WET News

ALLIANCES 2018 7 to spend X amount trying to win the bid but for SMEs they just don't have that kind of investment they can throw away. They tend to send people on the behavioural assessments with no previous experience in doing them or any pre-training. It's a struggle in a different way." Then there is the difference in style of person. Staff from Tier 2s can be more much more anxious, and may not have stood up and carried out presentations before or team-building exercises. "We see from an assessment perspective quite different skills and different levels of behaviour," says Moran. 'Pool of people' "I'm not saying the Tier 2s are weak but from the point of view of their collabora- tive behaviours and that sort of develop- ment some haven't had the same invest- ment as the large organisations. "They can be much smaller so the pool of people available to send on these assessments is much less. If you look at larger organisations they have people who have some insight into doing these things, probably done three or four before, where for the smaller organisations it's new. It's very new for the Tier 2s and a long journey for them still to go on." Moran says Anglian Water is really keen to test its Tier 2s, to connect and build their collaborative behaviours. "I think they'd be willing to invest in how to build this capability on behalf of the organisation because it's in their investment in the long-term. Anglian's AMP6 deals are five-, ten-year contracts, so they're really looking for that longevity of relationship. I think they'll be looking to support some of those smaller organisations. "It's creating a fair playing field. You can apply the same behavioural framework to the Tier 1s and Tier 2s because it's the same behaviour we're looking for, it doesn't really matter what organisation you're coming from. It's just that some people have had more training than others as a skillset. "That's the interesting thing about seeing the Tier 2s, they haven't been trained. What you see is quite real – 'wow, that person's a really good collaborator'. We're making it slightly harder for the Tier 1s and there's a reflection on the Tier 2s that they're smaller organisations and probably can't afford to have people out for too long. Once the contract is in place it's the client understanding that they'll need to help [Tier 2s] develop a bit more. Tier 1s, being the larger organisations, can look a'er themselves." Ego Anglian Water does get something back. One of the things the company is looking for from its Tier 2s is challenge, says Moran. "'Challenge us with some innova- tion. Bring some new thinking. You're the experts in your field. Don't be frightened of us we're equal'. That's what they're looking to get back is that challenge and long-term relationship." But Moran says this will take time to filter through because the Tier 1s "need to stop telling the Tier 2s what to do and the Tier 2s need to stand up a little bit more and say 'actually we do know what we're doing. We can help you'. But this lovely thing called ego gets in the way. You know 'who are you to tell us…?' It's classic leadership management." Having a win-win attitude is crucial for a successful collaboration "It's creating a fair playing field. You can apply the same behavioural framework to the Tier 1s and Tier 2s because it's the same behaviour we're looking for..." Simon Moran, JCP

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