What have we discovered about ourselves?
Once you have completed your diagnosis it is time to turn it into action. There are a number of tasks to complete to summarize your diagnosis. For a worksheet to help you with this task, click here.
How we will become a Workplace of Choice…
Once the summary is complete, the next step is to create a vision for change, an overall strategy and a more detailed action plan.and budget. For a worksheet to help you with this task, click here.
Producing change in organizations… some guidelines
Producing change in organizations is a difficult process. Here are some guidelines based on the work of an expert, John Kotter author of “Leading Change”. at the Harvard Business School. Once you have arrived at the HBR site, enter John Kotter in the search engine to see what else he has written about change. Click on one of the links below to take you to a piece of advice.
1. ESTABLISH A SENSE OF URGENCY “In an organization with 100 employees at least two dozen must go far beyond the call of duty to produce a significant change.”
Kotter would advise … that most organizations face a pervasive sense of complacency brought on by
- The absence of a major crisis
- Low performance standards
- Structures that prevents people from seeing the big picture
- Measuring the wrong thing
- Lack of external feedback
- Kill-the-messenger mentality
- Too much happy talk from the top
- Too many visible signs of success
This can be the case even in the face of impending doom. You must replace complacency with a sense of urgency and even crisis! You have to make a strong and compelling case for becoming a “Workplace of Choice’. Here are some ways to create urgency..
- Manufacture a crisis from the next failure
- Eliminate obvious examples of excess
- Set ‘impossible’ targets that cannot be reached without re-thinking everything
- Use broad performance goals
- Let everyone in on the hard numbers regarding financial performance and customer satisfaction
- Visit more successful businesses
- Check out the competition and publish the results
- Measure employee satisfaction and publish the results
- Measure employee turnover and publish the results
How might you apply his advice?
2. CREATE THE GUIDING COALITION
Kotter would advise… that you can’t do it alone. Build a team of credible, supporters. Build in diversity.Include some frontline, informal leaders. Make sure you have enough expertise. Include anyone with enough power to sabotage if they feel left out. Once the team is built, take them away somewhere to get the process started and to do some team building.
How might you apply his advice?
3. DEVELOP A VISION AND STRATEGY
Kotter would advise … get your strong leaders to build the broad vision of what it will be like when we become an employer of choice and a strategy to get to the vision. Get your strong managers to work out the action plan, timetable and budgets.
An effective vision is..
- Desirable for all stakeholders
- Feasible, realistic and attainable with effort
- Focused enough to guide decision making
- Flexible enough to accommodate a variety of strategies
- Easily communicable within 5 minutes
How might you apply his advice?
4. COMMUNICATE THE CHANGE VISION
Kotter would advise… that you ensure that every employee gets to know the vision and the strategic priorities that are designed to make it happen. The key to effective communication of the vision are…
- Use examples, and even analogies and metaphors if necessary
- Use multiple media, meetings, memos, posters, etc.
- Explain any inconsistencies
How might you apply his advice?
5. EMPOWER EMPLOYEES FOR BROAD-BASED ACTION
Kotter would advise… that once you are sure employees understand and accept the vision that you remove all barriers to action, provide the training they need, and ensure that frontline supervisors support all efforts that are consistent with the vision even when not perfect. Confront those supervisors who undercut the needed change.
How might you apply his advice?
6. GENERATE SOME SHORT TERM WINS
Kotter would advise… that you find something you can do quickly that is consistent with the vision and that you know will work and then do it! It will help others see that you mean business, it will build momentum, undermine the naysayers, and provide you with feedback on the value of your efforts.
How might you apply his advice?
7. CONSOLIDATE GAINS AND PRODUCE MORE CHANGE
Kotter would advise…Once you have a few short term wins under your belt, go for the gusto! Make some bigger changes, get more help if needed, get some frontline people involved in some projects, and celebrate every major victory along the way.
How might you apply his advice?
8. ANCHOR THE NEW APPROACH IN THE CULTURE
Kotter would advise… Once you have become a “Workplace of Choice”, the temptation is to relax. Old cultures are hard to eradicate. Now you have to make the new culture stick. If results are positive and measurable, let everyone know. Results matter! Talk about it, maybe people haven’t yet recognized that the change is permanent. Sometimes a few people who just don’t get it have to be encouraged to leave. If you are going to promote anyone, make sure it is someone who has embraced the new culture.
How might you apply his advice?
