Partnership working what does academic research tell us.pdf

8/2/2019 Partnership working what does academic research tell us.pdf

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WorkinginPartnershipWhatdoesacademicresearchtellus?BySarahPassonbehalfoftheDepartmentofHealthSeptember2008


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CONTENTSIntroduction ..............................................................................................................................................................3

Impactof

Partnership

Agreements...........................................................................................................................3

Whatmakesapartnershipagreement?....................................................................................................................4

Whatarethebenefitsofworkinginpartnership?....................................................................................................6

Iftherearesomanybenefitstopartnershipagreements,whydontallorganisationshaveone? .........................8

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................9

Appendix1References.........................................................................................................................................10

Useful

websites....................................................................................................................................................10

Bibliography.........................................................................................................................................................10

Appendix2 CaseExamplesofpartnershipagreements........................................................................................12


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INTRODUCTION

PartnershipworkinghasbeenundergoingarevivalsinceNewLabourandwasakeyfactorintheEmployment

RelationsAct1999(seeFairnessatWork,DTI1999),yetthereisstillnoagreeddefinitionorconceptualisationof

partnershipworkingeitheracademically orinpolicyliterature(GuestandPeccei,2001;Kelly,2004).Accordingto

BERR(formally

the

DTI):

SinceNewLabourselectionin1997therehasbeenanincreaseintheimplementationofformalandinformal

proceduresthatareassociatedwithpartnership.Althoughtheconceptofcooperationhasbeenaroundforalong

time,selfconsciousadoptionofpartnershipandothercooperativerelationshipsisrelativelynew(Oxenbridgeand

Brown,2004).

TheInvolvementandPartnershipAssociation(IPA)linkspartnershipworkingasanintegralpartofhigh

performanceworking.ThisissupportedbytheTradeUnionCongress(TUC)whostatesthatrepresentative

participationandhighperformancegohandinhand.Eventhoughthereisnosingleformulainachievinghigh

performanceworking(Hydeetal.,2006),thereareawiderangeofpracticesbelievedtomakeanimpact(see

Boadenetal.,2008).Ofthesepractices,directinvolvementandrepresentativeparticipationarekeycatalystsfor

thedevelopmentandsustainableimplementationofnewformsofworkorganisationandessentialtoolsin

establishing,firstlythetrustandsecondly,theculturalchangeandcontinuouslearningrequiredoftrulyhigh

performanceworkplaces(IPA,2002).

IMPACTOF

PARTNERSHIP

AGREEMENTS

TheNewLabourGovernmenthasfollowedanonstatutoryapproachtopartnerships,insteadfocusingon

encouraging,advisingandfundingtheirdevelopmentandimplementation.TheGovernmentspushcoupledwith

growingEuropeansocialpolicyonengagement,hasresultedinanincreaseinorganisationsconsciouslychoosing

tosignpartnershipagreements.AnincreasethatwaslikelyassistedbytheTUCstatingthatpartnershipworkplaces

areathirdmorelikelytohaveaboveaverageperformance,lowerlabourturnoverandabsenteeism,higher

salariesandprofits(TUC,2002). PartnershipagreementshavealsobeensupportedbytheIPA(1992),andthrough

thePartnershipatWorkFundwhichstimulatedadiverserangeofactivitiesandinitiativesbeforeitsclosurein

2004.

Baconand

Samuel

(2007)

conducted

research

on

the

number

of

partnership

agreements

that

had

been

established

between1990and2007andfoundconsiderablymorepartnershipagreementsinplacethenhadbeenpreviously

expected.Intotal,248partnershipagreementsweresignedwiththemajoritybeinginthepublicsector.Onethird

ofpublicsectoremployeesarebeingcoveredbyapartnershipagreement.

3

Partnershipworkreferstotherelationshipbetweenemployers,employeesandtheirrepresentatives.Itis

aboutdevelopingbetteremploymentrelationshipsofalllevels,helpingtobuildtrustintheworkplace,sharing

ofinformationandworkingtogethertosolvebusinessproblems.(BERR)


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WHATMAKES APARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT?

PartnershipagreementsintheUKvaryconsiderably(attributedtothenonstatutorynatureoftheUK)withseveral

distinctionsbeingidentified(seeOxenbridgeandBrown,2004),namely;

Formalandinformalpartnerships(OxenbridgeandBrown,2002;Bryson,2003) Dejureanddefactopartnerships(Ackersetal.,2005) Underlyingmanagementstrategies(Ackersetal.,2005) And,defensiveoroffensive(Samuel,2001)

Inadditiontovaryingdistinctionsonthetypesofpartnerships,therearealsovariationsinwhatconstitutes

partnershipagreements.Althoughpartnershipagreementssincethe1990shavehadcorecomponents(flexibility,

rightstoinformationandjoboremploymentsecurity,seeKelly,2004)largevariationsstillexist.Itisnotsurprising

therefore,thatwhatcomprisesapartnershipagreementandhowtomanageone,resultsinconsiderable

confusionformanagers.

