Peter Totterdill
DirectorWorkplace Innovation Limited
Joint Chief ExecutiveUK Work Organisation Network
Visiting ProfessorKingston University London
Building versatile organisations for a fast-changing future
The UK Work Organisation Network
A not-for-profit coalition committed to shared knowledge, collaborative action and policy advocacy
• The future of work and organisations
• Closing the gap between leading-edge practice and common practice
www.workplaceinnovation.eu
A distinctive approach
• Evidence-based
• Diverse backgrounds, common values
• Stimulating “employee voice”
• Committed to win-win outcomes
• Sustainable change, not quick fixes
Innovation in work organisation:
an under-utilised resource?
• Competitiveness and innovation• Quality of working life• Employee engagement• Healthy working• Talent wars• Active ageing• Social inclusion
The past is an increasingly unreliable guide to the future
Survival is not compulsoryOf the Fortune 500 firms listed in any year from 1975,
over a third disappeared ten years later. Only one firm remains from the 1900 list. For smaller firms the odds are much worse.
Put simply, change is imperative.
Anticipating the future is tricky
“It will be years – not in my time – before a
woman will become Prime Minister.”
Margaret Thatcher, 1974
Anticipating the future is tricky
But thinking about the future is essential
‘In preparing for battle I have always found that
plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.’
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Future Quiz
When was the phrase “nothing is permanent but change” written?
Answer Between 540BC-480BC by Heraclitus
According to former USAccording to former USSecretary of EducationSecretary of EducationRichard Riley…Richard Riley…
Times of economic downturn are Times of economic downturn are times to invest in people and times to invest in people and
workplace innovation. workplace innovation. Now is the time to engage people in Now is the time to engage people in
finding creative solutions.finding creative solutions.
The Future of WorkClichés and false predictions:
• The end of work
• Jobs for life and careers are dead
• The office is history
• The paperless office is on the way
• The death of hierarchy
Are our organisations becoming obsolete?
• Technologies
• Technologies• Globalisation
Are our organisations becoming obsolete?
CHINA AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
CHINA AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY• 2000 higher education institutions in 2002
CHINA AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY• 2000 higher education institutions in 2002
• 4000 higher education institutions by 2005
CHINA AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY• 2000 higher education institutions in 2002
• 4000 higher education institutions by 2005
• 16 million students enrolled by 2008
• Technologies• Globalisation• Global Resources
Are our organisations becoming obsolete?
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, 24th March 2008
• Technologies• Globalisation• Global Resources• Politics
Are our organisations becoming obsolete?
• Technologies• Globalisation• Global Resources• Politics• Climate change
Are our organisations becoming obsolete?
• Technologies• Globalisation• Global Resources• Politics• Climate change• Consumers
Are our organisations becoming obsolete?
• Technologies• Globalisation• Global Resources• Politics• Climate change• Consumers• Demographics
Are our organisations becoming obsolete?
• Technologies• Globalisation• Global Resources• Politics• Climate change• Consumers• Demographics• The workforce
Are our organisations becoming obsolete?
Is it a good job?
To join or not to join? Will the job . . .
• Enhance my career capital?
• Offer personal development?
• Engage my talents and creativity?
• Be fun?
• Conflict with my values?
‘Work is getting better’
For many, work is how we identify ourselves, where we learn and make friends. Work is our community.
More and more employers are recognising that a high quality of working life offers real competitive advantage.
• Work is becoming more intense and demanding
• ICT developments allow work to pervade more of the week and every location
• Stress and absenteeism as headline issues
• Death of loyalty and growth of insecurity
• 22.5 million (17%) “actively disengaged” US workers cost business $300 billion a year in productivity
‘Hard Times’
Active disengagement
Globalisation bites
• Polarisation of the labour market, creating winner take all dynamics at the top of the labour market, and dislocation at the bottom
• Globalisation + flexible labour markets = increased insecurity
Organisations under pressure
• There will be winners and losers at the end of the current crisis
• The business environment is less predictable
• Product ranges and services change more quickly
• Constant imperative to offer more differentiation and choice
• Customers expect high quality service at speed, when and where it suits them best
• Companies expected to be environment friendly and ethical
Scenarios for the future of work
“Built to Last”• multiple stakeholders
• investment in employee and organisational development
• large companies absorb the majority of talent
Scenarios for the future of work
“The Network Economy”• Italian successes
• Phycomp
• VC 2010
• Soho
• The Hub
Scenarios for the future of work
“Stagnation”Apparent stability but . . .
