Engaging Staff in Change Management: HR Transformation Process in the School of Medicine and Public Health

Engaging Staff in Change Management: HR Transformation Process in the School of Medicine and Public Health Brian Gittens, EdD, SPHR, SCP-HR Associate Dean of HR, Equity, and Inclusion

Session Agenda Overview of the School of Medicine and Public Health (`SMPH) Discussion of perceptions of HR support Review of the SMPH HR Transformation within the context of Kotter s Change Management process

Context: School of Medicine and Public Health Nation s first School of Medicine and Public Health There are over 2,700 (approximately 1,300 clinical faculty) total faculty and 2,800 staff in the UWSMPH. In addition, there are almost 1000 non-paid appointments and student employees. The School of Medicine is comprised of 26 departments (16 in the clinical sciences and 10 in the basic sciences) and 16 centers and institutes. There are approximately 60 HR professionals within the School

Perceptions of SMPH HR Lack of consistency and standardization Lack of clarity of processes and procedures Role ambiguity Inefficiency of processes Not seen as a strategic partner

Changes Needed Meet customer needs and place the customer first Be streamlined and efficient Provide value-added work across Human Resources Meet first-time quality standards Eliminate waste, rework and unnecessary redundancy Design an organizational structure that supports efficiency, effectiveness, and improved customer service Implement performance metrics designed to track and identify improvements and establish a baseline for future improvements

John Kotter s Change Process Establishing a Sense of Urgency Creating the Guiding Coalition Developing a Vision and Strategy Communicating the Change Vision Empowering Employees for Broad-based Action Generating Short Term Wins Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture

Step 1: Establishing a Sense of Urgency With low urgency, it is difficult to convince others to act or put together a strong guiding coalition. Creating Urgency Remove sources of complacency or mitigate their impact Requires bold moves removing excess, setting high standards, etc. Essentially creating a crisis May increase conflict and anxiety initially What is the role of crises and how can leaders manufacture it to increase urgency?

Creating Urgency in SMPH New Leadership with new perspectives and expectations Fiscal accountability HR Redesign process Office of Quality Improvement interviews and data collection of stakeholder perspectives

Step 2: Creating the Guiding Coalition Coalitions are needed to develop the right vision, communicate it broadly, eliminate obstacles, generate short-term wins, and lead and manage dozens of projects. Develop a common goal sensible to the head and appealing to the heart. Guiding Coalition Characteristics Position Power key line managers, etc. Expertise diversity of perspective Credibility good reputations, political currency Leadership Proven leadership and trust

SMPH Guiding Coalition UW School of Medicine and Public Health Core Team The Core Team, includes SMPH Departments, Dean s Office and Campus HR help define scope and change. Project Management and Sponsorship Project Manager, OQI Facilitators, Sponsored by COO. Ad Hoc Other individuals may be brought in by Project Teams as Subject Matter Experts for one or more meetings Project Teams About 34 SMPH people will serve on Project Teams 11 from the Dean s Office 23 SMPH individuals from 17 different departments 6 people from central campus HR functions Team members and Co-Leads have been selected to provide a mix of backgrounds (inside and outside SMPH); mix of experience levels and skillsets

Step 3: Developing a Vision and Strategy Authoritarian decrees and micromanagement is not effective for transforming organizations. Why? Vision in the context of change leadership refers to a picture of the future with some implicit or explicit commentary on why people should strive to create that future Strategy articulates the logic or pathway for how the vision can be achieved Motivates people to take action in the right direction Helps coordinate the actions of different people in an fast and efficient manner

Characteristics of an Effective Vision Imaginable: Conveys a picture of what the future will look like Desirable: Appeals to the long-term interest of key stakeholders Feasible: Comprises realistic, attainable goals Focused: Is clear enough to provide guidance in decision making Flexible: Is general enough to allow individuals initiative and alternative responses in changes conditions Communicable: Is easy to communicated, can be explained within 5 minutes.

Developing a Vision Consistency Transparency 13

UW School of Medicine and Public Health Developing Vision Peer benchmarking and other research revealed clear themes regarding the components essential to successful HR organizations, including Academic Medical Centers: Shared Services: Administrative and transactional activities as well as resolution of day-to-day queries Operational Excellence: Centralizing basic HR operations improves quality, consistency, and data accuracy Business Partnerships: HR personnel are strategically assigned to business partners (e.g., departments) for which they are responsible for delivering high levels of service Specialized HR Services: HR functions requiring high expertise in niche or high-risk areas are delivered by subject matter experts reporting to central HR Envision These Best Practices at SMPH Note: information sources and institutions researched include, but are not limited to, Deloitte s High-Impact HR Operating Model (2014), Mercer s Next Generation HR Service Delivery Model (2012), University of Virginia s One HR project, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Duke University, and the University of Indiana

High Level Strategic Approach Create and finalize the initial Statement of Work & Work Plan Identify critical stakeholders Develop and execute a data collection plan for all HR processes within project scope Assess and prioritize improvement opportunities Propose improvement opportunities to implement Develop and execute strategies for implementing improvements Develop and implement plan to sustain improvements Document new policies and procedures Form a Core Project Team Finalize initial scope the project A phased launching of several work groups

