Building High Performance How can the Directive help

1
Building High Performance How can the Directive
help

• Willy Coupar
• Director, IPA
• Galway
• 26 November 2003

2
What the UK Government says about Performance

• We need high performance workplaces where
  everyone has the chance to get new skills, where
  people can fulfill their own potential, where
  there is trust and commitment, where the rights
  of every worker is respected and people get the
  skills, support and leadership they need.
• Patricia Hewitt Secretary of State DTI
  

3
High Performance Workplaces

• Companies with higher levels of employee
  involvement
• are more competitive
• What is needed is a better understanding of the
  range of
• practices which will promote better performance
  and how
• They complement each other. The CBI and TUC argue
• that a toolkit of practices should be promoted
  that enable
• organisations to build a culture of high
  performance
• The Productivity Challenge CBI-TUC Report 2001

4
Employee Involvement and Performance

• Involving individual employees or teams in
• decisions which affect the day to day
  organisation of
• their work, helps create a culture of autonomy
  and
• responsibility
• Systems for encouraging employee feedback and
• suggestions are key to innovation and building
• commitment to continuous improvement
• CBI / TUC

5
Key High PerformanceWork practices

• Involvement of employees both in innovation and
  day to day work organisation
• Collective employee voice to build commitment and
  trust
• Training linked to organisational need
• Team working and autonomous working
• Staff routinely involved in decision making with
  open agenda when problems are addressed
• CBI TUC Best practice Working Group

6
Why Informing Consulting with Employees Helps
Performance

• To get 21st century levels of performance, the
  workforce must have a deep level of understanding
  of key business information and targets
• You also need teams of committed employees with a
  capacity to identify issues and evaluate them.
  All team members need to be comfortable with
  using this information to make decisions

7
Why Informing Consulting with Employees Helps
Performance

• Better articulation of problems is fundamental to
  an effective problem solving culture
• Issues need to be identified and shared earlier
  The level of two way communication with employees
  which is required in all organisations will
  continue to rise

8
Why Informing Consulting with Employees Helps
Performance

• Industrial relations needs to change - managers
  and representatives with facing and resolving
  challenges on a continuous basis
• They also need to build up a shared understanding
  of context

9
Information and Consultation at National Level

• The government is keen for organisations to
  develop their own arrangements tailored to their
  own circumstances through voluntary agreements
  with the support of both managers and employees.
• The UK proposals will apply to undertakings
• (i.e. the firm) not establishments (i.e. the
  factory or site)

10
UK Government support

• DTI fund was set up by the government in 1999 to
  provide financial support to organisations
  developing new relationships at the workplace
• The Fund also helps to disseminate good practice
  at local, regional and sectoral level whisky,
  aerospace, printing etc
• Some 250 successful bids awarded since 2000

11
Information and Consultation at National Level

• How can it add value
• NHS
• AWE
• Sainsbury
• Birds Eye Walls

12
Using Joint Consultation to build a Problem
Solving Culture

• The more participative the method used, the
• better the outcomes. Where a joint working
  party was used, in 88 of cases, the issue was
  resolved. This compares with 68 where
  traditional methods were used.
• Improvements in trust levels were marked.
• Managers reported that the levels of trust
• between management and employees before the
• working party started its work was 24.
  Afterwards it had jumped to 49.
• Purcell Kessler

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Information and Consultation How can it add Value

• Latest Research by Purcell into key factors to
  create commitment and going the extra mile
• Comm Disc
• Consultative mechanism
• Business discussed
• Feedback taken on board
• TU role
• Feedback welcomed locally
• Partnership on our works councils set the
  context and value system of people first
  TESCO

14
Information and Consultation at National Level

• Questions which remain?
• What will be the link to TUPE and redundancy
  consultation?
• Can you ratify an existing arrangement simply by
  balloting staff?
• What will be the impact on union agreements /
  negotiations?
• What guidance will people need?
• What approach would your organisation favour?
• Amend or introduce a forum in advance
• Wait to negotiate something post directive
• Assume no impact likely

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The Challenges

• Business community has generally been more
  comfortable with the unitarist approachemphasisin
  g shared values, goals and cultures
• Concern that even in partnership organisations
  structures hold things up
• Can unions get too close to management
• Using the directive well - best practice not just
  compliance