• high casualty rates
• dependency culture
• perpetual cost driven restructuring and wage squeezes
• restricted quality of working life
Scenarios for the future of work
“McJobs”• high levels of employment
• little security
• low skill/low wage economy
Scenarios for the future of work
“It’s a jungle out there”• highly entrepreneurial
• high casualty rates
• limited regulation
• poor quality jobs
• increasing social division
Scenarios for the future of work
The Matrix . . .
Scenarios for the future of work
The Matrix we want
24th January 2022
24th January 2022
What will I be doing?
24th January 2022
24th January 2022
The Economy
24th January 2022
The Workplace
The Economy
24th January 2022
The Workplace
The WorkforceThe Economy
24th January 2022
The Workplace
The Workforce
Technology
The Economy
24th January 2022
The Economy
The Workplace
The Workforce
Technology
24th January 2022: Global Threats and Exciting Opportunities
Micro Global
Control
Influence
Adapt to things that cannot be changed
Traditional ways of organising Traditional ways of organising work and traditional work and traditional approaches to management approaches to management are inadequate in an are inadequate in an increasingly volatile world.increasingly volatile world.
Work and Capital
Then
Work Anonymous and replaceable
Capital Personal and unique
Svenskt Näringsliv – Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
Work and Capital
Then Now
Work Anonymous and replaceable
Capital Personal and unique
Svenskt Näringsliv – Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
Work and Capital
Then Now
Work Anonymous and replaceable
Personal and unique
Capital Personal and unique
More and more anonymous and replaceable
Svenskt Näringsliv – Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
“. . . a clear concentration on those factors in the work environment which determine the extent to which employees can develop and use their competencies and creative potential to the fullest extent, thereby enhancing the company’s capacity for innovation and competitiveness while enhancing quality of working life.”
Hi-Res Study (available at www.ukwon.net)
The critical importance of employee voice
Towards the High RoadTowards the High Road
• Beyond the Low Road of cost-driven Beyond the Low Road of cost-driven restructuringrestructuring
• Innovation: the ability to do things Innovation: the ability to do things differentlydifferently
• Convergence between enhanced Convergence between enhanced performance and quality of working lifeperformance and quality of working life
High Road:Quality
Low Road:Costs
Strategy WorkOrganisat ion
HRWO
Neo-Taylorism
Total QualityManagement
Team Work
Project Groups
Total QualityManagement
Team Work
Project Groups
Quality Culture
Quality Control
semi autonomous
holistic tasks
continous improvement
co-operation over hie-rarchical boundaries
Multiskilling
Job Rotation
Short Work Cycles
taylorist product development
High Road:Quality
Low Road:Costs
Strategy WorkOrganisat ion
HRWO
Neo-Taylorism
Total QualityManagement
Team Work
Project Groups
Total QualityManagement
Team Work
Project Groups
Quality Culture
Quality Control
semi autonomous
holistic tasks
continous improvement
co-operation over hie-rarchical boundaries
Multiskilling
Job Rotation
Short Work Cycles
taylorist product development
LeadershipIngredients: Foresight, Commitment and Guidance. • Building a future for our people and the subscribers we serve.• Leading the way through connectivity enablement.
IntegrityIngredients: Solid Principles, Trusted and Togetherness.• We are, because of you, our subscriber.• We are, because of you, our employee.• With your trust and belief, we will always succeed.
Can-DoIngredients: Optimism, Future focus, Passionate and Happening. • Creating brighter futures, for everyone whose life we touch.• Empowering people, communities and countries.• Creating possibility.
InnovationIngredients: Simplicity, Imagination, Insight and Creativity.• Doing things differently.• Making unlikely connections.• The unexpected exceeds expectations.
RelationshipsIngredients: Teamwork, Friendly, Personal, Warm and Caring. • Connecting with people on ‘their level’.• Having empathy for their unique situations.• Building relationships with our customers (internal and external).
MTN Group Values
How do you interpret history?
• Histoire evénémentielle
• La longue durée
Fernand Braudel (1949)
Leadership theory is a mixed blessing
‘If the characteristics of successful leadership were easy to identify, quantify and replicate, organisations would look very different and a lot of consultants would lose their jobs.’
DON’T worry about:
Charisma
Personality
Strategy
Quick Guide to Leadership Theory
DON’T worry about:
Charisma
Personality
Strategy
DO worry about:Self-directed teamsDeliveryReflectionLearningTrustEntrepreneurship
Quick Guide to Leadership Theory
Vision?Vision?
“People are proud to work here. Proud of colleagues, proud of the company and proud of themselves.”
David, Managing Director
“I wonder if David knows how people are treated? I’m sure he wouldn’t want his company to be run like that”.
