MTMBUS704A
Develop and enhance collaborative partnerships and relationships

This unit covers the skills and knowledge required to develop and enhance collaborative partnerships and relationships with business, community and industry stakeholders. The unit also covers communicating to influence others, enhancing new and existing partnerships, establishing positive collaborative relationships, leading the establishment of a partnership program and establishing reporting mechanisms.

Application

This unit applies to leaders or managers working in an enterprise where collaborative partnerships and relationships are used to build capabilities. It includes forming partnerships or other collaborative arrangements to achieve improved product, marketing, workforce development, business outcomes or community relationships.

Enterprise leaders gain the respect of colleagues, contacts, clients and the community through demonstrating professionalism in all aspects of their work. This professionalism is underpinned by their management expertise and effective interpersonal and communication skills.


Elements and Performance Criteria

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Identify and analyse existing partnerships and relationships with stakeholders

1.1. Key existing business partnerships and relationships are identified and analysed.

1.2. Outcomes to be achieved from existing business partnerships and relationships are identified.

1.3. Indicators and feedback processes are analysed to evaluate the health of the partnership arrangements.

1.4. Strategies are developed and implemented to enhance the effectiveness of existing partnerships and relationships.

2. Lead the establishment of a new or renegotiated partnership program

2.1. Outcomes to be achieved from a new or renegotiated business partnership are established.

2.2. Relevant organisational policies and procedures in partnership plan are identified and addressed.

2.3. Relevant legal requirements are identified and incorporated into planning of the partnership.

2.4. Partnership program is formed using collaborative and consultative processes.

2.5. Resource requirements are planned and allocated to accomplish the partnership program.

2.6. Relevant organisational policies and procedures relating to the partnership are established.

2.7. Work activities are organised and allocated in a cost-effective and equitable manner with clear, quantifiable and agreed performance standards.

3. Communicate to influence relevant individuals and stakeholders

3.1. Trust, confidence and support from relevant individuals and other stakeholders are generated by demonstrating a high standard of personal performance and conduct.

3.2. Communication strategies to represent the organisation positively to media, local community and stakeholders are implemented.

3.3. Decisions are made in consultation with relevant stakeholders and relevant individuals, where appropriate.

3.4. Individuals are empowered to develop their own ways of working within agreed boundaries of competence, cultural, diversity and organisational and legal requirements.

3.5. A range of influencing strategies are used to increase commitment from staff and stakeholders to achieve organisational requirements and to contribute to desired culture.

3.6. Selected community and/or professional engagements are undertaken that project a positive image of the organisation to the broader community and stakeholders.

4. Establish and implement reporting mechanisms for partnership program

4.1. Establish reporting systems against planned partnership outcomes are established.

4.2. Reporting systems to report partnership outcome are implemented.

Required Skills

Required skills

Ability to:

Use analysis and interpretation skills to:

evaluate organisational information management systems, policies and procedures

select relevant evaluation information and documentation

identify any potential and current non-compliance

access and interpret organisation's standards and values

analyse records or notes of the evaluation process

analyse business, political, economic and organisational contexts influencing the nature and impact of partnership arrangements

make judgements relating to the success and deficiencies of existing arrangements

generate and evaluate ideas through the analysis of information and concepts at an abstract level

use initiative and enterprise skills to initiate and establish collaborative partnerships and relationships

used interpersonal and communication skills to negotiate, question, direct, listen and investigate, network and clarify issues

use planning and organising skills to:

research and evaluate validation processes, and to determine and implement improvements to these processes

develop and establish agreement to plans

use problem-solving skills to undertake risk assessment, review feedback and plan improvements

lead and motivate a team in establishing productive networks, partnerships and other relationships

Required knowledge

Knowledge of:

relevant legislation that affects the business operation, especially in regard to Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) and environmental issues, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and anti-discrimination, industrial relations, food safety and trade

organisation mission, purpose and values

organisation objectives, plans and strategies

leadership techniques, including:

leadership styles

emotional intelligence and its relationship to individual and team effectiveness

organisational transformation and the management of the stages of change

personal development planning methodologies

strategies to evaluate and analyse effectiveness of personal performance

data collection methods

external environment scanning relating to social, political, economic and technological developments

models for effective consultation and collaboration within a partnership

organisational design and building in responsiveness of operations to change in customer or market conditions

risk assessment and monitoring strategies

Evidence Required

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Evidence of the following is essential:

demonstrated capacity to foster partnerships, conduct stakeholder consultation and use strategic and personally enhancing communication skills

demonstrated capacity to use accepted strategies and assess and analyse personal performance

developing collaborative approaches to enhance individual, team and organisational outcomes

initiating and implementing external partnerships in line with relevant regulatory, employment and organisational requirements

knowledge of relevant policies, legislation, codes of practice and national standards

strategies to evaluate and enhance effectiveness of partnership arrangements.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

competence is consistently demonstrated over time in a workplace context, and over a range and variety of situations

access to required assessment facilities and resources.

