How to Implement Change

Steve Wise
November 2010

CHANGE How Do You React to It?

Does Change give you heartburn?

Or are you an Embracer of Change?

Are you the type of Individual that likes to do the same thing all of the time and is happy with status quo? Or do you like to try different approaches? Do you believe that Change is too hard to accomplish? Or are you the one that likes to try the impossible in order to improve what you do and what your organization does?

Change is Everywhere
For those of you of my generation we did our research for school papers from reading hardcover books and encyclopedias. I grew up with a black & white TV that had three (3) channels that you manually had to turn. When I started my work career computing included paper, pencil, and a lot of brainpower. Today at the touch of a button I can instantly send this presentation out to hundreds of People across the Globe.

Management of Change
I believe that in the world that we live in today we all must be Managers of Change.
Things change so quickly that we must do our best to stay in touch with current day methods, tools, and processes. If we dont our competitors will. One cannot rest on their accomplishments and think that that is good enough...because it is not. This presentation is being offered to give Others ideas from what has worked for me in my Change Efforts...along my way.

How to Be a Change Manager

If you Google Change Management you will find a wealth of information to aid you in your Change Efforts. I write this presentation to offer you what has worked for me along my way in my efforts to Change Processes, Correct Problems, or to Improve Job Performances. Such offerings may or may not work for you. The important thing for you as a Change Manager is to strive to find out what worksand to believe in what your are doing.

How to Implement Change

My Change Background Know What to Change and Why Research / Plan / Present Get Senior Management Support / Mentor Start Small Get Buy-in and GROW

Publicize Your Efforts & Accomplishments

Learn, Learn, and Learn Some More

Do It All Over Again

My Change Background
My Change Background was formed by two of the most influential Managers that I worked for in my career at a Railroad Car Repair Facility. The first General Manager was the type of administrator that shot first then asked questions later. He liked to stir the pot and kept his reports on edge.

What I learned from this GM was to look ahead and be prepared for the unexpected. He taught me how to identify issues at their onset and to take care of them before they became problems.

My Change Background
The second most influential Manager was my next General Manager who was not happy with status quo and always looked for ways to improve what we did and expected his reports to do as well. Upon his arrival at our Plant his message to those that worked there was...Embrace Change. He believed that any process that was in place should be looked at and improved if needed.

This GM taught me to break down my walls those things that we put up when someone complains about what we did or suggests how we could do it better and to learn from what was offered and include such in addition to my own Change efforts.

My Change Process Examples

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) It is common place at any Organization to have Business Processes that have been in place for a number of years that are falling short of current day expectations. To help aid my organization in their various Change efforts I am leading an effort to introduce LSS with the goal of improving such every day Processes and their contribution to our organizational and strategic goals.

Plant Survival My last plant ranked as one of the top repair locations for Quality and Efficiency Measures but was dead last in terms of Cost to Operate. Our change efforts included working with our rank and file in identifying areas where we could reduce our Operational Costs and including them as a part of our Change Efforts.
Improving Ergonomics One particular Repair Program was generating several soft tissue injuries among our People. I introduced an Ergonomic Effort that not only identified Job Hazards that were leading to such injuries but also what actions and efforts could be taken by those performing to prevent such an injury.

Change Abstract
To help illustrate how to successfully implement a Change Initiative

This training session will describe specific Change Efforts that I employed or were part of that were part of the previously mentioned Change Process examples. The intent is to show the Reader, how specific Change Efforts can be put into Action. Such Change recommendations and actions are not assurances that they will work for you but are provided to help give you ideas on what may work with your Change Efforts.

Know What to Change and Why

Know What to Change

Efforts to Change should never be taken just to Change something. There needs to be a clear-cut reason to Change otherwise your efforts will not be supported by Senior Management nor accepted by those performing the detailed work ranks far below. You must have a clear understanding of what needs to be changed in your Organization and why. And it must be properly communicated and explained to those needing to know or who may be affected by.

