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CHAPTER SERVICES ADDRESS
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September
2007 |
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Newsletter Sponsor
There are nine specialized knowledge/skill areas in which individuals need to extend their organizational contribution. This month we will focus on facilitating organizational change. We all know that in today’s evolving economy, the ability to facilitate organizational change is more important than ever. Increased global competition and outsourcing opportunities require our companies to be more efficient, effective, and productive. To survive we must figure out how to improve quality while keeping costs down. A client I work with serves as a good example of how to go about doing this. The client has been undergoing significant organizational change in the past few years. While the company holds a sizeable market share for the product it makes, it has been facing increased pressures from both domestic and overseas competitors. In response, it has increased the expectations it places on its employees, with the intent of developing a highly skilled workforce. It has developed SOPs for all the equipment in the plant and has provided training and other resources so every employee becomes proficient on every piece of equipment in every cell. The goal of the company is to create a culture of learning in which all employees are empowered to perform at the highest level possible. Of course transitioning to this new environment has been challenging, but the company has facilitated the organizational change well. They have done so by taking the following key steps: 1. Defining the strategic purpose: Before beginning the transition, the company defined the reasons for the change, establishing goals and determining metrics. It also explored how its mission and values fit with the proposed change and how the change would affect other organizational systems. From this analysis it established a strategic purpose that guided all decisions related to the change. Before implementing a new policy, process, or procedure, leaders would ask, “Does this action support the overall strategic purpose of the organizational change?” 2. Gaining support from stakeholders: As they developed a plan, the managers in charge of facilitating the change got buy-in from the company’s executives, ensuring they had the resources they needed to carry out the process successfully. They also communicated openly with line managers, presenting the reasons for the change, discussing both positive and negative impacts, and directly asking for their support. Finally, they took their case to the employees, seeking input through surveys and company-wide meetings and building acceptance through an ambassador program. 3. Establishing an ongoing communications program: In order to maintain support, the program leaders kept in constant communication with executives, managers, and employees. They developed branded communications, with logos and specific department identifiers, so the staff could easily recognize messages related to the organizational change. They crafted communications to specific audiences in order to convey the most effective messages possible. 4. Creating a supportive environment during the change: As they sought to establish a new culture of learning at the company, those facilitating the organizational change made sure that the employees had the tools they needed to grow. They produced hard copies of training materials and placed them in each department. They also put electronic versions on the company’s intranet so employees had access to them 24 hours a day, both at work and from home. They provided on-the-job training programs to help the workers learn and grow, and they were willing to increase short-term costs (e.g., decreased productivity and efficiencies) for long-term gain. 5. Preparing managers to be role models: Throughout the change process, the company always made sure line managers were prepared to deal with employee concerns. Change leaders prepared the managers for employees’ questions by providing them with a list of FAQs and by giving them the chance to practice through role-playing. The leaders also made sure management’s expectations were clear ,and the managers understood what they, as role models, should do and say to support the change initiative. By taking these steps to facilitate organizational change, the company has successfully achieved the goals it set out in its strategic purpose. A greater number of employees have been cross-trained, and managers have the flexibility to shift them as manufacturing needs change. The managers have stepped up in their efforts to serve as role models, and, in the process, they have become more effective leaders. Morale has increased because employees feel they have the resources to learn and grow. All this has resulted in significant savings to the business: through increased labor and machine efficiencies, as well as reduced scrap and other costs, the company has trimmed $1.5 million from its annual operating expenses. Change like
this does not come easy, of course, and facilitating it requires
thoughtful planning, careful oversight, and a healthy dose of
patience (not to mention nerves of steel). As you can see, however,
the results of effective change management can be tremendous.
In your role as a training and development leader, you play
a significant part in facilitating organizational change, and
I hope the example I’ve provided inspires you and sparks
some ideas to help you along the way.
Special Meeting: Robert Brinkerhoff Using
Evaluation to Drive the Impact of Training
Don't
forget to mark your calendar for 2007! October
26th To order online, click here. You can also contact Mark Records at (317) 841-8202.
By: Michelle Burke On August 24th, CIASTD was pleased to welcome Dr. Thiagi for two special sessions focusing on activities that can be used to make training events more interactive. In order to provide flexible options to members, Dr. Thiagi held two different half-day sessions which could be combined into a full day session. From
the outside looking in, the room must have appeared to be in chaos.
