So what is it that you do exactly?

Partnering is coming of age.

A rather dramatic statement, you might think. But recently I have seen plenty of evidence that partnering is taking on a more significant role across a wide spectrum of organisations:

• a major telecoms company is looking to establish a Europe-wide "best practice" approach to partnering
• an SME in the high technology sector wants to establish a formal partnering process
• at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast event in the UK, by popular demand ICT suppliers and developers learn about the risks and benefits of partnering

It seems as though businesses have finally woken up to the fact that this partnering stuff really is important after all. What up to now might have been seen as a necessary evil – something companies are forced into so that they could bid for a large contract or enter an overseas market – is now being treated with the respect it deserves, as a discipline in its own right deserving of more serious attention.

You see, some organisations are getting quite good at partnering. They have a defined partnering strategy which supports their overall business objectives; they have a high-level partnering plan which sets out how the strategy will be achieved; they have thought through how they want to be positioned in each of their target markets, and have worked out "win-win" scenarios for themselves and their prospective partners; and with each partner they have established a joint marketing plan, with stated targets and an agreed method of measuring progress.

And when there are organisations out there (i.e. competitors) who are being successful at partnering, it is amazing how quickly the others catch on that they too need to be good at partnering ...!

But in fact, what distinguishes those organisations who are really good at partnering is ... they have a process!

Write it down!

It is as though the chief executive of one of these organisations calls a partner manager into his office one day and asks him: "So, what is it that you do exactly?"

The good partner manager will then summarise (as I have done above) all the fantastic things he and his team are doing to ensure partnering success.

The truly great partner manager, however, will produce a concise, easily accessible and digestible set of documentation, that sets out clearly and explicitly how the partnering function operates.

The need for a process

As soon as the word "process" is mentioned in business, it has the same effect on a large number of people as talking about a new accounting system. Executives recognise that these things are necessary, but they would rather leave the design and implementation of them to somebody else. There is also the feeling that processes are somehow imposed on businesses from outside, like EU directives and red tape. Processes are needed to pass ISO 9000 and similar quality assurance inspections. That's why we have them, isn't it?

Of course, those who understand these things know that processes are the mechanism whereby an organisation captures and encapsulates its learning experiences and the knowledge that is in the heads of its staff, or which is acquired in the course of doing business. Processes enable repeatability, consistency and durability. A good process will work well independently of which part of the organisation is applying it, provided, of course, that the staff involved have the necessary skills and/or prior business experience. A good process will also survive the departure or re-assignment of key personnel and even the restructuring of the organisation.

So why have a partnering process?

Some people think that a partnering process is inappropriate for their business. Why? They tell me it's because their organisation has already established a number of partnerships and "every one was different". There's no commonality of approach, no similarity between the deals that were done. The people that worked on them were from different parts of the organisation e.g. one was put together by sales, while another was led by business development. There were a variety of different reasons why we got into these partnerships in the first place. In one case it was because a major customer wanted our company and another supplier to work together; on another occasion we urgently needed a bidding partner who was based in the customer's territory.

Hmm! Sounds familiar?

Without a defined process for partnering, all the above (and more) is bound to happen. Companies are forced into a reactive mode of partnering, to establish "quick fixes" to problems that are actually symptomatic of the absence of a more formal approach to developing partnerships. Savvy firms who have been through this learning experience recognise that they now need to get their act in order. Really far-sighted companies who are new to partnering realise that without a partnering process they will go down exactly the same route and end up with an inefficient, and probably less effective collection of partners than they can achieve by going about the business of developing partnerships in a more structured way.

So, if you already have partners or you are thinking of acquiring them, do consider establishing your own partnering process. Although it may seem boring, having a defined and documented partnering process is actually the key to continued and repeatable partnering success.

Partnering Points on establishing a partnering process

• Keep the process simple. Don't overload it with too many reporting points or management reviews. Produce documentation that is accessible, concise and useful for people who are running or overseeing the process.
• Consider producing some information that can be shared with prospective and signed up partners. This will allow you to jointly monitor progress with your partner and will help you to drive the partnership forwards.
• Avoid encumbering the process with an excess of bureaucracy. As always there will be a trade-off to be made between maintaining control and being easy to do business with.
• For ease of understanding break the process down into a number of discrete stages, reflecting progress in the development of a partnership. Decide what the scope of the process is to be, then identify what steps your organisation and the partner need to go through in order to establish a successful and self-sustaining partnership.
• If you do have an ISO 9000 or equivalent quality assurance inspection coming up you will need a documented process, but don't let this be the driver. Establish the process and documentation you need for the business first, then modify it if necessary to meet the required quality standards.
• Finally, make sure you involve the people who will actually use the process – business development staff, partner managers, salespeople etc, as well as management – in the design and review of the process. Get feedback from users and from your partners and be prepared to modify the process accordingly. Above all, the partnering process must remain a valid and pertinent business aid to the achievement of successful partnerships that the organisation has targeted to put in place.

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