If Change is the Only Constant, Why is there not more Change Management?

We know the saying, change is the only constant.  Probably most of us are living it in our work lives, and we are no different at Cenikor!  We’ve been through quite a bit of change recently, with most of it positive, such as bringing up two new programs, finalizing our CARF accreditation renewal and implementing a system-wide Electronic Health Record.  Some of the changes have been a bit harder, such as members of our senior management team transitioning out of the organization.  But this led to finding some amazing individuals who are already making major contributions!

So regardless of whether or not the changes are viewed positive, all changes bring CHALLENGES.  

Even a positive change, such as growing and starting two new programs to provide more services, is going to have some bumps in the road.  As I’m on the other side of some of our changes, I’ve been thinking lately, why is the change management process not being used more frequently in the non-profit industry?  I figured a good place to start is by sharing what the process and not just assuming this is common knowledge. 

Step 1 – Create Urgency – You must have honest discussions about why the change is needed and have support from key individuals regarding the change.  Make sure looked at the opportunities and potential challenges regarding the change and be able to communicate effectively to create the urgency.

Step 2 – Create a Powerful Coalition – These are your key stakeholders for the change.  Get the commitment from this team of leaders, as they will help you get the buy-in for the change.  Be sure you have leaders at all levels that will be impacted by the change. Having a champion for the change on the executive team is also important.

Step 3 – Develop a Vision and Strategy – How does this impact your mission as a non-profit?  Create a clear vision for what is needed and the strategy to get there.  Work to distill down the major details into a brief overview.  This is your “spiel” that you and the Change Coalition will need to have down to persuade others, so practice!

Step 4 – Communicate the Vision – Talk the talk AND walk the walk.  People typically need to hear things 7 times before they retain it.  So don’t think one meeting with an overview or one training session is going to do it.  It takes REPETITION!!  If you think you sound like a “broken record” (for those of you old enough to remember records), then you probably are communicating appropriately! 

Step 5 – Empower Action – Put the structure in place for the change to occur and remove barriers (human or otherwise).  Reward people who are making the change happen.  You or one of your coalition team members work with those who are resistant to help them see the benefit of the change and what they may be losing if they do not change.  People tend to be risk adverse and more readily take action to protect against a potential loss.

Step 6 – Get Quick Wins – A great motivator is success!  Creating short-term goals that allow progress to the overall goal are critical.  Be sure to plan these with your team and follow through.

Step 7 – Leverage Wins to Drive Change – After each win, talk about it.  What is going right, where can we improve?  Build on the wins and know that true change takes time, and that each success continues to drive the change.

Step 8 – Embed in Culture – Keep the change going; build on momentum!  Keep the leaders engaged, keep telling the success stories, be sure to train new team members on the change.

Change is rarely easy and it takes careful planning and hard work to make organizational change successful.  But trust me when I say you can either take the time on the front end to plan and make the change successful, or you will be spending time on the back end in clean up.  We’ve had to do some of both in the last few months! 

I hope you have the opportunity to serve and make a difference today!

Kellee Webb, SPHR
PurposefulHR@gmail.com