Understanding the Skills Challenge in Effectively Managing Change in Public Sector

Understanding the Skills Challenge in Effectively Managing Change in Public Sector Organisations

Final Report for UFHRD

Martin McCracken and Hadyn Bennett

Department of Management and Leadership

Ulster Business School

University of Ulster

07 October 2011

Contact Details:

Dr Martin McCracken and Dr Hadyn Bennett

Department of Management and Leadership

University of Ulster

Shore Road

Newtownabbey

N. Ireland

BT37 0QB

Tel: 028 903 68346 / 028 903 66454

E-mail: /

Research Background and Goals

According to recent research in Northern Ireland (agendaNI, 2009; McCracken and Bennett, 2010) many public sector organisations in the region have invested significant resources to enhance the effective implementation of change. In the intervening period since this time, the process has accelerated, in large part as the result of the change of government in the United Kingdom and ongoing pressure for efficiency savings and public spending cuts.

In much research into managerial skill and competency requirements the issue of managing change has been categorised with other more generic skills such as leadership, communication, mentoring and coaching, and problem solving abilities (O’Brien and Robertson, 2009; Thompson and Harrison, 2000; Winterton et al. 2000). However, with the exception of some quantitative studies and conceptual pieces from the USA, designed to stimulate more debate on the area (Carter, 2008 and Giley et al, 2008), the more specific skills needed to effectively manage change at all levels (from senior managers whose primary role is in the initial formulation of change strategies through to line managers / supervisors who are responsible for actually implementing the change) have not been explored in sufficient depth. With this in mind, real value can be derived for the HRD community from research designed specifically to investigate these skill and competency requirements.

Given the above, the goals of this research study were:

• To identify what key organisational stakeholders, including senior managers (drivers of change); line managers (change implementers) and employees (change receivers) perceive to be the most important Knowledge Skills and Attitudes (KSAs) for successful change implementation
• To provide practical recommendations to the HRD community, both academic and practitioner, regarding how these key KSAs can be developed in the future

Data Collection

Access was secured to collect empirical data in five Northern Ireland public sector organisations which had recently implemented planned changeinitiatives. However, major developments within three of the organisations created additional sensitivities surrounding access, and hence research in each of these organisations is still ongoing. This report therefore briefly details the findings from two of the organisations – a public sector agency and a local government department. After completing the desk-based research and literature review, field research was carried out with a sample of employees in both of these organisations.

In both participant organisations, a series of semi-structured and in-depth qualitative focus groups were held with key organisational stakeholders across all hierarchical levels. This included: Director / senior management; middle management; operations staff; and, where appropriate, specialist change management project and training and development teams / experts.The researchers developed a checklist and research protocol drawing upon the main messages arising from the generic change literature (leadership, communication, mentoring / coaching / training, and problem solving abilities)to produce a framework to ensure that a consistent set of issues were addressed across both the case study organisations. Data collected from the interviews was transcribed, and analysed in light of both the literature and the research objectives to produce a series of themes. Two distinct case studies were then written up, before this cross case analysis was produced.

Summary of Empirical Findings

The main issues emerging from the research studyare discussed below. Many of these findings are inter-related, and solutions to one may actually reside in interventions aimed at a separate aspect. For example, enhanced understanding of the cultural context will facilitate the selection of more appropriate communication channels and media.

Senior Management Awareness

In both organisations lack of senior management understandingand awarenessof operational realities emerged as being a major obstacle to the successful implementation of change. This extended to both formaland informal aspects of organisational functioning. In fact such lack of overall awareness was confirmed within one of the organisations (the public sector agency) in follow up discussions held with the senior management (at which surprise was expressed at a number of the findings). In terms of operational issues (formal aspects), senior management in both organisations appeared to lack essential understanding of operational functions and routine activities, and the operation of formal mechanisms such as communication processes; in the case of informal aspects this included, for example, lack of understanding of prevailing organisational cultures (employee values and attitudes, and goals and aspirations), and patterns of teamwork within the organisations. Initially, this suggests a need for the development of enhanced techniques for organisational analysis prior to change, especially in respect of the ‘softer’, more informal aspects of organisational functioning, as part of the change planning process and the implementation phase.

