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The effectiveness of partnering and teamwork depends on relationships. Relationship management must be given adequate time and resources throughout the overall process.
The successful social housing client will put aside any prejudice about private sector partners in order to build good working relationships. Construction partners can bring more than their hard hats to the party - they can enhance opportunities for innovation and increase buildability, thereby improving customer satisfaction. They can also bring strong commercial skills to cost, budget and risk management to the partnership.
Having selected your partners on the basis of Best Value it is vital that the relationships are built up and managed from the outset by positive and continuous efforts. Partnering is all about the management of the relationships between two or more organisations or people working together to achieve mutually defined business objectives. However there is no single way of doing this that will satisfy all.
The Housing Forum demonstration participants have successfully used the following in helping to forge good working relationships:
Successful contractors can help housing clients meet their overall business needs whilst making a reasonable level of profit. Contractors who have taken a step change towards modernising their businesses will bring added value to clients by focusing their services and innovation and meeting clients and users needs. They will have invested in their own staff in terms of training, recruitment and retention.
Such contractors will also encourage and help their supply chain to engage in partnering, and will pass on benefits and rewards to their key suppliers to encourage customer focus, innovation and continuous improvement. They won't squeeze their suppliers' profits nor will they use unfair or unequal payment clauses. Their sub-contracting arrangements will be open and fair. In the case of key sub-contractors they will involve clients in their selection and briefing sessions. They will co-ordinate the input of a diverse range of firms to ensure a single point of responsibility for construction outcomes to the client.
Successful partnering contractors have nothing to hide from their clients or users and will share knowledge, learning and the benefits flowing from their projects. They will have direct and reliable communication systems with residents and keep them fully informed throughout the progress of the works. Residents will be offered refuge arrangements, emergency responses and help and assistance with moving furniture or re-arranging access for those residents with genuine needs. The security of residents' homes during the works will be of paramount importance to partners and they will ensure a friendly and responsive service from their staff. Good contractors will carry out proper induction courses for site staff and sub-contractors and ensure that the sanctity of the resident's homes is respected.
Good partnering contractors will not introduce hidden costs. Nor will they make claims for extra time or money without making a full and proper business case in good time to their client. In fact the ground rules for any claims will be put forward to the client at an early partnering workshop for agreement. The best contractors will never cause major surprises for their clients or users. Whenever problems or disputes arise they will proactively seek to solve those in accordance with the problem resolution frameworks agreed in advance of the start of the project.