Change is inevitable – without change, we cannot grow as organizations, leaders, or individuals. And without a process for managing change, healthcare organizations often suffer in an unstable environment. Organizational Change Management (OCM) provides organizations with a framework for managing the effects of change on the organization’s people. By building a framework that includes a clear understanding of why the change is happening, and incorporating transparent and consistent communication, organizations can vastly improve success rates when implementing new technology or even making culture shifts.
According to a Prosci study, when asked of their past OCM efforts:
- 93% of participants who had excellent change management programs in place met or exceeded organizational objectives
- 77% of those with good change management programs met or exceeded objectives
- 43% with fair change management programs met or exceeded objectives
- Only 15% — or about 1 in 6 — of those with poor change management programs met or exceeded objectives
Socrates said, “the secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but building the new.” This is the essence of what OCM attempts to achieve, and why OCM is becoming more and more vital each passing year, regardless of industry.
How to Benefit Most from OCM
The COVID-19 pandemic forced healthcare into a remote world – some were ready for it, and some were not. However, what we all learned was that we needed to rely on technology and leadership more heavily to help drive successful change and growth. Let’s uncover OCM trends that benefit organizations the most:
- Incorporate Digital Tools to Support Change
The most fundamental key to a successful change is employee buy in. Giving employees the keys to independent learning to better understand change and be prepared will drive employee buy in efforts. The implementation of a worthwhile learning management system (LMS) can allow healthcare organizations to host interactive, remote learning sessions as well as provide a library of self-paced micro learnings for employees to access when time allows. - Leaders Need to Drive Change Initiatives
Healthcare leaders not only need to educate their teams about change, but they also need to take an active role in emulating that change, setting an example for others to further support buy in. Leaders who take an active role in change reinforcement – offering extra direction and support to employees – may seem like more work upfront, but it vastly reduces change resistance later in the initiative. Additionally, driving change initiatives through leaders means questions can be answered more quickly, employees can receive more hands-on support, and better employee-leader relationship bonds can be built. - View Change as Part of Everyday Company Culture
The pandemic brought a solid push into the future for many organizations. Leaders who were change resistant found they had no choice but to move their organizations into a more agile, technology-driven model or fail. While it was scary for some, for the most part we all learned that successful change could bring growth to our futures and many organizations are now adopting change as part of company culture. We see more language like “flexible”, “agile”, and “learning culture” being used more frequently. By making change a priority, health systems can also proactively hire employees who fit an always-learning culture, bringing more creativity and adaptability into their organization. - Use Data to Drive Change Management
Using data to spearhead change initiatives is the way of the future. Most of us have at least one memory of a change an employer initiated that just didn’t make sense. Even when leaders can give us a why, not backing up that why with data doesn’t make sense. Instead of making assumptions about how an organization should change, or waiting to make a change until the last minute, companies are using data to watch for trends and then act. Utilizing tools like social media, employee engagement apps and surveys, and internal social platforms, healthcare leaders can also gather data to support future change initiatives. Data may also be used to shape future trends, learning what worked well and what areas need improvement. - Humanize Change
Change is a natural part of life, both in work and our personal lives. So then in business, why do we focus so much on how change is hard? Instead, focus your organization on the benefits of change. Change brings opportunities like learning a new skill or technology, improving and growing professional portfolios, developing better teamwork and streamlined processes, and increasing collaboration and creativity. Humanizing change can make the acceptance of change that much easier.
Steps for Implementing Change
So, how do healthcare organizations achieve success through change initiatives? Let’s next cover the high-level steps to a successful OCM:
- Define the Need for Change
What does change look like for your organization? Where did the idea come from? Do you have data to support your vision? Gather your data and your collaboration team and create your future-state. This is your time to really define what and why change is happening. If you can create a clear vision backed by data from the start, employee buy in is so much easier! - Develop a Communication Plan
Communication is the most fundamental key to successful change. Communicate as much as you can and communicate often. We communicate to gain buy in, empower employees to become actively involved, and to keep the organization engaged and informed on what’s happening. - Implement Readiness Events
Readiness events help leaders get a pulse-check on employees and where the organization is on the change journey. This can be as simple as a repeatable employee survey, rating comfort level and knowledge about the coming change. - Solution Adoption
If you did everything right, the implementation should be relatively smooth and exciting for the organization. Successful solution adoption comes with more data. As organizations move through implementation and begin living the “new normal”, begin gathering post-implementation data to compare to the past. If you moved through change thoughtfully, with a clear, data-supported vision in mind – ensuring the organization understood and was willing to adopt the changes – you should see a noticeable improvement in post-implementation data.
About the Author
Debi Smith | Training Manager
Debi is a seasoned and credible leader with a reputation for exceeding customer needs and positively impacting key performance indicators. She carries a unique background with over 10 years of experience bridging healthcare knowledge, data analytics, and quality and operational management together. To learn more about Debi, visit her on LinkedIn.