Trish, Shopfloor Worker
Active disengagement
Dialogue,Reflection,Negotiated Action
Dialogue,Reflection,Negotiated Action
SharedKnowledge &Intelligence
•Building an inclusive vision?
•Confidence to engage?
•Making change stick?
Three dilemmas
•Building an inclusive vision?
Three dilemmas
•Building an inclusive vision?
•Confidence to engage?
Three dilemmas
•Building an inclusive vision?
•Confidence to engage?
•Making change stick?
Three dilemmas
Organising, Involving, Learning
The Slick Organisation
Innovation in work organisation:
an under-utilised resource?
• Competitiveness and innovation• Quality of working life• Employee engagement• Healthy working• Talent wars• Active ageing• Social inclusion
Dialogue,Reflection,Negotiated Action
SharedKnowledge &Intelligence
ORGANISING
INVOLVING LEARNING
Dialogue,Reflection,Negotiated Action
SharedKnowledge &Intelligence
Job design
Teamwork
Organising
Teamworking
Effective teams:
•are multi-skilled and work on a common task
•have high levels of discretion for managing their day-to-day work
•allocate tasks between themselves
•plan and pace work according to the outlined requirements of the business
•recruit and train new team members
•actively seek improvements to the work process.
Dialogue,Reflection,Negotiated Action
SharedKnowledge &Intelligence
Involving
CommunicationChange
ImprovementInnovationPartnership
Management / Workforce Partnership
• Often a formal partnership agreement
• A representative employee forum
• A shared commitment to new ways of working together
• A joint search for ‘win-win’ outcomes
• Boxing and dancing
• Setting an agenda relevant to stakeholders
• Closeness to the drivers of change
• Proactive or reactive
• Supporting transition
• Building resilience
• Maintaining commitment
Moving partnership beyond IR and HR
• Partnership representatives as knowledgeable participants in innovation and change?
• Building skills and competencies in partnership and engagement
• Time and commitment
The roles and competencies of partnership representatives
Dialogue,Reflection,Negotiated Action
SharedKnowledge &Intelligence
Learning
CompetenceKnowledge
sharingDialogue
ORGANISING
INVOLVING LEARNING
Developing & using competencies High involvement innovation
Shared learning and knowledge
Organising, Involving, Learning
SELF ASSESSMENT
Taking Stock
•Representative participation alone has little direct impact on performance.
•Direct participation is strongly correlated with improved performance against several indicators.
•BUT these improvements are both enhanced and more sustainable when direct and representative participation co-exist in a series of mutually reinforcing practices.
South Maasland Hospital, The Netherlands
Signposts?
• Tegral
• Kaiser Permanente
• Tower Automotive
• Lindum Group
Reading and reflection
Towards the High RoadTowards the High Road
• Beyond the Low Road of cost-driven Beyond the Low Road of cost-driven restructuringrestructuring
• Innovation: the ability to do things Innovation: the ability to do things differentlydifferently
• Convergence between enhanced Convergence between enhanced performance and quality of working lifeperformance and quality of working life
BOARDSenior Management Team
BOARDSenior Management Team
Strategic Knowledge
BOARDSenior Management Team
Strategic Knowledge
Stakeholders
BOARDSenior Management Team
Strategic Knowledge
StakeholdersOpportunitiesThreats
BOARDSenior Management Team
Strategic Knowledge
StakeholdersOpportunitiesThreats
Leadership, Strategy, Values
Workforce
Workforce
Practical Knowledge, Experience, Ideas
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
Practical Knowledge, Experience, Ideas
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
GAP?
