ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Tom Packard, D.S.W. School of Social Work San Diego State University Webinar for CalSWEC March 26, 2015 ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Thank you Stuart and Sevaughn and all of you for joining us. This is based on research I have done on organizational change and is adapted from an E-learning presentation given in advance of a one-day session on organizational change which is part of a 15-day program on leadership development. The program is called Leaders in Action ,and is done by the Academy for Professional Excellence for the Southern Area Consortium for Human Services, which includes the directors of 8 Southern California Counties. Every year we train about 25 managers from these counties. We are now in our 11th year.

OBJECTIVES At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to: Describe three levels of organizational change Describe change agent roles and tactics for successful organizational change Describe steps to be taken in an organizational change process Identify a problem or goal in her/his organization which may be addressed using a planned organizational change process This webinar will provide concepts and practice principles which will serve as a basis for discussion of organizational change applications during and after the slide show. After this webinar, you should know about three levels of organizational change, roles of change agents, and key tactics of organizational change. Based on this conceptual knowledge, you should be able to identify a problem in your organization which could be addressed by a planned change process.

OVERVIEW OF THE WEBINAR
Definition The evidence base Levels of change An organizational change process Quick reactions/questions after each step Questions and discussion 4 minutes to here After a definition of organizational change, I’ll briefly talk about the literature and evidence base in this area Next, I’ll describe three levels of change, based on their degree of complexity. Most of the session will cover change tactics that a manager as change leader could use to implement as part of an organizational change intervention. We’ll have time for quick comments and questions after each step. At the end of this session, we’ll have some time for questions and for your ideas on how you could use this material.

CHECK IN Original Q 2? Are you in a position to initiate an organizational change process? Your role/position - poll Executive Director or deputy director Middle manager Supervisor Line worker Staff support Academic researcher Consultant Other

DILBERT ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
“People hate change, and with good reason. Change makes us stupider, relatively speaking. Change adds new information to the universe; information that we don’t know. Our knowledge – as a percentage of all the things that can be known – goes down a tick every time something changes.” - Adams, S. (1996). The Dilbert Principle. New York: HarperCollins, p. 198. Management consultant and speaker Tom Peters has said that Dilbert is not a cartoon, it is a documentary. This vignette from Dilbert makes the important point that employees at any level of an organization can have mixed feelings about the prospect of organizational change. Since change is inevitable, we should use the best available knowledge to minimize negative effects on employees and maximize positive effects for our organizations and clients. 1 minute

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE DEFINED
Planned organizational change involves leadership and the mobilizing of staff to explicitly address problems or needs in the organization’s current state, to move the organization to a desired future state, using change processes which involve both human and technical aspects of the organization. Of course, organizational change happens almost constantly. Staff in organizations make changes and adaptations on a regular basis, and organizations are also changed by forces in their environments. Human service organizations change based on environmental dynamics including new policy directives, and budgetary decisions. We are talking here about planned organizational change, in which a leader in the organization identifies a problem, need, or opportunity for improvement. In this sense, planned organizational change can be defined as “leadership and the mobilizing of staff to explicitly address problems or needs in the organization’s current state to move the organization to a desired future state.” This definition, from a definition of organization development, has in the final bullet a normative consideration. Change can be top-down, but the model here suggests high levels of staff participation. 1 minute

STATE OF THE KNOWLEDGE BASE
A vast literature: theory a few large-scale studies individual case studies, e.g., executives as change leaders academic studies (e.g., readiness, change capacity, organizational climate) “guru literature”, “management by bestseller” So far, mostly too esoteric or too anecdotal There is a huge literature on organizational change, including books on theory, a few large- scale studies – one of nonprofits and a few in government – lots of academic studies, some useful, studying factors such as readiness for change, organizational capacity for change, and the relationship between organizational climate and organizational change. There is a huge guru literature, also known as management by bestseller. Much of this literature is either too esoteric, e.g., a title from a recent article is The Role of Regret in Institutional Persistence and Change, or based too much on low levels of evidence such as case studies of famous executives or books by consultants using their x number of years as evidence. 1 minute

STATE OF THE SCIENCE Research which offers generalizable, evidence-based practice guidelines is less common. Consistent methodologies and measurements are generally not used. Outcomes are typically not well-documented. The evidence for the assertions and prescriptions in the literature must be considered weak. I have concluded that …. Read points 1 minute

