracts of the contract noting changes or errors in order to adjust, fix or modify in the next round of negotiations.
This is especially true for salary guides denoting problems associated with hiring based on entry-level steps that are too low or pay-outs for reimbursements that are problematic with budgetary constraints.

Likewise, this allows for the formulation of multiple demands that can be presented at the onset of the process prior to finalizing demands.  Often these lesser issues allow for disposable or 'throw-aways' that can be used as leverage to eliminate counterclaims and demands from the other side. 

One simple rule of thumb, make sure the language itself can live on without challenges to its meaning or multiple interpretations causing disputes, challenges, and grievances.  It should be written so others new to the organization have the same understanding as those who authored the document.

Many of these points are echoed in a post I recently read by Peter Barron Stark.  https://peterstark.com/15-rules-of-negotiation/

Stark reaffirms the following points:

1.  Remember, everything is negotiable. Don’t narrow a negotiation down to just one issue. Develop as many issues or negotiable deal points as you can and then juggle in additional deal points if you and the other party lock onto one issue.

2.  Crystallize your vision of the outcome. The counterpart who can visualize the end result will most likely be the one who guides the negotiation.

3.  Prepare in advance. Information is power. Obtain as much information as possible beforehand to make sure you understand the value of what you are negotiating. Remember, very few negotiations begin when the counterparts arrive at the table.