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
LineManagement
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
LineManagement
CompetenceRole definitionClarity
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
Systems and Procedures
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
BehavioursTrustAdaptability
Systems and Procedures
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
Innovation & Improvement
Workforce
Management, Work Organisation, Productive Reflection
BOARDSenior Management Team
Leadership, Strategy, Values
Knowledge, experience, creativityTwo dimensions to every jobCommon purpose
Innovation & Improvement
FORMAL, RIGHTS-BASED
REFLECTIVE AND KNOWLEDGE-BASED
TEAM-BASED PROBLEM SOLVING
INFORMAL
Self-organised teamworking
Empowering job design and individuals engaged in dialogue
Employees participating as experts in improvement and innovation
Partnership involving Trade Union or Workplace Representatives
FORMAL, RIGHTS-BASED
REFLECTIVE AND KNOWLEDGE-BASED
TEAM-BASED PROBLEM SOLVING
INFORMAL
Self-organised teamworking
Empowering job design and individuals engaged in dialogue
Knowledge Sharing
Partnership involving Trade Union or Workplace Representatives
Employees participating as experts in improvement and innovation
FORMAL, RIGHTS-BASED
REFLECTIVE AND KNOWLEDGE-BASED
TEAM-BASED PROBLEM SOLVING
INFORMAL
Self-organised teamworking
Empowering job design and individuals engaged in dialogue
Knowledge Sharing
TACIT KNOWLEDGE INTO STRATEGY
STRATEGY INTO PRACTICE
Partnership involving Trade Union or Workplace Representatives
Employees participating as experts in improvement and innovation
FORMAL, RIGHTS-BASED
REFLECTIVE AND KNOWLEDGE-BASED
TEAM-BASED PROBLEM SOLVING
INFORMAL
Self-organised teamworking
Empowering job design and individuals engaged in dialogue
Knowledge Sharing
TACIT KNOWLEDGE INTO STRATEGY
STRATEGY INTO PRACTICE
Ensuring quality of dialoguePartnership involving Trade Union or Workplace Representatives
Employees participating as experts in improvement and innovation
FORMAL, RIGHTS-BASED
REFLECTIVE AND KNOWLEDGE-BASED
TEAM-BASED PROBLEM SOLVING
INFORMAL
Self-organised teamworking
Empowering job design and individuals engaged in dialogue
Knowledge Sharing
TACIT KNOWLEDGE INTO STRATEGY
STRATEGY INTO PRACTICE
Ensuring quality of dialogue
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS & PROCEDURES
PRODUCTIVE REFLECTION
Partnership involving Trade Union or Workplace Representatives
Employees participating as experts in improvement and innovation
ORGANISING
INVOLVING LEARNING
PRODUCTIVE REFLECTION
ERICSSON RADIO SYSTEMS, GÄVLE
The Green Room
Productive Reflection and Transformation
Individual creativity
Team effectiveness
Organisational innovation and transformation
Productive Reflection
The Workplace of the Future?
The Workplace of the Future?
The Workplace of the Future?
Developing Innovation Capability
Impact
Time
Level 1 – Pre (‘natural improvement’)
Level 2 – Structured
Level 3 – Goal-Directed
Level 4 – Proactive
Level 5 – Capability
ORGANISING
INVOLVING LEARNING
•
Employee engagement in the UK
• Engaged employees generate 43% more revenue.
• Engaged employees: 2.7 sick days per year,Disengaged employees: 6.2.
• Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave.
• 67% of engaged advocate their organisations; only 3% of the disengaged do so.
• 59% of engaged employees say “work brings out their most creative ideas” – only 3% of disengaged agree.
Case studies show evidence of:
· long term competitive advantage/service improvement;
· harnessing employee knowledge and creative potential;
· responsiveness to market demands;
· continuous improvement and innovation;
· increased productivity;
· greater customer care, quality and reliability;
· new technologies creating a need for change;
· cost reduction;
· improved industrial relations;
· enhanced quality of working life;
· improved recruitment and retention.
If it works . . .
. . . why isn’t everyone doing it?
DISCUSSION
What are the principal obstacles and dilemmas which organisations face in securing sustainable and effective change?
And what can leaders do to overcome them?
Obstacles
Limited awareness
Poor access to actionable knowledge
Partial change
The organisation as a black box
The problem of HR
Change is messy
A PEOPLE CENTRED APPROACH
People shape organisations but organisations shape people
Entrepreneurial Organisations and Entrepreneurial Individuals
IN
DIV
IDU
ALS
ORGANISATIONS
Con
form
ing
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Conforming Entrepreneurial
Entrepreneurial Organisations and Entrepreneurial Individuals
IN
DIV
IDU
ALS
ORGANISATIONS
Con
form
ing
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Conforming Entrepreneurial
Sally
Entrepreneurial Organisations and Entrepreneurial Individuals
IN
DIV
IDU
ALS
ORGANISATIONS
Con
form
ing
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Conforming Entrepreneurial
CONFORMITY
Entrepreneurial Organisations and Entrepreneurial Individuals
IN
DIV
IDU
ALS
ORGANISATIONS
Con
form
ing
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Conforming Entrepreneurial
SYMBOLIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurial Organisations and Entrepreneurial Individuals
IN
DIV
IDU
ALS
ORGANISATIONS
Con
form
ing
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Conforming Entrepreneurial
Jess
Entrepreneurial Organisations and Entrepreneurial Individuals
IN
DIV
IDU
ALS
ORGANISATIONS
Con
form
ing
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Conforming Entrepreneurial
RESISTED
Entrepreneurial Organisations and Entrepreneurial Individuals
IN
DIV
IDU
ALS
ORGANISATIONS
Con
form
ing
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Conforming Entrepreneurial
Sonya
Entrepreneurial Organisations and Entrepreneurial Individuals
IN
DIV
IDU
ALS
ORGANISATIONS
Con
form
ing
Entr
epre
neu
rial
Conforming Entrepreneurial
ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANISATION
Reading and reflection
Line managers: barrier reef or resource for change?
