Seven ways to build successful partnerships online
Covid-19 has catapulted us all into new ways of working. We have been feeling our way through the complexities of managing teams virtually, having difficult conversations and onboarding new staff. But the transformation can’t stop there. The impact of organisations with a social purpose depends upon their wide-ranging and complex partnerships. So what happens when organisations can no longer pool ideas and expertise in face-to-face collaborations and events?
Over the past few months, Lucent has been facilitating the development of collaborative relationships using digital platforms and building trusted relationships where people have never met in real life. While we started these processes with some concerns, we have been surprised by how well the process works online. In fact, it has brought unanticipated benefits.
As well as saving valuable charitable resources on room hire and refreshments, working virtually has allowed people to connect where travel would previously have been a barrier and for more egalitarian, focused, and creative conversations to take place. Based on a successful series of collaborations we’ve conducted recently with Climate Outreach and West Yorkshire hospices, we’ve put together some tips for building successful partnerships online.
1. Engage early
Partnerships take time to build and whilst working virtually has fast-tracked the process to some extent, engaging partners early on is vital. For Jamie Clarke, Executive Director, of Climate Outreach, working virtually helped bring together existing as well as new partners to build a new programme in advance of the UN climate change talks, COP26, which will take place in November 2021. Just as in real life, a key was starting the engagement process early:
“Having everyone in the virtual room through this early stage in our thinking meant we ended up with a richer outcome and everyone can now see how they have inputted into our new, joint work.” says Jamie.
2. Build your purpose together
A sense of common purpose is the keystone of any partnership. And as the partnership deepens, that purpose may evolve.
For hospices across West Yorkshire, collaboration was an immediate and instinctual response to Covid. But then they realised that a deeper partnership would reap even more benefits. Taking time to build a common purpose was crucial:
“Lucent helped us to be really clear about what we wanted to achieve,” explains Luen. “We had already built trust in the immediate response to the Covid crisis, so we knew that having spotted an opportunity for development, motivation was high to make the collaboration work.”
Use the opportunity of working virtually to check-in with partners that the purpose is still relevant - as the West Yorkshire collaboration found, challenging times can provide the impetus to go even further and set more ambitious goals.
3. It’s all in the preparation
The virtual environment can be quite unforgiving – partnership events in real life always require careful preparation but those delivered digitally stand or fall on the work done in advance.
A well-constructed agenda is critical and doing a dry run of the event in advance helps to iron out technical or timing issues. But you also need to remember the human touch – spending time in advance in one-to-one conversations with key stakeholders helps air issues and concerns and is an excellent way of gathering ideas and stimulating creative thinking.
4. Keep the conversation alive
Modelling effective partnership principals in virtual sessions can help ensure the partnership continues to thrive once ‘leave meeting’ has been pressed. Being clear on accountability and who/how to take forward next steps was key to success for the West Yorkshire hospice collaborative.
For Climate Outreach, relationship building was crucial, so scheduling in time in senior diaries to keep in touch on the phone in between meetings helped maintain pace.
Watch out for falling into the trap of virtual over-sharing. Sharing resources or updates can help – but they need to be monitored to make sure the information doesn’t either overwhelm or create a digital space that no one participates in as they don’t quite know what the rules of engagement are.
5. Allow for open discussion
Collaborating virtually can be a great leveller. It still needs a strong facilitator so that certain participants don’t dominate the conversation, but this can be easier to manage than in real life situations. It does need tact though rather than simply reaching for the mute button!
Asking different people to take the lead in starting off conversations as they are introduced can create variety and helps discussions flow. A digital whiteboard (such as Mural, Miro or Google’s Jamboard) can help you capture key points on post-its just as you would in an in-person meeting. And you can open up the resource to participants between meetings, sharing links and adding reflections.
6. Break it down and keep it light
Breaking conversations up into short sessions can help keep focus and allow for more concentrated discussion time as well as looking after the well-being of everyone on the call. Break-out sessions create a more familiar environment and allow you to drill down into more detail on key themes.
Meeting virtually doesn’t have to mean it’s less fun. Just as in real life, building trusted relationships virtually depends on getting to know others better. Interspersing discussions with quick pair work aimed at finding out more about people really helps build energy in the room. During recent sessions, people have shared objects in the room that tell a story about them; their workplace superpowers or skills that others may not be aware of.
7. Give it time
Partnerships take time to build and keeping momentum going while operating solely online can be a challenge.
Planning for this in advance really helps. Capturing notes and key decision points in real time helps you move the partnership forward and avoids the risk of “groundhog day” conversations. Regular and rapid check-ins help to maintain momentum while reflective sessions make sure that you are keeping on track with your big goals.
Persevere and the benefits are boundless. As Jamie found, “Whilst working this way does require some careful planning, it can provide new insights, perspectives and relationships.”
We support collaborations to grow and flourish. Get in touch with us if you’re looking for guidance as you work in partnership with others.