Giventheconfusion,agoodstartingpointwhenassessingwhatcomprisesapartnershipagreementisthe

partnershipprinciplesdevisedbytheIPA(1992)andTUC(1997).AsstatedbytheIPAthepartnershipprinciples

wereafirstattempttoidentifythekeyprinciplesandpracticeswhichunderpinpartnershipintheworkplace

identifyingthree

partnership

commitments

and

four

building

blocks.

The

TUC

highlighted

six

key

elements

for

partnership(seeTable1).

PartnershipPrinciples

IPA(1992) TUC(1997)

Successoftheenterprise Acommitmenttothesuccessoftheorganisation

Building

trust

through

greater

involvement

A

focus

on

the

quality

of

working

life

Essential

commitmentsto:

Respectforthelegitimacyofotherpartners Arecognitionofandrespectforthelegitimaterolesof

theemployerandthetradeunion

Recognitionforemployeesdesireforsecurity

andtheemployersneedformaximiseflexibility

Acommitmenttoemploymentsecurity

Sharingsuccesswithinthecompany Opennessandtransparency

Informingandconsultingstaffaboutissuesat

workplaceand

company

level

Addingvaluetoallconcerned

Plus

supplementary

buildingblocks

Theeffectiverepresentationofpeoplesviews

withintheorganisation

Table1IPAandTUCPartnershipPrinciples


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AlthoughtheIPAandTUCprinciplesprovideausefulfocus,theydonotprovidetheprecisecontentofpartnership

agreementsandthepracticesneededforittowork(GuestandPeccei,2001).ResearchconductedbySamueland

Bacon(2008)examined126formalpartnershipagreements.Theyfoundthatalthough91%ofpartnership

agreementsstatedacommitmenttofocusingonthesuccessoftheorganisation,otherprinciplesputforwardby

theIPAandtheTUCwererarelystated.Onaverage,partnershipagreementscontained23principlesthathad

been

proposed

by

the

IPA,

but

TUC

principles

were

rarely

used.

Interestingly,

the

partnership

agreements

that

did

containmost/orallIPAandTUCprinciples,wereheldinthepublicsector.SamuelandBaconconcludedthat

employersprefertheIPAemphasisonpartnershipprocedurescomparedtotheTUCemphasisonsubstantive

gainsforemployees(2008:12).Ofthe126partnershipagreementsthattheyexamined,themajorityincluded

statementson:

Tradeunioncommitmenttothesuccessoftheorganisationinreturnforincreasedemployeeparticipation

RecognitionandrespectforthelegitimateroleofthetradeunionFewmadereferencetojobsecurity,afocusonthequalityofworkinglife,andgainsharingwithemployees.Few

alsohadagreementsfromemployerstoprovidesubstantivetoimprovementsintermsandconditions.However,

theagreements

provide

unions

with

adegree

of

institutional

security

and

acertain

level

of

involvement

in

predominantlyworkplacedecisionmaking.

GuestandPeccei(2001)analysedsurveyresponsesusingamatchedsampleof54UKmanagementandemployee

representatives.Theywereabletofindalinkbetweenpartnershipprinciplesandpractices(seeTable2),and

betweenpracticesandemployeeattitudesandbehaviours.Theywerethenabletofindalinkbetweentheseand

estimatesofpositiveemploymentrelationsandqualityandperformance.

Principles Practices

1.

Good

treatment

of

employees

2.Empowerment

3.Employeerightsandbenefits

4.Employeeresponsibilities

1.Communication,

harmonisation,

security

2.Flexiblejobdesignandqualityfocus

3.Directparticipationinworkdecisions

4.Representativeparticipationinpolicy

5.Performancemanagement

6.Directparticipationinwiderdecisions

7.Employeeshareownership

8.Representativeparticipationinpolicy

Table2PartnershipprinciplesandpracticesidentifiedbyGuestandPeccei(2001)

Inessence,theyfoundanassociationbetweenpartnershipprinciples,practicesandoutcomes.


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WHATARE TH EBENEFITS OF WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP?

