Peer to Peer Magazine

20 level in which change is realized. Perhaps this is because leaders often struggle in translating how change at the organizational level translates to the individual level. Creasey and Olson believe that change practitioners can help individuals manage change by developing models supported by metrics to build adoption and empathize with stakeholders. i I recently graduated from the Prosci Change Management Certification Program and realized I had unknowingly been following the ADKAR® methodolo in my most successful projects. Following that realization, I made the commitment to be more purposeful in future projects and align with a methodolo I know from experience will increase the probability of success. The application of this methodolo begins with the Awareness of change and communicating why technolo, or a process needs to change, and what substantial benefits will be realized by the organization and the individual. This stage of the process requires identifying and engaging sponsors and setting the example of how cultural tensions can be addressed to minimize resistance and support tangible change. For example, in a DMS conversion or upgrade, General Counsel and the Records Management leadership should design creative strategies to communicate challenges presented by the current state and how a new system can lead to time saving retrieval and destruction of client records. This could include a video demonstrating a lawyer's office as he/she struggles locating an important document in a room full of paper files. The next outcome required in the process is Desire. A successful awareness campaign will increase the engagement and support of the change on an individual level by demonstrating the what's in it for me factor, helping users come to a personal choice of becoming an active participant in the process of change adoption. Using the scenario of a DMS conversion, plan on building a coalition of managers to gather information on how the change will affect each group. Often each group will be affected differently. For example, one group may experience minimal disruption in their day- to-day activities, whereas another will have their world turned upside down. Employees will be more likely to get on board if their direct manager is available to listen to objections and concentrates on understanding their concerns and identifying barrier points. For example, the coalition of managers could have a weekly town hall with their respective teams to listen to concerns, ask questions to better understand how the concerns can be resolved, and how individual employees will be impacted. This will engage employees in the change process and increase their desire to support the change. In addition, the coalition of managers would meet with the sponsor bi-weekly to share ideas on resistance management and how the sponsor can communicate in the future to address the needs of key individuals. The third milestone is developing Knowledge. This is a skill we trust we have mastered because we have talented training and support teams in our organization; however, we often jump into this stage prematurely, which can impact the other elements. For example, the support team may not fully understand how each group in the organization will be impacted by the new DMS and will therefore make assumptions on support procedures and processes. By first building an awareness and desire to support the change, the team can collaborate with training on designing appropriate programs and prioritizing the mastery of topics. In other words, training should not be the first time an individual learns about how the change will impact them. The next critical stage is developing the Ability for an individual to put into action the skills and behaviors needed for the change to be successful. Like the Knowledge element, this phase will be supported by a coaching plan that helps managers evolve and lead their teams though the project and a training plan established by understanding the impact of the change on different audiences, the needs of different groups, and documenting the requirements of those that will provide training. For example, during a DMS deployment it would be helpful to have records management staff accessible to users to provide subject matter expertise and frequent interaction with direct managers who can identify gaps in abilities and report these back to the project team. It is important that this element of the model include implementation of a resistance management plan. In the scenario of the DMS upgrade, developing test scripts that validate the correct saving of files by matter is useful in demonstrating the ability to implement the change. A successful awareness campaign will increase the engagement and support of the change on an individual level by demonstrating the what's in it for me factor, helping users come to a personal choice of becoming an active participant in the process of change adoption.

• Cover