What is a Best Practice ? What is a Best Practice ?

What is a Best Practice? A “best practice” is a quality management term. It means a technique or method that, through experience or research, is found most effective at achieving a desired result. Best Practices can be shared so that employees learn from one another. A “best practice” improvement is the direct result of a “partnership” whereby workplace teams come together to solve problems by understanding interests and implementing improvements to improve “old ways” of doing things.

How does Yale define “best practices” ? At Yale, Best Practices is a joint union-management partnership intended to foster labor-management collaboration through joint projects and the sharing of “best practices” throughout the University. Best Practices Projects at Yale University are focused on: Promoting positive union relations Improving employee satisfaction Increasing productivity Improving customer service Preventing and resolving conflict Discuss ongoing issues and changes in the workplace

What are some examples of Best Practice Initiatives? Analyzing department workflow to streamline and eliminate non-value added steps. Documenting standard operating procedures to eliminate confusion and poor quality. Conducting customer/supplier exchanges to increase understanding of process inputs and outputs and associated customer supplier expectations. Conducting training needs assessments to develop training plans for improving associate skill levels Developing work standards to allow for evenly distributed work assignments. Resolving conflicts by understanding each parties interest and implementing solutions before issues escalate to formal grievances.

Getting to “best practices” at Yale requires a workplace culture willing to embrace the following: Obsession for continuous improvement. Shared leadership and desire to explore all interests. Implementation of actions based on facts. Partnering with others while developing and implementing the “new way” for conducting business.

Practical tips for promoting a Union- Management Partnership DO Investigate all interest of impacted parties. Tap into other individuals who may have experienced same or similar problems to understand steps taken to implement best practices in the workplace. Stay focused on the issues and not the personalities. Remember that incremental improvements leads to sustained results in the workplace. Don’t Jump to conclusions and implement a best practice without proof that it works. Receive input from one side. Seek to gain all pertinent information required to make an informed decision.