REASONS FOR CHANGE

Outdated Processes Not Meeting Organizational Goals Excessive or Non-Value Added Labor Costs are too High New Technology Competition / Survival New or Updated Rules or Standards Change in either Management or Personnel

Performances or Processes New Products, Customers, that are Just Not or Markets Cutting It

Why Change Sources

There are many sources available to the Change Agent for identifying Why Change is Needed Reports Financial / Departmental / Audit KPIs Key Performance Indicators Employee Feedback & Suggestions Operational & Performance Reports

Cost Comparisons
External Knowledge

Regulatory Standards Changes

CHANGE What / Why Example

LEAN SIX SIGMA After my relocation back to my Corporate Office I was asked to Chair my Organizations Quality Improvement Team (QIT). This Team is responsible for soliciting Employee Suggestions for Improvements as well as providing them with Quality Improvement Process Education. Upon taking over, I interviewed both current and past QIT Members and found that our Quality Improvement Education was lacking in current day efforts. In addition, it is common to find both People and Processes that have been in place for quite some time.

Why Change = Outdated Business Processes + Need to Improve Quality Improvement Education

CHANGE What / Why Example

ERGONOMICS A specific Railcar Modification Program that my Plant was involved in required the Mechanics involved to Cut, Grind, & Weld for long periods of time.

Due to awkward and static Body Positions that were held for long periods and repeated frequently a number of Mechanics were incurring Soft Tissue Injuries that were limiting what they were able to do.
In order to reduce and prevent such Injuries we needed to find out what Manual Operations were causing such Injuries and change the Processes that were causing them. Need for Change = Improve Operational Processes or start incurring excessive Workmans Comp Costs, Lost Work Days, and Program Inefficiencies.

Research Plan Present

Research How to Change

Once you have identified What to Change what will be your next step?
My recommendation is to RESEARCH your issue and find out what Change Options that you have available to improve what you want to Change. This step is critical not only to the success of your Change Efforts but to your Organization as well. You must spend time to identify what is the best option for Change and what you want to Change.

Researching Change
There are numerous ways and avenues that a Change Manager can use to research How to Change Process Owners Start by talking to the People involved with the process asking them for their thoughts on how to improve their process. Benchmark Take actions to compare how the performance of your process compares with others both inside and outside of your organization. Internet I am a Googleholic and believe that you can find whatever you are looking for on the net. Search web pages devoted to your change effort.

Researching Change
Numerous ways to research Change (cont)

External Change Efforts Spend time reading and learning what others have done with similar Change efforts. It is fairly easy to find out what actions others have employed including the results that they attained with their efforts.
Use Your Contacts Reach out to your Contacts both those that you have established with your Job Responsibilities as well as social networking like Linked In. Find out if anyone has undertaken a like initiative and learn from them. Seek Out Subject Matter Experts If you have a particular problem, seek out People that are considered experts on the matter and ask them for Change recommendations.

Research Change Examples

ERGONOMICS In trying to understand Soft Tissue Injuries and what can be done to prevent them I met with one of the Doctors at a Medical Clinic that we used. He explained how they are incurred, their symptoms, and what can be done to prevent them = SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT

When Operating Costs were reaching levels of concern, the PLANT SURVIVAL General Manager undertook efforts to reduce our costs. One effort he directed was to compare our Operating Costs to that of our other Divisions in order to identify where improvement was needed = BENCHMARKING In order to improve our Quality Education Process I LEAN SIX SIGMA started searching for what other Companies did to upgrade their Quality Education. Such efforts showed that many companies were employing LSS Training to promote continuous improvement = EXTERNAL CHANGE EFFORTS

Plan How to Change

My question to you now is How would you go about changing your workgroup or organization? Things that you should consider includes

How does your organization or people accept Change? Are there any burning issues that you can leverage off of to promote your Change efforts? How can you link your Change efforts to your Organizational Strategic Goals? Are there current Change type efforts underway that you can build upon?

Plan How to Change

Things that you should consider includes (cont)

How will you communicate your Change effort to your organization?

