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Research and Information
Key themes - PartnershipThe IPA has been at the forefront of the partnership agenda since it published Towards Industrial Partnership in 1992. This report was the first attempt to identify the key principles and practices which underpin partnership in the workplace.
It identified three commitments to which all the parties should subscribe:
- the success of the enterprise;
- building trust through greater involvement; and
- respect for the legitimacy of other partners.
It also identified four building blocks on which a partnership is built:
- recognition of employees' desire for security and the company's need to maximize flexibility;
- sharing success within the company;
- informing and consulting staff about issues at workplace and company level; and
- effective representation of people's views within the organization.
Robert Taylor described Towards Industrial Partnership as: "the best example of the new consensual approach to relations at the workplace."
The IPA's principles have subsequently been taken up in reports like Partners for Progress, published by the TUC in 1998 and the Labour government's Fairness at Work White Paper. As a result the concept has now moved into the mainstream of employee relations and the government's £5 million commitment through their partnership fund has helped over 200 projects throughout the UK.
One of the clearest definitions of workplace partnership is found in the ACAS report, Time for a change: forging labour- management partnerships by Larry Adams. He identifies partnership as an "interest based relationship - that is a relationship based not simply on power and rights but on the satisfaction of mutual as well as separate interests".
Bodies as varied as the TUC and the Institute of Directors have described partnership in their own terms. Most, however, follow the principles and practices identified in the IPA's own benchmarks, for example a joint commitment to success, policies addressing employment security in exchange for flexible work practices, sharing success, information-sharing, and joint consultation.
Why adopt partnership?Many members of the IPA have shown a longstanding commitment to partnership over many years. Companies such as AstraZeneca, Blue Circle, Sainsbury's, Severn Trent Water, Tesco, Unilever and United Welsh Housing Association have built on a history of good employee relations, which in some instances goes back many years.
For others the trigger has been a change in the status of the organisation. Some interesting examples are found in the utility sector where businesses have moved from the public into the private sector. Companies like AWE, East Midlands Electricity, Leyland Trucks, Thames Water and Scottish Power, have developed a partnership approach to employee relations in response to changes in ownership and in the market place. Some leading examples are also found in the finance sector in companies like Abbey, Barclays Bank, Co-op Bank, Legal and General, and Lloyds-TSB.
As well as manufacturing companies, like BMW Hams Hall, Lever Faberge©, Nestle©, Pfizer Global Manufacturing and The Edrington Group, examples of partnership are to be found in new media firms, many NHS Trusts and the rail industry (Midland Main Line and EWS Railways). Partnership can also be found in non-unionised enterprises such as Dutton Engineering, John Lewis Partnership, Masterfoods, Sportasia and Scott Bader.
IPA information resourceThe IPA holds case study material on over five hundred organisations. In many instances a summary of this information available on the Partnership-at-work database. The IPA has also carried a number of case studies of good partnership practice including:
- Abbey
- Allied Distillers
- AWE
- BMW Hams Hall
- Borg Warner Automotive
- Emhart Fastening Teknologies
- Peabody Trust
- Nottinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust
- Scottish Power
- Sportasia
- Wigan & Leigh Healthcare Services NHS Trust
- United Welsh Housing Association
These and the other examples on the Partnership-at-work database give concrete evidence of the practices associated with partnership and serve as useful models for anyone thinking about how to embark on this approach within their own organisation.
The principles and practices of workplace partnership are now well established, if not universally welcomed, particularly by some in the trade union movement. The challenge that remains is to demonstrate through case study evidence how partnership at strategic level translates into practical employee involvement and participation in the workplace.
IPA benchmarksIn 1997 the IPA published a review of partnership working in the UK under the title 'New ways of working in British companies'. This assessed progress over the first four years of the Towards Industrial Partnership programme and identified a wide range of evidence of good practice.
The 1998 report The Partnership Company set out a series of benchmarks against which partnership organisations should measure themselves. The benchmarks were drawn up from evidence gathered from eighty businesses in the UK, based on responses to a quantitative survey of managers and staff representatives.