Workinginpartnershipisarguedtoresultinmutualgainsforall.AsdescribedbyGerrySutcliffe(former

EmploymentRelationsMinister)workingtogethermakesgoodbusinesssenseandisessentialforcompaniesand

industriescommittedtosuccess.Goodemployersknowthatonlybyvaluingpeoplecanyouboostproductivityand

encourageinnovation

(speaking

at

apresentation

to

the

Partnership

at

Work

prize

winners,

19

th

April

2004).

The

BritishGovernmenthaspromotedthelinkbetweenworkplaceconsultation,highperformanceworkingand

performance(DTI,2002),anassociationthatissupportedbyacademicresearch.Whenpartnershiparrangements

occurinrobustrelationships,theyarearguedtoresultinbenefitsforallthroughimprovedinformationsharing

andadecreaseinuncertaintythatisassociatedwithgreaterlevelsoftrustbetweenemployers,unionsand

employees(OxenbridgeandBrown,2004).Althoughpartnerships

involveemployees,employersandunions,thefocusofacademic

researchhasbeenonthetradeunionperspective(seeTerry,

2003).

Employeeandemployerbenefitsofpartnershipworkingare

argued

to

occur

through

a

better

psychological

contract

and

greatervoice,includingscopetocontribute(GuestandPeccei,

2004). Engagementandconsultationisawellestablishedelement

inachievingsustainablehighorganisationalperformance.This

occursviaamotivatedworkforcearelationshipthathasmutual

benefitsforemployeesandemployers.Animprovedpsychological

contractandincreasedlevelsofmotivationarelinkedtolevelsof

jobsatisfaction,commitmentandmotivation.Inaddition,working

inpartnershipcanassistwithdaytodayissueshelpingto

addressspecific employmentofbusinessissues,including

absenteeism,productivity,staffturnover,customersatisfaction

levelsand

management

of

flexible

working

practices

(DTI).

Fromaunionperspective,partnershipagreementsdevelopconsultationproceduresandearlyinvolvementin

decisionmaking(seeAckersetal.,2005).Inaddition,partnershipagreementsprovideunionswithrecognitionof

theirlegitimateroleandacommitmenttoconsultation,especiallyinthepublicsector(SamuelandBacon,2008).

Ultimately,althoughpartnershipagreementsresultinunions(arguably)losingtheircapacitytocoerce

managementcooperativerelationshipsofferthemtheconsolationofincreasedaccesstomanagementandthe

opportunitytobuildoninfluenceonbehalfoftheirmembers,thatisbasedontrust(OxenbridgeandBrown,

2004).

Asummaryofthemutualbenefitsofpartnershipworkingisshown

intable3.Althoughthisisnotaconclusivelistofacademicresearch

intopartnershipworking,itprovidesasynopsisofkeyfindings.

6

Before

we

had

high

rates

of

absenceandadisgruntled

workforce.Staffwereforcedto

worklonghourstocopewithpeaks

indemand

(HRManager,ProperCornish

Limited)

Partnershipisoneofthemain

elementsensuringthatthe

companyhasempathywithstaff

needsand

that

all

employees

are

evermindfulofbusiness

deliverables.Itsnotjustanew

schemeitsthewaywevechosen

towork

(HRDirector,NCRBusiness

Solutions)


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BenefitsofpartnershipworkingEmployees Employers Unions

Increasedopportunitiestoinfluence

management(OxenbridgeandBrown

2004)

Linkswithhighperformanceworking,

increasedproductivityandsuperior

performance(GuestandPeccei2001;

MarchingtonandWilkinson2005)

Improvedinformationsharing

(OxenbridgeandBrown2004)

Improvedpsychologicalcontract(Guest

andPeccei,2001)

Higheremployeecontribution(Guest

andPeccei,2001)

Decreaseduncertaintyassociatedwith

greaterlevelsoftrust(Oxenbridgeand

Brown,2004)

Greatervoice(GuestandPeccei,2001) Betteremployeerelationsand

harmonisationoftermsandconditions

(GuestandPeccei,2001;Brown,2000;

OxenbridgeandBrown,2004)

Increasedopportunitiestoinfluence

management(OxenbridgeandBrown,

2004)

Increasedemployeecontribution(Guest

andPeccei,2001)

Facilitatechange(Brown,2000;


Earlyinvolvementindecisionmaking

andextentionofconsultation

procedures(Samuel,2001;Ackersetal.,

2005)

Decreaseduncertaintyassociatedwith

greaterlevelsoftrust(Oxenbridgeand

Brown,2004)

Implementationofqualityinitiatives

(Brown,2000;OxenbridgeandBrown,

2004)

Engagementwithdecisionmaking

(GuestandPeccei,2001)

Betteremployeerelationsand




Winpublicsectorcontracts(Brown,

2000;OxenbridgeandBrown,2004)

Rcognitionoflegitimaterole(Samuel

andBacon,2008)

Improveabsenteeismratesandstaff

turnover(MarchingtonandWilkinson,

2005)

Betteremployeerelationsand




Table3Mutualbenefitstopartnershipworking


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IF THERE AR ESO MANYBENEFITS TO PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS, WHY DONT AL L

ORGANISATIONS HAVE ONE?

