Coaches working with business to bring about organisational change and development could do well to introduce arts and culture into their interventions, suggests research by Arts & Business, a charity which sparks partnerships between commerce and culture.
The research was carried out by Giovanni Schiuma, an Italian expert on performance management, intellectual capital management and organisational learning.
Schiuma maps nine objectives of arts-based initiatives, such as inspiration, environment, investment and transformation.
Joanne South, research manager at Arts & Business, who worked with Schiuma, said: “Culture offers processes, insights, energy, skills and expertise that many businesses need to manage and thrive in an environment of turbulence, change and dynamism. Innovation and creativity flourishes from the cultural sector, and being able to take some of that into the workplace generates value to a business.”
The research suggests that the benefits for people and the organisational infrastructure are likely to converge, as shown by case studies at ITV and UBS.
ITV worked with coaching and creative consultancy Ci: Creative Intelligence to roll out forum theatre workshops to play organisational scenarios and real situations on a humorous platform. Qualitative evaluation showed that ITV achieved shared organisational standards for acceptable behaviours, reduction in staff turnover, improvement in internal communications processes and customer relationships management.
UBS partnered with the Circus Space. Nick Wright, UBS managing director corporate responsibility & community affairs said: “Significant portions of our revenue over a five-year period have come from activities that did not exist before. Potential new recruits hone in on our arts and community partnerships; what this tells us is that our partnerships can distinguish us and, we believe, provide a competitive advantage. Arts partnerships are complex but can be extremely powerful.”
- For more information go to www.artsandbusiness.org.uk
Volume 5, Issue 2