Method of assessment

A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:

direct questioning combined with review of portfolios of evidence and third-party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate

review of applied projects or learning activities, especially relating to formation of professional networks and stakeholder consultation in relation to forming partnerships

direct observation of contextual application of skills

submission of a portfolio of evidence, including previous work forging partnerships

oral or written questioning to assess knowledge of development of industry partnerships.

Guidance information for assessment

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example, with other units in the qualification in which this unit is packaged.


Range Statement

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Stakeholders may include:

administrative and regulatory bodies

community organisations

employees

industry, employees, employers, professional and peak bodies or associations

public or private sector enterprises.

Business partnerships may:

be informal

be physical or virtual (e.g. online)

involve a formal agreement

involve one or more enterprises, and training and assessment organisations

include sponsorship or community funding agreements

involve mergers, supply agreements, joint ventures, research and development partnerships.

Indicators may include:

employees

employers

government agencies and departments

industry associations, employer bodies and professional associations

industry representatives

media reports

national Industry Skills Councils (ISCs)

regulatory and licensing authorities

research agencies

technical specialists or experts

unions

universities.

Feedback processes may include:

formal complaints or suggestions procedures

formal-informal

independent audits

management audits/workplace checks

surveys

virtual or physical

whistleblower policy.

Relevant organisational policies and procedures may include:

access and equity

client services

confidentiality requirements

ethical standards

fees and payment schedule

grievance and appeals processes

staff recruitment, induction and ongoing development and monitoring

human resources policies and procedures and legal requirements, including anti-discrimination, EEO and OH&S

administrative and records management systems relating to:

contract manager

document version control

maintenance, retention, archiving, retrieval, storage and security of records

personnel responsible for analysing statistics and data to ensure organisation complies with relevant standards across all of its operations

privacy and access to information and records

reporting and recording requirements and arrangements

supervisors and managers

union and employee representatives

users of information, such as finance personnel, human resources personnel and employers.

Resource requirements may include:

additional staff

distribution costs

equipment

production costs

promotional costs

research and development

re-tooling

staff training.

Performance standards may:

be based on contractual requirements

be described as Key Performance Indicators

specify personal or task outcomes

span short-term or long-term outcomes

specify strategic and operational outcomes.

Communication strategies may include:

conducting presentations

developing and applying interview and interpersonal communication protocols

developing and circulating marketing materials

developing promotional materials and product descriptions

initiating and conducting a public communication strategy.

Diversity includes difference in:

age

belief systems and values

culture

expertise, experience and working styles

gender

interpersonal style

interests

language, literacy and numeracy

physical differences

politics

race

religion

sexual orientation

thinking and learning styles.

Organisational and legal requirements may include:

collaborative and partnership arrangements and agreements (e.g. memoranda of understanding)

confidentiality and privacy requirements

licensing requirements

requirements of awards and enterprise bargaining agreements

requirements of endorsed Training Packages

requirements of other relevant federal and state/territory legislation (e.g. OH&S, anti-discrimination, workplace and industrial relations, workers compensation, and apprenticeships and traineeships)

requirements set by professional associations

requirements set by quality systems.

Influencing strategies may include:

debate

dialogue

discussion

formal and informal techniques

levels of participation

moderated negotiations

networking

providing encouragement to staff to undertake activities that develop their personal competence and performance

resolving conflict in a fair, equitable and collaborative manner

strategies applied face-to-face or collectively.

Reporting mechanisms may include:

internal organisational recording and reporting systems

record keeping policies and procedures

community notices and newsletters

financial reporting for funding and payments from funding bodies

OH&S incident reporting systems

performance agreements.


Sectors

Unit sector


Employability Skills

This unit contains employability skills.


Licensing Information

Not Applicable