Building a collaborative workplace · Building a collaborative workplace Creating collaborative workplace will require that you take managerial actions: Ø Managing diversity within

Long Island Library Resources Council

November 3, 2017

Radek Nowak, Ph.D. Center for Human Resource Studies

New York Institute of Technology

Manager’s Guide to

Building a collaborative workplace

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?


NYIT Center for Human Resource Studies

Introduction


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


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


Is collaboration always critical?



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



Increasing task interdependence



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



What is collaboration?



Collaboration is a process of:

a) Intentional knowledge sharing b) Taking joint responsibility c) Perceiving outcomes/goals as collective



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



Ø  Increasing intentional knowledge sharing

Ø  Increasing taking joint responsibility

Ø  Increasing employees’ support for collective objectives



Step 1:

Focus on intentional knowledge sharing



How can I increase intentional knowledge sharing?



Research links intentional knowledge sharing to a level of trust

A higher level

of trust among employees

a higher likelihood of

sharing information



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

Higher trust Lower trust



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

What is diversity?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.



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



what could I do… considering that

We work in one of the most diverse places in the world!



GROUP EXERCISE: Based on your past work experience, identify 2-3 key managerial actions that could increase trust among employees in your departments/units


Specific actions that I could consider to increase trust among my employees

1

2

3

KEY ACTIONS: Diversity management

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.



STEP 2: Taking joint responsibility



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



When will employees take joint responsibility?

work groups and teamwork



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

Work groups increase joint responsibility



Building work groups


WORKGROUP

DefinedRoles

NormsofBehavior

CommonIden<ty

Collec<veGoals


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)



Clarifying roles:

Ø  Remember to reduce role ambiguity Ø  Consider formal and informal sources of power Ø  Assign task roles and maintenance roles

Assign Maintenance Roles Employees who will foster supportive and constructive interpersonal relationships

Assign Task Roles

Employees who will enable the work group to define, clarify, and pursue a common purpose


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)



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



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



GROUP EXERCISE: Based on your past work experience, identify 2-3 specific actions you will take to promote joint

responsibility?


Specific actions that I take to encourage joint responsibility

1

2

3


Actions that can promote taking joint responsibility

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.


Part 3: Focus on collective objectives



Collabora(on in the Workplace

Research shows that employees are more likely to collaborate when their efforts are systematically integrated to achieve collective objectives



Setting collective outcomes can be done by: Ø  Job design

Ø  Goal setting and performance management

Ø  Rewards system



How to use design jobs to increase collaboration? Increase meaningfulness of tasks:

Skill Variety

Task Identity

Task Significance

Autonomy

Feedback



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



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




SMART Objectives

Objectives must be SMART

Make collective objectives specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, and time bound They should clearly support a firm’s strategic goals



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



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



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 NYIT Center for Human Resource Studies

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



SUMMARY




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


QUESTIONS? If you have any further questions please contact:

Ø  [email protected]



NYITCenterforHumanResourceStudies

Ourmissionistoadvancehumanresourcesmanagementthrougheduca2onandresearch

thusenrichingthedevelopmentofourstudents,businessandindustrypartners,andotherintegratedstakeholdersinawaythataddsvaluetohumanresourcefunc9onswithinanorganiza9onandtopreparehumanresourceandbusinessleaderstomeetthechallengesofcrea9ngworkforcestrategiestoa;ract,develop,andengagetalentinadynamic,compe99veglobalbusinessenvironment.

Contact:[email protected]


Documents

Building a collaborative workplace · Building a collaborative workplace Creating collaborative workplace will require that you take managerial actions: Ø Managing diversity within