Several years ago, the authors of this blog toured the United States to glean what Australian employers could learn from the US enterprise bargaining experience. This led to the widely reported “7 lessons from the US for successful bargaining”.

The observations made then remain pertinent today. Those lessons are:

  1. The groundwork for a successful bargaining campaign began three years ago;
  2. Enterprise bargaining time is not engagement time;
  3. Successful bargaining campaigns are business-wide and top-led;
  4. Employers ought lead the communication agenda: “tit for tat” communications are rarely effective;
  5. Successful bargainers seek to control the bargaining agenda;
  6. Plan in advance for BATNA [Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement] and fallout; and
  7. The individual relationship remains paramount amidst a collective-based framework.

Should any of our readers require any further details on the above, we would be happy to provide this to you.

We are also in the process of developing our “7 keys to negotiating collective agreements in Australia”. The focus of this topic lies in the conducting of the negotiation itself. Whilst there is much commentary in the Australia context on the legal environment as it impacts collective bargaining, there is precious little by way of the application of negotiating fundamentals to what many businesses regard as the most challenging of negotiations.

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Photo of Chris Gardner Chris Gardner

“Strategic”. That’s how clients consistently describe Chris.

Starting with the end in mind, he understands that legal advice is only one piece of the jigsaw when balancing strategy and risk.

Clients know they’ll receive advice that fits into the bigger picture.

Best recognised…

“Strategic”. That’s how clients consistently describe Chris.

Starting with the end in mind, he understands that legal advice is only one piece of the jigsaw when balancing strategy and risk.

Clients know they’ll receive advice that fits into the bigger picture.

Best recognised for workplace change and enterprise bargaining, Chris’ work has seen him at the forefront of engagements that matter. Countless employers have benefited from the pragmatic and solution-orientated advice that he is known for.

You may have seen him in Boss magazine, heard him on Qantas Q Radio or Foxtel’s Law TV. He is also famous for his collection of Elvis artefacts.

Photo of Henry Skene Henry Skene

At the forefront of new law, in areas where many others dread to walk, Henry is at his finest.

For legal advice to be truly effective, it must seize an opportunity or solve a problem, aligned with an organisation strategy – exactly what…

At the forefront of new law, in areas where many others dread to walk, Henry is at his finest.

For legal advice to be truly effective, it must seize an opportunity or solve a problem, aligned with an organisation strategy – exactly what Henry is known for. Delivering solutions that innovate and focus on the long term. Commercially-minded and outcomes-driven, he is uncompromising when advancing the interests of employers and business owners.

His novel application of conventional principles does not stop at the elevator, it continues in his various entrepreneurial interests in farming, viticulture, bee keeping and diamonds.