Milestone Understand current-state processes Collect data regarding current-state processes Generate possible solutions Evaluate possible solutions and recommendations Conduct high-level implementation planning Draft final report ready for Core Team review Complete final report Understand current-state processes Collect data regarding current-state processes Generate possible solutions Evaluate possible solutions and recommendations Conduct high-level implementation planning Draft final report ready for Core Team review Complete final report Understand current-state processes Collect data regarding current-state processes Generate possible solutions Evaluate possible solutions and recommendations Conduct high-level implementation planning Draft final report ready for Core Team review Complete final report Understand current-state processes Collect data regarding current-state processes Generate possible solutions Evaluate possible solutions and recommendations Conduct high-level implementation planning Draft final report ready for Core Team review Complete final report Understand current-state processes Collect data regarding current-state processes Generate possible solutions Evaluate possible solutions and recommendations Conduct high-level implementation planning Draft final report ready for Core Team review Complete final report Understand current-state processes Collect data regarding current-state processes Generate possible solutions Evaluate possible solutions and recommendations Conduct high-level implementation planning Draft final report ready for Core Team review Complete final report May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 Aug 2016 Sept 2016 Oct 2016 Nov 2016 Dec 2016 HR Communications Position Requisition Onboarding Salary Administration Recruit Faculty Recruit Staff

17 SMPH Human Resources: Target State by FY19 Associate Dean Human Resources, Equity and Inclusion Vacant Program Asst Conf Director HR Operations (1) Employee Relations (2) ER Manager ER Coordinator HR Operations (2) Operations Manager Operations Coordinator Small Clinical (7) HR Manager +4 HR BP +1 HR OPS + 1P/B Basic Science & Research (8) HR Manager +5 HR BP +1 HR ops +1 P/B Large Clinical & Administration (7) HR Manager +4 HR BP +1 HR OPS +1 P/B DOM (6) HR Manager +3 HR BP +1 HR OPS +1 P/B Team E (7) HR Manager +4 HR BP +1 HR OPS +1 P/B Diversity Outreach and Communications Faculty Promotions (4) 4 Promotions Coordinators Recruitment (2) (2) HR Specialists Key Assumptions: Technology leveraged to decrease need for HR FTE Proposed process improvements implemented Stability of trained HR workforce SMPH workforce size remains stable Comp/Class (1) (1) HR Specialist

Step 4: Communicating the Change Vision Guiding coalition spends an enormous amount of time on the intellectual and emotional task of vision making The guiding coalition goes through the process of letting go of the status quo, letting go of alternative futures, coming to grips with the needed sacrifices, and developing trust, etc. Then they expect others in the organization to be readily accepting of the vision without going through the same process. The result is that a gallon of information is dumped into a river of routine communication, where it is quickly diluted, lost, and forgotten (Kotter)

Communication of the SMPH HR Vision Leader as messenger HR Monthly forums Project Team meetings Department Administrator meetings Individual meetings with HR professionals, OHR, department chairs Meetings with Dean s Leadership team to confirm continued support

Step 5: Empowering Employees for Broad-based Action Transformations must be decentralized Broad base of people need to be empowered by removing barriers to the implementation of the change vision There are four types of barriers: structures, skills, systems, and supervisors Structural barriers include: Organizational Structure Compensation systems Hiring and Selection Information systems Operating in Silos

Empowering HR Professionals in SMPH Creating a new organizational structure that minimizes silos and provides role clarity Developing data and information system access Training on the Business partners Hiring new talent into the new model Continuing to reinforce and reward for desired behaviors Continuing to communicate change vision with leadership

Step 6: Generating Short Term Wins Importance of Short Term Wins Helps build credibility to sustain change efforts over the long run Provides evidence that effort put into change is paying off Reward change efforts with a pat on the back Helps fine-tune vision and strategies by providing concrete data Undermines critics and self-serving resisters Keeps bosses on board Builds momentum and maintains urgency

Short-term Wins in SMPH New HR support for Basic Science departments, Centers, and Administration Better coordinated Employee Relations process Consolidated HR operations Communication of processes and procedures Coordination of compliance Salary Administration Internal Equity Review process More transparent salary review process

Step 7: Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change More change, not less as new issues emerge and more projects are added More people are recruited to assist in change effort Leadership continues to clarify vision and maintain urgency Delegated leadership to junior leaders to implement change projects Reduce unnecessary interdependencies

SMPH HR Examples of Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change Details emerge and sub-projects identified as new processes developed Continue to engage OQI on a deeper dive into information system consolidation, Basic Science shared services, and faculty/ staff onboarding Challenge leaders to own process and manage changes in their purview Untangle unnecessary interdependencies i.e. Basic Sciences implementation

Step 8: Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture Key questions: What is organizational culture? What shapes organizational culture? What reinforces organizational culture? Depends on results successes are adopted into culture Requires lots of communication to support the validity of new behaviors May involve turnover of key people to change culture Makes decisions on succession crucial

Planting the Seeds of Cultural Change Create quality improvement culture Supporting professional development Modeling behavior Communication and transparency Customer service focus Continue to engage and empower staff at levels Leading projects Owning processes Develop performance indicators

Conclusion Change involves both management and leadership skills An effective change vision is imperative to motivate and drive desired behaviors Large scale change is complex and involves a multitude of stakeholders Sustained change requires embedding the changes into the culture and systems (performance management, compensation, policies)

Questions and Discussion

Change Example