Works council. This word is one of the less favorites of HR colleagues. Still or actually because of that I am writing this post about the works council.
In my last post I have talked about why HR should cooperate with the works council and how this could look like. Today I would like to write a plea for a modern works council.
Works councils in many european countries have a very special and important Job: They are the direct representation of all employees and have codetermination rights for many management decisions if employee interests are involved. That makes the works council very powerful. However, very often I have not seen a works council that used this power in a way that really promotes employees as well as the business success as a whole. – and these are the major two factors for all works council work.
Of course, most (if not all) HR colleagues will agree with me on this assessment and most (if not all) works council members will disagree with my assessment. Well, let’s be open and honest here: I have not performed an empirical study here, this is based on my personal experience. But more important – it doesn’t matter. I do not want to discuss the past or nurture this conflict in any way. I would like to make a plea for a modern, forward thinking, integrative works council.
Based on the two main objectives of the works council (represent all employees and work towards the best for the company), I envision a works council that exactly focusses on that. How does that look like?
- Focus on the future of employees, not the past
- Being inclusive in a multi-generational workforce
- Promote the advantages of the digital age
- Align with the necessities of the speedy economy
- Act as co-owner
For me, these are the major opportunities for works councils to show their readiness for a modern, new way of executing their important objectives! – Many HR colleagues are probable thinking why I am actually focussing on finding reasons for the works council and am not pleading against it. Well, even today I strongly believe that every employee as well as every company is better off with a modern works council than without any! Why? – because you always need two sides to be successful. Yin and Yang is a very old concept – often cited, and often showed to be successful. The same applies to management and works council. Both are at the first view opposites and contrary, but in fact interconnected and complimentary. It is supposed to be two different views towards the same goal: business performance.
Focus on the future of employees, not the past
This is the first principle to support the two objectives. Works council should represent the needs and views from employees, should be their voice towards the management. This is 100% correct and should still be the case tomorrow. But, the understanding of the “needs of the employees” is what should be examined in more detail.
In the past, this often meant defending the status quo. But this is the easiest way of representing your employees – just repeat what they say and want: No one wants change, no one really believes in the chances of change.
In my view, a works council needs to be more and can be more. The mandate is to represent employees – not to keep the status quo. And what is the number one goal of each and every employee? Keep employment with good pay and human working conditions.
In the world we are living today (and you can either like it or not – but that does not change the fact), the only chance to achieve this is constant change, renewal and innovation. This more often than not comes with big changes for many employees.
A works council’s task is to not only understand this, but to actively support this journey with ideas as well as promotion of this towards all employees. This is a tough job – much tougher than just supporting employees in their change resistance. But the good thing is than tmore often than not, this secures employment.
In my next post I will lay out me plea for the remaining four topics and the importantce of the works council. I assume that already this one in conjunction with my general plea for the works council will provoke some discussions.
Chief HR Officer 