Suggested techniques for developing senior management awareness include:

• Implementing ‘back to the floor’ or job shadowing programmes for senior and middle managers to enhance understanding of the more informal aspects of organisational functioning, and to develop an appreciation of organisational realities for operational employees
• Cultural awareness training
• Leadership training for senior managers to enable them to better understand internal boundaries in the organisation (functional and hierarchical) and how they can manage boundary relationshipsmore effectively

Communication Issues

Management in both organisations studied were found to be overly reliant on formal communication processes when implementing and managing the change programmes. While operations staff in both organisations recognised that a high volume of communication did actually pass from senior managers to staff, it was frequently criticised for being too generic / and based on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Allied to this, the communication media and channels used were also frequently criticised, especially the over-reliance on electronic media and ‘team briefing’ circulars. The volume of information was also criticised, with operations staff frequently commenting that important and relevant information was overlooked or ‘lost’ as a result of the sheer volume of information.

Finally in this regard, issues were found in both organisations in respect of the direction of information flow, with staff at lower hierarchical levels often citing a perceived inability to contribute meaningful ‘upwards’ communication. In both organisations we found evidence that serious efforts had been made to address the issue of managing communication in times of change (especially in terms of volume), but that these efforts had been concentrated on the establishment of ‘cascade’ processes to ensure that information was simply passed on. A significant skills gap was thus observed in respect of the development of meaningful two-way communication and using media and channels tailored to the demands of the situation. Once again, this reflects to an extent a lack of understanding of cultural issues, with the significance attached to both the source and media used in communicating change often not fully understood. Further, the reliance on top-down, formal communication was found in both organisations to perpetuate myths and (often inaccurate) beliefs between both senior management and lower grade employeesregarding the roles, agendas and functions of the other. In summary, it appears that while managers and change agents in both organisations understood the importance of communication during organisational change, neither wassuccessful at understanding the communication environment, and that as such communication has been manifested in many instances simply as ‘information’.

Suggested techniques for developing more meaningful communication include:

• The development of skills to help managers and change agents better understand the impact of differing communication media
• Training in listening skills for senior and middle management to facilitate better upward communication
• Developing awareness of information needs, particularly at lower levels within the organisation in order that communication can be more effectively targeted
• Interpersonal communication training for senior and middle managers, including for example Neuro Linguistic Programming which could be used to ensure more effective message delivery.

Training and Development

The importance of training and developmentto allow for the effective implementation of new processes and systems was also highlighted.One of the organisations (the public sector agency) had attempted to introduce ‘just in time’ training, whereby training in new systems and processes was delivered immediately prior to the system ‘going live’, thus addressing retention issues. This process, while well regarded by staff, had failed in many instances in its implementation, mainly due to subsequent delays in systems implementation. Other criticisms of training arose around the issue of the use of ‘text book’ cases, which were often reported as being at variance with the operational realities and contingencies which staff face daily in their roles and which mostly involve dealing with unpredictable scenarios from the public. Thus, skills gaps were identified in both the development of training materials, and the scheduling and implementation of training programmes.

Suggested techniques for developing more effective training material and programmes during organisational transition include:

• Involving operational staff in the design and development of training materials, thus enabling trainers to utilise real life cases and scenarios
• Closer liaison between those responsible for operationalizing systems change and the training and development function to ensure that ‘Just in time’ training operates effectively
• Providing staff with more time to reflect upon the changes and using tools such as reflective learning logs / diaries to help ensure retention of learning, lessen resistance to change, and provide staff with the opportunity to internalise the changes

External Stakeholder Issues

In both organisations a lack of concern in respect of external stakeholders was observed in the planning and implementation of change. Instead, the process tended to focus on internal aspects, which in many cases was found to create difficulties at point of service delivery. This highlights a need for the development of enhanced skills in the area of community engagement and involvementon the part of both senior managers and change agents as part of both the change planning and implementation processes.