The survey identified strong evidence of employee commitment to:
- continuous improvement;
- flexibility;
- skill development;
- fairness of treatment;
- long term interests of the organisation; and
- workforce representation.
The IPA's Partnership Company study shows very high levels of employee commitment, over 90% of those responding to the survey report that they can attract and retain good employees. It also points to low levels of absenteeism and labour discord among partnership organisations.
Tangible business outcomes include better productivity, and ability to retain customers. Progress against the benchmark principles and practices identified in the Partnership Company report has been shown to deliver statistically significant improved outcomes both in terms of employee relations and business performance.
The challenge for any company is to combine business focus with a commitment to mutuality, that is a respect for the interests and aspirations of all the stakeholders in the organisation.
The IPA has advised over 200 hundred organisations in the last five years about aspects of partnership. Many companies have wanted help to make the processes of employee dialogue work well, recognising how the quality of the relationship between the company and its employees contributes to business success.
Unions welcome increased employee involvementUnions have also seen the potential for consultation and joint problem solving to enhance influence at strategic level and input into operational decision making. They no longer see it as the poor relation of collective bargaining. For maximum benefit consultation and dialogue should be taking place at all levels within the organisation. A high quality agenda is vital with a focus on company performance, investment and divestment decisions, the state of the marketplace, process improvement and job re-organisation.
Effective machinery for consultation and involvement of staff has sometimes been lacking in the past. In the voluntary sector there has been a particular desire to improve existing systems of consultation, which have often been moribund.
Within the NHS, management, members of staff and unions are working together in the Taskforce on staff involvement to address how they develop new models which ensure everyone feels involved within the service. A major programme of focus groups and stakeholder seminars was carried out for the Taskforce by the IPA to draw together the views of people working throughout the country.
Outside facilitation can be usefulBuilding a workplace partnership is a lengthy process which calls for patience from all parties. In many cases the early steps may be the most difficult especially when there has been a long history of mistrust. Outside facilitation is often needed to open up entrenched attitudes and to help scope out the objectives of the partners. Drawing on its wide range of examples the IPA has worked through the early stages with groups who may be coming together for the first time and experience some concern about the direction they are taking.
The IPA has been active in many instances in helping to initiate the process of dialogue or helping to review and update established processes. Working with companies like BAA Gatwick, Diageo, East Midland Electricity, EWS Railways, GNER, Kellogg, Pfizer, Scottish Power and Transco our team of consultants has worked through the process of building a shared agenda for partnership.
Impact of EuropeThe advent of European legislation has acted as a further stimulus, in particular the directive on European Works Councils and the EU employee consultation directive, which the government will implement through the Information and Consultation Regulations from March 2005.
Click here for a review of the draft legislative proposals setting out how the UK government proposes to implement the information and consultation directive.
The IPA demonstrates that the principle and practice of workplace partnership is also at the heart of effective information sharing and consultation at the national or European level.
Positive outcomesThe business benefits of good employee relations or human resource management practices are subject to debate. Work done by Guest and Peccei on the partnership company for the IPA and the CIPD, by Mari Sako on the auto components sector, by John Purcell and Ian Kessler on ACAS joint working parties, all identify positive outcomes.
This work has been taken forward by research into 'high performance working' in which good employee relations, which includes working in partnership are among the critical contributors to high performance organisations.
Click here for an introduction to the concept of 'high performance working', 'high performance work organisation' and 'high performance work practices'.
The studies show that policies which otherwise are difficult to implement, like flexible work practices, annualised hours, self-managed teams, and innovative joint problem solving activities, have also been easier to implement where there are good employment relations.
Combining employee involvement and good industrial relations brings benefits to both the organisation and its employees. There is no prescriptive model and in each case the approach needs to be customised to the needs of the particular culture
For further information, please contact the IPA on 020 7354 8040 or click here to find out how the IPA can help your organisation.
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