homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Construction


print  email to a friend  reprints add to mydjc  
School Construction 2001

August 30, 2001

How to make your partnering a success

By RICK KROCHALIS
Department of Design, Construction and Land Use

The following techniques and best practices have been helpful in Seattle’s use of partnering with other agencies in support of improving the development, design and construction of public capital project. These suggested practices are easily adaptable for use in any large-scale development effort that relies upon a collaborative relationship between diverse players.

Making a commitment

Once there is some level of interest in developing a partnering approach with another jurisdiction or agency, a commitment must be obtained to customize the arrangement and make it work for the participating organizations. It may be helpful to begin discussions on key issues and who is expected to lead or facilitate the preparations for the partnership conference.

Pre-conference activities

If this is the first partnership effort for your organization, extra time may be needed to educate your staff and other participants on the benefits of partnering and what is expected. Here are some preliminary actions that lead up to the partnership conference:

  • Assign a leadership team who will guide the partnering effort.

  • Jointly select a facilitator, preferably an outside consultant who has conducted other partnering sessions.

  • Identify key issues and agenda topics for the partnering session.

  • Decide on possible use of a survey instrument or interviews to get candid assessments of concerns about the project(s) from key participants and stakeholders.

  • Once the survey is complete, agree on the main issues critical to project success; begin drafting an agenda that will foster dialogue for all parties to gain insight from each other.

  • Decide who should attend from each organization and send invitations to lock in attendance from the “right” players.

  • Begin trust-building discussions. Gain permission from conference leadership team to be candid, yet not hurtful, in the partnership conference to encourage constructive comments on how to respond to key issues.

  • Select a convenient but neutral site for the partnering session.

Structuring effective conferences

There are several features of the partnering conference (normally a two-day event) that truly increase the probability of success resulting from this approach.

First, leaders should have some idea of the big issues that need to be addressed during the conference and reserve time accordingly.

Second, a written document produced from the conference should identify how decisions are made in each participating organization and the agreed-upon timeframes for decisions at each step.

Third, there also needs to be commitment to “elevating” decisions to the next level if they cannot be agreed upon at the lower level within the agreed-upon timeframes.

Finally, a partnership agreement or charter should be developed during the conference and signed by all the attendees. The development of the agreement represents a true team-building activity — one that people remain loyal to once they have signed their name.

Partnering for results

The partnering conference should be the beginning of a long-term commitment to achieving mutual goals. How do you know if partnering is making a difference?

If there has been a suitable agreement on how results are measured or how survey results are reviewed at regular meetings, these follow-up sessions can also be a powerful means to renew a dialogue with partnering agencies. A group of problem-solvers can be assigned to figure out a way to close a schedule issue or fix a communications gap that is causing confusion.


Rick Krochalis is the director of Seattle’s Department of Design, Construction and Land Use.


Other Stories:



Email or user name:
Password:
 
Forgot password? Click here.