03-wir-03-2012-english

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in focus: Better together let’s talk ‘Under pressure we don’t cooperate as well’ With around 17,000 employees worldwide, GIZ has access to a wealth of knowledge and experience. Yet making the most of these assets is not easy, since the complexity of the organisation is quite a challenge for cooperation. wir: editor Sandra Voglreiter spoke to Annette Roth, Departmental Advisor in the Germany Department, Konrad De Bortoli, Portfolio Manager in Ghana, and Axel Fastenau, Deputy Director of the Industrialised Countries Flexible Business Unit, about the factors that are vital to cooperation and what still stands in the way of optimal cooperation now the merger has been completed. wir: According to GIZ’s Corporate Principles, ‘we foster a culture of cooperation within the company’. How close are we to reaching that goal? De Bortoli: I think that the organisational units and the people who work for them already cooperate fairly well. To me, cooperation often depends on whether the units are communicating with each other, so I wouldn’t necessarily consider that an aspect of internal cooperation. Where Germany is concerned, though, my impression is that there are still many separate entities. Some units still feel very committed to the old structures and are rather hesitant to open up to the new organisation. Fastenau: You need to look at why we’ve decided to focus on cooperation now. All of us, whether we came from GTZ, DED or InWEnt, were already used to cooperating closely with each other one way or another. But I think that there’s still room for improvement within the new organisation, for two reasons. First, the different cultures, which are so diverse that people often use the same words to mean something completely different. Second, the new organisational structure. It’s far more complex than that of any of the predecessor organisations. I think we’re in a situation where the responsibilities are not always clearly defined. Roth: I’ve had positive experience of cooperating with other departments and organisational units within GIZ. When we introduced DMS, for instance, we worked very closely with Knowledge Management. Our conviction – and a philosophy I personally believe in too – is that cooperation creates added value. I think if we cooperate well, we benefit the entire company, not just individual units. Fastenau: You’re referring especially to cooperation between internal service providers, such as the Legal Affairs and Insurance Unit or the Commercial Affairs Department. They still need to perfect their cooperation to some extent, but it’s a relatively unproblematic area. What’s more of an issue is cooperation at the operational level; that is, between the classic regional departments, the new flexible and specialised business units, and the Germany Department. To some extent we’re witnessing an internal fight for resources in these areas. And when you’re fighting for resources, cooperation is going to be a challenge. wir: What are the reasons for these internal struggles? Fastenau: We’re still operating in a system where people are dealing with contradictory messages and management systems. Operational units are measured in terms of their contribution to growth. Management staff’s agreed goals are often based on quantitative commission and income targets. The amount of resources they receive depends on these targets, too. This system is not always an incentive for these units to cooperate. In some cases, the units prefer to avoid cooperating openly and instead present others with a fait accompli. I hope that our strategic initiative ‘Cooperation for growth’ will address the problem. De Bortoli: Rivalry is not really a problem for us in the field structure. Our main problem is when it comes to cooperation with various organisational units at the head offices. For instance, it’s hard for us to find out who to talk to when there are administrative problems. Fastenau: I wouldn’t say that’s a genuine cooperation problem though; rather, the issue seems to be access to the right information. That’s a process that is still ongoing. I do think, however, that there’s a willingness to cooperate. 8 GIZ staff magazine | wir: 03_2012
Photos: Jörg Hilger and GIZ Ghana A lively debate: Axel Fastenau and Annette Roth at the editorial team’s office in Eschborn, while Konrad De Bortoli in Ghana takes part by telephone. wir: Would you all agree with that statement? That there’s a willingness to cooperate? De Bortoli: Definitely. Roth: Yes. But to come back to the issue of competition. For me, the question is what kind of behaviour is incentivised? What do I have to do to gain recognition? Efforts to cooperate need to be rewarded appropriately. And as for the somewhat vague definition of organisational unit responsibilities, as a rule I think people do cooperate. But they need structures that encourage them to do so. And that’s where management staff right up to the section level come in. What message are they sending out to their staff? Do they say, ‘Now off you go and don’t look left or right,’ or do they say, ‘OK, goals agreed with employees are supposed to encourage cooperation because we want the entire company to grow and develop’? Generally speaking, I’ve found that when we’re under pressure, we don’t cooperate as well. wir: Let’s come back to the different corporate cultures you mentioned. To what extent do they influence the willingness to cooperate? De Bortoli: There’s no doubt that they do. Their influence is felt in our day-to-day work in particular, for instance because we now have employees working under widely varying contractual terms. Take the full integration of development advisors, for instance. It requires enormous effort, it’s difficult, and it’s hugely time-consuming. And as for cooperation, which doesn’t just entail working together but actually producing results, we’re not exactly very effective at the moment. ‘The fact is that the smaller units are being absorbed into the bigger ones.’ Fastenau: I agree with my colleague, but let me say one more thing about the different cultures. The predecessor organisations had very different approaches. GTZ had a far stronger focus on the division of labour. My staff in Bonn tell me that InWEnt did things very differently. There, the units were far more independent in managing their own affairs; some even took care of their own financial management. This is influencing people’s willingness to cooperate in that those employees for whom this pronounced division of labour is new may think that some colleagues are capable of cooperating while others aren’t – which is complete nonsense, of course. De Bortoli: When I came from DED to GIZ I said to myself, I’m leaving a medium-sized company and joining a large one. That will mean very different processes and a completely different role for the organisational units. The fact is that the smaller units are being absorbed into the bigger ones, so there are some people who are accustomed to this environment and others who aren’t. But I think that this isn’t as much of an issue for the units ‘out there’ as it is for the head offices. Roth: To cooperate well you first need to know what the other party has to offer, while those offering services have to be aware of what you need. To work all that out, you need to spend some time, roll up your sleeves and keep asking questions. Cooperation runs smoothly and will always do so if you have confidence that it will work out, and if both parties respect each other and can build on previous positive experience. That’s also a question of attitude. Fastenau: You’re right on all counts, but you also need something else. In all instances of cooperation you need one lead person who moves the project ahead. And I’ve observed something else, too. Since we started encouraging more cooperation this year there are situations in which half the company seems to have a say. And in my experience, the result of that is that everything grinds to a halt. I don’t have to be involved in every single project that I consider to be of interest. But I do need to be confident that I’m informed in time about what’s going on. wir: All three of you have come to GIZ from very different areas of the company and have different perspectives. Mr De Bortoli, GIZ is a very decentralised organisation. What’s the experience that you and your colleagues in the field structure have of cooperation with Head Office? De Bortoli: In my experience, GIZ is indeed very decentralised. We have relatively large room for manoeuvre. What we urgently need is someone who encourages better communication – and I deliberately say ‘communication’ – between the organisational units at the head offices. 30 people work here in our office. When the day draws to a close, accounts have to be settled, cars have to have been repaired and so on. I believe that all of that works best when the responsibilities have been clearly assigned, rather than just sticking to the same old processes because that’s the way it’s always been. We need to look beyond our own horizons more often, ask questions, call people up, and participate in developing and establishing new processes. wir: 03_2012 | GIZ staff magazine 9
Page 1 and 2: GIZ STAFF MAGAZINE 03 _ 2012 better
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Page 27 and 28: to finish: have your say ‘Credibi

03-wir-03-2012-english

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