AREAS TO STUDY Preconditions: Readiness, capacity, climate, etc.
Strategy: “the general design or plan of action” Tactics - “the concrete and specific actions that flow from the strategy” Methods: organization development (employee surveys, team building, process consultation, group problem solving, etc.) Quality improvement (CQI, Lean Six Sigma, etc.) ARC (availability, responsiveness, and continuity) Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) Implementation Science National Implementation Research Network (EBP implementation) Business Process Reengineering I am most interested in the PRACTICE of organizational change, and developing new knowledge that practitioners can readily use in their agencies, with or without consultants. There are many opportunities for well-done research on aspects of organizational change implementation, looking at preconditions, change tactics, or change methods. Continuous quality improvement is getting a lot attention in child welfare right now. Charles Glisson, Greg Aarons and their other colleagues; and Nancy Claiborne and others at Albany are doing very good work on climate and culture. I’m most interested in tactics, which can be used within any participative change model, and then how tactics affect not only implementation of a change but also change OUTCOMES in terms of client change. We have a lot to learn in this area. 1 minute

MY FOCUS: CHANGE TACTICS
Content analysis of the literature: 22 tactics are often mentioned (Packard & Shih, 2013) Preliminary research suggests that use of these can enhance prospects for success (Packard, McCrae, & Scannapieco, 2015; Packard & Gibson, 2014). This model incorporates tactics which have been associated with success. After a content analysis of the literatures in public administration, business organizations, and human service organizations, we looked at 22 tactics that were most often mentioned. I have done a few studies in which staff who have experienced organizational change indicated the use of tactics that they saw in successful and unsuccessful organizational change initiatives. Some colleagues and I surveyed staff in 13 counties in Colorado which implemented a new practice model. The model I’ll present here is based on these tactics. The stages and tactics presented here are evidence-based insofar as they use two sources from the literature which were summaries of existing work on organizational change and additional research that colleagues and I have done. These references are listed near the end of this presentation. 1 minute

THREE LEVELS OF CHANGE Developmental: incremental
Transitional: moderate, to something new Transformational: large-scale There are three levels of change, based on considering the change effort’s goals, scope, and impact on the organization. At one end of the continuum, developmental change often happens without a formal change process. At the other end of the continuum, large-scale, transformational change is likely to be more successful if planned change processes are used. Transitional change can benefit from the use of at least some of these tactics. 1 minute

Developmental Change Improving a skill, method or process that does not currently meet the agency’s standard Adjustments to existing operations Least threatening to employees Easiest to manage Examples: problem solving, training, improving communications, improving systems or processes (Proehl, p. 40) Developmental change involves minor improvements in existing processes or staff skills. Changing office procedures, or communication processes or systems such as making meetings more effective would be examples. Developmental changes happen on a regular basis and would not typically require specialized change management skills.

Transitional Change Implement something new
Abandon old ways of functioning Move through a transitional period New future state Requires patience and time Examples: CQI? reorganizations, interagency coalitions, new technology systems, implementing new programs (Proehl, p. 41) Transitional change is more complex, requiring staff and the organization to abandon old ways of functioning to reach a new future state. Examples include most reorganizations, developing new interagency coalitions, and implementing new programs or processes. This level of change would probably benefit from managers as change leaders consciously using principles of planned organizational change. Quality improvement initiatives would probably be in this category.

Transformational Change
Evolutionary state requiring major shifts in vision, strategy, structure, systems Might evolve out of necessity: major policy changes, significant productivity problems, system failure, etc. New state: new culture, beliefs, and awareness of possibilities Examples: CQI? New practice model? privatization, managed competition, welfare reform (Proehl. P. 42) Transformational change is very complex, demanding, chaotic, and time-consuming. This typically involves major shifts in agency vision, strategy, structure, or administrative systems. Examples would include major privatization or managed competition initiatives and other major program changes such as those precipitated by welfare reform. Major restructuring initiatives, especially as they involve changes in organizational culture, may be transformational. Dealing with major funding cutbacks may be another example of transformational change. Developing new automated information systems or in some cases CQI implementation may qualify as transformational change. 3 minutes on levels

DOING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
“I have been speaking prose all my life, and didn't even know it!” - From Molière, The Bourgeois Gentleman So, how is a French play relevant for organizational change? I want to make the point that I know that every day agency administrators and others are using organizational change tactics, maybe based not on research but on their own practice experiences and knowledge and observing successful and unsuccessful change in their past. My hope is that a conscious use of specific evidence based principles can help make organizational change efforts more successful. This is not rocket science but rather social science. This doesn’t mean, however, that we should be casual about not needing much science in our work. The Challenger disaster was a vivid example of a terrible outcome based on ignoring science. Organizational change does not have such direct relevance, but I hope that our organizational changes can, in fact, make lives safer and better for abused children, the seriously mentally ill, and others that our organizations serve. 1 minute

