Develop and sustain collaborative relationships with departments and other organisations
Overview
This standard is about developing and sustaining collaborative relationships with other departments within your organisation and other organisations. You evaluate opportunities to collaborate, considering your organisation's objectives. You identify the benefits of collaboration and agree actions that will be completed. You also set up communication and reporting systems. The standard includes informing collaborators if you are unable to fulfil your organisation's commitments, solving difficult situations when working together and providing feedback to support performance.
This standard is for all managers and leaders.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- evaluate opportunities to work collaboratively with other departments to improve overall organisational efficiency and effectiveness
- identify departments and organisations that share common or complementary objectives to determine the feasibility of collaboration
- judge when to collaborate with other organisations, based on an evaluation of potential benefits, the compatibility of the organisations and your ability to mitigate any risks involved
- create a climate of trust and mutual respect where you have no authority, or shared authority, over those you are working with
- agree the aims and objectives of collaboration with other departments and organisations and the benefits for each collaborator
- outline the resources each department and organisation will commit to collaborations
- plan the actions each department and organisation will complete and when
- define the expected outcomes and levels of service when collaborating
- identify the risks involved in collaborations and how these will be managed
- set up arrangements for communicating and reporting on progress
- plan how and when you will review the effectiveness of your collaborations
- complete actions within the agreed time and to the agreed quality
- inform the other departments and organisations if you are unable to complete actions and the reasons for this
- explore difficult situations and issues from other departmental and organisational perspectives and provide support to move things forward
- provide reports, and receive reports from, the other departments and organisations according to arrangements agreed
- provide feedback to the other departments and organisations to help them to perform effectively and reinforce their commitment and enthusiasm for collaboration
- process information supplied by the other departments and organisations in accordance with arrangements and relevant legislation
- review the effectiveness of your collaboration at agreed times and the extent to which the aims and objectives have been achieved
- evaluate the actions carried out by each department and organisation, any deviations from the actions agreed and reasons for these
- identify any failures or mistakes, the reasons for these and ways of avoiding these failures or mistakes in the future
- assess the collaboration costs and identify ways that costs may be reduced in the future
- compare the benefits to each department and organisation, the value of these benefits and how mutual benefits may be increased in the future
- agree the extent that expectations of each department and organisation have been met
- recommend changes to make your collaboration more effective in the future
- follow the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to collaborative working
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
General knowledge and understanding
1. the importance of identifying and evaluating potential departments and organisations to collaborate with
2. the importance of basing your decision to collaborate on your evaluation of potential benefits, the compatibility of the departments, organisations and your ability to mitigate any risks involved, and how to do so
3. how to identify the potential costs (money, time and resources) of working together
4. how to identify and agree the benefits and costs of working together
5. how to identify the aims, values and working practices of other organisations and assess how compatible these are with your own organisation
6. how to develop service level agreements with other departments and what they should cover
7. how to assess and manage the risks involved in collaborative working
8. how to develop communication protocols with other departments and organisations
9. the importance of meeting your commitments and keeping employees informed if you are unable to do so
10. how to provide support to help collaborators meet their commitments
11. the importance of identifying and agreeing the actions each collaborator will take including when, and how to do so
12. the ways to plan how and when you will review collaborations and their effectiveness, and how to do so
13. the importance of reporting and receiving reports from collaborating organisations according to arrangements agreed, and how to do so
14. how to provide feedback to collaborating organisations in ways that help them to perform effectively and reinforce their commitment and enthusiasm for collaboration
15. how to process information supplied by collaborating departments and organisations in accordance with agreements and data protection legislation
Industry and sector specific knowledge and understanding
16. the industry and sector requirements and legislation for collaboration with other organisations to achieve common or complementary objectives
17. the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to collaborative working
Context specific knowledge and understanding
18. your organisation's structure, vision and strategic objectives, values and working practices
19. the nature of the relationship between departments, other organisations and your area of responsibility
20. the opportunities for collaboration with departments and other organisations
21. the range of digital technologies, platforms and tools for collaboration
22. the individual departments and other organisations that you need to collaborate, and their roles, responsibilities, competence and potential
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
- Assessing
- Communicating
- Empathising
- Evaluating
- Information management
- Involving employees
- Leading by example
- Managing conflict
- Negotiating
- Networking
- Obtaining feedback
- Presenting information
- Prioritising
- Problem solving
- Providing feedback
- Reporting
- Reviewing
- Risk management
- Balancing competing needs and interests
- Communicating
- Decision-making
- Evaluating
- Information management
- Negotiating
- Networking
- Planning
- Presenting information
- Reporting
- Reviewing
- Risk management
- Setting objectives
- Thinking strategically
- Valuing and supporting members of staff