• overwhelmed by emails and paperwork with little differentiation between ‘priority’ and ‘routine’ communications;
• accepted the need to manage within rigid financial constraints but given little indication of how to prioritise between competing demands on limited resources;
• received too little information on the rationale for new policy initiatives making it difficult to appreciate their importance;
• rarely offered the opportunity to bring their knowledge and experience to the policy design process;
• often poorly briefed by senior management on effective approaches to policy implementation;
• risk-averse through fear of blame and poor performance ratings;• lacked opportunities for peer support in discussing common
problems, sharing successful practices and raising issues of shared concern with senior management;
• sometimes lack training and competence required to manage change successfully.
Roles and expectations of managers
The Decision Grid
Decision area:
Somebody up there decides I decide Department Managers decide
Somebody up there decides in consultation with me
I decide in consultation with . . .
Department Managers decide in consultation
with me
Innovative ways of engaging employees in change
Employee-driven scenario planning
Forum theatre is a powerful way of engaging staff mentally and emotionally in change and innovation.
The characters in the play can’t resolve the challenges they face without the help of your employees. In addressing these fictional problems your employees are also reflecting on their own working practices and workplace relationships.
Forum theatre
Forum theatre
productive reflection
Forum theatre
productive reflection
improvement
A case study . . .
The client wanted to:• narrow the gap between staff• unleash ideas for improvement• enhance quality of working life• prepare for an uncertain future
We helped achieve these aims by: • capturing stories of working life• analysing problems and causes• working with leaders• facilitating a Change Conference• establishing staff action groups
RESULTS:• 40 actionable ideas for
improvement• Increased engagement• Enhanced leadership
“Peter’s experience in effectively facilitating diverse groups in a Change Conference setting was evident. All aspects of the facilitation focused on fostering the active participation of attendees. Most important was the emphasis on working groups to take the change agenda forward. The team were professional, flexible, supportive and reliable.” Gwen Moore, VEC NPF, Ireland
• Listening to stories of working lifeListening to stories of working life
• Reporting backReporting back
• Making a playMaking a play
• Change ConferenceChange Conference
Dramatic Partnership
Making it happen
Dramatic Partnership
EMPLOYEES
MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEES TRADE UNIONS
NETWORKING FOR ALL
Learning Networks
• Managers feel ownership of the learning process, increasing motivation and engagement
• Practical learning related to everyday reality• No jargon, time efficient & time sensitive• Tailored to the needs of participants• Not reinventing the wheel• Benchmarking against competition• Psychological support• Development of business with other companies
Action Learning
Action Learning
In Action Learning, participants work together to support the future actions of each individual set member.
The emphasis is on sharing knowledge and experience to help address problems and strengthen future actions.
Mutual support, empathy and co-operation are the conditions for success.
Sustainable innovation requires:
• Open dialogue and partnership within the organisation
• Widespread learning from outside the organisation
REGULATORY& POLICYFRAMEWORKS• National• European
GLOBALINNOVATION
GLOBALSTRATEGIC ALLIANCES
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MARKETS
TH E REGIO N
Intermediate Institutions
Regional Strategy
Regional Labour Markets
Supply Chains
Advanced Business Services Knowledge Networks Technology Transfer Innovation
ICTsSkills
Innovation Entrepreneurship Technology TransferKnowledge Networks
THE E NTE RPRISE Global MarketsGlobal Mobility
THE E NTE RPRISE Competitive StrategyOrganisational Competence Networks People
People at the centre of change
• Change is unpredictable
• It often fails
• There is no blueprint
• Experimentation and learning are unavoidable
• You need everyone’s help
• Space for reflection and dialogue is essential
Action Plans
What are my objectives?
What are the appropriate actions
What are the desired outcomes?
Who will I consult and involve? (and when?)
Who do I need to persuade or influence?
How will I make the change happen?
What is the timescale?
How will I ensure effective communication?
What obstacles can I expect? (and how to overcome them?)
What are the key milestones?
How will I know if it working?
How will I make the change sustainable?
Planning for a resilient future Challenge or opportunity
Significance to MTN
Urgency(short,
middle or long term)
Action By whom? Obstacles
Tuesday 10th April 2012
www.ukwon.net
www.workplaceinnovation.eu