European Works Councils have been around for more than 20 years now.
However, the debate about the possible value of this body for all stakeholders is fiercer than ever.
Management , employee and trade union representatives spare no effort to try and bring EWCs to the next level and they have at their disposal an army of consultants, lawyers and experts. A lot of money is being invested: hotels, interpreters, training, communications tools and means etc..
Whilst some groups have made some progress: others have barely evolved at all.
Why is that so? What is lacking? Surely not resources?
The answer is: EWCs have always made a lot of plans, but these plans have never really been implemented. At Presence, we have thought long and hard, together with EWC stakeholders, and we have come up with a way to get the value you want out of your European Works Council.
The EWC Roadmap: making a map and walking the road.
In our experience, EWCs have no shortage of maps (they have built a lot of ambitious programs), but the problem is that they have never walked the road. In order to achieve anything, EWCs need more than just maps: they need to find ways to walk the road.
It is important to know that there is no “one-size-fits-all” EWC Roadmap: if you want to be successful, you need to build YOURS and it has to be in tune with your company activities, culture and values.
So where to start?
Let me explain how you should read this model.
The first thing to understand is why the image of a pyramid is used.
The reason is certainly not that your EWC gets better the higher up the pyramid it is. Rather, it means that you have to determine your ambitions but that, once defined, you need to go through all the levels(1-4) in sequence, without jumping from level 1 to level 3 and forgetting level 2, for example.
The vertical and horizontal axes in the diagram are important elements.
The vertical axis stands for the degree of relevance of your EWC. Each level in the pyramid adds value to your forum and completing all the levels makes your European Works Council maximally relevant for your company (remember I said that, in order for a EWC Roadmap to lead to value, you have to make it unique, according to your context).
The horizontal axis is the axis of efficiency. Each level contains a vast number of elements that all need to be “fleshed out” in order to lead to value.
But you might be wondering at this state: what are the pre-EWC levels and why are they called that?
Whilst every EWC starts in level 1 (see below), there are a number of elements that influence EWC functioning, even before it starts its activities.
The purple pre-EWC level determines whether a European Works Council can really think European. Is such a thing even possible?
Let me explain this with an example. Imagine that in France, a production plant is closed and 200 people are made redundant as production is transferred to the Czech republic where 300 jobs are created as a result. What should the French EWC delegate do? Should he be happy as an EWC member, as in fact the measure means that 100 extra jobs are created in Europe. I doubt that it is an easy thing to do. And what about our Czech colleague? Should he rejoice in the fact that a lot of employment is being created in his country? Doubtful as well… This example shows that it is not easy to be a European Works Council and to reconcile national and European interests.
The red pre-EWC level measures whether the group is in it for a clash or for consensus. In other words, it maps the attitude of the European Works Council when faced with management. Needless to say, a group that is inclined towards consensus, will be better equipped to walk the road to value.
Once you know how your EWC scores on the pre-EWC levels, you are ready to start exploring the expectations and ambitions of all stakeholders. What does value mean? The answer will determine how far you can to go in developing the levels of the EWC Roadmap. But saying what the ambitions are is not enough! When we build an EWC Roadmap, we link ambitions to feasibility: is the EWC prepared to “walk the talk” and do what it takes to translate ambitions into reality? Very often, EWC members realise that they do not have the necessary resources or time to do this. So what then? Should they just forget about value? Not at all… It means that ambitions either need to be lower or that a plan needs to be built, enabling the EWC to work towards its stated goal.
So what are the EWC levels (1-4)?
Level 1 is the starting point of any European Works Council. It is the level of the “legal requirements and do’s and don’ts”. An effective EWC spends a lot of time making sure that every EWC member knows the content of the EWC Directive, their own EWC agreement, his or her role as a EWC member, etc…
Level 2 is the one that most EWCs tend to forget. Here objectives and tasks are defined. Where does the EWC want to be in 3 years, in 2 years, next year, by the next EWC meeting? What is needed in order to achieve this?
Short, middle and long term objectives are defined with the whole group and linked to workable actions and tasks for all EWC members.
But tasks are not handed out at random! We take into account the “local realities” of EWC members so that the right tasks can be given to the right person. E.g.: a German EWC member has a lot more provisions at local level, enabling him to play his role more formally than an EWC member of the Czech republic. However, the latter might work in a small unit and have a morning coffee with the CEO every day! Needless to say, you don’t entrust both of them with the same task, but each of them can make a valuable contribution to overall group functioning. And we go even further in trying to match the right task to the right person: we scan motivations of EWC members so that we know what makes each person “tick”. Ask us for information on the EWC Dynamics.
Level 3 defines the EWC communications plan. In the past, every European Works Council tried to communicate, but the problem was that, without having carefully defined the objectives and tasks in level 2, this was a rather pointless exercise: in order for communications to work, they need to be about something and lead somewhere. In the plan, EWCs need to define: targets, frequency, formats and tools for communications.
Level 4 can only bring real value when the EWC has done its homework in levels 1 to 3. Indeed, with a firm knowledge of the foundations(level 1), an action plan firmly in place (level 2) and a well-defined communications plan (level 3), the EWC is now ready to play a strategic role within the organisation. Again, there is no “one-size-fits-all” and what makes the EWC relevant for your organisation, will be UNIQUE and only work for you.
One EWC Roadmap is not the other…
The EWC Roadmap exercise can be done with management and employee representatives together or the journey can start with the employee representatives building the draft EWC Roadmap and requesting management approval before finalising.
It goes without saying that the EWC is a joint body, so the EWC Roadmap needs to be owned by both groups.
Is that it? With all levels of your EWC Roadmap defined: are you ready to start? Yes, you are! But one little detail is missing…
Your EWC needs to leave a legacy: you need to make sure that you build sustainable value. Too many EWCs have started all over again when new members were elected and when management teams change! So, we define your way to make sure that the next generation of EWC members will continue to benefit from everything that has been achieved.
Let us get you on your way with building YOUR EWC Roadmap.
Get in touch: contact@presencegroup.eu
www.presencegroup.eu