Who will be part of your Change Team and how will they find time to be part of this Change Effort? How much of your time will this Change Effort take and how will you accomplish your other job responsibilities?

All of these considerations must be answered when you establish your Change Plan.

Plan How to Change

Once you know What to Change you must then Plan How to Change
Your Change Plan should include Targeted o Items / actions to Change o Employee segment to Change Explanation on Why you are proposing your Change effort Expected Benefits from your Change effort Time frame for your Change effort Your Change Vehicle = HOW Senior Management Support

Plan Change Example

After researching Soft Tissue Injuries including identifying ERGONOMICS what was happening and what can be done to prevent I developed a plan to form a Ergo Committee that would address with the goal of correcting this problem. Such efforts would center on the Workgroup that was incurring the Soft Tissue injuries = TARGET The main purpose was to identify the Job Hazards that were causing our Soft Tissue Injuries = WHY The goal of this effort was either to reduce or eliminate Soft Tissue injuries that were not only impacting our People but the Workgroups efficiency = BENEFIT Committee efforts would include weekly actions that were expected to take 6 months to complete = TIME This committee would be made up of representatives from the Workgroup involved that would conduct such efforts and would include outside help = HOW Due to the Cost of Soft Tissue injuries and the Loss of Work Days support was there = SR. MGT. SUPPORT

Present Your Change

Once you have RESEARCHED your Change Effort and have PLANNED how you will implement your Change you are now ready to PRESENT your Change Effort. Before undertaking any Change Effort, you first must be able to communicate to

SENIOR MANAGEMENT This could include the Senior Management of your Organization if your Change Effort will be cross departmental or strategically related or your Manager if your effort is only Departmentally directed. TARGETED EMPLOYEES People of your Organization that will be part of your Change Efforts or will be impacted by must also receive advance notice.

Present Your Change

The following are helpful hints on what critical aspects you should consider when you Present Your Change KNOW YOUR SUBJECT Presenting anything to the contrary will result in many questions. Be prepared for them and be able to answer them. SHOW YOUR PASSION If you believe in your Change Effort show your passion for it to those you are presenting to. WHY SHOULD WE CHANGE? The number one question of any Change Effort Will you be able to answer this question?

Present Your Change

Helpful hints for your consideration (cont)

PROBLEMS + CHANGE = BENEFITS Be able to discuss and/or show how your Change Effort will provide solutions and benefits to the problems at hand.
SPEAK TO YOUR AUDIENCE Whether your audience is your Senior Management or those that will be most impacted by your Changes make sure that you speak in the words that they understand. MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME Know exactly how much time that you have to present and use it wisely. INVOLVE YOUR AUDIENCE Make sure to ask questions and encourage input from your audience.

Present Your Change

Helpful hints for your consideration (cont)

MASTER YOUR MEDIA Be fluent at using available Media (i.e., Laptop, Projectors, etc.). Make use of paper copies or post on your Companys website for future reference.
LEARN FROM OTHERS When introducing Change it is always good to include examples of other Companies that have improved their operation(s) from similar Change efforts. KNOW WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR AUDIENCE In order to win support with your Change Effort you must know what your audience is wanting to hear / see from your Change Presentation.

Present Your Change

Helpful hints for your consideration (cont)

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? This is another important question that you must be able to answer in your Change Presentation.
INCLUDE AN ACTION PLAN In addition to telling your audience the why / how of your Change be able to discuss the milestone events of your efforts. BE UPFRONT WITH THE DETAILS Be sure to communicate what you need to be successful including anything out of the norm and the reason(s) why. RECOMMENDATIONS Encourage and be open to any recommendations that are offered.

Get Senior Management Support / Mentor

Get Sr. Management Support

In order to succeed with your Change Effort it is essential that you get Senior Management Support.

