Drive For Change Website
Last updated: 24/3/2006
The importance of leadership in delivering improvement can be seen in the four case studies. The process of employee engagement began with an acknowledgement from managers and trade union representatives that benefits would result from greater engagement with the workforce.
For the trade union representatives, their early involvement in the change projects helped to establish commitment and ensured that they took on a leadership role, by communicating and driving forward the project among their members.
Union representatives and managers agreed that the individual commitment of the Governor of Holloway Prison has been instrumental in creating the right climate for change. In general, the prison has moved away from a reactive to a proactive approach to employee relations and service delivery issues. This has been apparent in the project looking at service improvement, as the governor ensured that managers committed time to the project by attending in workshops. This helped the management team better understand problems faced by staff members and engage with union colleagues employees. Tom Appadoo, the Chair of the POA at Holloway, said the project had led to a "more positive and understanding management approach".
The management team encouraged the recognised trade unions to engage in a strategic manner by giving facility time to engage in meetings and training. In turn, trade union representatives responded by showing a willingness to engage in new ways of working. During the workshops focused on service improvement, a formal agreement was reached that improved services are a joint responsibility between managers, unions and staff.
Effective and strategic trade union participation often requires capacity building to equip people with the skills and support they need to participate effectively. Managers and unions both need to be able to commit staff resources and time. At Holloway, training was needed to complement existing skills. In some workplaces, capacity building may be required to encourage inactive trade union members, possibly from under-represented sections of the workplace, to get involved.
Team members at Holloway have been encouraged to act in a non-hierarchical way, to appreciate and value ideas and involvement from people at all levels in the organisation. This is helping to raise staff morale and create a climate where service issues can be addressed and discussed. Although managers and union representatives alike realise that there is a long way to go towards full staff engagement, they have started on the right path, Tony Hassall, the governor of the prison, reflected that since the prison hasn't been used to this way of working, a cultural change is required to adapt people's perceptions of employee engagement.