ENGINEERING: BEING THE BEST WE CAN BE

A CHANGE FROM AN ‘US & THEM’ CULTURE TO SHARED PURPOSE AND OWNERSHIP

To shift a culture of silence, suspicion and power-struggles between management, the union and employees to a culture of ‘shared purpose and ownership’ in order to speak up and speak out and become the ‘best we can be’. The challenge was to move in small steps.

RECENT RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE UPTAKE OF CHANGE IS FASTER AND MORE RAPIDLY ADOPTED AND SUSTAINED IF DISSEMINATED THROUGH GROUPS OF INFORMAL CULTURAL INFLUENCERS RATHER THAN  INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCERS.

The ONA was rolled out to 2000 people and the key cultural influencers (KCI’s) across the network were identified and invited to join Collaboration Forums (CF). In light of the more recent research we focussed on grouping KCI’s so the CF’s – short, structured conversational processes were conducted monthly (in this case)over 2 years.

Each Collaboration Forum consisted of:

A space for updates, questions of management and discussions,

Requests for more information from participants led to several intervention 1. Simulation day in which a current issue was given to participants who acted as management to solve them

2. Updates from different parts of the business

3. An Action learning segment for continuous improvement. KCI’s gathered around a shared concern aimed at continuous improvement and inefficiencies. The groups were supported and monitored and their actions recorded.

Principles of the Collaboration Forums:

1. Align strategy with practice: Each local collaboration forums established a shared purpose and direction that aligned with the organisation strategy and vision. 
2. Recognition of status, access, role & voice in engagements:   All levels were engaged to empower employees to voice and be listened to through direct access to senior leadership and other parts of the business,
3. Telling the truth  Representative senior leaders were present  and spoke frankly when possible (including about when they could not be open and frank and why). 
4. A focus on what can be done, rather than what cannot:The focus was framed as one of moving from problems to solutions (what we CAN do) and from habitual conflict ( breaking down the “them and us” ). This encouraged shared ownership (i.e. “we” all work for the same organisation).
5. People who do the job are the experts:  When efficiencies/continuous improvements were being proposed(e.g. LEAN/AGILE),employees were asked to identify small multiple, local quick wins and helped to achieve them. They were assisted by the collaboration forum sponsor to negotiate the bureaucracy to achieve their goal if necessary. This built positive relationships, trust, local capacity and empowerment.
6. Measure the small steps cumulatively: Implementations that included measurable results achieved in identified time periods were recorded. Over a period of 18 months of monitoring actions, there was an identifiable cultural ‘tipping point’.
7. Model leadership : In the forums, new skills & ways of working together were modelled by leaders who were coached to do this. 
8. Building local capacity and engagement to shift culture: On specific requests from participants (for example, how to hold a performance conversation) skills burst sessions were also conducted. 
9. Enable shift from command/culture to coaching/ mentoring The overall aim was to shift capacity in leaders to move from a command/control culture (and learned helplessness) to collaboration (“ask (coach/mentor) not tell”  “act not whinge”).
10. Build organisational cross functional capacity: All parts of the business were represented in collaboration forums where possible improving cross functional relationships and productivity.

After two years, the project was still ongoing and the relationship between management and employees had improved through constant dialogue and truth telling. A recent union vote on a new contract signified a significant, positive shift away from an ‘us and them’ culture to a more nuanced relationship and shared culture .