YOUR CHANGE EFFORT IS DOOMED FOR FAILURE WITHOUT SENIOR MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
They must see that such efforts relate to and will help attain Organizational Strategic Goals.
Senior Management should be active in your Change Effort and be able to discuss it at a general level with Organizational Employees. It is imperative that you find ways to include them in your Change Efforts and keep them abreast of your actions and results.

Get Sr. Management Support

The following are suggestions on how you can maintain Senior Management Support COMMUNICATE your Change Efforts and Results to them on a periodic basis keep them well informed.

FOCUS YOUR CHANGE EFFORTS initially on those items that can get you quick wins. Be able to show that your Change Efforts works and provides benefits. MAKE AVAILABLE your Change Efforts & Results for all of your Organization to see keep up their interest.
ENGAGE not only the Senior Staff in your Change Efforts but those involved or impacted as well.

Use a Mentor
Another important element of your Change Efforts is to make use of a Mentor someone whom is an influential Supporter or Senior Sponsor. This person should be one who has vast knowledge of the Organization and how it works. This person can aide your change efforts by giving you advice and recommendations. Such can also serve as a sounding board by advising you how your Change Efforts will be received and what you could do to improve the success of your efforts.

Sr. Mgt. / Mentor Examples

ERGONOMICS
When several People of our Plant came down with Soft Tissue Injuries it got Senior Plant Management attention. When it resulted in W/C Claims, Lost Work Days, and Inefficiencies it got a lot more attention. Due to the number of our People that were involved in this program that were subject to such ergonomic hazards it was a universal decision to support efforts to eliminate such Injuries and include Worker participation. A LSS Implementation Plan was drafted and presented to LEAN SIX SIGMA the Senior Staff that detailed how it would be introduced, the type of education conducted, and the benefits that were expected to be achieved. Throughout this effort, my Manager has guided me by providing various advice, recommendations, and has shared his experience in working with People. Such has been critical to the success that has been achieved so far.

Start Small Get Buy-In and GROW

Start Small

Start by going after the low hanging fruit

Unless the issue at hand has a Business or Regulatory need to apply your Change Effort across the entire organization it is advisable to start small and grow. Every organization has People that need to see that Change Efforts work before they jump on board. In addition, applying Change Efforts to a smaller population or segment requires much less time, effort, and cost than if applied organizational wide. Starting small allows you the opportunity to learn from your initial Change Efforts and to adjust them in order to help improve the success of your effort.

Get Buy-In
In addition to getting Senior Management Support it is also critical for you to get the buy-in of the People that are impacted by your Change Efforts. If the People that are impacted by your efforts do not see any benefit for themselves

Your Change Effort will either fail due to their resistance to your Change, or

It will require substantial more effort on your part to see your Change through.

In order to be successful you must find ways to include your People in your Change Efforts.

How to Get Buy-In

START EARLY with your efforts to achieve Buy-In even as early as your Research Stage. You should ALWAYS CONSIDER HOW your Change Efforts will impact your People and what you must do in order for them to accept your Change. LOOK FOR WAYS so that the focus of your Change Efforts is part of what your People do and be able to show them how such efforts can improve what they do. It is critical that you FIND WAYS TO ENGAGE your People in your Change Efforts they need to become part of your Change Process.

How to Get Buy-In

Other ways that you could use to get Buy-In include

ENCOURAGE YOUR PEOPLE to make recommendations to assist you in your Change Efforts and use their suggestions that can help. FORMULATE A CHANGE TEAM that will include representatives from the area or process that will be impacted by your Change Efforts. INCLUDE AND USE OUTSIDE EXPERTS that can come in and give / share their knowledge and expertise which should drive interest in as well as aid your Change efforts.

And GROW
Your mission as a Change Agent is to GROW YOUR CHANGE so that others can benefit from. You accomplish this by building interest and excitement in your Change Effortand repeating again engaging your People in your Change Efforts. This effort on your part started the day that you decided to undertake your Change Effort and will continue throughout. A Change Agent is aware of or learns how to reach out to their People and provide them information that spurs them to be a part of the Change Process.

