Change Research

To make way for more successful change outcomes, it is important to follow a change process that considers both the people and technical side of change management. And in order to understand and identify the pain points from both of these sides, an in-depth research must be carried out. Research uncovers problems, especially systemic ones, allowing change managers handle the change project much better and result in a more successful outcome.

What researching does is it uncovers many of the existing and systemic issues that currently plague the organisation. These can be explained by the data gathered from change research, including the level of readiness for change on an organisational and individual level, the challenges that managers and leaders usually face when promoting change within the organisation, and the issues that trigger resistance and negativity towards change. Aside from uncovering these challenges, data from change research can also present opportunities that can give managers and leaders the advantage to promote change by engaging with the right people, identifying the right approach and means to communicate with the people, and use these opportunities as their stepping stones towards achieving the goal for change.

Organisational Development and Organisational Learning

Some changes require training or up-skilling people, so that they can adapt to the new environment and apply the changes to their respective roles or tasks. During this phase, the change managers may tap into internal talent for training and development or hire an external talent, like a consultant or a specialist, depending on the training required and the material that needs to be discussed. The role of a facilitator is to make sure that all those who need training receive the adequate amount of learning they need, so that they can navigate their new roles or tasks successfully, and be able to carry out their work as comfortably and as knowledgeably as they can possibly do so. The goal is not to turn them into experts immediately but to provide them with the knowledge and the skill to be able to adapt quickly and adjust to the new normal work environment. Organisational learning is key to the organisation’s survival and growth — factors that keep the organisation to continue thriving and being relevant in the industry.

Organisational learning is the core of organisational development, which looks at long term goals, and ultimately the survival and prosperity of an organisation. Organisational development (OD), according to Beer, is a system-wide process that covers data gathering, diagnosis from data gathered, action planning, and intervention. It also includes setting up an evaluation process that managers can use to determine the best fit between people and organisation processes.

In OD, training analysis can be done by a team of people, or a community of participants from different departments, especially departments who work interdependently, in order to create a learning material that covers dependencies and the hand-off points for each of the departments involved. This is especially important when changes are being made to the work process, the technology used at work, as well as changes on an individual level.

The Process of Research and Organisational Learning

To carry out a change project successfully, change managers must follow a systems approach that they can use as a guide as they go through each of the phases of change. Before starting any form of training, there is data gathering, diagnosis, and feedback to client group who are involved in the diagnosis.

The data gathering process start with selecting the best method to use for the amount and type of data that is required from the research.  Some of the ways to collect data include interviewing people by group or individually, using questionnaires or surveys, and even through observation. Using unobtrusive methods to collect data from normal day-to-day reports is also another way to collect data, without having to ask questions or interviewing people like in the earlier methods mentioned above. Data gathered from unobtrusive methods is referred to as secondary data. It can be used to support data gathered from face to face interviews and written responses.

Once the information has been collected, diagnosis comes next. There are various diagnostic models to consider, but change managers need to select a model that is aligned with the element where the change needs to be made. These elements include job design, work structure, leadership, and both individual and organisational competencies. Conceptual models for diagnosis help direct the managers’ efforts to the right places that need their attention. It also provides structure and focus for information gathering, so that the managers can gather as much relevant information as they can. This allows managers to take a look at the current state and envision a future state, as they evaluate the if the future that the change aims to create is realistic and achievable.

Conceptual models also serve as the backbone for data interpretation, which means the more relevant the conceptual model is to the problem, the more precise the diagnosis will be and determine exactly where the change needs to be implemented. Through this process, managers can also validate whether the proposed change plan is the planned change is actually the correct one or otherwise.

Next comes the discussion of the data and feedback to client group. Before the data is shared with the client group, it is usually first discussed within the team and the proper way to discuss this with the client is determined, based on the type of change that the client is seeking help for. The client, in this case, is more of a group or a sub group of people who can directly impact change. Involving them in the process can help promote a better relationship between client and change agents. The amount of information that needs to be shared with them must be relevant to the issue or problem that they need help with, so that they can decide whether change is actually needed or if it is the right kind of change.

Planning and Implementation

As soon as the initial steps are completed and have all been done, the next step is to plan for change and its implementation. Planning involves listing down all the necessary steps that need to be taken, in order to achieve the desired outcome. The goals are also set and timelines are established at this point, and other factors like dependencies, constraints, resources, and current tasks of those who are involved in the change management team are considered and factored into the plan.

One other thing that must be considered in the planning is the political dimension of change. This pertains to the level of readiness for change, both on an individual and an organisational level, and how the process for change and the change itself affects them.

Once all these are set in place and the appropriate implementation method has been decided on, the plan should be put into action. The plan can either go in full swing or first be tested on a pilot batch, before implementing it to the rest. Bigger projects normally perform a pilot run before full implementation, to put the plan to test. A test run reveals the weak points, the accurate points, and the level of effectiveness of the plan. Test runs also show if an end point is a broadly defined goal that needs to be narrowed down in terms of scope, so the end state may also be less defined at the beginning of the implementation but become much clearer and more precise in the process of implementing change. It becomes more of an open-ended processes than a blueprint approach.  

Managing the Project and the People During the Process

Echoing the importance of managing the people side of change from start to finish, creating a safe environment and establishing communication must be the top objectives of a change manager in order to get the buy in of the stakeholders and manage resistance as early as possible.

One of the ways to get this done is by using the Meeting Canoe – a strategic approach with clearly defined goals and actions to move the plan forward while making sure that issues and concerns that emerge along the way are heard, addressed, and resolved. Below are the stages of the Meeting Canoe:

1. Welcome – recognise participants and acknowledge their participation
2. Connect – establishes connection between participants and the participant-and-task connection
3. Discover – finding out how things are in its current state and for each participant
4. Elicit – draw out people’s dreams, plans, goals, and create a shared view of reality
5. Decide – identify and establish the next steps to take on a personal and team level, based on their preferred future
6. Attend –show up and see the plan through the end;  review, create, and reflect

While meetings are notoriously known as time-consuming activities, the Meeting Canoe aims to bring structure to an otherwise aimless and boundless assembly of sorts. This method of meeting has clearly defined parts and each part can be time boxed to make sure that it is completed within the specified amount of time. This method allows the managers to get things more done and discuss topics related to the change project in a timely manner, accelerating change. This type of meeting is especially helpful when communicating with small groups of people who are affected by the change, particularly those who are expressing uncertainty and showing resistance towards change.