STEPS IN PLANNED ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Assess the present Create a sense of urgency Communicate the change vision Develop and maintain support Develop an action system Implement the change Institutionalize the change Evaluate the change The tactics that I have been mentioning show up here as steps in the change process. Some of these steps include more than one tactic. We’ll go through each step. After each step there will be time for a quick discussion about how people have seen these used or how they could be used. 1 minute

Realities of Organizational Change
First, let’s recognize that even though the steps seem very orderly, actual organizational change is a lot more messy and complicated. One consultant has described organizational change using the metaphor of a tent. Some people may remember a time in their childhood when they received a pup tent as a present. It is usually first set up in the living room, with little effort and much subsequent fun. However, in the “real world”, a tent may be set up when the campers arrive after dark at a campsite, in the rain, trying to set up a tent on a hill with water running through, ending up on a hard, lumpy surface and missing at least two tent stakes. The process as described here is like setting up a tent in your living room, and actual organizational change is more like dealing with a dark, rainy camp site. The steps should be done, but there will be inevitable complications and challenges which will need to be addressed. Also, these steps are presented in the order that they should normally occur, but there may be times when the order may change, or, more commonly, steps may need to be partly repeated based on new developments or on broadening the effort to new parts of the organization. 2 minutes

1: Assess the Present Develop a clear understanding of the problem, need for change, and desired outcomes Determine your role in the change process Gather and assess available data to guide the change Note the scope of the change Assess the type of change which will be needed Assess readiness (level of support and enthusiasm) Assess capability (skills, abilities, resources) Assess possible resistance (who may resist, and why) The change leader, typically a department, division, or program head, should begin with an assessment of the current situation: what needs to be changed? Is there a mandate for a new program, policy, or process? Is there a problem related to use of resources, quality, effectiveness, efficiency, or morale that needs to be addressed? Describe what the organization will look like when the change is successfully implemented. What will be the goal or outcome? Determine your role in the process. Are you in charge of this, or working for or with someone who will be the change leader? We will discuss change agent roles at a later step. You should already have some preliminary data or indicators of the problem or need. Begin to pull together all data which may be relevant to identifying and addressing the problem and goals. Will this change be developmental, transitional, or transformational? Developmental change will not require all of the following steps, whereas transformational change will. Change leaders, such as a management team, should also assess staff’s readiness and capability for change. If there are major deficiencies in management skills or significant morale problems, these should be addressed before engaging in organizational change. 2 minutes

QUICK DISCUSSION Tried any of these? Seen any used? What helped? What didn’t help? Can you see how you could use any of these?

2. Create a Sense of Urgency
Ensure the need: The problem, what needs attention Pressures from the environment Internal conditions Accent the importance of a crisis Share data Show what will happen if the problem is not addressed People will need to be convinced as to the urgency of a change in order to become open to change happening. Often environmental developments such as mandated new programs, funding cutbacks, welfare reform, and privatization create obvious pressure for change. Internal conditions such as quality, efficiency, program effectiveness, or morale may also need attention and would benefit from the use of an organizational change process. The change leader, typically at the executive level, will need to fully communicate these pressures and the need for change. Such communication should accent the importance of the crisis, using any available data or examples, and give staff a picture of what will happen if the problem is not addressed. 2 minutes

3: Communicate the Change Vision
Problem Vision for success Plans for activities Auspices & mandates Data collection & analysis, task forces, change processes Time, resources This step is illustrated with visuals from World War II. This example is of course clearly much greater in scope and importance than organizational problems, but these photos do clearly illustrate the key elements of this step: identify the problem (in this case German bombing, representing Nazi aggression), a plan (the map for the D-Day Invasion), and a vision of success (celebration of freedom in Europe). In addition to sharing with staff these aspects of the change plan, leaders can provide for staff some general information regarding who will be in charge of and supporting the effort and the activities that will be part of the change process. This often involves plans for more detailed data collection and analysis regarding the problem, formation of problem solving task forces, use of change processes which will be described at a later step, and clarification of the staff time and resources that will be committed to the project. 1 minute

4. Develop and Maintain Support
Top management (e.g., CEO) Political overseers (Board, advisory boards) Other stakeholders (unions, community groups) RESISTANCE Not knowing Not able Not willing Top management support, in County government usually represented by the County CEO, is seen as essential in major change processes. Often such change is in fact initiated by the CEO. Sometimes the Board of Supervisors or a community advisory board may have particular interest in a project, and they should at least be kept informed about it, even if they are not directly involved. The local situation will help determine what other stakeholders need to be involved. Involvement of stakeholders, at least through being informed, may be important to the extent that their support will be needed to ensure implementation. Also, if key stakeholders have any specific interests or agendas, these should be known and addressed by the change leaders. Another way to develop support is to address possible resistance to the change effort. We’ll use the resistance pyramid to see why people resist change: Not knowing about the change, not being able to change, or not being willing to change. 2 minutes

Those who don’t know about the change can be influenced by change leaders communicating the who, what, when, why and how of the change and by getting them involved in the process.

