Integrating Involved Parties into
the Workforce-Management Process

Working time projects can only be successful in the long-term if all those involved are included (cf. balance of interests).

The scope of involvement of individual actors in projects can vary broadly, ranging from decision-making (or participation therein), to project-contribution, discussion-participation and various forms of information-sharing.

Extensive involvement by actors (e.g. through membership in a project-group) is often beneficial:

• more information becomes available for the project.
• when alternatives have to be considered, it is easier to pick the most beneficial one.
• involved parties are aware of the considerations preceding a decision and so plans become understandable and more acceptable.
• it leads to qualification-processes.
• participation can result in positive mobilization.
• if experts go to work first, communicating their considerations can entail considerable effort.

Possible reasons for avoiding intensive participation could include:

• an individual’s lack of interest in the topic (at a particular point in time), or is it that the person cannot or does not want to contribute?
• does discussion of the topic raise concerns that render solution-oriented discussions more difficult or impossible?
• is it possible that the content will be overly burdensome for participants?
• will participation lead to negotiations that cannot be fully dealt with by the project-group?
• is it possible that working in the project-group will be overly burdensome?
• is there sufficient time for working on the project?
• are participants “placed at the mercy of” dominating experts?
• are the experts and executives capable of working together?

Extensive participation generally does require investment in communication and co-ordination, and can be overly burdensome for a project. However, insufficient participation can end up requiring even more investment in “sanitation”.

Using workshops for developing and refining first drafts of a working time model is recommendable where moderation is secured by a qualified planner with IT-support. This allows including involved persons in planning at an early stage, clarifying requirements and identifying design-possibilities. Key questions are answered most efficiently this way.