How to Define Change Support

 

This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Ask people what they need.

BY DOING THIS

–  Review and align on the impacts of the change.

–  Ask people to select types of support from a master list.

–  Incorporate feedback into the change plan.

It's a fine balance between too much and too little change assistance. If you provide too much, people get stressed and may choose to opt out of activities; if you provide too little, people won't have the required mindsets, actions and behaviours to adopt the change.

Support activities need to accommodate people's realities. They must fit their needs and be easy to digest. The best and fastest way to select change enablement methods is to ask the people who are adopting the change what they need. They’re experts on current ways of working and will have a sense of what capabilities they need to adopt and challenges to overcome. 

Review the impacts of the change with representatives of those adopting the change. Provide a list of support options – skill training, coaching, job aids, simulations, etc. – and ask them to choose the ones they need. These inputs will help create a pragmatic and effective support plan to transition people to new ways of working.

KNOWLEDGE BITES

CHANGE SUPPORT WORKSHOP: What learning methods will best prepare people to adopt change?

SET UP (5 min.):

–  State the objective of identifying change support that meets people's needs and preferences.

–  Discuss the main impacts of the change and what people must think, do and behave to adopt the new ways of working.

ACTIVITY (20 min.):

–  Present a master list of learning options.

–  Ask people to choose the ones that would help them.

DEBRIEF (20 - 30 min.): 

–  Ask people to share why they choose their options.

–  Test for agreement among group members.

ACTIVITY (15 min.):

–  Ask the group to select the support options they believe would best meet the organization's needs.

CLOSE (5 min.):

–  Thank the group members for their participation, and state that their guidance is an important input into creating the change support plan.

SUCCESS TIP

Including the contributors' names in the change plan highlights and rewards their participation in making the change a success.

For more stories, insights and advice, listen to the Defining Change Support podcast episode with executive and change leader Stephen Sotto.

Phil Buckley is the author of Change on the Run and  Change with Confidence, host of the  Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the  Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

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