TheUKsvoluntaristapproachtopartnershipallowsorganisations(andunions)tosignandmaintaincommitment

toagreementsattheirowndiscretion. Itisarguedthatwithoutstrongerlegislationemployerswilleithernotsign

apartnership

agreement,

or

withdraw

from

one

if

they

do

due

to

their

lack

of

legal

standing

(Kelly,

2005).

FROMAMANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE concernsoverpartnershipagreementsaredueto: concernsofslowingdownthedecisionmakingprocessandhavingtomakepragmaticdecisionsrather

thanthroughdesire(Ackersetal.,2005);

thebeliefinapartnershipagreementoccurringextracosts(Ackersetal.,2005); havingunioninfluenceinthestrategicdecisionmakingoflargediverseorganisations(Kelly,2000); Andthedecreasedattractivenessofdecliningunionstrengthandeffectiveness(Terry,2003).

Inaddition,withincreasingmarketpressuresandafocusonshorttermperformance,thereislessincentiveto

engageinlongtermpartnerships(Deakinetal.,2002),especiallywhenthisinvolvesmakingpromisesthatthey

maynotbeabletokeep(Thompson,2003).

FROMAUNIONPERSPECTIVE concernsoverpartnershipagreementsaredueto: partnershipsbeingregardedastrojanhorsesandinrealityhavinglimitedinfluenceinmanagement

decisionmaking(Ackersetal.,2005);

beingseentobetooinvolvedwithmanagersandpotentiallybeinginvolvedinunpopulardecisions; andultimatelythebalanceofgainbeinginfavourofemployersthanemployees(GuestandPeccei,2001;

Terry,2003).

Withorganisationsbeingexposedtoexternalshocks,businesscrises,andmergersandtakeoversandunions

expectedto

withdraw

from

agreements

ifmanagers

do

not

genuinely

involve

unions

in

decision

making,

are

partnershipagreementslikelytostandthetestoftime?Duetoalackofdefinitionanduncertaintyover

measurementofitssuccess,assessmentoftheirlongtermimpacthasbeenproblematicandhasresultedinmany

questioningwhetherpartnershipagreementshavedurability,arguingthattheyarefundamentallyunstable

(MartinezLucioandStuart,2005:p797).However,BaconandSamuel(2007)foundthatofthe248sign

partnershipsbetween1990and2007,81%hadinfactsurvived.Theirfindingssuggestthatpartnershipagreements

arealotmoredurablethenhadbeenpreviouslypredicted.


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APPENDIX 1 REFERENCES

USEFULWEBSITES

IPAhttp://www.ipainvolve.com

BERRhttp://www.berr.gov.uk/

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ackers,P.M.,Marchington,M.,Wilkinson,A.andDundon,T.(2005).PartnershipandVoice,withitwithouttrade

unions:ChangingUKmanagementapproachestoorganisationalparticipation,inM.StuartandM.MartinezLucio

(eds),PartnershipandModernisationinEmploymentRelations,London:Routledge.

Bacon,NandSamuel,P.(2007).MappingpartnershipagreementsinBritain:patternsandexplanations,at8th

EuropeanCongressoftheInternationalIndustrialRelationsAssociation,Manchester,UK,September37th

.

Boaden,R.,Marchington,M.,Hyde,P.,Harris,C.,Sparrow,P.,Pass,S.,Carroll,M.,andCortvriend,P.(2008)

Improvinghealththroughhumanresourcemanagement:theprocessofengagementandalignment,London:CIPD.

Brown,W.(2000).PuttingparticipationintopracticeinBritain,BritishJournalofIndustrialRelations,38:299316.

Bryson,J.(2003).ManagingHRMRiskinaMerger,EmployeeRelations,25(1):1430.

Deakin,S.,Hobbs,R.,Konzelman,S.andWilkinson,F.(2002).Partnershipownershipandcontrol:Theimpactof

corporategovernanceonemploymentrelations,EmployeeRelations,24(3):335352.

