Module 5

Collaborate for Success

Learning objectives of Module 5

  • By completing Module 5, learners will acquire an in depth understanding of the benefits of both working with others and the reasons why fostering a culture of collaboration is key to the success of your Centre of Taste.

Learning objectives of Module 5

  • This module has two key sections:
    • Collaborating with others – key to building a sustainable Centre of Taste
    • Fostering a culture of collaboration in your Centre of Taste

1. Collaborating with others –

Why?

We know the saying a problem shared is a problem halved.

Research shows that discussing problems with people in similar

situations reduces https://kissflow.com/digitalcollaboration/           -workplace/collaboration/what-isstress levels.  

1. Collaborating with others –

Why?

  • Problems don’t seem as overwhelming when we talk about them, and two or more people are more likely to find a solution than one.
  1. What is Collaboration?
  2. Collaboration is the process of two or more people or organisations working together to realize mutual advantage.
  3. Options range from informal networks and alliances, through joint delivery of projects to full merger.
    1. What is Collaboration?
  4. Collaborative working can last for a fixed length of time or can form a permanent arrangement.
  5. What these options have in common is that they involve some sort of exchange.

1. What is Collaboration?

1. Why collaborate?

  • You have a vision to develop a Centre of Taste idea, but you may not have the skillset or resources to make it happen alone.

Through collaboration, you can build a coalition of complimentary support, skills, encouragement and resources.

1. Why collaborate?

  • Collaboration begins with you, believing and trusting in your Centre of Taste business plan. From there, you attract your collaborators.
  • Getting the right people/team around you is vital.
  • Attracting those individuals that bring additional skills and resources that you can’t/couldn’t achieve on your own.

1. The Benefits of Collaboration

Sources Perspective Momentum Speed Decisions Validation
• You add more ideas to the project, more research, another lifetime of knowledge• You see angles and flaws in your Centre of Taste business model you would not have seen yourself• Someone else is supporting you to move to the next step• You are able to work faster, identify the best ideas more quickly• A sounding board helps you talk through your decisions, understand the business model rationale more easily.• A good collaboration partner not only sees the flaws in your work, but can help support your best ideas and spur you forward in the right direction.

1. Why Collaboration Partnerships ?

  • The key motive for implementing local and regional partnerships is the belief that working together is more effective than working in isolation.
  • A successful partnership enhances the impact and effectiveness of action

2. Making Centre of Taste a Reality – the approach

2. Fostering a culture of collaboration

• While the Centre of Taste facilities and services are critical to an incubator’s success, as important is  creating an entrepreneurial atmosphere as a key ingredient.

2. Fostering a culture of collaboration

Why?

  • More collaboration interaction, ideas, concepts and thinking often lead to more innovation, creativity and a more profitable business.  
  • Do not forget that for the food businesses using your Centre of Taste, starting or growing a business can be very isolating.

2. Fostering a culture of collaboration

Why?

  • Peer to peer connections can be a powerful business tools.
  • Connections should be encouraged through the open common spaces and social and educational events. Environments that convey a positive energy are a key reason that incubation hubs are such a special offering.

2. Fostering a culture of collaboration 

• Collaboration is all about team work, if you want your tenants/Centre of Taste members to work together then it is in your interest to help them see themselves and function as one big team. 

2. Fostering a culture of collaboration 

6 steps to foster a Culture of Collaboration

  • The Role of the Centre of Taste Centre Manager
  • Encourage Creativity and Openness
  • Encourage Coopetition
  • Encourage shared Social Time
  • Invest in Training and Development
  • Collaborate with Key Influencers

3. The Role of the Centre of Taste Centre Manager

  • The manager is key to fostering a culture of collaboration
  • Passion for helping small food businesses grow with a genuine interest in the work and products of those using the Centre of Taste and encourages all members to do the same.

3. The Role of the Centre of Taste Centre Manager

  • Strong interpersonal and conflict resolution skills Good organizational and managerial skills to oversee the operation and management of the incubator
  • A desire to cultivate a dynamic environment that fosters spontaneous conversations and innovation between Centre of Taste businesses

3. Encourage Creativity and Openness

• Creativity – Encourage members and tenants to be free to express their opinions and ideas and to ask for help. A nice way of doing this is by having a I need, I want and I suggest Wall in a shared common area.

