Little and Large: Norton Priory Museums and Gardens and National Museums Liverpool developing skills. Norton Priory Museum and Gardens and National Museums Liverpool (NML) already have a working relationship centred on the larger than life size Saint Christopher Statue; a remarkable survival from medieval Norton Priory, displayed at the Museum it is on long term loan from Liverpool. But Claire McDade, Director at Norton Priory had to ask herself “How [else] could Norton Priory benefit from having a national museum on its doorstep”. Like many independent or smaller organisations Norton Priory is staffed by a small team. They are able to draw upon the skills and enthusiasm of specialist staff to deliver the operation of the museum but do not have the back up a Local Authority might offer it’s museums through support in Human resources, Finance, Communications and Marketing for example. Could NML offer support in areas where Norton Priory had limited expertise? Norton Priory made a direct approach and offered a relationship that was structured towards skills sharing and workforce development to benefit both organisations. In this first phase they are piloting short term secondments of NML staff at Norton Priory. The pilot at Norton Priory is an opportunity for NML to construct and test a model of practice that could be rolled out elsewhere. The secondment is for 1 or 2 days a week and the time is funded 50% by each of the organisations. The typical secondment period is for six months and it is project or task focused. The current secondment is Sam Fletcher Jones, from the Human Resources department for 1 day a week (September 2010 to March 2011). Norton Priory reports the benefits of having access to a HR specialist has included the delivery of personal development plans for staff, a new appraisals system, a revamped staff and volunteer handbook. There are also incidental benefits, the ability to ask the expert questions as and when required. For NML, the benefit of these arrangements is that they provide an opportunity for their staff to develop new skills by gaining experience in a different environment with different challenges and constraints. Clare Wolfarth, HR and Organisational Development Manager says “In smaller organisations individual roles often have a broader remit so there may be opportunities to gain new experience in important areas (e.g. supervision of staff or volunteers) that aren't possible within the staff member's role at NML. In addition, such arrangements provide an opportunity for networking, knowledge sharing and learning through observing different ways of working and from meeting new people. Our staff feel positive about being given the opportunity to undertake these secondments which can help with motivation, morale and staff engagement.” As Sam Fletcher says, "The chance to work in a different organisation gave me an invaluable opportunity to gain experience in new areas and I can now bring this back to NML. Working in a new environment also gave me the chance to have my thinking challenged and develop new approaches and this will be something I can apply in future.” The additional experience may help the individual staff member's career but ultimately, all of these new skills and experience are then brought back into NML so the staff member, NML and the partner organisation all benefit from these arrangements. Sharing of resources with other organisations in this way opens the door to identifying other opportunities for knowledge sharing or collaboration that strengthens all parties involved. Further Information:
Claire McDade, Director, Norton Priory Museum and Gardens, tel: 01928 569895 clairemcdade@nortonpriory.org Clare Wolfarth, Human Resources and Organisational Developmental Manager, National Museums Liverpool -‐ Clare.Wolfarth@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk