This activity is designed for participants to learn how to negotiate effectively
Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement
Define the negotiation goal
What do you want to achieve?
What is your "ideal point" or "best-case scenario"
What are the values or goals that motivated you to begin negotiations?
List all possible options if the negotiation fails.
If the negotiation fails, what will happen?
What is the status quo?
What are the costs/risks of failing to reach an agreement?
Select your BATNA
Think about the feasibility, benefits, costs, and risks of each scenario where negotiation fails.
Choose the most acceptable feasible/achievable alternative to agreement.
Set your threshold
Compare your best-case scenario to your BATNA
Decide the minimum acceptable outcome in the negotiation based on your BATNA.
When would you walk away?
Activity
Tammy leads a 24-hour clinic that requires at least 2 MDs/NPs, 2 RNs, 2 NAs, and 2 front desk workers per shift. Ideally, she'd employ 8 MD/NPs, 8-10 RNs, 8 NAs, and 8 front desk workers. Unfortunately, she only employs 5-6 people in each role, which is insufficient to meet the needs of their patient population.
Anticipating some employee absences due to flu season, Tammy wants to ask the RNs and NAs to offer more overtime flexibility so that the clinic can be fully staffed during the busiest hours (8 am-8 pm) during flu season.
Common Knowledge
Non-exempt hourly employees (NAs, RNs, front desk) cannot be forced to work overtime, given the terms of their contracts and union agreements. Some salaried NPs and MDs have a contractual expectation to cover extra shifts, but Tammy's authority to require this is limited, especially when staff shortages are not caused by an emergency.
Tammy's BATNA: If the staff refuse, the clinic may offer lower-quality care, including longer wait times or limiting its services to essential services only. Or, patients may be referred elsewhere. Tammy can find another way to cover shifts, which could include calling in off-duty staff from other facilities, hiring temp staff, redistributing workload, or replacing some staff members with more productive and efficient workers. However, replacing workers is could be bad for morale, causing more staff turnover, and in some cases, Tammy does not have the legal authority to replace workers who refuse to work overtime.
Staff BATNA: If the staff refuse, they may experience a more demanding workload later, or they may impose worse conditions on their coworkers. The office will be tense, and Tammy will disapprove of them for refusing. The staff may feel conflicted about making patients wait, referring them elsewhere, or refusing non-essential services. Some people on the staff may not get along with temporary workers, who require additional training and support. Additionally, some staff members may resent Tammy if their refusal to work overtime coincides with negative performance evaluations, lower raises, or limited autonomy over scheduling.
Negotiate!
Keep your BATNA to yourself: At least at first, you want to get a sense of what is possible, and revealing your BATNA can anchor and constrain deliberations.
Explore and ask questions: Investigate your partner's BATNA and ideal point.
Don't argue about history or ethics: A negotiation is not the time to litigate, make arguments about fairness, or to try to persuade someone that you are right.
Successful negotiators need only persuade their partners that making a deal is in their best interest.
Be Creative: Look for solutions that maximize your situation and your partner's, given what you know about their BATNA.
Use your BATNA knowledge and the values that informed your 'ideal point' to guide decisions, leverage offers, and know when to walk away.
Reassess as needed
If none of the negotiated agreements are better than your BATNA, and you are still unwilling to walk away, then you either need more information or you were wrong about your BATNA. Here are some reasons that can happen:
You were not realistic about the risks and costs of walking away. This can happen when you overstate your own value or when you engage in wishful thinking.
You lied to yourself about the values you were actually trying to promote through the negotiation. You told yourself a "good story" about yourself, but that is not what you actually care about.
You were too focused on symbolic victories without material consequences, so material negotiations couldn't give you what you really wanted.
You discovered new options or information during negotiation, and you need to update your BATNA and ideal point in light of that new information.
What is negotiable?
Compensation (Tammy wants to minimize the cost of labor, the staff all want higher wages)
Overtime pay: 1.5× or 2× regular pay
Flat shift bonus: Extra $50–$200 per shift
Holiday/Weekend pay premium
On-call pay: Compensation for being available even if not called in
Scheduling (Tammy wants to maintain flexibility and coverage, the staff want flexibility and desirable schedules.)
Comp time / time off later: Extra PTO in exchange for overtime
Block-scheduling future shifts: Flexibility to reduce future weekend and holiday assignments
Flexible scheduling: Allow swapping shifts
Early release: Employees who work overtime can earn the option to leave early when they are not needed.
Status (Tammy wants to avoid distractions and accusations of favoritism, the staff wants advancement and praise)
Adding continuing education training during overtime hours
Skill development and expertise: Overtime workers can specialize and focus on a particular population or procedure during their shifts.
Staff choice in assignments: Let staff who work overtime pick the units or patients they cover.
Recognition / awards: “Employee of the week/month” or some kind of public acknowledgment for team players.
Career advancement: Letters of recommendation for further study, priority for promotions or leadership roles
Amenities (Tammy does not want to avoid setting a precedent of providing in-kind benefits to staff; the staff wants more in-kind benefits)
Meals/snacks at the clinic
Transportation support: Gas stipend, preferred parking, ride-sharing support
Childcare support or reimbursement
Upgraded equipment and workspaces.
Vibes (Tammy wants to maintain professionalism and control, the staff wants fun and autonomy)
Team social events: Tickets to a local event, meals, or celebrations tied to effectively navigating a temporary shortage.
Peer recognition programs: Peer feedback tied to gift cards, granted for supporting temporary workers or covering for absences.
Relaxing uniform standards and permitting more personalization at work.
Security (Tammy doesn't want to pay people for unnecessary work, the staff wants to get the highest return from each shift).
Guaranteed pay even if shift is short: e.g., 4-hour minimum if called in for 2 hours
Staff can set "blackout windows" for scheduling
Guaranteed minimum hours
Tammy can maximize overtime coverage if she matches compensation and incentives to each worker's values:
MD/NP → status + compensation
RNs → compensation + scheduling + security
NAs → status + ammenities + scheduling
Front desk → flexibility + ammenities +vibes
The workers can maximize the benefits of overtime if they gather information about all their options and convince Tammy to let them choose combination compensation packages that include multiple benefits.
Reflection
Think of a problem in your organization where people must come to a negotiated agreement. How can the concept of a BATNA help you?