Towards Best Practices Presented by: Dr Stephen Treloar

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Towards Best PracticesPresented by Dr Stephen
Treloar

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• Sheep

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Recently completed study

• A case study-based analysis of business
  services (or sheltered workshops) in
  Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, United Kingdom,
  Ireland and the United States of America

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Objective

• To share some insights of good and best
  practices
• Findings drawn from research undertaken in
  Sweden, Netherlands, UK, Ireland, USA and
  Australia (1999 to 2003)

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Whats in a name?

• Within the context of varying, national,
  historical, and social connotations
• Sheltered workshops
• Sheltered employment
• Protective workshops/Segregated workshops
• Social enterprises/Social firms
• Affirmative enterprises
• Business services
• Remploy factories/Shaw Trust projects/Gandon
  Enterprises.

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Definition

• A centre-based organisation dedicated to the
  vocational training and employment of people with
  disabilities (and other disadvantaged groups)

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Diversity

• Ownership/structural level
• Target group serviced
• Attitude towards mainstreaming
• Levels of government funding
• Ideological differences about centre-based
  facilities for PWD (sheltered workshops)
• Self descriptors

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Ownership/Structure

• A single organization, country-wide, owned by
  central government (Samhall, Sweden)
• Central government sponsored utility (Remploy)
• Local municipal council consortium (Netherlands)
• Large multi-site (independently operated)
  not-for-profits (Goodwill, USA)
• Small to large community-based and owned
  facilities (sheltered workshops Missouri US,
  business services in Australia)

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Objective and ethos

• Medical/Rehabilitation model?
• Welfare model?
• Commercial business model?
• Duality of focus model of balancing commercial
  viability-v-service support?

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Common challenges from the review countries!

• Globalisation of business
• Loss of many traditional markets once served,
  e.g. general packaging, basic assembly
• Increased levels of competition
• From other service providers (some markets)
• Other mainstream competitors
• Export of labour
• Uncertainty of ongoing funding levels

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Common challenges!

• Increased costs of running business
• High levels of unproductive downtime (30-40)
• Understandable general unwillingness to align
  workforce in bad times (downsize)
• High absentee levels (20-25)
• (Especially UK) paradigm shift away from
  centre-based facilities towards mainstreaming

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Possible Solutions? Warning

• No simple quick-fixes
• No absolutes
• No simple 10-Step formula for success
• Strategic-fit within local framework
• Need to customize your own business

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Context of what is good

• Good idea
• Good practice
• Proven best practice
• Source Jarrar and Zairi (2000) cited in Treloar
  (2003 p. 37)

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DefinitionGood idea

• Not yet substantiated by data but makes sense
  intuitively. It could have a positive impact on
  business performance, but requires further
  review/analysis

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DefinitionGood practice

• Technique, methodology, procedure, or process
  that has been implemented and has improved
  business results for an organization

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DefinitionBest practice

• A good practice that has been determined to be
  the best approach for many organizations, based
  on analysis of process performance data

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High Flying Operators Food for Thought

• Things they do!

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Strategic

• Get what you aim for!
• Strategic planning -v- readiness to action
• Amalgamation or strategic alliances with other
  service providers
• Balance commercial viability with service support
• Expand income streams
• Acquisitions/disposals
• Business non-profit NOT charitable non-profit
• Benchmark performance (Goodwill/NOSW)

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Funding

• Causal relationship between low levels of funding
  and low wages

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Funding

• Receive realistic levels of government funding
  commensurate to real costs of service delivery
• High levels of funding can encourage lethargy in
  business i.e. over reliance
• Rely less and less on government grants as a of
  total income
• Alternate sources of income (Goodwill)

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Production

• Fragmenting work down to the smallest production
  unit (Remploy)
• Value-add to work (Remploy)
• Diversity of business (Samhall Sweden)
• Early adopters of new technology and industries
• Daily pre-production meetings with supported
  employees (Remploy)

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Service Support

• Clear QA standards and KPIs (Australia)
• Pay workers fair and equitable wages
• Provide basic numeracy and literacy training
  (Remploy)
• Allocate of total time to training (Remploy)
• Transition policy positive commitment (Shaw
  Trust)
• Reverse-integration (Gandon Enterprises,
  Ireland)
• Broadening of target group (Samhall Sweden, and
  Netherlands)

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Sales and Marketing

• USA preferred supplier status to government and
  military
• Strategic alliances with blue-chip customers
• Strategic alliances with other service providers
  (where available)
• Quality systems (ISO9000 GMP VCA)
• Dedicated sales/marketing teams for product type

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Political

• Strong government and political ties
• Powerful employer group
• Lobby all appropriate levels of government
• Union involvement a dual edged sword
• Strong media awareness and presence

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Other

• Employ well qualified and professional staff
• Utilize performance management and reward
  contracts linking total remuneration package to
  KPIs
• Maintain a high professional and commercial image
  branding
• Maintain effective IT system and knowledge
  management

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Next stage?

• Further research
• Quantitative research on qualitative findings
• Why and how divergent approaches to
  centre-based employment developed. Adv./disadv.?
• Improving governments ROI on funding
• Costs/benefits reverse-integration models
• Regionalised benchmarks e.g. Oceania
• Improving absenteeism levels
• Improving high non-production levels (downtime)

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End of presentation

• Questions?