HHCG offers strategy sessions and customized workshops to create more effective working alliances whether it is a multi-discipline team within a company or an alliance between multiple divisions, organizations or sectors (e.g. Government, industry, public interest, regional, multi-national).
The result is aligned teams, sharing a common vision, and working together to achieve important goals and objectives.
Prior to these sessions, interviews are conducted with team members to gain a comprehensive understanding of past and current issues, teammate’s individual goals, objectives and concerns. This information is used to create a customized workshop that solves existing problems and paves the way to a smoother working relationship. These sessions are not just feel good exercises. During the workshop, the team works on real issues. At the end of the session, the group has a clear Vision of success, a set of operating principles, detailed action plans, and an agreed upon process for conflict resolution and communication. Many such alliances/partnerships choose to express all of the above in a formal "Partnering Agreement".
The following chart shows the advantages of partnering compared to a project under a conventional contract.
Comparison - Conventional Contract vs. IPTs vs. Partnering
| Conventional Contract with a Supplier | Integrated Product Teams (IPTs)* | Partnering** | Advantages of Partnering |
|---|---|---|---|
| ’Us vs. them’ mentality; ’Win-Lose’ orientation; finger-pointing; CYA | Functional teams; greater cooperation at team level | Project-wide teaming; ’Win-Win’ orientation | Broader alignment to a common Vision of success; greater synergy and empowerment |
| Lots of specs & paperwork; laborious negotiations & reviews | Supports performance-based contracting | Fosters creative & joint approaches to all aspects of a project | Promotes streamlining and cycle-time reduction initiatives |
| Arms-length treatment; cautious/limited sharing of information | More open information sharing; fewer surprises | Proactive thinking; rapid sharing of information; early identification of problems | Greater focus on prompt & joint resolution of problems, instead of placing blame; avoids problems before they start; no surprises |
| Disputes tend to polarize and escalate quickly | Some issues can get resolved at an IPT-level | Specific Alternative Dispute Mechanisms agreed to in advance | Avoids costly disputes and litigation |
| Watchdog/ oversight orientation; distrust | Active participation at working level | Active participation at all levels (executive, management and working) | Greater focus on getting to the goal line in the most timely & cost effective manner; high performance team |
What are the change effort challenges you are running into?
* Integrated Product (or Process) Teams represent a solid foundation on which to build a Partnership. The Partnering Process takes both the successes and lessons learned from an IPT-or equivalent teaming environment several steps further:
- Helps clear the air of any past baggage among the parties
- Jointly builds a compelling Vision of success
- Makes it utterly clear that success depends on the whole team (i.e., one boat-analogy)
- Specifies the process for resolving and/or escalating issues
- Formalizes the relationship with a Partnering Agreement
- Builds greater trust and enhances communications across the whole program, not just within a specific IPT
** "Partnering is NOT (a) mandatory; (b) a panacea; (c) successful without total commitment; (d) a waiver of the parties’ contractual rights; or (e) contrary to either party’s fiduciary and business interests." Click here for Testimonials from clients who have experienced our Partnering workshops.