How do I use the Change Blueprint?
There are three key roles involved in any change initiative – the sponsor, the change leaders and the participants or impacted staff and stakeholders.
Change Training
For anyone responsible for leading a change programme, regardless of its scale, we recommend you attend the course on Managing Change, bookable via People Development course pages. This course is complementary to the content of the Change Blueprint and helps you understand the process of change, build personal resilience and develop strategies to help your teams cope with change. It will focus on how you and your team may feel during periods of change and uncertainty and provide an opportunity to work in groups to learn about the tools and techniques included within the Blueprint can help
Sponsors
Active and visible executive sponsorship is a key contributor to the success of a change initiative. There are three key elements to effective change sponsorship:
- Participate visibly throughout the project – the sustained presence of an actively engagement sponsor is necessary to build and maintain momentum for change
- Communicate, support and promote the change – employees impacted by the change what to hear why a change is important from a leader at the top of the organisation, focusing on the reasons for change and the risks or costs of not changing. An effective sponsor legitimises the need for change and sets the prioritisation of change through direct engagement with impacted stakeholders
- Build a coalition of sponsorship – the sponsor must mobilise other key leaders and stakeholders so that they can advocate for the change and legitimise it in their part of the organisation. A strong coalition of sponsorship is particularly important for changes that stretch across multiple departments or colleges.
The sponsor is accountable for the business case and own the narrative around the change – why we are changing and what the future will look like.
The sponsor will also track the pulse of the transformational change journey and ensure that the change initiative remains aligned with University strategies. The sponsor is also responsible for ensuring that the initiative realises its benefits and delivers the desired change outcomes.
The Sponsor will have a focus on the following areas of the Blueprint:
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Shared change purpose
- Shaping the vision
- Confirming the University’s goals and desired outcomes for the change initiative
- Defining the leadership and governance required for the change
- Define the change acceptance strategy to ensure the intended change implements successfully and realised the desired benefits
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Visible Change Leadership
- Visibly advocating for the change with senior colleagues and stakeholders
- Providing resolution for problems and removing barriers for the change leaders
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Meaningful Change Measurement
- Maintaining alignment of the change initiative with the University’s strategies
- Maintaining support, including funding, resources and available time for the change initiative
- Agreeing and owning the benefits realisation strategy and plan
The Sponsor will have a key contribution to the following processes:
Change Leader/Line Manager(s)
As well having an effective sponsor, successful change initiatives need strong engagement with and support from middle management. Managers are crucial because of the relationship they have with the employees in the organization. They are positioned to coach and influence employees through their own change process. There are five roles that managers and supervisors must play in times of change:
- Communicator: Employees prefer to hear messages about how the change directly impacts them from the person they report to
- Advocate: Demonstrate support for the change – if the manager opposes the change, chances are their team will too – and usually the opposite is also true.
- Coach: Helping employees through their own personal transitions is the essence of change coaching by middle managers
- Liaison: Interacting with the change team, taking direction and providing feedback (in large change initiatives managed by the SDU)
- Resistance manager: Research shows that the best interventions to mitigate resistance come from the employee’s line manager.
The whole Change Framework is focused on supporting the Change Leaders and all process steps should be worked through using the guidance in these pages;
Themes: Shared change purpose; Visible Change Leadership; Smart Engagement & Communication; Strong Individual Performance; Supportive Organisation & Culture; Meaningful Change Measurement
Participants in Change
If you are part of a change initiative – in your team, college or service – you should focus on the timeline of change. Start by understanding the Charter for Change for your initiative …. Where will you have an opportunity to contribute? Where should you look for additional information? When will the impacts on you and your colleagues be clear? What is the purpose of the change? What will the future look like?
Work through the phases of the the Change Blueprint ….
Focus particularly on the Change Impact Assessment and the Individual Change Journey.