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Why Listening, Not Leverage, Is the Future of Labor Strategy with Michael VanDervort
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Welcome to a brand new episode of Voice Activated: Tuning Employee Insights At Work. Our host Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of TalentMap, is joined by Michael VanDervort, a seasoned labor relations strategist and trusted voice in the employee experience space, to discuss how organizations can build extraordinary workplaces through better employee relations, whether unionized or not.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to transform labor relations from risk management to relationship building
- Why approachability is the key leadership trait for preventing union organizing
- How to create effective listening systems beyond annual surveys
- Why responding to feedback matters more than collecting it
- The critical role of middle managers in building employee trust and engagement
- Why organizational culture change must start with executive commitment and modeling
Michael VanDervort is a seasoned labor relations strategist and trusted voice in the employee experience space. He’s also a key voice behind LRI Consulting Services and HR Acuity, where he leads communications, content, and events focused on building extraordinary workplaces. With over 35 years of experience in labor and employee relations, including roles at the United States Postal Service and various private sector organizations, he brings a unique perspective from both union and management positions. Michael is also Co-Host of The Left of Boom Show and Drive Thru HR.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do so are here: https://www.fame.so/follow-rate-review
Highlights and YouTube Chapters:
- [00:00] Introduction
- [02:53] From Law School to Labor Relations
- [05:18] Is Labor Relations More Collaborative Today?
- [10:49] What Makes a Workplace Extraordinary
- [13:47] The Approachable Leadership Training Philosophy
- [17:31] Union vs. Non-Union Listening Cultures
- [28:01] When Surveys Fail and How to Fix Them
- [31:03] Why Leaders Don’t Close the Loop
- [36:39] If I Were a CEO…
- [39:36] The Hero Assumptions
Quotes:
- “Trust your people, know your people, assume the best. That doesn't mean everybody's great or everybody's perfect, but don't manage your business because of the bad apples.”
- “If leaders are approachable, that's like one of the biggest, best starting points.”
- “Unionized companies do not necessarily have bad labor relations. Unions and companies don't necessarily have to hate each other.”
Episode Resources:
- Michael VanDervort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelvandervort/
- HR Acuity on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hr-acuity/
- LRI Consulting Services on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/labor-relations-institute/
- The Left of Boom Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/pt/podcast/the-left-of-boom-show/id1740403761
- Drive Thru HR: https://drivethruhr.online/
- Sean Fitzpatrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-j-fitzpatrick/?originalSubdomain=ca
- TalentMap Website: https://talentmap.com/
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