INSML031 Develop and sustain working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

Overview

This standard is about developing and sustaining working relationships with colleagues within your own organisation, employees from other organisations that your organisation works with and other external stakeholders. You use relevant tools and technologies for managing different teams, including office-based, dispersed, remote or hybrid. You establish working relationships and respect the roles and responsibilities of colleagues and stakeholders, actively seeking to understand their perspectives. You identify and resolve conflicts, monitor working relationships and identify aspects that can be improved. You also create a climate of trust providing support to help move difficult situations forward. The standard includes consulting stakeholders, fulfilling agreements with them and resolving conflicts of interest. You monitor wider developments and gather feedback to evaluate the performance of working relationships.

This standard is for all managers and leaders.

Performance Criteria

  1. establish working relationships with relevant colleagues within your organisation
  2. use relevant tools and technologies for managing different teams, including office-based, dispersed, remote or hybrid
  3. recognise and respect the roles, responsibilities, interests and concerns of colleagues
  4. create a climate of trust and mutual respect where you have no authority, or shared authority over your colleagues
  5. explore difficult situations and issues from colleagues' perspectives and provide support to move things forward
  6. provide colleagues with appropriate information to enable them to perform effectively
  7. consult colleagues about key decisions and activities, taking account of their views
  8. fulfil the agreements made with colleagues
  9. advise colleagues of difficulties, or where it will be impossible to fulfil agreements
  10. identify and resolve conflicts of interest and disagreements with colleagues in ways that minimise damage to work activities and to the individuals involved
  11. monitor and review the effectiveness of working relationships with colleagues to identify areas for improvement
  12. provide feedback to improve your colleagues performance
  13. analyse the feedback you have received to improve your own performance
  14. identify external stakeholders and the nature of their interest in the activities and performance of your organisation
  15. establish working relationships with internal and external stakeholders
  16. recognise and respect the roles, responsibilities, interests and concerns of stakeholders and, particularly in situations of matrix management, their managers requirements
  17. evaluate difficult situations and issues from stakeholders' perspectives
  18. provide support, where necessary, to move difficult situations forward
  19. provide stakeholders with appropriate information to enable them to perform effectively
  20. consult stakeholders about key decisions and activities and take account of their views, including their priorities, expectations and attitudes to potential risks
  21. fulfil agreements made with internal and external stakeholders
  22. advise stakeholders promptly of any difficulties or where it is not possible to fulfil the agreements made
  23. identify and resolve conflicts of interest and disagreements with stakeholders in ways that minimise damage to work activities and to the stakeholders involved
  24. monitor and review the effectiveness of working relationships with stakeholders to identify areas for improvement
  25. gather feedback to improve your own and stakeholders' performance
  26. monitor wider developments to identify issues of potential interest or concern to stakeholders in the future
  27. identify new stakeholders to build working relationships with
  28. follow the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to developing and sustaining productive working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

Knowledge and Understanding

General knowledge and understanding

1.      the importance to recognising and respecting the roles, responsibilities, interests and concerns of colleagues and stakeholders

2.      the relevant tools and technologies for managing different teams, including office-based, dispersed, remote or hybrid

3.      the importance of creating a climate of trust and mutual respect where you have no authority, or shared authority, over those you are working with

4.      the importance of understanding difficult situations and issues from colleagues' perspectives and providing support, where necessary, to move things forward

5.      how to identify and meet the information needs of colleagues and stakeholders

6.      the information it is appropriate to provide to colleagues and stakeholders and the factors that need to be taken into consideration

7.      how to consult with colleagues and stakeholders in relation to key decisions and activities

8.      the importance of taking account, and being seen to take account, of the views of colleagues and stakeholders, particularly in relation to their priorities, expectations and attitudes to potential risks

9.      why communication with colleagues and stakeholders on fulfilment of agreements or any problems affecting or preventing fulfilment is important

10.   how to identify conflicts of interest with colleagues and stakeholders and the techniques that can be used to manage or remove them

11.   how to identify disagreements with colleagues and stakeholders and the techniques for resolving them

12.   the damage that conflicts of interest and disagreements with colleagues and stakeholders can cause to individuals and organisations

13.   how to monitor and review the effectiveness of working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

14.   how to get and make effective use of feedback from colleagues and stakeholders

15.   how to provide colleagues and stakeholders with feedback designed to improve their performance

16.   the different types of stakeholder and key principles which underpin the 'stakeholder' concept

17.   how to identify your organisation's stakeholders, including background information, the nature of their interest in your organisation and their expectations

18.   how to recognise and take account of political issues when dealing with stakeholders

19.   the importance of monitoring wider developments in relation to stakeholders to manage their expectations

Industry and sector specific knowledge and understanding

20.   the standards of behaviour and performance in your industry and sector

21.   the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to developing and sustaining productive working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

Context specific knowledge and understanding

22.   the existing agreements with colleagues and stakeholders and their identified information needs

23.   the mechanisms for consulting and communicating with colleagues and stakeholders on key decisions and activities

24.   the power, influence and politics within your organisation and culture

25.   the standards of behaviour and performance that are expected in your organisation

26.   the mechanisms in place for monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

27.   the key stakeholders, their background and interests in the activities and performance of your organisation