Publicize Your Efforts and Accomplishments

Publicize Efforts & Accomplishments

In order for your Change Effort to be successful

You must be actively involved in Publicizing your Change Efforts. And letting your Organization know of the Results that you will achieve / have achieved from your Change Efforts.

If Senior Management is going to give your Change Effort their support and needed labor and capital they most certainly need to know about and see positive Results and Benefits. If you are going to get your People involved they must know what your Change is about and how the results can benefit them.

Publicize Efforts & Accomplishments

Ways that you can publicize your Efforts and Accomplishments include WEB PAGES Devoted to communicating information on your Change Effort must also be kept current to draw interest.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES Can be written that feature various Change Actions, Improvements attained, and Participant feedback. WORD OF MOUTH Encourage those that are participating in the Change Effort to talk about it and answer questions that others may have.
Q&As Open Meetings can be held on said subject, allowing for Questions of those attending.

Publicize Efforts & Accomplishments

Ways that you can publicize (cont) INDIVIDUAL DISCUSSIONS As interest in your Change Effort builds, various Personnel will stop and ask you Questions. Make sure to take the time to meet with them and discuss what your effort is about and how they can be part of it. CHANGE TEAM POSTINGS If your Change Effort employs various Teams such as what you find in LSS find and use ways to post information about those Teams, such as on a Web Site. HOST OUTSIDE SPEAKERS When introducing a Change Effort that is outside the organizational norm make use of Outside Experts that can share their knowledge and experiences.

Publicize Efforts & Accomplishments

LEAN SIX SIGMA Web Page Upon the implementation of our Lean Six Sigma effort, we created a web page that included information on what our LSS Effort was about, how it was going to be implemented within the organization, and included how other organizations have benefited from LSS. It is now essential to keep it current to spur interest. Open Meetings LSS Teams working on their Projects have certain stages or tollgates where they must discuss their efforts including LSS Tools used, findings, and recommendations. As these Teams progress their efforts such tollgate meetings are opened up to our People who have interest in LSS including answering questions that they may have.

Learn, Learn, and Learn Some More

Learn, Learn, and Learn

SHOULD YOU EVER STOP LEARNING?

To be a successful Learner you must be open minded and to be able to look & learn outside your box.

Each day we could and should learn something new. Once you do it is up to you whether you do something with it or not. When I apply learning to my Change Efforts, I am constantly looking to see what I can learn from them What is working vs. not working? How are my Change Efforts being received? What should be adjusted? What can be done better?

To Be Successful @ Change
Lean on and Learn from others. Assuming that your way is the only way does not work. Share your Passion for Change it can help it spread. Always be looking to improve what you do and what your Organization does. Dont try to do it all by yourself. Have Patience and Perseverance Change does not happen overnight. EngageEngageEngage Your People. Make use of Outside Experts people that can add more than you know.

To Be Successful @ Change
To be a successful Change Agent you must be willing to take risks in order to improve what you do. When you implement Change you are doing so for the good of the Organization not for the good of You.

Finding ways to include your People as part of your Change Effort is critical to its success.
Dont assume what works today will work tomorrow.

Learn from your People especially from those that are performing the Work they are best to know.
Incorporate as many Sources of information relating to your Change Effort as possible.

To Be Successful @ Change
When someone complains When researching what about an issue ask them needs to be Changed how they would solve keep digging for details itit may be a good with open ears. recommendation to use. Networking with outside When implementing People or Organizations Change always try to can provide you ideas or Look Outside of Your suggestions that you may Box. not have thought of.
Be prepared for obstacles which will be many. Turn any obstacle into an opportunity.

Do It All Over Again

Do It All Over Again

How to Implement Change Conclusion

This Presentation has been provided to give the Reader ideas on how to Implement Change.

The job of a Change Agent requires you to be a Visionary, Communicator, Director / Manager, Listener, Supporter, Cheerleader, and Risk Taker.
Good luck with your Change Effortsand keep up the faith.

STEVE WISE sdwiser@comcast.net