Building a collaborative workplace. Radek Nowak, Ph.D.

Transcription

1 Manager s Guide to Building a collaborative workplace Long Island Library Resources Council November 3, 2017 Radek Nowak, Ph.D. Center for Human Resource Studies New York Institute of Technology

2 1. What is collaboration? 2. Why is collaboration critical? 3. What factors can increase collaboration among employees? 4. What are some key managerial strategies/actions?

3 Introduction

4 INSTRUCTOR: Ø Ph.D. in Human Resource Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ø Teaching: o Talent management o Managerial effectiveness o Business strategy and HR strategy Ø Research: o Innovation o Workplace empowerment o Organizational culture and customer service

5 Introduction in groups: Ø Your name Ø Your job/role Your expectations/why this workshop? Ø Workplace collaboration (your positive and/or negative experiences) Ø Collaboration and its impact on organizational goals

6 Is collaboration always critical?

7 past jobs vs. present jobs Ongoing change in the nature and complexity of jobs

8 Increasing task interdependence

9 Job complexity A successful completion of a given project may depend on input from many employees Ø Please provide an example of complex tasks/projects from your workplace

10 Building a collaborative workplace What is collaboration?

11 Collaboration is a process of: a) Intentional knowledge sharing b) Taking joint responsibility c) Perceiving outcomes/goals as collective

12 Managers can take actions to increase a level of collaboration among employees by

13 Ø Increasing intentional knowledge sharing Ø Increasing taking joint responsibility Ø Increasing employees support for collective objectives

14 Step 1: Focus on intentional knowledge sharing

15 How can I increase intentional knowledge sharing?

16 Research links intentional knowledge sharing to a level of trust A higher level of trust among employees a higher likelihood of sharing information

17 The key factor that determines a level of trust: Homogeneity Diversity Higher trust Lower trust

18 High diversity within a group will lower a level of trust, thus hinder collaboration among employees What is diversity?

19 More diverse groups tend to have a lower level of collaboration among members because Higher diversity generates more conflict v Cognitive conflict vs. affective conflict

20 what could I do considering that We work in one of the most diverse places in the world!

21 GROUP EXERCISE: Based on your past work experience, identify 2-3 key managerial actions that could increase trust among employees in your departments/units 1 Specific actions that I could consider to increase trust among my employees 2 3

22 KEY ACTIONS: Diversity management

23 STEP 2: Taking joint responsibility

24 What could I do to ensure that employees take joint responsibility?

25 When will employees take joint responsibility? work groups and teamwork

26 Work groups increase joint responsibility Work groups emphasize interdependencies Coordinate complex interdependent tasks Generate new problem solutions Design a problem-solving processes requiring varied information Collective implementation of complex decisions Socialize and train newcomers

27 Building work groups Defined Roles Collec<ve Goals WORK GROUP Norms of Behavior Common Iden<ty

28 Managers will promote joint responsibility by Ø Assigning roles played by each employee Ø Clarifying the scope of each role Ø Establishing clear norms of collective behaving Ø Building collective identity (I vs. We)

29 Clarifying roles: Ø Remember to reduce role ambiguity Ø Consider formal and informal sources of power Ø Assign task roles and maintenance roles Assign Task Roles Employees who will enable the work group to define, clarify, and pursue a common purpose Assign Maintenance Roles Employees who will foster supportive and constructive interpersonal relationships

30 Establishing collective behavioral norms Ø Clear/transparent rules and procedures Ø Regulate interactions among members of a group Ø Behavior that we should encourage (e.g., sharing information, teamwork)

31 Groups vs. Teams A group of employees with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable A higher level of integration, commitment and responsibility for collective outcomes

32 When a work group becomes a team: Ø Employees view leadership as a shared activity Ø They take collective accountability for outcomes Ø Every employee feels responsible for a collective objective

33 GROUP EXERCISE: Based on your past work experience, identify 2-3 specific actions you will take to promote joint responsibility? 1 Specific actions that I take to encourage joint responsibility 2 3

34 Actions that can promote taking joint responsibility

35 Part 3: Focus on collective objectives

36 Collabora(on in the Workplace Building a collaborative workplace Research shows that employees are more likely to collaborate when their efforts are systematically integrated to achieve collective objectives

37 Setting collective outcomes can be done by: Ø Job design Ø Goal setting and performance management Ø Rewards system

38 How to use design jobs to increase collaboration? Increase meaningfulness of tasks: Skill Variety Task Identity Task Significance Autonomy Feedback

39 Collective goals and performance management Ø Employees must clearly understand the company s (department s) goals Ø Employees must know what actions they need to take to support those goals both individually and as a group Ø Objectives should be SMART

40 Include collective objectives into performance plans To increase employee support for collective goals: Ø Encourages employee s participation in decision making, goal setting, and feedback sessions Active participation of employees in the process of performance management increases its effectiveness

41 SMART Objectives

42 Objectives must be SMART Make collective objectives specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, and time bound They should clearly support a firm s strategic goals

43 Jim is the manager of a sales team at XYZ Automotive. Jim expects his team to sell 2000 cars per week. Which guideline for writing SMART goals does this violate? A. Specific B. Measurable C. Attainable D. Time-bound

44 When setting collective objectives, make sure to differentiate performance expectations for individuals performing similar functions Ø Consider their sets of skills, knowledge and abilities Ø Consider their aspirational objectives Ø Be a mentor not a disciplinarian Effort performance expectations and reward preferences

45 GROUP EXERCISE: Based on your past work experience, identify 2-3 SMART collective objectives for groups in your department/ unit Specific SMART collective objectives 1 2 3

46 Managerial action: set up a reward system that will support collective objectives, thus encouraging collaboration Ø Use rewards as a mechanism that elicits desired behaviors Ø Use extrinsic and intrinsic rewards Ø Reward specific behaviors such as information sharing, teamwork, mentoring and helping others

47 SUMMARY

48 Creating collaborative workplace will require that you take managerial actions: Ø Managing diversity within your group Ø Setting clear roles and rules for every employee Ø Encouraging behavior that promotes taking joint responsibility Ø Including SMART collective objectives into performance plans Ø Utilizing extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to reinforce desired employee behavior

49 QUESTIONS? If you have any further questions please contact: Ø

50 Our mission is to advance human resources management through educa2on and research thus enriching the development of our students, business and industry partners, and other integrated stakeholders in a way that adds value to human resource func9ons within an organiza9on and to prepare human resource and business leaders to meet the challenges of crea9ng workforce strategies to a;ract, develop, and engage talent in a dynamic, compe99ve global business environment. Contact: SHRM@NYIT.EDU