We had our diversity training at work the other day. This was long after we had our legal training on sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace course. This went beyond that and was much more positive. The intent was to avoid conflict and lawsuits in the workplace before they happened by changing the way we see the differences in each other and foster respect for different opinions.
The training material was from coastal dot com: http://coastal.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34984
That’s coastal not postal.
I actually enjoyed it. I did think it was a bit funny at first. We’re all sitting around the table in the boardroom and I read the first question on the survey they handed out. "If you could be a tree what type would you be?" What the hell is this I thought to myself. The next question was "What vegetable in the diversity soup would you be?" Then "If they made a movie about your life, what character would play you and why?"
I thought to myself you have got to be kidding. They are taking us away from work to talk about obscure touchy feelie things? Why? I asked if this was like the "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" kind of things and my supervisor sitting beside me chuckled. He said the character that would play him was a cross between Homer Simpson and Brad Pitt. I really like and respect him.
There are two points I’d like to make. One is about the training and the other is about my new employer and my new workplace. Canada Post would never take the time to do something like this. Neither would TELUS. They would only fulfill their legal obligations by defining legal discrimination. TELUS only did that to hide and prevent being sued over the sexual harassment displayed in TELUS Idol. They gave the employees sexual harassment training when they should have given it to the CEO who was the one responsible for promoting the sexual harassment displayed in TELUIS Idol.
The only training that Canada Post gives is passionate brainwashing why the Union is bad and why the Corporation is good. Their training is diametrically opposed to the fundamental basis of diversity training. Theirs is a petty power struggle to prove we are good and they are bad. The other is a power sharing thought process encouraging people to see the value in diversity.
Moya Greene is the epitome of this extreme. Not only does she refuse to listen to her employees or the union, she also refuses to listen to most of her managers. She goes on record to say that the private sector thinks public sector managers are stupid and don’t know anything. Then she complains in her submission to the mandate review that there is an "internal management culture of risk aversion". It is unwise for someone with no successful experience in a service based industry to conclude all her managers and employees who have been in the industry for 20 years are stupid.
When asked to list all the various differences in our society and workplace the facilitator said what about management and employees? Those are differences. As a manager I know sometimes I feel a difference between us and head office. Doesn’t the same apply to employees and managers in the workplace? Some of us shrugged and said I guess so we added it to the list but I will tell you one thing. The management worker barrier is not nearly the same at my new employer as it is with Canada Post or TELUS.
They key to the difference is that my new employer hires from within. Canada Post and TELUS does not. Not any more. In my workplace my supervisor knows my job and can do it better than I can because they have done it for 15 yeas. At Canada Post or TELUS you have someone with no idea how to do the job literally bossing someone around who has been in the industry for many years.
The perfect example of this starts right at the top with Moya Greene. She has no idea how to do the job. She feels insecure so she fires all her managers who know how to do the job and promotes managers with classroom experience on management only. The same at Telus. Darren Entwistle is doing his best to remove skilled labour from the workplace by ending apprenticeships. If that is not the recipe for disaster I don't know what is.
The primary objective of my new employer is to make a profit just as it is at Canada Post and TELUS. Only they have two completely different approaches to obtaining that objective and if you look at the stock and the profit margins my new employer is much more successful at obtaining that objective. A happy workforce is a productive workforce. Indeed "Canada Post will profit from labour peace." Dale Clark
2 comments:
We had some excellent sensitivity training a couple of years ago: union members, including a gay man, came to where I was at the time and really did a marvelous job.
The rest of your comments about Moya and the management stand, though. A local superintendent is about to be fired because she doesn't always agree with the regional manager, and the supervisor who backed her is about to be buried or sent to a small town. It's telling how bad it is if I can even feel sorry for supervisors, all other things considered.
Interesting but when you say union members came and did an excellent job to me that would imply it was done by the union not by Canada Post which is much more believable. Canada Post’s sessions tend to be much more cult like.
I’d be interested in hearing where you’re from. I’ve recently heard about three other managers fired last week simply for disagreeing with Moya Greene. I’d like to compile a list of managers she’s fired. I’m sure there could be a class action unlawful dismissal case but aside from that it would be good to post the numbers.
PM me or e-mail me: cupwnewvision@hotmail.com
Cheers.
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