The Employee Partnership Partners in Transition 22 nd Annual Telecommunication Conference and Trade Exhibition June 2006, Punta Cana The Employee Partnership Susan Coote

The Employee Partnership Agenda  The challenge facing employees  The cultural response  What an engaged workplace looks like  How to build a partnership approach  How to change a culture  How to manage implementation

The Employee Partnership Employees face enormous challenge Some long for stability and are disabled in making decisions Employee New tasks, attitudes, actions Knowledge and skill Shareholder value Customer service Profit New technology Team Reorganisation New leadership

The Employee Partnership How does the culture typically respond?  Inherent sense of insecurity  Increasing tendency to look to management for answers & instructions  Unwillingness to put ‘head above parapet’  Increased likelihood of unproductive work  Culture of coping and ‘satisficement’  Real improvement in performance is elusive  Feeling of growing pressure and strain  Growing resistance Managers are substantially challenged

The Employee Partnership A vital strategy for gaining employee commitment  Take a partnership approach  Manager and employee agree to deliver a shared outcome  Implies an equality with employee  Shift of responsibility towards the employee  Reduced reliance on hierarchy  Aim to generate a culture of engagement  State of personal involvement  Encourages participation & discretionary effort  Problem solving around shared goals  Honest two way communication  Creates a sense of responsibility & accountability Results in people motivated to ‘go the extra mile’

The Employee Partnership ‘Look and feel’ of the engaged workplace  Big picture is understood  Dangers & opportunities on horizon  Clear about direction  Links between own effort, company goals & customer requirements visible to employees  Urgency & energy in work  Responsibility for personal actions  Respect and understanding across the company  Functional boundaries blended  Issues resolved across company  Performance gaps identified  Creativity is sparked  People contribute ideas for improvements Capacity grows for future change

The Employee Partnership How does engagement develop?  Develops when people have a DEEP sense of:  Belonging  Being valued  Doing something worthwhile  Giving value to customers  Effective management infrastructures  For performance management  Consistent good practice in management at all levels  Clear leadership throughout the company Trust is essential in the employee relationship

The Employee Partnership A partnership approach builds relationship & trust  Shows the organisation cares about employees  Enables employee to get involved  Values employee opinion  Encourages employee to give emotionally  Captures the heart and the mind  Builds commitment Employee less likely to leave when commitment is high $$$$

The Employee Partnership A major technical or administrative change is an opportunity for cultural change  Opportunity to try new things  Gives an external focus to internal change  A marker on the corporate calendar  Gives permission to operate differently  Inherent risk of poor treatment of people if the approach is NOT specified  A new approach can be immensely exciting  Breath of fresh air for the organisation  Encourages people to step up from below Caution: Fine words MUST BE FOLLOWED THROUGH Caution: Fine words MUST BE FOLLOWED THROUGH

The Employee Partnership Engagement can develop through HOW a change is managed  Wide circles of involvement  Include, consult and inform widely, ask & listening for opinion.  Open connections  With multi-level, cross–functional stakeholder groups for rapid action  Communities for action  Enable formal & informal problem solving with freedom to act  Democratic principles  Open, two-way communication at ALL levels, genuinely valuing contribution. The challenge: enable engagement while the organisation is in permanent flux An effective process will include: Source: Terms of Engagement:. Richard Axelrod

The Employee Partnership The priorities to make partnership and engagement your process include:  Establish the rules  Communicate clearly, explicitly, frequently and consistently.  Leave room for people at lower levels to work them through  Put infrastructures in place  For effective human resource management  For problem-solving, decision-making and communication  Reward successes  Reinforce new approach  Build new cultural norms  Apply sanctions  Show people you mean business  Remove blatant exhibitions of inappropriate behaviour

The Employee Partnership Summary  The employee partnership can be developed & systematised to generate a culture of engagement  Enables organisation to become a sophisticated & fast-moving entity  Engagement is now a necessity for business survival and an effective tool for business success Customers won’t wait – they just leave Customers won’t wait – they just leave

The Employee Partnership Thank you Susan Coote Tel: +44 (0)