Collaboration matters
ARTICLE | Bernadette Cavanagh for TAFE NSW ICVET
Consider the last time you had a question, problem, challenge or new idea and sought out advice. You may have turned to your team members, colleagues or professional contacts for assistance or feedback. Perhaps you contacted your extended network for information. These are times where collaboration has the potential to help us tackle complex and detailed workplace issues with the combined talent, wisdom and expertise of others.
A recent article by Shawn Callahan, Mark Schenk and Nancy White outlines the value of building collaborative workplaces to assist organisations work with rapid change and innovation cycles. In the current workplace `...jobs change fast, requiring learning new skills rather than merely repeating the old. We have to seek out people who have other pieces of the puzzle and work with them to tackle increasingly complex issues at a much faster pace.’
`Collaboration is a process through which people who see different aspects of a problem can constructively explore their differences and search for solutions that go beyond their own limited vision of what is possible.’
Collaboration is a skill and set of practices we are rarely taught, however when used effectively can add value to individuals, organisations and customers. Successful organisations are increasingly recognising the value of supporting and enabling collaboration through fostering cultures to facilitate positive practices within teams, communities and networks.
`Collaboration generates new ideas and new solutions that emerge from the interplay of these perspectives, experience and knowledge that helps us get work done, coming from people both inside and outside an organisation, well known and, yes, even strangers.’
Three types of collaboration
Callahan and his team describe three types of collaboration commonly found in organisations.
Team collaboration
- The members of the group are known, there are clear task interdependencies, expected reciprocity, and explicit time lines and goals. Participants cooperate on an equal footing and receive equal recognition.
Community collaboration
- There is a shared domain or interest, but the goal is more often focussed on learning rather than on task. People share and build their knowledge rather than complete projects. Members may go to their communities to help solve problems by asking questions and getting advice, then taking that advice back home to implement in their teams.
Network collaboration
- Steps beyond the relationship-centric nature of team and community collaboration. It is collaboration that starts with individual action and self-interest, which then accrues to the network as individuals contribute or seek something from the network.
How do we support successful collaboration?
Whilst not definitive, the following elements tend to be present when collaboration is successful.
Team |
Community |
Network |
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Culture and collaboration
Organisational culture has a significant impact on collaboration practices. `To create a culture that supports collaboration, leaders must understand, create conditions for, and model collaboration for teams, communities and networks.’ Consider what leaders pay attention to, how leaders react to incidents and crises, how resources are allocated, what is role modelled, how reward and recognition is allocated and how staff are recruited, promoted and terminated.
`A short hand for this list is, `How does one get ahead around here?’ In the collaborative age, it is about creating the conditions so we can answer the question, `How do WE get ahead around here?’.’
Suggested ways to reinforce a strong culture of collaboration include:
- Appoint a collaboration coordinator who is responsible for fostering its development
- Build a group of collaboration supporters – your champions
- Recruit and promote collaborative people
- Sell successful collaboration stories to senior leaders
- Share successful collaboration stories with the wider community
- Adopt communication tools and technology to support collaborative activity
- Build communities of practice
- Accept failure as a part of learning
Try out the quiz on the 4th page of Callahan’s article to give you an idea how collaborative your organisation is today.
Collaboration in TAFE NSW - case studies
Human Resources driving Century 21 recruitment – team collaboration
Late in 2007 the Humans Resources Unit at South Western Sydney Institute (SWSI) were faced with a new full time teacher recruitment drive and continuing feedback from Faculty Directors about the decreasing calibre and quantity of applicants over recent cycles. A new approach was needed to inspire, attract and recruit for excellence.
With recognition that the policy driven, mechanistic approaches of the past were no longer working, a project team was formed to develop a communication strategy to attract the best possible recruits and equip them with all the information required to comply with and succeed in the recruitment process. Ultimately the aim was to ensure faculties had a strong pool of applicants to select from so SWSI would have `excellent, passionate, enthusiastic teachers’ for the 21st century.
The project team, inclusive of various HR specialists, examined all the issues, sought feedback, consulted and examined how other government departments approached recruitment. They found innovative ideas emerged quickly as their skills complemented each other and they built on each possibility.
The `Teach 08’ promotional campaign was born and became the focus for new initiatives, including the launch of a promotional wiki, recruitment information evenings, web conferencing information sessions, `People Like You’ teacher videos, and simple information links for interested people. The team itself made the shift from treating recruitment as an operational task to something exciting and strategic.
Outcomes were outstanding, with a significant increase reported in both interest expressed and applications received across all faculty areas, including ‘hard to staff’ areas. Most importantly, faculties reported on a better calibre of applicant to select from– excellent recruits ready to embrace the future. The project team was recently recognised with the Institute Excellence in Teamwork Award and has applied learning from the project to the recent part time teacher recruitment drive.
Unit Manager, Catherine Melville commented:
`To have people to whom you could kick the ball and they would just run with it was an amazing thing as a manager. To have the right people in as members of the team – people fell into roles based on their experience but didn’t spend time on defining roles – they emerged as appropriate. The value to the HR team was immense.’
Equity adds value - community collaboration
Structural change at South Western Sydney Institute during 2007 led the Institute equity Unit to review its purpose and find a new way of engaging with faculties.
Challenging the long held premise that equity worked separately to the mainstream, management examined alternative ways of supporting outstanding student outcomes through faculty based provision. With all delivery, including that for target groups, now to be driven through faculties equity had to embrace feedback from their community and reshape the way they worked across the Institute. A new equity Strategy was born out of extensive consultation with internal and external members of the equity community.
The equity unit is now planning community forums to enable both equity and faculty staff to engage and build relationships directly in areas of disability, multiculturalism, youth and Aboriginal education. This broader collaboration will create connections to ensure a shared vision and responsibility is fostered, building on the passion and commitment of all community members.
Equity teams were established to support each faculty and assist in planning and provision, opening up dialogue around equity profile, priorities and targets. Much has been learnt from listening to the internal community and then building feedback into the way equity works. It has been a two way process with collaboration assisting knowledge transfer in specialised areas and opening avenues for supporting improvement across the organisation.
RPL Online Network (RON) – network collaboration
The RPL Online Network has been providing a collaborative space for anyone interested in recognition of prior learning since early 2007. It is open to VET professionals who are interested in, want to know more about, or are experienced and interested in sharing knowledge and practice in RPL assessment. The overall aim is to create an active RPL network of assessors that will promote RPL practice and extend RPL uptake across the VET sector.
RON has representatives from all areas of the VET sector across Australia. Individuals can choose their level of participation, which could involve any of the following activities - online discussions, face to face forums, reviewing and accessing RPL resources or networking with other members.
The network uses social media, in particular Wikispace, Google groups and Adobe Connect, to create a rich and valued environment supporting knowledge and information capture, filtering, creation and transfer. The network is supported through the role of a designated coordinator and receives funding through Council of Australian Governments (COAG).
References
Callahan S, Scenk M, White N, Building a Collaborative Workplace www.Anecdote.com
Mitchell J, 2008 Networking in VET: how to form, benefit from and sustain networks Reframing the Future
Networks – edna.edu.au
Robin D, Sailing the Seven C’s of Collaborative Business RelationshipsMaking Workplaces Work Better
Folinsbee S, Jurmo P, 1994 Collaborative Workplace Development:
an overview ABC Canada
RPL Online Network http://rplnetworkonline.wikispaces.com/