9 Responses

1. Change
   Sharon

   One of the most important aspects of change management is involving, informing, consulting and communicating with the staff affected.

   Another aspect to cover is stress which is reduced by doing all of the above as people understand what is happening and when.

   You could also cover interpersonal skills and management style as these are crucial for the success of any change management programme.

   Sandra Beale

2. survey results
   Sharon
   I ran an event almost identical to yours in the middle of last year. I used a survey result of the five worst and five best aspects of change programmes and got the managers to plot their intentions to avoid the former and achieve the latter. They also had time allocated to peer coach on their plans.
   I can give you further details if you are interested.

3. Change Management Workshop
   Sharon,

   I too have designed and delivered a successful one-day change management workshop, although not in the public sector.

   The main content focused on: different perspectives on change, understanding the different phases of change and typical reactions to change, leadership skills/tools/techniques to help manage change plus client specific case studies for the group to work with at the end of the day.

   Hope this helps!

4. the SARAH curve
   I am currently running some workshop type sessions and have found one of the most impacting things has been the SARAH curve ie how people react to change – Shock, Anger, Rejection, Acceptance, Help for a way forward. I get them to think where they are on the curve and where their direct reports are.

5. Managing Change or Leading in Uncertain Times?
   There is a lotof materials around managing change – particularly work based on the Ross Kubhler change curve. However what many managers really need is slightly beyond that. Managing change is where you try and help people through from one situation to a new one that has a clear picture.
   Much of what managers need to become skilled at is really ‘Leading in Uncertain Times’ where there is no real clarity of what the near or mid-term future will be.

   I devised such a ‘programme’ for an organisation gogin through a potential take over where the futureu for the organisation and employees was very uncertain.

   Happy to share more of tis with you should you wish. Best e-mail address is;
   david@b-more.co.uk
   Cheers

6. Change Managment for Managers
   I too have delivered a similar course to this, however it has been for managers within a production environment, that said, it is my belief that the learnings are pretty much the same where-ever change is occuring.

   Key elements of the workshop included:

   People and sustainability
   Non-blaming culture
   Facts about Change
   Behavioural change – the emotional changes – an adaptation of the SARAH curve
   The Leaders role
   The resiliance to change model, which focusses on the management role in facilitating change
   The Adoption Curve – using aminals to represent how people respond to change
   Ownership
   Creating change

   If you would like any further details of this course please feel free to e-mail me at

   tobyarnold@AOL.com

   Regards

   Toby Arnold
   Lean Manufacturing Trainer

7. How can you get more than a day?
   One day on change management!

   If I were delivering this then my primary outcome would be to get recognition that the topic is ‘worth’ much more than a one-day course. In my view, if one day is all they can ‘spare’ then the prospects of them delivering effective change are pretty limited. Senior management committment and understanding is Mission Critical (so much so that I personally will not work with anyone unless their most senior people are visibly and actively supporting the change processes).

   I won’t repeat the possible content strands listed in other responses, except to say that I would work on three key strands:

   1) Communication
   2) Communication
   3) Communication

   It often suprises me how senior managers who have spent months working on some new strategy/change plan think they can communicate it and have their people understand it ina couple of briefings with perhaps a special edition of the house journal. The most vital aspect of any change process is getting understanding (initially they don’t have to agree, just understand – although eventually you are going for understanding) and buy-in – this is a very intensive and extensive challenge.

   Have them working from their own experience of what was good/bad practice for changes in their (personal or work) lives and elicit a best practice model (you will of course have your own – or even John P Kotter’s – in your back pocket).

   I suspect that you may need to hurt them (remember the old strategy of ‘hurt and rescue’) in order to get recognistion of the gigantic nature of the task they face – let them discover, or point out to them – the various traps that lead to 80% of change efforts failing to meet their stated goals and ask them if they are willing to learn hwo to be part of the 20%.

   Do ring or email if I can help – I really want to help!

8. Communication, Communication, Communication
   I agree with Geoff Roberts’ comments. Given the complex nature of senior managers working in the public sector and the diversity of staff working within the sector, it is crucial that changed is managed carefully and therefore the training must be of high quality.

   Communication at the right level at the right time is highly important.

9. Stop telling people what to do.
   Sharon
   In one day you will not be able to do much training because in that time you will first have to convince them that change is necessary.

   This is a full time job for one day and will require them to come to understand what has happened in the past and what they can do to influence change in the future.

   Concentrate on allowing them to find out for themselves.

   If you can allow them to become genuinely curious about what they can do, that will be a good days work.

   If you can also give them some of the tools that they will need then that would be exceptional.