Approach

There are four steps for completing a Change Monitor:

1. Creating conditions: preparing an effective use of the Change Monitor;
2. Knowledge: Filling in the survey that will provide useful information;
3. Art: Holding valuable discussions on what is really important for the change;
4. Integration: Linking action plans with existing processes to bring about embedding.

The approach is determined in close consultation with the client. You also choose if you want to work with the ChangeMonitor or the Innovation Monitor or the Culture Monitor is more suitable. We discuss how step 3 could be done, for example during a working conference. When this is done, everyone would come together to formulate conclusions and develop actions for improvement. This type of working conference increases communication and generates a lot of enthusiasm and commitment.

People can become familiar with the intervention during a brief workshop on the monitoring of change processes. During the workshop, participants will also have a chance to fill in the Preview version of the Change Monitor and to discuss the results immediately. Please contact us if you want to make an appointment for such a workshop.

One example of how these steps can be implemented is given below, although there are many other possibilities as well. A certified senior consultant guides the organization in working with the Change Monitor. Clients can take advantage of the knowledge and experience of the international Change Monitor network either directly or indirectly. That network continuously develops new insights and ensures that the certified senior consultants use a state-of-the-art approach.

1. Creating conditions: preparing an effective use of the Change Monitor

This step involves articulating and coordinating the goal of the Change Monitor and the working method with all parties concerned. This takes place by means of discussions with the principal and later with the managers and employees about what working with the Change Monitor entails, which results can be expected, and which follow-up actions are possible. After those discussions, the management team will decide to start the process. A monitor group consisting of a manager, two employees and a member of the works council will come up with a division of tasks and a schedule. The monitor group will also design a customized survey for the organization and see to the internal communication about the Change Monitor. For this essential first step, we advise seven weeks. A calm start will ensure that all conditions are met in order to benefit maximally from the results of the discussion.

2. Knowledge: Filling in the survey that will provide useful information

In this step, everyone involved is given an opportunity to fill in the survey. Over the course of a week, special meetings will be held at which the employees, the managers and the board of directors can fill in the survey. On the basis of those meetings, people will already begin discussing the approach of the change, the expected results, and the possibilities for tackling any obstacles. This will make the change come alive: people will have opinions about it and be curious about the planned discussion of the results. Although an online version of the survey would be easier to organize, the choice is made for specially organized meetings that will guarantee a high response and emphasize the great importance that the board of directors attaches to working with the Change Monitor.

3. Art: Holding valuable discussions on what is really important for the change

This step comprises two parts. First, the managers go through the results and prepare the discussions within their respective teams. The board of directors and the managers discuss the overall results in general terms. Considering the differences in the results, it is relevant to specify the results per team. That way, each team can discuss its own results and develop appropriate actions for improvement. Prior to that, the managers will discuss how they want to do that, what is necessary in order to make the discussion a success, and what their own role should be in that regard.

Next, each team will discuss its own results, once it has received both the overall results and the results that are specific to the team itself. During the first discussion, the teams decide what they consider to be the most important negative and positive results. In a second meeting, the teams develop a number of proposals for solutions. Finally, each team further specifies exactly what those solutions will entail at its next staff meeting. The managers will see to it that the summaries of the discussions are distributed among all of the teams.

The certified senior consultant masters the art of leading discussions with a variety of techniques such as open exploratory dialogues and focused exchanges on selected topics. The consultant is also trained in translating beautiful ideas into practicable, viable actions. One of the consultant’s important contributions in this step is that he or she sees to it that the discussions fit into the rhythm of the change, but also that the organization will stand to benefit as much as possible from the results of those discussions in what follows.

4. Integration: Linking action plans with existing processes to bring about embedding

This step starts with the realization of the proposed improvements. The certified senior consultant knows that making plans does not automatically lead to their being carried out. Embedding occurs via the management agenda and via the teams. The management team responds to the summaries and indicates which general points will receive attention within the entire organization. The teams then draw up a plan for implementing the solutions. Each team includes the solutions relevant to the team in their team plan for the coming year.

This step concludes with a determination of the results. Before the summer, there will be an interim evaluation of the team plans, including a look at the extent to which solutions have been realized. Each team determines which results were achieved and which areas still need attention. The management team determines the result of the central actions. The monitor group concludes its coordinating role by holding two meetings at which it communicates the results and celebrates the benefits of working with the team plans. Finally, the monitor group proposes working with the Change Monitor once again at the end of the year. That will provide input for the team plans for the coming year.