Change is inevitable, especially in large organisations like the Public Service.
No matter which level of the hierarchy you are in, there are generally two types of change you will face—repetitive and unique change.
Repetitive change is recurring—think of issues like staff turnover or changing the way we deal with public feedback, for example, on social media or other platforms. Unique change is rare and often unexpected—like Y2K, political upheavals, or sudden environmental changes like the haze.
It is the repetitive nature of certain problems that can be efficiently dealt with by using systemic solutions. However, most of us “expend enormous energies applying unique solutions to repetitive problems,” according to Peter Drucker, world-renowned management consultant.
Using systemic solutions to manage repetitive change is less disruptive, and allocates more time and resources to developing tailored solutions for unique situations.
Models for change
Here are two models of change that can help us to develop systemic solutions:
- Bottom Line Change (BLC), developed by Ari Weinzweig, co-owner and founding partner of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses
- ADKAR, developed by Jeff Hiatt, president of Prosci Research
BOTTOM LINE CHANGE
As a structured method to dealing with change, BLC encourages involving everyone who will be affected by the change.
Weinzweig describes BLC as a “simple, clear and quick process for creating compelling change—large or small—in any organisation.”
Here are the five steps involved:
1. Create a clear and compelling purpose for change.
People are naturally resistant to the idea of change and need some encouragement, so find ways to tell the people involved why the change is worth making.
2. Create a positive vision of the future and develop leadership agreement on the vision.
Your vision, which Weinzweig likens to a post-change picture of how things in your organisation will look like, is meant to inspire participants to be excited about their involvement in the change.
He suggests writing down your vision so that it can be easily shared, and to keep it strategically sound so that people know that the goals are attainable.
3. Plan the change rollout event(s)—such as a meeting to formally tell the organisation about the change.
An effective rollout will help you build support and enthusiasm right from the start, and also get agreement from stakeholders to cooperate with the steps of your action plan.
4. Generate organisational support.
Getting support hinges heavily on the effectiveness of your rollout events. In the early stages, let people know the first steps they will need to take to implement the change. You can then host smaller rollout meetings to discuss specific steps in more detail.
Keep in mind that these rollout events need to be inspiring, so try to keep them fun, lighthearted, and memorable.
5. Implement change.
All that is left is to implement the action steps that you have developed together with your team during the rollout events. Ensure that each part of the organisation that is involved is represented not just at the start but also during the execution stage.
ADKAR
ADKAR, is an outcome-oriented way of dealing with change at the individual level.
Hiatt, founder of ADKAR and the Change Management Learning Center, explains it this way: "The secret to successful change lies beyond the visible and busy activities that surround change. Successful change, at its core, is rooted in something much simpler: How to facilitate change with one person."
The five building blocks of ADKAR are:
1. Awareness of the need for change
2. Desire to participate and support the change
3. Knowledge on how to change
4. Ability to implement the skills and behaviours
5. Reinforcement to sustain the change
Dealing with change in the Public Service
Both BLC and ADKAR change models propose different methods to achieving a similar objective—involving every individual in the organisation related to the change process.
Find out how public officers from the Singapore Prison Service, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, and the Health Sciences Authority faced challenging change scenarios and survived, in our three-part series on Managing Change from 2011.
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