Improving supervisory skills in the management of unionized technicians

The development and implementation of a labor-relations program that was designed to improve staff pharmacist supervisory skills and work relations with unionized technician is described.. This program of a large hospital pharmacy department was created at a time when the technician staff was being expanded substantially and the staff pharmacists lacked supervisory skills. The objective was to give both pharmacists and technicians an understanding of how job duties and responsibilities are integrated with the policies and procedures of the pharmacy and the hospital and with the requirements of the union contract. The program also provided the staff pharmacist with training in supervisory skills. A five-session course covered 20 labor-relations topics, including employee and management rights and responsibilities, employee relations, and discipline and grievance procedures. The program took a positive approach to improving interrelationships between the professional and technical staffs ot the department.