Those who feel not able to change can be educated regarding the new knowledge and skills which will be needed during and after the change. This might involve training and problem solving methods, new management skills, team building or conflict management.

A small number of staff may be unwilling to change
A small number of staff may be unwilling to change. Their concerns should be recognized and addressed through feedback and coaching and showing how they may benefit. Rewards and performance management may be used as needed. 2 minutes for pyramid

5. Develop an Action System
People with credibility, power, interest, relevant knowledge and skills People affected by the problem Steering committee Task forces Communication systems OK, don’t ask where are the women? An organizational change effort will not include Hobbits and their allies, but will be more successful if a diverse and skilled set of staff and managers are recruited for participation. Employees from various management and staff levels should be invited to participate based on their relevant knowledge and skills. People with credibility in the organization and formal or informal power, and particular interest in the problem should be especially considered. People who are directly affected by the problem are especially important for inclusion. A major change process will benefit by the formation of an organization-wide steering committee which includes representation from various programs and levels of the organization. This committee can provide coordination, communication, and guidance on the project. At the operational level, there may be multiple task forces which are formed to analyze specific problems and recommend solutions. Communication systems for all the involved groups to coordinate with each other, and several mechanisms for communicating progress on the initiative should be developed. Consultant and writer John Kotter has said that when it comes to organizational change, “you cannot overcommunicate”. Messages about the need for change and what is being done need to be ongoing and frequent. 1 minute

CHANGE AGENT ROLES Sponsor Champion Other change agents
Other stakeholders Now, we’ll look at some formal roles that can help on a change process.

The change coalition should include a designated sponsor, typically the chief executive that is involved, such as a department or division head.

A person with a designated staff assignment, including time and other necessary resources, should be designated as a champion: the person with day-to-day responsibility for implementing the change effort.

Consultants may be involved to lend needed expertise
Consultants may be involved to lend needed expertise. Potentially, many staff will play change agent roles as chairs and members of problem solving groups. Facilitators may be used to assist groups in problem analysis, meetings management, or action planning.

Other relevant stakeholders should be involved as needed
Other relevant stakeholders should be involved as needed. In County government, the County CEO can show support as a sponsor of the change process. Depending on labor relations in the organization, official involvement of employee organizations may help. Sometimes outside stakeholders such as community partners can be involved. 4 minutes for roles

6. Implement the Plan for Change
PROVIDE RESOURCES: staff time, financial and technological support Task forces/action teams Action plans Project monitoring Quick results and short term wins Widespread participation: involve more staff Communication mechanisms to inform staff regarding progress Specific change technologies as needed Significant change activity will obviously require resources, mostly in the form of staff time for meetings, analysis, review, and decision making. Financial resources may be needed if consultants need to be hired or other expenses are incurred. Technological support in the form of, for example, new software or IT or research staff to analyze data may be needed. The major staff resource commitment will be to free staff to attend meetings as part of problem analysis and problem solving. An action planning process, typically including tasks to be completed, due dates, and responsible people, will be necessary. Action plans can be used to monitor progress, to ensure that stated goals and objectives are being met and planned activities are occurring. It will be important for the change process to show some quick results, so that staff see clear evidence of progress. Consistent with principles of participative management philosophies, involving as many staff as possible in the project can have two benefits. First, tapping the knowledge and expertise of a wider group of people will result in more creative ideas and solutions; and second, staff involvement will enhance their feelings of ownership of and commitment to the process. Some common change technologies will be discussed next. 1 minute

Change efforts should definitely include the analysis of existing organizational performance data to identify where quality, efficiency, and effectiveness improvements need to be made. Additional data may be gathered as needed. In the case of child welfare, the federal Child and Family Services Reviews provided powerful incentives for change. For example, in the first round, California failed on 6 measures. 4 minutes for methods

Employee attitude surveys are a very useful way to develop a deeper understanding of employee concerns and needs, and perhaps to assess the current culture and climate of the organization. Survey results can provide guidance for issues to address and strategies for ensuring staff commitment to the process.

Problem solving groups, going by various names such as action teams, are always needed in planned organizational change.