Suggested techniques for developing more effective external stakeholder engagement include:

• Formalising mechanisms for enhanced community engagement including for example, community fora and closer links with elected representatives
• The development of profiling skills in terms of community analysis (including for example, socio-economic factors), to allow senior managers to better understand the needs of service users in the local community when designing major change initiatives.

Reinforcing and Sustaining Commitment to Change

Concerns were raised in both organisations around the areas of reinforcing and sustainingcommitment to change. Also in this regard, change fatigue was prevalent, with repeated programmes of change being found to have eroded staff commitment to ongoing improvement processes. Senior management visibility and accessibility were highlighted as being key factors in generating commitment to the process, but in both organisations it was reported that while high during the initial stages, such behaviours tend to dissipate over time. Mechanisms should therefore be developed to ensure such behaviours are maintained throughout the process.

More effective mechanisms for reinforcement and sustaining commitment to change could include:

• The development of authentic leadership skills on the part of senior and middle managers, to include an emphasis on the performance coaching role, understanding visibility issues and their importance to sustaining change, modelling behaviour, and how to champion change.

Middle Manager Role as Change Agents

The role of middle management during the change process was highlighted in both cases. Indeed, the approach adopted by middle management in relation to the process, and in particular to the bureaucratic framework which characterises these public sector organisations, appears to play a central role in relation to its success or otherwise. Change was found to be much more successfully implemented where middle managers were willing to set aside bureaucratic restrictions and engage in a meaningful way with senior management, operations level staff and, indeed, the wider community.Such an approach appears to be successful as it can overcome preconceptions and access the informal side of the organisation, thereby overcoming many of the communication and organisational analysis problems identified above.

The role of the middle manager as a change agent could be enhanced through:

• The provision of training in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty
• The effective allocation of resources to middle managers during the implementation process (for example, sufficient cover for staff participating in training activities)
• The development of communication competencies, information analysis skills, assertiveness training (especially when interacting with senior managers), and decision making skills

Conclusions

In summary, many of the issues impeding effective change were found to originate in poor organisational analysis, and less developed understanding of the softer side of organisational life (organisational culture). The development of more enhanced skills for organisational analysis, which encompass a full understanding of the prevailing culture, would facilitate communications improvements, help secure staff commitment and engagement, and at the same time allow for meaningful change reinforcement. The suggestions outlined above could all be instrumental in this regard.

Outputs and Future Directions

The results of the two case studies provided data for the preparation and presentation of a development paper at the 2011 BAM Conference (paper entitled ‘Culture Change: Unintended Outcomes or Inevitable Consequences of a Mismanaged Process’). Feedback from this conference is being used in the preparation of further submissions to the 2012 UfHRD and Academy of Management Conferences. The cases will also form the basis for a number of journal submissions. Ultimately it is hoped to build on this initial study and apply for further funding to enable the research team to carry out a more wide ranging survey, amongst a larger sample of employers, on the issues of change management, perhaps including also a private sector sample.

References

agendaNI (2009) Implementing Change for Better Public Services’ (BMF Conferences),Seminar, 4th November, Danadry Hotel, Antrim, N.Ireland.

Carter, E. (2008) Successful Change requires more that Change Management. The Journal for Quality and Participation, Spring: 20-23

Gilley, A., Dixon, P. and Gilley, J. (2008) Characteristics of Leadership Effectiveness: Implementing Change and Driving Innovation in Organizations. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 19 (2): 153-169.

McCracken, M. and Bennett, H. (2010) Managing Change in the Further Education Sector: Using Change Management to Enhance Employee Commitment, The Improvement Agenda – International Symposium for Learning and Skills, Learning and Skills Development Agency NI.

O’Brien, E. and Robertson, P. (2009) Future Leadership competences: from foresight to current practice. Journal of European Industrial Training, 33 (4): 371-380.

Thompson, J.E. & Harrison, J. (2000) “Competent managers? The development and validation of a normative model using the MCI standards.” The Journal of Management Development, 19 (9&10): 836-852

Winterton, J., Parker, M., Dodds, M., McCracken, M. and Henderson, I. (2000) The Future Skill Needs of Managers, Department for Employment and Education, Research Series Report, No. 182, 24 Jan.

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