Guest,DandPeccei,R.(2001).Partnershipatwork:mutualityandthebalanceofadvantage,BritishJournalof

IndustrialRelations,39(2):p207236.

Heery,E.(2002).Partnershipversusorganisating:alternativefuturesforBritishtradeunionism,Industrial

RelationsJournal,33(1):p2035.

Hyde, P., Boaden, R., Cortvriend, P., Harris, C., Marchington, M., Pass, S., Sparrow, P. and Sibbald, B. (2006)

Improvinghealththroughhumanresourcemanagement:Mappingtheterritory,London:CIPD.

IPA2002InvolvementandParticipationAssociation

Kelly,J.(2000).Thelimitsandcontradictionsofsocialpartnership,CommunistReview,33(autumn):p38.

Kelly,J.(2004).SocialpartnershipagreementsinBritain:laborcooperationandcompliance,IndustrialRelations,

43(1):p267

92.

Kelly,J.(2005).SocialpartnershipagreementsinBritain.InM.StuartandM.MartinezLucio(eds)Partnershipand

ModernisationinEmploymentRelations.London:Routledge:p188209.


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Marchington,M.andWilkinson,A.(2005).HumanResourceManagementatWork,3rd

Edition,London:CIPD.

MartinezLucio,M.andStuart,M.(2005).Partnershipandthenewindustrialrelationsinarisksociety,Work,

EmploymentandSociety,19(4):p797817.

Oxenbridge,S.andBrown,W.(2002).Thetwofacesofpartnership?Anassessmentofpartnershipandco

operativeemployer/trade

union

relationships,

Employee

Relations,

24(3):

262

276.

Oxenbridge,S.andBrown,W.(2004).Achievinganewequilibrium?Thestabilityofcooperativeemployerunion

relationships,IndustrialRelationsJournal,35(5):p388402.

Samuel,P.(2001).Partnershipefficacy:Somepreliminaryevidencefromtradeunionofficials,InAssessing

Partnership:theProspectforandtheChallengesofModernisation,M.MartinezLucioandStuart(eds),London:

p4045.

Samuel,P.andBacon,N.(2008).TheContentsofPartnershipAgreementsinBritain,19902007:substantively

hollowwithshrinkingambition,atBritishUniversityofIndustrialRelationsAssociationconference,Bristol,UK,

June2628th

.

Terry,M.(2003).CanpartnershipreversethedeclineofBritishtradeunions?,Work,EmploymentandSociety,

17(3):p45972.

TUC(1997)PartnersforProgress.London:TradeUnionCongress.


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APPENDIX 2 CASEEXAMPLES OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS

Organisation NumberofEmployees

Typeoforganisation

FocusofPartnershipAgreement

OutcomeofPartnershipAgreement

NCRBusiness

Solutionsin

partnershipwith

AMICUS

1,500 GlobalAmerican

corporationwitha

coremanufacturing

sitebasedin

Dundee

Focusedonimproving

communicationand

involvingemployeesin

jointdecisionmaking.

Behaviouralandtechnical

trainingcourses

Employeesarereportedtobemore

awareoftheroleindecreasing

manufacturingcoststhrough

adherenceofqualitystandardsand

meetingcustomerdemands.

Resultedin:

Acceditationofefficiencylevels

Rankedinthetop50intheFinancialTimesbestplaces

towork

2%decreaseinabsenteeismratesin12months

IncreasedcommunicationProperCornish

Limited

165 Cornwallbased

manufacturer

Partnershipagreement

focusedonrecruitment,

retentionand

absenteeism.Established

acommunicationgroup

withemployeesand

directors.Areas

of

discussionincludedpay

andperformance

measurements,working

conditionsand

recreationalfacilities

Resultedin:

AchievementofIIPaward Decreaseinturnoverbya

half

Productivityincreasesfrom89%to98%

Decreaseinabsenteeismfrom18%to7%andan

increaseinstandardworking

hourproduction,resultingin

asavingof3,000perweek

inovertimepaymentsalone

LondonBorough

ofMerton

5,000 LocalAuthority Focusofthepartnership

agreementwasaround

issuesofraceequality

withintheworkplacein

responsetotheStephen

LawrenceInquiry.

Throughfocusingonlanguage,self

awareness,culturalawareness,

communicationandbehaviouralskills,

anumberofemployeefocused

initiativeshavebeencreated(e.g.

MertonEthnicMinorityStaff

Network).Thishasresultedin

reportedimprovementsbothfor

employeeandserviceusers


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