GETTING TRACTION

Metrics@Work’s Inaugural Not Your Normal Lunch and LearnMarch 1, 2013

Presentation byDr. John Yardley, PhD, President and Founding Partner, Metrics@Work

Slide 2

Explanation of what we’re trying to achieve

1. We see a lot of variation in terms of how our client organizations “score” on employee Survey follow-up items

2. We also get asked a lot of times as to how to create strong change, but ….

3. We don’t get involved very often in an organization’s change efforts

4. So, …..

5. We ask you to help us all learn about creating strong change efforts, ….

6. “Strong” means change efforts that result in real changes, i.e., TRACTION.

7. To learn from each other, we have constructed a series of opportunities for you to interact and for you to provide us with your experiences and opinions, so, ….

8. We want the 3 hours to be efficient, engaging and fun – we need you to be ready to “jump-in” and “give it all you’ve got!”

The Front-line Team is a Critical Key to Positive Change and Better Services at your Organization

While there are a number of ways of creating positive change, there is no doubt that front-line teams are an important way of creating improvements across an organization. For instance:

“Front Line Service Providers: Quality is ultimately in the hands of those who actually deliver care. Their quality performance is dependent on their knowledge skills and attitudes, their beliefs about current levels of quality, their sense of the roles they play in quality, and their perception of the status quo. It also depends on how they define themselves as professionals – their values, aspirations, organizational ethos, information-seeking behaviours, sense of stewardship over resources, and inter-professional comfort levels.” (MacLeod, H. & Kirby, M. (2013). Courage A Rare Competency. Essays 2013. Longwood Publishing)

Front-line Team change actioning is literally a ground up approach to creating better services through stronger, more collaborative work environments

Slide 3

Simple Change Model:Moving from Survey Results to Action (Action Planning 101)

1. Current State

Are

a to

be

Add

ress

ed b

y A

ctio

ns

Not DesiredResult

Desired Result

2. Plan Actions to

Create Desired State

3. Implementation and

Evaluation as

Interventions Unfold

4. Desired State

Positive change requires a front line unit’s staff to be aligned and agree with the desire to change and what to change, i.e., they take “ownership” in the effort and provide their discretionary effort to creating that change, i.e., they are “engaged” in the change processes

Slide 4

The Employee Engagement Survey is an important part of quality improvement at this Organization

Results from the last survey were effectively communicated

I feel that people at this Organization have acted on the results from the last survey

Based on previous survey results, changes in my immediate work environment have improved the quality of my work life

13%

19%

27%

33%

16%

18%

20%

17%

36%

34%

22%

17%

25%

12%

7%

6%

StronglyDisagree

Disagree Somewhat Disagree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Somewhat Agree

Agree Strongly Agree

Importance & Follow-up of survey from M@W Database

Slide 5

Database Top-2 Box

Percentage

Note: Surveys are seen in very positive light for quality improvement, organizations tend to do quite well in communicating the survey, but are much less able to “act on” the results, and even less able to create change, i.e., get traction. The hallmark of excellence in change efforts is “traction” – if your organization’s traction score is merely average – how could that be changed?

61% 74%

46% 65%

29% 57%

23% 52%

Database Average

out of 100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Data

base 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

66.0

%

64.0

%

60.0

%

58.0

%

58.0

%

57.0

%

57.0

%

56.0

%

54.0

%

52.0

%

51.0

%

51.0

%

51.0

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

49.0

%

49.0

%

49.0

%

48.0

%

47.0

%

46.0

%

46.0

%

44.0

%

42.0

%

41.0

%

40.0

%

39.0

%

36.0

%

31.0

%

Slide 6

… changes in my immediate work environment have improved the quality of my work life BY Organizations

15% 13%9% 7% 7% 6% 5% 5% 3% 1% 0% 0% 0%

-1% -1% -2% -2% -2% -3% -4% -5% -5% -7% -9% -10% -11% -12%-15%

-20%

Among the 28 most recent repeat client surveys, the highest scoring organization on “the traction item” is 66%, the lowest 31%, i.e., less than half as well as the highest! There’s lots of variation – why?

37 31 1 35 29 42 40 34 15 3 21 23 32 39 38 33 18 2 27 41 36 6 30 26O

vera

ll 19 28 14 11 25 24 10 5 4 8 17 12 16 22 7 13 9 20

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0% 78.6

%

76.7

%

75.0

%

75.0

%

74.1

%

72.2

%

71.3

%

69.4

%

69.2

%

66.7

%

66.7

%

66.7

%

66.7

%

66.7

%

65.0

%

64.4

%

63.3

%

58.3

%

58.3

%

57.1

%

56.9

%

55.9

%

55.6

%

55.0

%

54.2

%

54.2

%

54.2

%

53.3

%

53.1

%

52.8

%

52.1

%

50.0

%

48.6

%

47.9

%

46.7

%

45.4

%

43.0

%

42.2

%

36.1

%

28.3

%

25.4

%

16.7

%

15.2

%

Slide 7

… changes in my immediate work environment have improved the quality of my work life BY Work Units in a client organization

24% 23% 21% 21% 20% 18% 17% 15% 15% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 11% 10% 9% 4% 4% 3% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0%

-1% -1% -1% -2% -4% -6% -6% -8% -9% -11% -12%-18%

-26% -29%-38% -39%

Within a single client organization with 42 front line units, the highest scoring unit on “the traction item” is 78.6%, the lowest 15.2%, i.e., 5 times less well as the highest! There’s lots of variation – why?