But those in the know were well aware this was organized chaos at its
best. Dr. Thiagi brought participants out of their seats to take part
in a variety of activities to share ideas and knowledge. The end result
was a day full of engaging discussion and immediate take-aways that
could be applied in almost any training situation.
By: Sharon McGuire In honor of the GREAT session with Dr. Thiagi last month, I have reproduced his principles for training, faster, cheaper, and better. If you are interested in getting more activities from Dr. Thiagi, you can subscribe to his e-letter at www.thiagi.com and get monthly infusions of new ideas. 1.
Let the inmates run the asylum. Invite participants
to generate training content and to conduct training activities. Reprinted
from THIAGI GAMELETTER. Copyright © 2007 by The Thiagi Group, Inc.
The 2007 CIASTD
Fall Event will be like no other. We are creating our own community
to leverage learning. On purpose. By design. We will gather together on November 7—and beyond (more about that later)—with the intention to bring alive some of the pivotal concepts of the learning organization model. With that in mind, we will offer information about:
Yes, high-minded—even brilliant--concepts. But how to make those concepts a reality? We will do just that on November 7. Here’s how.
So, if you want the thrill of learning what’s leading edge in learning, coupled with the satisfaction of seeing and hearing how the best in our profession make it all happen in the real world, join us on November 7.
$400 for a table top exhibit space, plus one ticket to the event and a banner ad in our newsletter for one month. You also are in all our literature at the conference. Contact Maureen Hunzicker at 317-845-1550 or Chuck Quakenbush at 317-844-0853 for more information. Sponsors: Various sponsorship
levels are available from $500 to $1500. Contact Vic
Holove or CIASTD Executive Director Mark
Records (317-841-1395) for more information!
CIASTD wants to support your growth! If you are interested in pursuing the CPLP designation and want more information, please contact Andrea Moore, VP of Workplace Learning and Certification at amoore@FlashPointHR.com.
Company: Tyler Consulting I'm just starting my own consulting business. I plan to utilize my experiences in the banking and travel industries and higher education to help organizations with the people side of change management and the full cycle of talent management programs, processes and tools (recruiting, employee engagement, performance management, retention, succession planning, training and development). I'm also hoping to get some sub-contracting work from other consulting organizations in these areas. I became certified in the Prosci and Change Management Learning Center process in September 2006. In Training and Development Since: 1996 Describe
your position at your current employer. What I love
doing most in my job is when I... The thing
I like most about working in training and development is... The book
I read most recently for work is... The book
I most recently read for pleasure is.... What I did
before I worked for my current employer was... I led the implementation of a Job Family System, web-based performance management tool and other tools and processes to promote pay for performance and a high performing culture. I was selected to speak at the National Educause conference in October 2006 on these topics on the Staff Development track. (Educause is a non-profit organization for IT departments in higher education.) My communication staff provided print, web, multimedia and media relations for the IT organization. You may have seen "Discover Purdue" on your PBS channel which is produced by my staff. Our web-based performance management tool was developed by my staff as well. Describe
your childhood and educational experiences. Describe
your family. One of the
times I felt the most success in my life was... If I could
do something I have never done before it would be... If you really
knew me you would know...
By Jim Graham How do you really develop that winning presentation that will get you funds for your next training initiative? There are certain elements that must be considered as you work at gaining senior level support for your sales training initiatives. The list below may help if you have not done this before. Even if you have, it might be worth a quick review of the fundamentals:
w [Top]
Interested in speaking at a future CIASTD meeting? Visit www.ciastd.org for more information.
Each month we are highlighting a training tip. If you have one that you would like to share, please submit to info@ciastd.org by the 10th day of the month.
In each issue of The Facilitator, we will list members that have joined or re-joined CIASTD since the previous issue. Since the last issue of The Facilitator, we have signed 11 new members. To see a list of the new members, click here. Melanie
Hegerfeld, ARAMARK Correctional Services |
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During
the course of this year, I will dedicate many of the regular
President’s
Pen
articles
to the focus areas within ASTD’s competency model (graphic
and explanation found 
