JANET ODURO

IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGE WITHIN SOCIAL SECURITY & NATIONAL INSURANCE TRUST (SSNIT) This paper aims to point to SSNIT managers to what extent they should pay specific attention to initiating and implementing changes in order to minimise possible employees resistance to change and achieve better organizational performance. In this respect, the paper is divided into four sections. After this introduction with theoretical references, the research methodology is explained. Section three discusses research findings. In the last section implications to managers are presented and recommendations are made. In our environment today, strategic re-assessment and planning no longer encompasses a five-year planning window. Two years - a maximum of three - is the longest planning horizon corporations can or should tolerate. The market technology, requirements and competition simply dictate alert, sensitive market understanding and responses based on an integrated picture of present perfect organization. To do the best strategic re-assessment, initial time must be spent developing and articulating the picture of direction of the organization - its history, purpose, services, target customers and the strategies, objectives, and tactics to move forward on the plan. Many organizations are generally aware of a planning document developed and put aside and with a little help can find the file where the strategic plan is located. It is usually those organizations that over time begin to see and identify signs that the employees have: 1. misplaced the organization purpose for their own units required output measures; 2. Lost where the customer stands in the day's priorities; and 3. Clearly forgotten how the strategy the company's using is uniquely staging itself as a key market player. Given organization evolutions, it is vital the strategic plan be revisited - with as broad participation as possible -- so that the guiding plan is reshaped and energized and the employees grab their pieces and see clearly how their branches flow from the singular corporate tree. Collaborative strategic planning process is strongly supported. Corporate executives and other employees join in and join together to do the planning, analysis and implementation work so that the chance of isolated pockets of misinformed or uninformed strategy interpretation, or worse, disconnected individual work are extinguished by joint development and integration of plans and systems. The regular and redefined development of this corporate infrastructure is integral to a healthy and vital to survival.

This paper also seeks to suggest and provide superior and compassionate management and executive organizational change framework so SSNIT can create implementable and measurable long-term change in the organization. Implementing a good idea is usually harder than thinking it up in the first place. This is especially true in organizations where putting in place a new practice requires many peoples' understanding, agreement, and willingness to act. Then, of course, there needs to be an established commitment to keep up the new practices even if no one is looking and they think the old idea simply "make more sense" to them. To implement, one needs to capture peoples' minds, hearts and spirit. And, to do that takes planning, diligence, testing, self-correction and collaboration. Implementing means documenting everything that must be done (one step at a time) to go from the place that the organization is now to the new practice process or system that is now seen as the "future state." Planning the necessary political "moves" of the implementation requires wilful and deliberate planning to capture the potentially dangerous organizational forces in change and use them to the changing organization's advantage. This planning and documentation includes not just listing the action steps but also designing the work that can capture the understanding and interest of the implementers (change management). The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) of Ghana is a statutory public Trust charged under the National Pensions scheme Act 766 of 2008 with the administration of Ghanas Basic National Social Security Pension Scheme. The trust is currently the largest non-banking financial institution in Ghana. The primary responsibility is to replace part of lost income of Ghanaian workers or their dependents due to old age, Invalidity or loss of life. SSNIT was managing all 17.5% contributions from employees across the country until Act 766 of 2008, decided employees pay 18.5% of which SSNIT will manage 11%, only shifting the other tiers 5% to NPRA and 2.5% to National Health Insurance respectively. This was done on obvious grounds. In order to remain competitive, SSNIT must be flexible to quickly react and adapt to external environment challenges when internal and external change occurs. Transition or Implementation Plan The Transition or Implementation Plan builds a BRIDGE between the current way things are to the place the organization wish to be. Building toward it is the only way to get to the desired future. In the pretend new state, pieces of the new are combined hap-hazardly with a few future concepts and people spend most of their organizational time trying to clean up the impromptu mess. The goal of organizational design, however, is much more than moving a pea from one cup to another. Questions should be addressed and analyzed even before the first design steps are taken: 1. 2. What, again, are our mission and vision? What are our driving organizational strategies?
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3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

What are our core business processes? What are the three most difficult problems the organization faces? What part of each could be "solved" by structural redesign? Which of our problems have solutions in new systems, new approaches to skill and staff, strategy, leadership or goals? How will each business process best be housed in the organization's design? Given that, what structure options best line up to our needs and requirements? How can we guarantee a home base for each employee regardless of design approach? How mature (in technical ability and experience) are the employees in the potential portions of SSNIT? How high are the potential for cross training and multiple jobs functioning given that maturity? How can we ensure an effective and practical transition plan for the potential new design?

