On April 16, 2014, the BC Human Resources Management Association (BC HRMA) announced the recipients of its annual awards – the HR Professional of the Year, Innovation, Rising Star and BC HRMA Honourary Life Member. BC HRMA’s Professional Awards are sponsored by The Vancouver Sun and The Province.

Jay Sharun, CHRP
Negotiator,
Western Industrial Relations,
West Kelowna

In the eyes of BC Tree Fruits, labour relations consultant Jay Sharun, CHRP not only achieved the previously-thought impossible—he did so within three months.

BC Tree Fruits credits Sharun’s innovative approach to negotiations as a shining example of how positive labour relations and out of the box thinking can benefit any unionized environment.

When retained in summer 2013, it was in the midst of an ongoing crisis which threatened to reach a financial breaking point between BC Tree Fruits and the employees’ union. The union was facing job losses and wanted more money, as well as to protect against the increased use of contractors while at the same time reducing costs.

Looking for a new consultant with a labour relations approach geared to decrease the resultant workplace tensions while exploring cost saving opportunities, they discovered Sharun—who brought a whole new attitude and approach. Brought in to promote positive labour relations, reduce unnecessary litigation and find the potential in the problems that had historically plagued the company’s labour relations history, he changed the game entirely.

Going in, Sharun promised that the collective bargaining process would be a fun one—without a hint of irony. Although BC Tree Fruits and its union had a checkered history, wherein issues were dealt with via litigation and collective bargaining achieved through arbitration, Sharun changed that in short order—by encouraging his client to open up collective bargaining 12 months early to find the needed cost savings.

While it had been assumed that the union would push the organization for improvements they could not afford or wait for expiration of their agreement to bargain hard with the ability to strike, Sharun proved correct the old adage of assumptions. Not only did the union agree to enter discussions early, Sharun opened many eyes to a new way of collaborating with the union to get meaningful results.

The more traditional approach had both parties exchanging long lists of proposals and spend long days in antagonistic bargaining. Aside from bringing a more personable approach, Sharun also challenged both parties to limit the demands they would bring to the table.

Sharun challenged BC Tree Fruits to bring one proposal to the bargaining table as opposed to a lengthy list, effectively turning a prior process of “game playing” into a “game changing” approach to negotiations.

As a result, BC Tree Fruits proposed an alternative scheduling process to realize the necessary cost savings and it worked beyond all client expectation. Giving the union little choice but to focus on and address the lone issue in exchange for dealing with their priorities.

While a key component of Sharun’s success is directly attributable to his experience and expertise, having negotiated more than 350 collective agreements, it was his collaborative approach as Spokesperson for the company that created the unexpected “win-win”. Removing all animosity to focus on resolutions, the tone of the negotiations became one of key points and common focus.

As a result of his innovation, over the short course of a series of productive meetings, Sharun led the bargaining team to negotiate a collective agreement that will save BC Tree Fruits $10 million over seven years, largely through productivity gains.

Even more impressively from the employer’s perspective, base wage rates will not increase over the next seven years. Instead, the agreed upon deal pays out lump sums every two years while keeping BC Tree Fruits competitive in the long-term. This unprecedented outcome is directly attributed to Sharun, who has remained at hand to ensure smooth implementation of the agreement.

That the agreement was reached in 10 days only underlines the ROI of Sharun’s contribution—and has won the “fist bumping” respect of the entire organization. Moreover, BC Tree Fruits insists they actually did have fun with the process at every innovative step.

(PeopleTalk Summer 2014)