Collaboration as the Key to Success
| October 27, 2011
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
I was sitting in a presentation yesterday about the Real Estate Council of Alberta’s new case management system (CMS) and looking around the room, I realized how much collaboration is part of almost all of the work we do. In that room with me were representatives from the British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario regulatory bodies, and staff from each of RECA’s departments.
The very genesis of the new CMS was a desire for not only more collaboration, but better collaboration. A business need was identified internally; largely, to improve information sharing between investigations staff and legal services staff. There was extensive collaboration externally with other regulatory bodies in terms of exploring what CMS systems they use; and, internally as the new system was researched and implemented.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines collaborate as “to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavour.” This notion of collaborate is built right into RECA’s 2011-2016 Strategic Plan within the vision statement. I think what’s missing from this definition, though, is the expectation that such collaboration will result in success.
RECA’s vision reads that:
“The public interest is best served when all industry professionals are provided the opportunity to be as good as they can be and all stakeholders collaborate to promote and support an environment in which licensees can flourish whilst ensuring the best possible experience for the public within the real estate profession.”
RECA’s strategic plan will be successful, partly as a direct result of extensive collaborative efforts.
What RECA has learned in its 15-year history as the regulatory, standards-setting body for Alberta’s real estate industry professionals, is that two heads are better than one. Collaboration is an important part of success and RECA looks forward to continued collaboration with other industry associations, other regulatory bodies and real estate industry professionals.
RECA’s initiatives for the coming five-year period require extensive collaboration, internally and externally. It is only through this collaboration that RECA can achieve its strategic vision and fulfill its critical success factors.
As a real estate industry professional, how do you encourage or use collaboration? In what type of collaborative efforts would you like to see RECA involved?