Y Axis: Desire Getting More Stuff Done at Work, i.e., Task Oriented Behaviours

Tension between Efficiency/Effectiveness

and HRM

Tension between Adaptability (Creativity)

and HRM

Tension between Efficiency/Effectiveness &

Adaptability/Creativity

Z Axis: Desire for Better Human Resource Management (HRM) and Relationships, i.e., People Oriented Behaviours

X Axis: Desire for Better Adaptability and Creativity to improve effectiveness and efficiency, i.e., Change Oriented Behaviours

The Tensions Between the 3 Leadership Determinants of a Team’s Performance

Slide 8Adapted from Yukl and Lepsinger (2005): Flexible Leadership: Creating Value by Balancing Multiple Challenges and Choices. Jossey-Bass.

IncreasingTask Oriented Behaviours

Usually means DecreasingChange Oriented Behaviours

Focusing on Task too much Diminishes Ability to be Adaptable and Creative

And/or DecreasingPeople Oriented Behaviours

Focusing on Task too much Diminishes Ability to Manage your People

Assumption: Managing Tasks, Change and People in a work system is done with finite resources, i.e., limited $’s, time, FTE’s, knowledge etc. Therefore, focusing on one area leads to diminishment in another.

What Happens when a team is told, “Just Get the Job Done!”

Consequently: An over-emphasis on getting tasks completed is accomplished to the detriment of positive change, so improvements in efficiencies and effectiveness are reduced or lost and / or managing your people gets left behind

Slide 9Adapted from Yukl and Lepsinger (2005): Flexible Leadership: Creating Value by Balancing Multiple Challenges and Choices. Jossey-Bass.

Slide 10

What does the Iceberg Metaphor in mean for change?

What is it really like under your team’s iceberg? Similarly for your Program / Division and Organization-as-a-whole?

One of the most common reasons for not addressing issues within a team is the inability of the team to respectfully “confront the elephant,” dialogue calmly, and reach consensus on solutions that are mutually accepted by all team members – do “icebergs” sink your change efforts?

Slide 11

Interactive Polling Solutions proudly sponsored by

Slide 12

Adaptation of Healthy Workplace Strategies: Creating Change and Achieving Results (Lowe, G. 2004)

1. Supportive local work culture and values2. Leadership and commitment from all staff and management)3. Shared understanding of drivers to be changed4. Participative team approach (i.e., consensual decision making)5. Customized change plans (i.e., meeting the needs of individual units)6. Links to a strategic plan with an accountability framework7. Support and resources needed for change efforts8. Evaluate progress and communicate

We took the Guiding Principles (p. 11) that Graham Lowe outlined and adapted them so that they more clearly reflect change among front line units.The Guiding Principles for Change are:

Using clickers we want you to provide your opinion on the 3 Guiding Principles that provide the most challenge for Front-line Team change achieving traction

Which among the following 8 Factors, is the most challenging in your organization for creating front-line change and traction

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

14%

31%

10%

5%

12%

5%

10%

14%

1. Supportive local work culture and values

2. Leadership (Commitment from all staff and management)

3. Shared understanding of drivers to be changed

4. Participative team approach (consensual decision making)

5. Customized change plan (meeting the needs of individual units)

6. Link to a strategic plan with an accountability framework

7. Support and resources for change efforts

8. Evaluate progress and Communicate

Which among the following 8 Factors, is the 2nd most challenging in your organization for creating front-line change

and traction

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

12%

26%

16%

5%

12%

7%

9%

14%

1. Supportive local work culture and values

2. Leadership (Commitment from all staff and management)

3. Shared understanding of drivers to be changed

4. Participative team approach (consensual decision making)

5. Customized change plan (meeting the needs of individual units)

6. Link to a strategic plan with an accountability framework

7. Support and resources for change efforts

8. Evaluate progress and Communicate

Which among the following 8 Factors, is the 3rd most challenging in your organization for creating front-line change

and traction

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9%

26%

2%

12%12%

14%

12%

14%

1. Supportive local work culture and values

2. Leadership (Commitment from all staff and management)

3. Shared understanding of drivers to be changed

4. Participative team approach (consensual decision making)

5. Customized change plan (meeting the needs of individual units)

6. Link to a strategic plan with an accountability framework

7. Support and resources for change efforts

8. Evaluate progress and Communicate