One thing the GC says stands out: "Our company spends an inordinate amount of time explaining disability, workers comp and federal employment law to employees who misunderstand what their rights are, or do not give us the right information to help them get the help they need."

Communication is always tricky. If employees are not providing the right information, that's not necessarily their fault. Those who work with them will go a long way towards helping them by assuming nothing, asking plenty of questions, listening closely to the answers, providing information, and then following up to confirm understanding. I'm wondering what kind of training has been provided to staff who are working with these employees.

However, that's only one issue and it's by no means the main one. The big one that stands out is the question of trust. The GC acknowledges that even an outside agency would be viewed with distrust, writing "I realized, if the employer, or a group of employers, funded this employee advocacy agency, employees would think the advocates were biased toward the employers and were just in a sham relationship to deprive them of their rights to serve the interest of the employer." That's pretty revealing.

So, before I'd offer any advice, I have questions I'd need answers to.

It sounds like employees are suspicious and distrusting. Why? What is its history? What measures if any have been undertaken so far to address it? What result did they produce? If they did not succeed, why not? What kind of conflict assessment has this company conducted, if any, to diagnose the roots of this issue?

That's just scratching the surface, and there's obviously a great deal more I'd like to know. Without knowing more though about the issues this organization faces, providing prescriptive advice seems premature.

I am sorry to hear that the GC is facing this issue; it's obvious that he or she is struggling to find the most appropriate solution for both employees and HR. Best of luck to them and to the organization as they find a way to serve their employees better and build a healthy organization.

But I'd say more questions first with some answers, then advice.

Great post, and great question. Your response and Diane's questions get to the heart of some very big issues that will take some time (that should be spent) to resolve.

Your point about "reactive devaluation -- our tendency to devalue and resist anything our 'opponent' offers to us" is an important one to remember in this context and others. I'm glad you made it again.

My primary reaction follows the path you and DIane have pursued; identifying and solving the long-term trust problem has to be at the top of this GC's list. While this long-term issue is being addressed, an immediate problem remains: the gap between employees and the company on these specific issues has to be narrowed.

Although the reader references (and decides not to pursue) an "independent agency" to advocate for its employees, I am aware that some companies outsource employee relations issues such as these (and many others) to third parties who have credibility in the area because (i) this is all they do; and (ii) they do this for so many companies. As employees work with these third parties over time, I believe that the answers given by the service provider are truly seen as the answer of a less biased third party -- thus not one from the employee's "opponent" at all. I believe the reader should consider this option carefully as larger issues are getting resolved.

Thanks again for a compelling post--

JD

Specifically what I meant when I said they do not give us the right information is that they do not give the forms we give them to the doctors, and do not give us back the doctor's explanations of their disabilities; or they do not return phone calls or answer emails or certified letters; or they document one thing to a state agency and another to the insurance company, so we do not know which we can rely on.

My desire to have a neutral party would be to get past this distrust employees seem to have of the company. And yes, trust is a big issue. Perhaps a mediator could help us discover why. I would like to know if it is the same for each employee, or if there are 300 different, individual reasons to distrust your employer.