Good change management tools ease the process and maximize the results
Change management is the method used to evaluate current processes, assess needed improvements and implement sound solutions. Good change management tools assure that that method works well.
Inherent in change management is that word that many dread, "change." Although change is inevitable, it is often not welcome. And employees asked to change, particularly in a tight economy where people fear for their jobs, are often resistant, even rebellious.
For effective process improvement, a good set of change management tools and theories must be in place to assure that everyone in the situation is on the winning side of change — the organization, its customers and its employees. We have discussed the theory of change management here. So what are the change management tools that are needed to maximize results?
First key change management tool: Flowcharting
Flowcharting is a tool that lays out a process as an easy-to-read and easy-to-use diagram. The value of flowcharts is in taking complex processes and simplifying them. Take any set of Lego™ instructions and imagine it in words instead of pictures and you get the idea.
Flowcharts are an essential change management tool. First, in flowcharting the current process, team members are able to map out the process clearly, discover where waste and rework are happening that they could not see before, and frequently identify quick and effective changes that can be made to improve the process.
After the current process is flowcharted, process improvement work kicks in to identify rubs or problems and brainstorm new, innovative solutions. The new process is then flowcharted.
Finally, flowcharting can be used effectively to train staff in the new process. In documenting the steps and links between employees and departments in a process as a flowchart, training employees on the changes is vastly simplified.
Below is a flowchart teaching "How to Flowchart".
How to create a flowchart
Horizontal Flowchart:
Used for basic process description, steps flow from left to right, chronologically.
Vertical Flowchart:
Used to show the relationship of individuals, departments, and so forth, to the basic process description. Individuals are listed across the top of the page. The process steps flow chronologically, from top to bottom, underneath the responsible individuals.
Change management tool #2: Data collection
Math, graphing, data. These are other words that can be as intimidating as the word, “change.” But data is critical to the success of a change management effort. Having meaningful data on the current process is the only way to determine if a new process is a significant improvement. People can “feel better” about it. But feeling better is not usually a strong enough argument to justify the time or expense of a change management initiative. Both the leadership (who pay the bills) and employees (who are being asked to undergo change) need hard data to prove that it is worth their energy.
Here is the data we recommend you collect for the existing process and the new process in your change management efforts. This data applies whether you are in the service industry or manufacturing, government sector or private enterprise. Think about what the measure is asking and how that can be interpreted for your organization. The measures are:
- Cycle Time: The average elapsed time from beginning to end of a process.
- Range of Cycle Time: The shortest and longest cycle times and the percentage of cycles with shortest and longest times.
- Throughput: The number of units flowing through the process for a given time period (a week, a month, a year, for example). "Units" could be people moving through the clinic, or the number of packages received for shipment.
- Errors: The percentage of units that require rework. For example, errors could include appointment scheduling glitches, lost phone calls, product that cannot be sold.
- Number of FTE’s: The number of full-time equivalent employees involved in production of existing throughput (calculated by summing the percentages of all persons involved in tasks laid out in the process flow).
Change management tool #3: Project planning
The final tool we feel is an essential piece of a good change management initiative is a clear project plan. Often, a change initiative calls for many people, working in many areas of the organization, to implement different pieces simultaneously. It’s a critical coordinating document that lays out how the new process will be rolled out: “Who is doing what; where is it being done, and when is it being done.”
We have discussed the value of project planning in terms of change management, here, and have explained a valuable project management tool you can use, here.
How to put the change management tools together into one package
What does it look like when it’s put together? It’s a fluid process that takes a team through flowcharting the current process, collects current data, identifies the rubs and brainstorms new solutions, and then it flowcharts the new process. Implementing a project plan comes next, followed, finally by simply working the steps to completion. For more information on what that process looks like, click here.
Interested in learning how you can apply the tools to your organization?
Call (877) 276-4414 and ask for a free consultation.