3. Encourage Creativity and Openness

  • The beauty of incubators is that people meet and develop a relationship naturally without forcing each other to do so. 
  • Providing common spaces for your members to interact is very important. From couches, to pub-style tables and benches, this should be  a relaxed area.

3. Encourage Creativity and Openness

Online Collaboration

  • Given food business owners are so busy, augment offline collaboration with an online platform set up exclusively for members. 
  • Perhaps a dedicated collaboration tool may be what you need ? Slack is an incredibly smart platform and may be worth considering.

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

Dropbox

  • Create a central workspace so everyone can find what they need quickly. 
  • Folders are a simple way to give your tenant members access to things like kitchen protocols, handbooks, marketing files, logos and photos. 

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

Dropbox

  • All members can add and edit files together.
  • Changes sync automatically, giving everyone the most recent version in their Dropbox folders.
  • Use comments to quickly gather feedback in each file.

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

Google Docs

  • Sometimes we need to work on one document together at the same time.
  • This tool allows you to create online documents, presentations and spreadsheets which we can edit together in live mode.
  • Content is automatically saved and stored.

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

Zoom

  • This cloud-based collaboration software is widely used in business and government.
  • The platform offers group messaging, video conferencing and virtual meeting spaces that come with useful backgrounds.
  • It offers HD audio and video.
  • An attendance indicator helps you track individual participation and conduct polls.

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

Workplace by Facebook

• While Facebook is known as a tool for promotion and marketing, Workplace by Facebook lets you communicate with staff in a centralized hub:

  • Instant messaging allows individual or group chats through text, voice or video.
  • You can also stream video to make announcements or conduct training sessions.
  • Real-time engagement analytics deliver instant feedback. It can be integrated with Office 365, Google Drive and more.

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

Microsoft Teams

• Despite tough competition, Microsoft is still a big player in the workplace collaboration sector. This cost-effective software improves productivity and boosts engagement. Teams lets employees share files, work collectively on a document and sync with other Office apps.

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

• Watch the video “Tools for Online Collaboration With Teams & Clients When Working Remotely”

4. Technology to Encourage Creativity & Openness

  • Whichever platform you choose, your goal is to bring stakeholders together. It not only boosts productivity, it empowers everyone to share ideas and collaborate.
    • Encourage Coopetition
  • Coopetition between businesses can increase the chance of growth within each business. While sometimes in competition with each other, if companies cooperate with each other to reach a higher value goal than could be achieved without interaction.
    • Encourage Coopetition
  • An example – sharing a distribution system to extend the market reach nationally or internationally.  In this case companies save money on shared costs while remaining fiercely competitive in other areas.

5. Encourage Shared Social Time

  • Food as we know is one of the best things to bring people together. It can’t all be about work. Holding social events, and celebrating the victories with your Centre of Taste members is one of the best ways to build a community.  Some ideas:-
  • Demo day – Host a day for members to demo what they’re working on and get feedback from the rest of the community.

5. Encourage Shared Social Time

  • A Supper – Why not a host a support or a BBQ where every food producer brings something to the table.
  • Investor and funder guest speakers
  • Invite local investors and funders in to talk about funding and how to accelerate member businesses

5. Encourage Shared Social Time

• Pitch practice – Every month, host a meetup to help food entrepreneurs practice their 30-second and 3-minute pitches.

5. Encourage Shared Social Time

• Entrepreneur talks – Invite food entrepreneurs (again, this could be past members of your incubator) to tell the story of their success, including the obstacles they encountered and the lessons they learned along the way.

5. Encourage Shared Social Time

• Showcase area – set up a high profile display area where all the products produced in your incubator can be shared.  Maximise the impact of this by placing it in a prominent area that visitors to one business can see the work of other businesses on site.

6. Invest in Training and Development

  • Providing joint training programmes, talks and seminars for your Centre of Taste members can help them progress in their business. Food entrepreneurs come from different skill-sets and backgrounds.  They may be technically brilliant at making their product but may have weak marketing or finance/cash management/costing skills.
  • Hence providing on site training and development programmes can make the difference to their survival.

Additional reading

Additional reading