Have you ever wondered why relationships can fray or even break down completely?
Communication becomes difficult, leading to mistrust and if not fixed, one party leaving the other.
This is often seen as being more prevalent with personal relationships, marriages and friendships. The cost of these relationships breaking down can be measured in financial cost, but more importantly, it creates emotional turmoil, arguments, accusations, stress and in some cases the inability to function properly at all.
The fraying and breaking down of relationships within a working environment creates the same financial and emotional pressures. For companies who take the wellbeing of their staff seriously, the knock on effect to the bottom line of their business by not paying attention to this possibility will have ramifications.
This is not just about a company’s own internal staff, but also the working relationships that they have with their clients and their supply chain.
A good working relationship is true partnership. Trusting, communicative, collaborative and successful. And we all know what happens in a bad relationship!
Step 1. Understand the problem
Run a diagnostic. Recognising that there is a problem is the first step to improving and fixing it. It may be that it’s felt things are going well but could be better, or a situation is at a critical point.
Run an external fact finding diagnostic, involving all stakeholders to identify the root of the problem. Getting a truly honest report on the findings is an essential. Hold a facilitated workshop with the stakeholders with the findings to agree the way forward and the measurable outcomes
Step 2. Fix it
Develop a programme based on the diagnostic and the workshop which addresses the issues on a behavioural and business level, and which is relevant to the people and systems involved.
Effective personal interactions are the key to a successful outcome. This message can be delivered in imaginative and interactive ways, blended within the systems and processes in place.
Step 3. Make it stick
Deliver the programme to all appropriate team members at every level, by trainers and coaches with the relative specialist skills, that cover all aspects of the programme.
Step 4. Measure it
Measure the success of the programme against the earlier agreed measurements.
Just as honesty, commitment and communication are key elements in a successful marriage, they are essential in the relationship between the client and their service providers, and between the service providers and their employees. Creating strong relationships within a team benefits everyone: the individual, the employer and the client.
We have come up with many titles to this programme, but the only one that really feels right is, ‘Corporate Marriage Guidance’. To find out how this approach could help you, contact us here.