Guest blog by Tracy Brower, PhD, MM, MCRw
Work has become ever-more complex and it seems like nothing can be accomplished successfully unless we’re leveraging our relationships with internal partners.
CoreNet Global’s Corporate Real Estate 2020 research described the necessary HR/IT/RE-FM partnership as the “super nucleus,” but what this mean exactly? Even more importantly, what are the ways to engage internal partners without adding unnecessary layers and slowing everyone down?
The partnerships across functions are critical to creating a positive holistic work experience for users. With a tighter-than-ever job market and unemployment levels at the lowest they’ve been since 1969, the processes for attraction and retention as well as engagement and development are the responsibility of every department. It’s impossible to create an effective, positive work experience without considering how people practices, technology and tools, and the workplace must enhance one another.
Partnerships are that important—so here are a few tips for engaging successfully:
Share a common goal. Each group that supports users internally has its own unique mission, but the overall goal should be common. Establish a set of shared objectives that apply to all the partners. These may include retention of employees, enhanced performance, employee engagement or satisfaction.
Establish connections to the goal. Clarify and articulate how each group contributes to the overall objectives. For example, if engagement is the objective, HR has a role in ensuring people have development opportunities, IT has responsibility to provide technology that helps people accomplish their work efficiently, and RE/FM contributes through creating a workplace that is creative and inspiring. While these may seem self-evident, ensuring clarity in ways each area contributes to the desired outcomes is important to working together.
Set up feedback loops. Consider how all the partners will gather feedback and monitor performance to determine if you’re collectively accomplishing your shared goals. Ongoing measurement and transparency will help you hold each other accountable, and will also help ensure you continuously improve on the goals and practices you have established.
Design connection points. No one needs more meetings, but your connections will be critical to your efficiency and effectiveness. Plan to get together regularly to review goals and processes. If you’re doing it right, you’ll actually save time through the proactive practices you employ. Communicating regularly and establishing systems of openness and ongoing dialogue lets your partners raise and resolve issues that will certainly emerge.
Far from a nice-to-have, internal partnerships are a critical component of success. Establish common goals and connections to the goals, ensure feedback and connection points, and you’ll ultimately ensure effectiveness and efficiency for all the partners involved. Ultimately, the organization as a whole and the end users will benefit from the coalitions you forge.