Benefits of partnership

Partnership is built on principles and practices of shared commitment between the organisation and the people who work there.  This should produce the following business benefits:

  • Change implemented with assistance rather than resistance
  • Competitive edge for the organisation
  • Dealing with issues before they become problems
  • Less bureaucracy
  • Fewer, if any, tribunal cases
  • Higher levels of staff retention
  • Greater ability to recruit high quality staff
  • Low levels of absenteeism
  • Less conflict
  • Better decision making

For a trade union, all of these are benefits too. There are also some specific areas that a trade union working in partnership will benefit from:

  • Opportunity to maintain or increase its influence on company strategy
  • Opportunity to ensure that the impact of staff is considered in any decision
  • Opportunity to increase membership levels
  • Opportunity to develop the skills of the representatives to a much higher level
  • Opportunity to become an equal stakeholder within the organisation

 These, if the union approaches partnership working in the right spirit, are benefits to the organisation as well.