In October 2004, the director of Ireland’s National Centre for Partnership and Performance (NCPP) suggested that if Ireland is to succeed in the 'premier league' of international competition, then the introduction of a comprehensive and coordinated national workplace innovation strategy is an economic imperative.
It is now widely believed by Irish social partners and policy-makers that the key to the country’s future economic and social success lies in moving to a 'knowledge economy' based on high value-added and high-skilled activities, which, in turn, requires greater innovation at workplace level. In view of this concern to boost organisational innovation, the National Centre for Partnership and Performance (NCPP) (IE0208203F) - the body charged with facilitating workplace change on a collaborative partnership basis - together with the government and the social partners, is in the process of discussing the introduction of a coordinated and focused national Workplace Development Programme. Further announcements can be expected on this front in 2005.
The perceived need for such a coordinated and focused policy for organisational innovation - in the guise of a Workplace Development Programme - is one of the key challenges set out in a recent report from the Enterprise Strategy Group, Ahead of the curve.
The context of the call for greater workplace innovation is that, despite 17 years of national agreements in Ireland, partnership - based on collaborative relationships between employers, employees and trade unions - is far from becoming a mainstream practice at the workplace, though there are signs of more experimentation. In practice, commentators suggest that workplace partnership may potentially offer practical benefits to employers and unions/workers, but only under certain product and labour market conditions (IE0410202F). From this viewpoint, partnership may 'fit' in certain contexts - particularly innovative high-technology sectors attracting skilled knowledge workers - but not others. In other instances, employers may simply not see the need for partnership, especially where competition is based on driving costs down. In this regard, there are large swathes of the sheltered services sector that are likely to remain untouched by partnership, it is argued.
'Lack of clarity'
Speaking to the weekly Industrial Relations News in October 2004, Lucy Fallon-Byrne, director of the NCPP, said that although it is a stated aim at national policy level in Ireland to develop a knowledge economy based on high value-added activities, actions have not yet fully caught up with these stated national priorities. There is also still 'a lack of absolute clarity' on the various strands of innovation and workplace change. Issuing a national rallying call for greater action on the workplace innovation front, Ms Fallon-Byrne argues that Ireland requires - as an economic necessity - a comprehensive national innovation system to provide a competitive advantage against other nations.
This innovation system must, it is proposed, encompass all aspects of organisations and workplaces, including customer-focused business processes, new technology, new management and human resource practices, training and development, organisational restructuring and new forms of work design. This is particularly critical, Ms Fallon-Byrne feels, in the present context of economic restructuring and upheaval where a number of traditional industries in Ireland, such as textiles and clothing, are experiencing serious problems in the face of growing competition from lower-cost economies.
In order to compete in this uncertain economic context, both private and public sector organisations will need to move rapidly to higher value-added activities that depend on tapping into employee knowledge, creativity, and capacity for innovation and adaptability, the NCPP director argues. The knowledge content of jobs is increasing all the time, and across almost all sectors of the economy. Ms Fallon-Byrne believes that 'top-down management of change simply does not work and it does not create the conditions for innovation'. She says that other countries are putting in place major initiatives to generate the kind of workplace practices designed to build the levels of innovation required in a knowledge-based economy.
Finnish innovation model
The NCPP is examining how other countries have approached the issue of workplace development. The Centre has shown particular interest in workplace innovation initiatives in Finland. Since 1996, Finland has had an integrated National Workplace Development Programme in place, attracting substantial funding from the state budget (FI9707122F). The programme is run on a tripartite basis between the government, trade unions and employers. It has encompassed a workplace-centred programme of research, pilot programmes, expert forums, networking, dissemination of best practice, and implementation of new employee involvement initiatives.
Fergus Whelan, industrial officer with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, suggests that all parties think workplace innovation and new ways of working are a good idea, but says that any national Workplace Development Programme would have to be properly resourced and funded by the Irish government. Mr Whelan says that the Finnish programme attracts significant funding and resourcing from the Finnish government, and that the same scenario would need to apply in Ireland to make it work.
Ms Fallon-Byrne emphasises the importance of issues such as changes in work practices that improve organisational communication and information flows and build strong systems of consultation. She says that she is somewhat surprised at the findings of recent major surveys of employer and employee reactions to change conducted by the independent think-tank, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on behalf of the NCPP. As many as 36%-42% of private sector employees responded that they hardly ever receive information in areas such as product/service innovation, new technology and new work practices. Many employees also indicate a lack of prior consultation on decisions affecting their work - as many as 27% report that they are consulted rarely or almost never. Ms Fallon-Byrne suggests that existing levels of information and consultation are 'worryingly low'.
Referring to a perceived need for organisations to move towards what she calls 'second-generation partnerships' based on 'organic', more informal collaborative relationships between managers and managed, the NCPP director points, for example, to initiatives in Ireland’s Shannon region. Here, firms such as the alumina refinery Aughinish Alumina have set an example for others to follow - in terms of implementing a more collaborative form of employment relations over a number of years - and there are signs that this is having an influence on the management approaches of other organisations, including nearby Wyeth Nutritionals, which is in the process of introducing a new partnership initiative.
Collaborative networks
The Technical Electrical Engineering Union (TEEU) assistant general secretary, Dan Miller, has been centrally involved in developing new collaborative ways of working in firms in the Shannon region, such as Aughinish and Wyeth. He suggests that a collaborative network and a knowledge base are being built up in the Shannon and Mid-West region. This network of local expertise has resulted in the construction of a link between trade union officials, local management and certain educational institutions, such as the University of Limerick. There may be important lessons that can be taken away and digested by outside observers in this regard, he states.
Ms Fallon-Byrne says that some attempts to develop collaborative workplace partnerships in Ireland are still at the early stages, and that there is much happening behind the scenes, although they often tend to be low key and may not be very visible to outside observers. She refers to attempts to develop such initiatives in the education sector, such as in the various institutes of technology. She also points to other key requirements in the modern workplace, notably more affordable and higher-quality childcare, which she says is crucial for ensuring that sufficient numbers of women can remain in the labour force. There is also the issue of ensuring that growing workforce diversity is recognised as a source of innovation and competitive advantage. Finally, Ms Fallon-Byrne stresses the need to tackle an 'opportunities divide' in the workplace. For instance, there are inequalities in access to opportunities for training and development between high- and low-skilled workers, between older and younger workers, and between men and women.
Commentary
The need to enhance workplace innovation/adaptability and move further towards a knowledge economy is currently at the top of the policy agenda in Ireland. There are definite signs of experimentation in the area of workplace innovation, and Ireland has been successful in attracting inward investment in clusters of high-skill, high-technology sectors, such as pharmaceuticals. It is also significant that - influenced by what is happening on this front in Finland - the National Centre for Partnership and Performance, together with the government and the social partners, are in the process of discussing the introduction of a coordinated and focused national Workplace Development Programme. The intention is to consolidate the various strands of workplace innovation.
A key area that requires further debate, however, is whether the theory of 'knowledge work' matches up to reality. In relation to this, just how accurate is it to suggest Ireland is in the midst of a transition to a 'post-industrial' society characterised by highly skilled knowledge workers, and the widespread adoption of innovative new forms of work organisation and human resource management? How can this be reconciled with the parallel growth of comparatively menial low-paid service sector and fixed-term contract jobs, and outsourcing? Maybe, it would be more accurate to suggest that these 'two economies'- the core knowledge economy and the lower skill periphery - will exist side by side. In any event, predictions of a transition to a post-industrial knowledge economy are not new, dating back to the 1960s and 1970s. (Tony Dobbins, IRN)