MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Deploying resources
And there was another illustration of the problems caused by split site
working despite agreement on the original strategy:-
There have definitely been problems with the old NWSA and old
Unifi staff feeling part of the new organisation because of the
remoteness from Raynes Park. That is a real problem and there
are bits of animosity remaining but that is because they don't
see each other. I mean, I meet my fellow officers at various
times but the office staff don't tend to. That has been a bit of a
problem. There have been some attempts made to improve that
situation but I think that the geography always gets in the way to
be quite honest. Yes, you can hold a meeting, whether that be a
union meeting, a clerical bargaining group meeting or whether
it's a social event or whatever but that has not really worked.
(Interviewee H)
A view which was substantiated from another source:-
I think it didn't blend the cultures quickly enough because the
day after the merger, the people who came into the office were
the same people who came into the office the day before the
merger. This office was still BIFU. In Bournemouth it was still
NWSA. All right, we were putting headed notepaper out which
said something different on it but the cultures were still different.
I think they still are different. Whether that is a good thing or a
bad thing it remains to be seen but certainly I came up here on
day one and had real difficulty changing the culture.(Interviewee
D)
A problem was also identified at regional level:-
I went to an office just recently, it was an old BIFU office, and I
was horrified because there were BIFU posters on the wall in the
office. And I wanted to reach up and pull than down. But clearly
it identifies to me that there is someone in that office who it is not
actually on board in terms of what the new union is all about.
And that is where you identify that there is more work to be done
(Interviewee C)
Several managers, however, were positive about the results of the
process:-
I have found it to be harmonious to a great extent. I found that
most people accepted it fairly readily. There were a few who
went out of their way to be welcoming. I think two only I could
regard as having shown any sort of hostility on a personal basis.
So in general I found it to be harmonious. All those who have
seen other union mergers and have been around more than I
have tell me that it went extraordinarily well, the inter reaction
between the three sets of staff. (Interviewee M)
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