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Partnering has emerged as a primary management
strategy for business/organizational revitalization
by increasing value to customers. Both private and public
sector organizations have been quick to adopt partnering
to overcome the challenges of increasing competitive
pressures and shrinking financial resources.
The Better Schools Partnership™ solution
maximizes the advantages of partnering by applying it
in five beneficial ways:
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- Management Partnering aligns Facilities
Management with senior management's needs for better education
quality and better enrollment through improved facilities.
This leads to more aggressive and creative strategies to
create school renewal.
- Internal Customer Partnering with principals
leads to dramatic improvements in relationships as well
as in maintenance and custodial process efficiency and service
quality.
- Internal Communications Partnering leads
to increased awareness of service quality improvements and
the "feel good" celebration of success.
- Employee Partnering leads to streamlined
work processes that improve service quality and improve
service satisfaction. Employee Partnering also results in
increased competitiveness, increased job security, better
morale, less absenteeism and fewer grievances.
- Supplier Partnering gives managers and supervisors
more leverage by making the supplier co-manager of key parts
of the solution model, such as training and inventory management.
That means managers and supervisors have more time to spend
in the field with employees and customers. Operating costs
go down because of better management of product consumption,
inventory turns and procurement efficiency.
You Can't Have It Both Ways
Sometimes suppliers complain that customers
say they want partnering solutions that focus primarily on
productivity. You can't have it both ways. To make it simple,
calculate the difference between a 5% price reduction and
a 5% productivity increase ( 5% of your labour cost) Clearly
the latter is many times more valuable. Suppliers need profit
to return to their investors and to invest in better methods.
Pushing suppliers to the wall on price is mutually disadvantageous.
Push them instead to increase your productivity. Then you
both win. Partnering is not about struggling to get a bigger
piece of the pie. It's about working together to make the
pie bigger.
Partnering: A Critical Success Factor For
The Future
Regardless of the kind of partnership you choose,
developing and maintaining a strategic partnership is a critical
factor for any organization today. All board staff from the
executive suite to the boiler room, trustees, parents and
suppliers need to be aware of the role partnerships play in
creating better schools.
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