Egberdien ten Brink - Social Services Northeast
Egberdien ten Brink, Director, Social Services Northeast
"In 2006, the social services departments of the municipalities of Delfzijl, Appingedam and Loppersum merged to form a single, intermunicipal social services department: ISD Noordoost. By the end of that year, the three different organizations were still very much in the process of becoming integrated with each other, and they all still needed to get used to the new situation. In working on forming a single new organization, the question arose: 'What is already working well and what could be better?'
We opted for the Change Monitor because it was an appropriate intervention for entering into a dialogue with each other about the change process. At that point the employees had a need for more clarity and structure, while many questions had yet to be answered. The Change Monitor showed us that the group of employees had many different ideas about how we might better give shape to the change process.
Among other things, the Change Monitor brought to light that we could improve the communication with the employees. A large series of changes had been introduced in a short period. The style of management could become more personal, with more attention being given to the problems on the work floor. A new organization needs to have a solid basis. With the Change Monitor, we managed to broach the issues that we hadn't yet dealt with.
Working together to find solutions to the problems that parties have jointly identified is something that takes place over a period of time. The style of leadership changes gradually, and there is greater confidence and more room for discussing problem areas and possible solutions. The employees' creativity and capacity for finding solutions also needs time to grow. Likewise, positive milestones throughout the process are necessary for people to be able to notice that they are headed in the right direction.
A Change Monitor will not easily change a culture that has established itself over many years. Using the Change Monitor creates expectations about what the management will end up doing with the results, however. It demands of team leaders that they actually do enter into a dialogue with the employees about the changes that are at stake.
My tip would be to apply the Change Monitor as part of a change process in which there is explicit room for dialogue and a collaborative approach, for example when people are asked to build a new organization together or in the introduction of a new process."