Executive and Management Coaching/Training SSNITs Senior and emerging senior managers who could benefit at some point in their career, in executive coaching, should work with an individual, his / her boss and other identified participants to identify the staffs strengths and weaknesses and help them develop a professional development plan for growth. Since leadership or personal style can have such a critical link to accomplishing the mission, training is viewed as an organization business investment as well as a development opportunity. For those reasons, one-on-one assessment of issues, feedback and neutral coaching in changing approach or style can provide significant effective and long-term results. Normally the steps of the process include: 1. Jointly clarifying the goals of the individual being coached;

2. Identifying any additional goals of the staff boss so the work is aligned with the organization; 3. Confirming confidentiality of the assessment between the boss, staff and other employees; 4. Gathering of data from identified colleagues on the executives strengths and weaknesses; 5. 6. 7. Analyzing interview data for themes; Delivering interview feedback and recommendations to the employee; Supporting development of a customized action plan for change;
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8. Training on a weekly / bi-weekly basis as the employee implements behaviour change and other plan elements; and 9. Follow-up interviews after three months of coaching to help assess the executives success in making his / her desired behaviour changes. Once the data is analyzed, it is then fed back and the person selects what he/she will work on. During the three month training period that follows, the individual tries new things, discusses successes and failures, and begins habituating the desired behaviour. Meetings are held once a month to support the changes that are being made. Many times, unfortunately, team development is viewed as an attractive, and even a quick fix to large and complex issues. These issues may include:
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Poor fit among team members, resulting in consistent challenges, conflict, deadlock and ultimately damage to business results; Poor business solution output; A harsh or uninvolved manager; Unfocused, time consuming and unproductive meetings; Resentful, defiant or withdrawn team members; and / or Strong competition among members to the detriment of the team itself.

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One of the most successful team development approaches begins with interviews and analysis of individual team members, an initial one to two day team kick-off event, followed by team member partnering, executive coaching of the team manager and members, and regular tune-up work by the team to create the group that can really lead the business of tomorrow. This approach to addressing group issues is a humane, intellectual, open and productive way of producing a team and organization culture where the work even hard work can be done in a challenging, energized and collegial environment. The other approach emphasises eight distinctive phases through which people are likely to go through whenever they feel trapped in a change that they do not want but cannot control. These are:
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stability as a stage prior to any announcement to change; immobilization where shock is considered the initial reaction to a negatively perceived change; denial characterized by the inability to assimilate new information into the current frame of reference; anger followed by frustration and feelings of being hurt;
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y y

bargaining indicating that people can no longer avoid confronting with the reality; depression expressed by an emotion stage in a form of resignation to failure, feeling victimized, a lack of emotional and physical energy, and disengagement from ones work; testing with signal of acknowledgment of ones limitation, the attempt to regain control, and freeing oneself from the feelings of victimization and depression; and acceptance where people respond realistically, are more grounded and Productive relative to the previous phases within the new context.

SSNIT as the largest non-financial institution in Ghana must take actions in order to smoothly implement organizational change. Emphasis on action orientated implications is to ensure that all issues and concerns are acted upon immediately without procrastination. When a decision to apply organizational change occurs, managers being responsible for the success of the organizational change should pay attention to their communication approach with employees, attitudes, and perception of managers actions, employees motivation and continuous improvement of the working environment. The following actions are further suggested: Action 1: Realise the value of effective employees cooperation and collaboration, motivation in the workplace. Before implementing a change in a restaurant, managers should understand that different individuals hold dissimilar opinions about change. Also, not all employees are outspoken and willing to be honest with their managers. Therefore, managers should have the initiative to interact with employees and keep them informed about any organizational change. Action 2: During the implementation of organizational change, which is the moving stage, managers should be able to understand employees attitudes. As leaders, managers should guide and direct employees along the organizational change process, be aware of importance of employees motivation to proceed with change, and be receptive to new ideas that come from employees. Action 3: As soon as the change is implemented, managers should continue to communicate with employees about the change implemented. This will promote an open exchange of ideas and information among all parties. By being attentive, managers can discover to what extent change affects employees and take corrective actions immediately to support them. In conclusion, before the change occurs it seems important for managers to have thorough analysis of the implementation of the organizational change to be able to determine to what extent the change is beneficial to both clients and employees. Since the SSINT is the only statutory public Trust in Ghana that provides continued life support to retired members and their families, managers should pay keen attention to different kinds of impacts that affects the trust. They should, in particular, keep in mind employees motivation and create an environment that encourages employees to accept change and sustain the Trust competitiveness.
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