Services
Negotiation Services
Negotiation Specialist
SPANS will appoint a negotiation specialist to act on behalf of the client, perform a Chief negotiator or negotiation team leader role. The specialist skills of a SPANS negotiator will provide you with greater leverage and advantage during negotiations while improving synergies and relationships with negotiation partners to achieve more favorable outcomes. As remuneration for this service SPANS will usually receive equity in the results we help you achieve, in the form of a small fraction of the negotiated outcome.
The Negotiation specialist will supervise and manage the negotiation processes, utilizing and freeing 'content experts' to concentrate on the substantive issues to be resolved without being distracted by the relationship issues.
'Content Experts', may also be referred to as specialist negotiators who negotiate a specific issue that falls within their field of specialization. Specialist negotiators should not be confused with 'Negotiation Specialist' who are 'process experts', trained and experienced to deal with the relationship or actual interactive process of negotiation.
Negotiation Coaching and Planning Services
One on one or team coaching is provided by a negotiation specialist, ensuring clients are adequately prepared and supported to conduct effective negotiations through all facets of the negotiation process from the initial preparation and planning stages through to the implementation, management and closure of negotiations.
This is an alternative to the 'hands on' or controlling chief negotiation service provided by SPANS. The negotiation specialist guides negotiators through the entire negotiation process, providing appropriate direction, advice and support to ensure negotiations remain on track and are strongly focused upon interests rather than positional claims to create added value.
In addition to strategically preparing negotiators, through effective planning and preparation, to manage the negotiation process, the negotiation coach will support negotiators to think on their feet, relying upon negotiation techniques to avoid negotiators being drawn into positional or emotional claims that derail negotiations, ensuring that negotiations move forward as part of a collaborative and productive process
The negotiation coach and planner will assist clients to set the appropriate scene or climate for negotiation, identify, develop and articulate clear negotiation goals and a 'negotiation roadmap' to guide the process toward achieving the goals. The negotiation coach will also monitor the entire negotiation process and recommend appropriate intervention strategies to keep the negotiation process under control and on track. A key task for the negotiation coach is to assist clients in developing collaborating relationships with other parties to facilitate joint problem solving and avoid conflict that is associated with competitive or adversarial negotiations.
SPANS will usually accept equity in the results it helps clients to achieve or as an alternative negotiate an appropriate financial retainer according to the particular context and complexity of the negotiation.
Education and Training in Strategic Negotiations
SPANS will provide education and training workshops customised to meet the specific client needs (through comprehensive assessment) according to the context of negotiation. SPANS will teach participants how to prepare, think and act like a strategic negotiator.
SPANS education and training workshops apply action learning principles through the use of case presentations and simulation exercises based upon case studies and exercises developed by leading International Negotiation centres such as the Harvard Program on Negotiation and the Kellog Dispute Resolution Research Centre along with 'real life' negotiation situations that clients bring to the workshop. This pragmatic approach to education and training extends beyond pure theory to involve hands on experiential learning, ensuring clients not only leave the workshop with a strong knowledge and a skills set that they can apply to any negotiation but that they are also equipped with plans and strategies to undertake actual negotiations. The training format is based upon the Harvard PON Negotiation training framework.
Workshops are offered at a number of world class conference. Alternately, SPANS may provide workshops in-house or at a suitable venue closer to the client. SPANS also offers select, limited workshops at world renowed resort conference centres situated at Coffs Harbour, on the idyllic Mid North Coast of NSW, Australia.
Each education and training workshop will involve:
- Negotiation audit (needs analysis): Prior to the workshop each participant will complete a 'negotiation audit' involving a needs analysis of both the negotiation context and participants negotiation competencies.
- Harvard Program on Negotiation training framework: Your presenter completed the Harvard PON 'Teaching Negotiation in the Organisation'
- World Class Negotiation Teaching materials: SPANS draws upon Case Studies, Simulation Exercises and teaching materials from the world renowed Harvard PON and Kellog DRRC programs to ensure clients benefit from the some of the most recent and innovative international negotiation teaching resources
- Reading material: Each participant will receive a training workbook and recommended text prior to the workshop.
- Interactive training: The workshop format promotes participant interaction during presentations. The workshop also involves peer and trainer feedback as part of an interactive process that provides participants with a mechanism for evaluating and managing their own negotiation strengths and weaknesses.
- Multi-media presentations: The workshop's interactive training will involve computer generated audio-visual presentations.
- Negotiation Mapping: Where training is tailored as a prepatory negotiation activity, each participant will leave the education and training course with a detailed 'negotiation plan' or blueprint they have developed during the training workshop in preparation for the Negotiation process. This plan will provide negotiators with a roadmap to guide them through the negotiation process.
- Draft Agreement: Draft agreements may be developed during workshops tailored in preparation for an actual negotiation. This process prepares clients with a clear understanding of what there negotiation objectives are and how they are to be delivered. The draft agreement will clearly identify and articulate client needs and objectives and the terms and conditions required to meet those objectives. The draft then acts as a framework to be 'fleshed out' during the negotiation process to ensure negotiations do not stall at the precipice of agreement and are brought effectively to closure with durable agreements based upon mutually acceptable fair standards.
- Development of the Negotiation Team: The workshop exercisesa may also incorporate the development of the negotiation team based upon the identification, understanding and assignment of team roles according to the specific needs identified in the negotiation plan.
- Negotiation modelling: 'Negotiation modelling' may also form part of the action learning exercise involving a more tailored training process of simulation and practice to test the negotiation theories, strategies and plans developed by the participants. This simulation exercise will also provide participants with the opportunity to 'roleplay' team assignments as a means of testing their aptitude or strengths for particular roles. This process tests the negotiation plan and builds team synergy.