Each month we will be sharing four, carefully-chosen articles from the Latest Issue of our flagship publication ‘theHRDIRECTOR’ which exemplify the high standards we strive to archive. We hope you find this in-depth article of interest and decide to become one of our valued Subscribers.
At a time when most people are based in open plan workspaces, connected with colleagues across multiple devices and geographies with the freedom to work together, the collaboration conundrum is still proving a disablers, as otherwise capable teams are failing to realise their full potential.
Article by Harvey Francis, Executive Vice President – Skanska UK
A team working in the right environment to truly collaborate – that is, fully comfortable in sharing views, scrutinising others and being scrutinised – have the potential to perform better than those working in traditional silos or unequal teams. That is the belief at leading constructor and developer, Skanska. This is because teams who know how to play to each other’s strengths have the opportunity to collectively improve performance and reduce weakness. Talented individuals are, of course, an important part of this mix and can have a big impact on their role and profession. However, talented teams harness the strength of these minds together, to create the potential to make a good idea great or turn a strong business strategy into a game-changer.
“There has never been a more important time to nurture collaborative cultures. Few companies can afford to fall behind the curve and not pay the price in their profit returns against today’s competitive and challenging financial backdrop”
As workplaces evolve and industries modernise, there has never been a more important time to nurture collaborative cultures. Few companies can afford to fall behind the curve and not pay the price in their profit returns against today’s competitive and challenging financial backdrop. For Skanska, it’s the key to achieving wider thinking and greater innovation. This is particularly important for the construction industry as digital technologies are increasingly playing a part in the way we plan and shape our built environments in a smarter and greener way. Skanska has seen an evolution in contracts too, with complex infrastructure projects such as Crossrail and High Speed 2 demanding the skills of several contractors through joint venture work and alliances, so a collaborative mind-set is important not just within the company, but also with partners and the supply chain.
It’s also a growing priority for clients who want to leverage skills and experience as efficiently as possible to achieve greater bang for their buck. As the skills gap widens across many industries in the UK, this is a growing priority, as many anticipate a shortfall that will present not just the challenge of finding the right person for the job, but potentially, anyone at all. This situation is likely to be magnified by the impact of Brexit, so industry cultures must modernise to attract the talent needed going forward, as well as make best use of the skills already there. It’s up to industry leaders to create those cultures now and take steps to attract those who are still in the process of deciding which career path to follow, in order to help meet this gap and reap the benefits of future talent. Skanska has 350 trained ambassadors who are taking the message that STEM-based subjects make for rewarding careers into schools, colleges and universities to inspire the next generation. Skanska is also helping develop the new T-level qualifications, which will offer a technical path through education. What millennials, Generation Z and future generations coming through will not accept in modern working practices, will affect the way companies do business going forward. Exploiting new thinking and embracing different ways of working needs to be the shared goal of all team members and for that to happen, the right environment is important for collaborative cultures.
More often than not, collaboration does not just naturally happen, so the right leadership behaviours to encourage it must be established; if we say we are about working together, it must be expressed and demonstrated at all levels of the organisation. Organisational values must be articulated and bought to life to bring everyone on-board and leaders must show and earn the trust required for collaboration. No matter how talented the individual leader, we can’t assume this is always a natural skill, so support must be in place to develop this. Collaboration is one of the key competencies of Skanska’s leadership profile – the benchmark for the leadership values expected from everyone. Those in management roles are also given in-depth training as part of leadership development programmes, plus training and inclusive leadership sessions bring this to life, offering practical ways for leaders to incorporate collaborative ways of working in the day-to-day routine. For example, techniques such as open and inclusive meetings, where all participants are actively encouraged to input, ensuring that not just the most vocal are heard.
Workplaces welcoming individuals from diverse backgrounds and offering inclusive environments create the right setting for team members bringing different perspectives to feel comfortable sharing ideas and challenging the status quo. Studies have shown that when managed well, diverse teams are proven to outperform homogenous teams due to these mixed perspectives[1], reducing the groupthink phenomenon that limits effective decision-making. It’s therefore important that diversity is represented across workforces in order to attract talented individuals. Our award-winning Experience Skanska programme supports people from a range of backgrounds to join construction; with return to work placements, as well as opportunities for those from a military background, with a disability or not in education, training or work. Skanska’s various employee networks also support the development of an inclusive environment by connecting employees to build fruitful relationships across the business.
Even with strong leadership and an inclusive environment, successful collaboration is not possible without trust to empower individuals to share their views without fearing reprimand for their contributions. A state of psychological safety – feeling comfortable enough to push things to the next level, even if it’s unchartered territory – can only be achieved through mutual trust. Where teams are able to balance high psychological safety and accountability levels, they can shift from states of comfort, apathy or even anxiety, to achieve a learning culture. A learning culture – which sees leaders demonstrate curiosity, acknowledge that they don’t have all the answers and encourage input from everyone – can deliver strong collaborative results. Skanska has reaped the benefits of this through a close collaborative approach with Cambridgeshire Highways. After securing an initial contract, Skanska has evolved this relationship by opting for a shared way of working that has seen both Skanska and Cambridgeshire Highways not just share an office, but align organisational values and working principles through the development of a shared behavioural framework. Everyone involved is being trained on this, channelling precious project time from agreeing ways of working on an ad-hoc basis, into delivery, and setting expectations on collaboration from the start, to achieve greater efficiency throughout. The collaborative approach has paid-off for both parties, seeing the project team win a Green Apple Award for environmental best practice after reducing carbon by 58 percent and identify £14m of efficiencies. Skanska also saw the dividend of this success when awarded a subsequent contract from Cambridgeshire Highways in 2017.
A similar approach taken with Highways England, joint venture partners and the supply chain, has built strong relationships across the Integrated Delivery Team working on the A14 road improvement project. A common framework for behaviours has established an inclusive environment where team members have developed a culture of open challenge without blame to scrutinise the project more thoroughly. As part of the implementation, collaboration workshops held with the supply chain identified potential savings of more than £40m – putting further tangible value on the power of collaboration. The approach has also secured savings in plant machinery, as supply chain competitors bought into the A14 team’s way of working have agreed to share fleet to drive up project value.
The benefits of collaboration can’t be realised without acceptance of change and strong leadership to create a sense of motivation for what can be achieved together. Established cultures, particularly in some blue collar environments where strong traditional working styles remain in some areas, take time to adjust to new ways of working. Leaders must also be willing to challenge behaviour that undermines collaboration and demonstrate the values that create inclusive environments to establish transparency and clear principles. So developing a collaborative culture for Skanska has taken a focus on diverse teams and inclusive environments, strong leadership, and work to establish trust across teams both inside and out of the business. It’s an onward journey and a challenging path, but one that has taken Skanska closer than ever to our customers, partners and supply chain, providing the opportunity to influence and build a reputation that secures repeat business.
[1] DiStefano & Maznevski, Creating Value with Diverse Teams in Global Management, Organizational Dynamics, 2000