Sometimes problem solving uses specific methodologies such as Total Quality Management (TQM), CQI, or Lean Six Sigma. TQM techniques such as workflow or process analysis, cause and effect diagrams, and Pareto analysis may be especially useful in human services settings. For organization-wide change, sometimes Business Process Reengineering is used to identify workflow and coordination improvements and eliminate processes which do not add value.

“Restructuring” has been a go-to strategy for change in government organizations for decades. It often creates the illusion of change, through moving boxes and eliminating positions and people. Organization redesign, in contrast, includes not only traditional restructuring, but also changes in decision making and communication processes across organizational functions.

Workshops, using trained facilitators, for team building, role clarification, conflict management, and other concerns can often augment the change effort.

7. Institutionalize the change
Formalize changes in policies and procedures Support necessary culture changes Make staff aware of results and new systems Link changes with other systems (performance measures, HR changes) Continuous monitoring and adaptation Celebrate successes Commitment to ongoing learning, change and improvement After implementation, changes need to be institutionalized. For example, when a new system is designed, procedures will need to be written and a staff training program developed. Staff will need to be retrained, and training for new staff should reflect the new system. Job descriptions and performance appraisal systems may need to be modified to support the new systems. If culture change was a goal, this, too, will need to be monitored, perhaps using follow-up staff surveys. Staff should be made aware of the results of the change process. Implementation of new systems should be monitored, with further adjustments made as needed. If goals are not met, then conditions can be reassessed and new plans made and implemented. Changes and successes should be celebrated in ways consistent with the organization’s culture. Special events can be held when major milestones are met, and smaller successes can be rewarded and celebrated in staff meetings and other arenas. Ideally an outcome of the process would be the creation of organizational systems and an organizational culture committed to ongoing organizational learning, change, and improvement. 1 minute

8. Evaluate the change Evaluation of results using data
Change process: was the change plan implemented as designed? Change content: outcomes Assess institutionalization of changes Any changes made should be evaluated to ensure success, using whatever data and evaluation methods are appropriate, such as pre-post data on factors identified for change and improvement. The outcomes of an organizational change effort can be evaluated in terms of both process and content. Evaluation of the change process typically assesses the extent of implementation of the change process as designed (e.g., the extent to which the change process plan was followed). Evaluating the content of an organizational change examines its impact in terms of some important aspect of performance such as improved outcomes for clients, and/or stakeholder satisfaction, improved efficiency or cost savings, a better service delivery model, a more appropriate culture and climate, lower turnover, new staff knowledge and skills, increased organizational learning capacity, enhanced management capacity, or improved employee quality of working life. Also, the extent of institutionalization of the changes should be assessed. 1 minute 48

References & resources
Fernandez, S. and Rainey, H. (2006). Managing Successful Organizational Change in the Public Sector: An Agenda for Research and Practice. Public Administration Review 66, 1-25 Proehl, R. (2001). Organizational Change in the Human Services. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Packard. T. & Shih, A. (2014). Organizational change tactics: The evidence base in the literature, Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work. 11:5, Packard, T. McCrae, J., & Scannapieco, M. (2015). Organizational Change Tactics in an Initiative to Improve Child Welfare Programs in 13 Counties: Impacts and Perspectives on Project Success. (Peer reviewed). Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, New Orleans. Packard, T. & Gibson, C. (2014). Organizational change in human services organizations: comparing successful and unsuccessful interventions. (Peer Reviewed). Network for Social Work Management Annual Conference, Boston. Packard, T. (2013). Organizational change in human service organizations. In The Encyclopedia of Social Work online. Retrieved from Oxford University Press & NASW. [DOI: /acrefore/ ]. Packard, T. (2013). Organizational change: A conceptual framework to advance the evidence base. Journal of Human Behavior and the Social Environment. 23(1), Being First, Inc.: consulting, free publications and on-line newsletter: Some of the evidence base in this model comes from a book by Rebecca Proehl and an article in a public administration journal. The article from the Encyclopedia of Social Work goes into more detail on subjects covered here. The Being First web site offers many practical guidelines for managers who want to become change leaders. 1 minute

Questions? Application ideas?
Any questions later: THANK YOU for your interest and participation. In human service organizations, when one change ends, another may begin. There may even be several change initiatives occurring at the same time. I hope that the use of principles here may help your change efforts be more successful. Thanks for your interest and participation. We have about ______ minutes for any questions or comments such as ideas on how you could apply any of this material. Feel free to contact me anytime in the future regarding questions. I’d also be eager to hear from you about any organizational change efforts that you have been involved with, and the extent to which any of the material here did or could have helped. 1 minute

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