Careful planning is essential to avoid situations where bad selection or misunderstandings result in animosity where only neutrality born of ignorance existed before. It is necessary to follow a few fundamental steps in setting up an effective exchange:
1. Don't try to set them up 'out of the blue'. They need to be based on an existing relationship between Indonesia organizations, or between key people within them, e.g. personnel / training staff or senior management. You may also use your own social and business contacts.
2. Once you have identified one or more potential of Indonesia partner organizations, discover what specific skills or knowledge you can each offer as valuable to the other. There will be greater commitment if both parties can see benefits beyond that to the individuals concerned.
3. If you have to convince others before going further, this is a good stage at which to seek approval. Gain initial commitment from as high up as possible - preferably the chief executive.
4. Identify who in each Indonesia organization will be responsible for arranging, monitoring and trouble-shooting throughout the exchange.
5. Work out with the personnel department all details relating to pay, allowances, entitlements, career implications, etc. For members of your staff who might be exchanged.
6. Communicate the proposals as fully s possible among employees from whom you wish to select participants.
7. Once the participants have been selected, bring them directly into further arrangements, e.g. refining projects in discussion with the hosts.
8. Prepare and briefed participants, including 2-3 days' familiarization visits before them exchange so that they can see the environment and meet some of the people they will be working with.
9. Visits abroad will require careful briefing on cultural matters if disaster is to be avoided. Seemingly simple things like certain hand gestures, for example, can have significantly different meanings in different countries!
10. Maintain regular communication links with the Indonesia partner organization throughout the exchange period, and monitor progress.
11. Arrange for the participants to present their projects formally in both their Indonesia host organization and back at their own work base. This could be a good accession for some ceremony, or even a little razzmatazz to mark and reinforce the relationship between the Indonesia organizations. Bring senior management and board members the Indonesia organizations. Bring senior management and board members into the act.
12. Follow up the work and development aspects with your own staff. Get them to brief out and the rest of the team on the experience, and put them in charge of arraign future exchanges for your section. This will give them further responsibility arising from their experience while helping them to maintain their new contacts.
Exchanges and secondments do need a lot of careful planning and monitoring if they are to succeed, but it gets easier after the first couple of successes strengthen the network. It can be a powerful development tool for individuals if they are well prepared, and the careful selection of projects can produce results which far outweigh the loss of output during the absence of participants. ***
1. Don't try to set them up 'out of the blue'. They need to be based on an existing relationship between Indonesia organizations, or between key people within them, e.g. personnel / training staff or senior management. You may also use your own social and business contacts.
2. Once you have identified one or more potential of Indonesia partner organizations, discover what specific skills or knowledge you can each offer as valuable to the other. There will be greater commitment if both parties can see benefits beyond that to the individuals concerned.
3. If you have to convince others before going further, this is a good stage at which to seek approval. Gain initial commitment from as high up as possible - preferably the chief executive.
4. Identify who in each Indonesia organization will be responsible for arranging, monitoring and trouble-shooting throughout the exchange.
5. Work out with the personnel department all details relating to pay, allowances, entitlements, career implications, etc. For members of your staff who might be exchanged.
6. Communicate the proposals as fully s possible among employees from whom you wish to select participants.
7. Once the participants have been selected, bring them directly into further arrangements, e.g. refining projects in discussion with the hosts.
8. Prepare and briefed participants, including 2-3 days' familiarization visits before them exchange so that they can see the environment and meet some of the people they will be working with.
9. Visits abroad will require careful briefing on cultural matters if disaster is to be avoided. Seemingly simple things like certain hand gestures, for example, can have significantly different meanings in different countries!
10. Maintain regular communication links with the Indonesia partner organization throughout the exchange period, and monitor progress.
11. Arrange for the participants to present their projects formally in both their Indonesia host organization and back at their own work base. This could be a good accession for some ceremony, or even a little razzmatazz to mark and reinforce the relationship between the Indonesia organizations. Bring senior management and board members the Indonesia organizations. Bring senior management and board members into the act.
12. Follow up the work and development aspects with your own staff. Get them to brief out and the rest of the team on the experience, and put them in charge of arraign future exchanges for your section. This will give them further responsibility arising from their experience while helping them to maintain their new contacts.
Exchanges and secondments do need a lot of careful planning and monitoring if they are to succeed, but it gets easier after the first couple of successes strengthen the network. It can be a powerful development tool for individuals if they are well prepared, and the careful selection of projects can produce results which far outweigh the loss of output during the absence of participants. ***
