For richer, for richer

A good working relationship can be likened to a good marriage. When it’s going well, nothing could be better, yet when things take a turn for the worse it may be wise to go your separate ways.

This analogy should not be lost on contractors, because the processes used in real life to find the love of your life also applies in business.

The failure of a good relationship could mean a lack of repeat business, whereas those who work at it are reaping the rewards.

Last month, Skanska announced it clinched a deal with National Grid Transco (NGT) in a major gas pipe replacement programme. The deal - that involves four other contractors - is part of a wider £1.6bn project spanning 30 years.

For Skanska, this deal was the end result of a new and improved way of building a long-term relationship with a client.

Part of the success was put down to a model it developed with business-to-business relationship experts Shape-International, something Skanska is now keen to share with the industry.

Roy Staughton, managing director of Shape, tells CM that the industry is good at dealing with interpersonal stuff, but not necessarily all the other bits that go into a relationship.

For example, contractors have to ensure there are procedures for dealing with problems in a constructive way, rather than going nose-to-nose on a site, and most importantly both sides have to be able to understand each other.

The process that took approximately 10 months to develop involved Skanska taking a hard look at itself and examining the relationships it already had, as well as suggesting people they admired in the industry. Senior managers were asked to define relationships through a series of workshops.

Shape then spoke to more than 120 construction managers for their views. More than 200 suggestions emerged and were extremely varied. Answers showed that some relationships were based on trust or respect, whereas others were based on tolerance or repeat business.

This revealed that less than half of the responses were based on hard criteria – such as quality, time or cost. But many more were based on soft criteria such as openness or attitude.

Shape then produced a sequence of statements that can help identify thetype of relationship that is needed to work with another party.

Learning to love

Industry is good at interpersonal stuff, but not at all the other bits that make up a relationship

Skanska used the tool when tendering for business and it proved to be equally effective in clinching the deal with NGT.

Skanksa and NGT then examined seven aspects of their relationship.

The seven stages cover partner selection, the nature of the contract, understanding the customer, interpersonal relationships, ways of working, performance management and dealing with problems.

Through this model, Skanska identified the needs and wants of NGT, and how these could be fulfilled.

It met regularly with NGT employees. At times it was apparent that people could leave a meeting and take away different messages, so listening skills needed to be improved, says Colin Courtney, operations director for Skanska.

Courtney says that NGT had a reputation for being tough on contractors, but the process revealed that NGT were approachable and just wanted to make the project work.

Workshops were used to deal with problems and managing directors were present. Staff worked in a shared office. It was also important that information flowed from the top down, he says.

This collaborative approach played an integral part in the recently announced NGT deal. Courtney says it allowed all sides to know, trust and respect each other.

It is also a method that Skanska intends to use in future partnerships. But sceptics should note that this type of approach is not just the latest fad or just for large companies.

According to Peter Roberts, Network and Business Performance Manager for NGT, companies are being extremely ‘picky’ about the type of relationship - and the type of client - that they want.

“I think too many clients have seen the benefits of working in this way. So if you get a new player coming along and wants to do it as it was 20 years ago, I just don’t think they will get into the market place. Well, they will get market place... but they will get work with less enlightened clients,” he adds.