Getting change ready (Proceedings)

Fast Growth = Change

• To deal with growth, we are really talking about how we handle change in the workplace

• Change compels us to get out of complacency

Is Your Practice Complacent?

• No highly visible crisis

• The practice measures itself against low standards

• Planning and control systems are rigged (or non-existent) to make it easy for everyone to reach goals

Get Change "Ready"

• Push decision making down to the lowest possible level.

• Begin sharing information.

• Talk, but listen too. It is a 2-way street.

• Encourage participation.

• Get into the trenches with front line employees.

• Help people see the "why" of change, and work with them to discover "what."

The Voice of Those Affected

• "What is in it for me"?

• "Why is this important"?

• "How do these people even know what the problems are - they don't bother to eve ask us"?

• "Do they really think they can change the entire practice at once"?

• "How much of our time and their money will they sink into this dry hole"?

Step 1: Mobilize Energy and Commitment

• Do this by sharing values and a clear vision. Compelling work alone, but usually forced to do so because of the "elephant in the living room."

• People do not argue with what they help create. You will get buy-in through participation.

• The group who will implement change must agree on what the problems are and why they need to change.

Why Not from the Top?

• People resist having solutions imposed upon them by individuals who lack familiarity with day-to-day operations.

• Resistance is expressed through lack of motivation and commitment to the change.

• MUST have top level support - not control.

Step 2: Develop a Shared Vision

• Do you have a mission, vision and values?

• Is it just a sign on the wall, or do the owners and key managers inspire others in the organization toward a vision?

• Vision is "what can be seen," so focus on:

o Specifics about how to improve the business

o How those changes will benefit the employee and patients/clients

Stats

• Price Pritchett at Pritchett and Associates says:

o 20% of employees embrace change from the start50% are fence sitters

o 30% resist any kind of change/growth

Components of Shared Vision

• Describe a desirable future

• Be compelling - much BETTER than the current state of things

• Be realistic within the grasp of the hard working folks who will make it happen

• Be focused on a manageable set of goals

• Be flexible

• Easy to communicate with all levels of employees

Step 3: Hire Qualified Employees

• BIGGEST decisions - right people on the bus and the rest OFF!

• Answer the question: What isn't getting done well? What is holding the practice back?

Plan for Employee Turnover

• Would a key employee departure upset the applecart?

• As volume of business increases some people will not keep up.

• Without clearly defined roles, new employees will leave.

• Systems is the answer to this problem.

Identify Leaders

• Good leaders will have three characteristics:

o A persistent belief that revitalization and change is the key to competitiveness

o They can articulate their conviction in the form of a credible and compelling vision

o They have people and organizational skills to implement their vision.

Step 4: Focus on Results, Not Activities

• If you cannot measure it, then you cannot manage it.

• Operations, experience and expertise is critical.

• Short-term goals must be identified and met, then discussed with regular, good communication.

Step 5: Implement Systems

• Infrastructure for Growth

o HR

o Project Management

o Quality Control

• Checks and balances for your practice

• Reduce stress and make workloads predictable and manageable

• Helps with managing turnover

Step 6: Start Change at the Periphery

• Likelihood of success is greatest when change is implemented in small, autonomous units. Success breeds success.

Change and Growth: What is in it for Me?

• Clear advantage over the status quo

• Compatibility with peoples' desires and values

• Requirements that are understandable

• Option for people to experience the change model at a small scale first

• The possibility of people observing the suggested change in another setting

Step 7: Train Employees and Train Again

• Employees cannot read your mind

• Invest in training and supervision of the employee

• There is a direct correlation between training and productivity

• Our goal is CONTINUOUS improvement and change.

• This is a PROCESS, not an EVENT

Step 8: Implement Technology to Support Operations

• Give people the tools they need to do their jobs

• Cannot run a business on a wing nut and a prayer

• Strategically plan and budget for technological improvements

Step 9: Improve Quality

• Deliver a CONSISTENT client experience

• Develop checklists and scripts to recover from service failures

• "Process mapping"

Increase Client Satisfaction (Value)

• Listen more than ever to what employees and clients say about their experience with your business.

• If clients are negatively impacted by a system (or lack of), fix it quick!

• Complaints and surveys are a great thing.

Increase Competitiveness

• Stay current with:

o What is important to your clients?

o What is happening in the marketplace?

o What is your competition doing?

o What is your practice doing well?

o What do you need to improve?

Step 10: Expand Services, Not Just Service

• Add new procedures and profit centers

• 80/20 - do you know the rule?

Maintain Positive Cash Flow and Control Costs

• Don't "burn" cash. Running out of cash is the most common reason a business fails.

• Spend cautiously and get paid promptly.

Implementation of Change and Growth

• The single biggest impediment to growth is the inability of the culture to change with the growth. We are often failures at IMPLEMENTATION.

6 Implementation Problems

• It takes more time than we thought (76%)

• Major problems surfaced that we did not predict (74%)

• Coordination of activities was not effective enough (66%)

• Competing activities and crises distracted attention from implementing the strategic decisions (64%)

• Capabilities (skills and abilities) of employees involved with change were not sufficient (63%)

• Training and instructions were not clear to lower-level employees (63%)

Reaction to Change: A Sense of Loss and Anxiety

• The typical employee spends 8 hours a day doing, in general, fairly routine tasks; and, the completion of those tasks becomes the culture.

• CHANGE CREATES ANXIETY

• People will adapt, but there is a predictable series of responses

Stages in Reaction to Change

• Shock

• Defensive Retreat

• Acknowledgement

• Acceptance and Adaptation

Why?

• People get stuck for a couple of reasons:

o Change is not a single event

o Everyone comes to the table with a different level of experience relative to change and different coping skills

o People who are emotionally fragile are particularly vulnerable during times of change (see rule # 3)

Minimizing the Negatives of Change and Growth

• Keep your cool

• Handle pressure smoothly

• Respond non-defensively

• Develop creative and innovative solutions to problems

• Be willing to take risks and try out new ideas

• Be willing to adjust priorities

• Demonstrate enthusiasm for long term goals

• Be open and candid

• Participate

• When a decision needs to be made, make it