Three Passkeys to change management
Lisa C. Stuebing GIS Program Manger Mason County Department of Public Works Mapping Services Center 411 North Fifth Street P.O. Box 1850 Shelton, Washington 98584 Abstract The three passkeys to change management are simple. The successful change agent must a.) Clearly define the shared vision, b.) Value staff creativity, and c.) Keep a sense of motion and of progress. Vision must be defined through consensus of top executives. It must be concise and must be consistently communicated to the management, the staff and the public. Large organizational change cannot be accomplished without leadership. The leadership will only support large-scale change if they understand the course and have helped pilot the direction. Communication of the mission to the staff will encourage creativity. If the staff thoroughly understands the objective, then they will naturally have ideas about how to achieve it. To best manage that creativity, the change agent should clearly define the detailed specifications of successful project completion. The specifications should include expectations on quality, accuracy and timeliness. Once the target has been communicated, the staff needs to be allowed both room and encouragement to complete their assignments. Not only will hidden talents surface but job satisfaction will contribute to successful and lasting change. Large-scale organizational change takes time. A lot of time. Discouragement, distraction and even public disapproval are the risks. These dragons must be vanquished with constant and clever notice of the triumphs. The change agent should both acknowledge the staff members that are muscling in the change and offer laurels to the leadership. These three simple ideas are passkeys that will help any organization overcome the challenges of change management: vision, creativity and demonstrable success. Introduction Who We Are Mason County is a recreational paradise. In summer, the County population triples on account of an offering of: fly fishing in the numerous small lakes, boating in the salt water passages of Hood Canal, hiking and camping on the floor of the Olympic National Rainforest and mountain climbing. Objective Our goal is to build a countywide Geographic Information System (GIS) based on high-quality survey and individually drawn properties as described in legal documents. The Locked Passages Three major barriers to putting a GIS into operation have proved difficult to hurdle. The high cost is significant in a cash-strapped local government. Because funds are tight, the project is high profile and attracts public political interest. Third, the GIS is designed to overarch the operations of all Departments within the County. This is unpopular because each Department has enjoyed an independence of operation and independence valued. Program implementation costs present a significant obstacle. Mason County is struggling to summit and cross the digital divide. The County revenues are primarily timber based and are limited due to the presence of both endangered salmon and spotted owls. Even a positive benefit/cost ratio is difficult to sell to a budget conscious County, because there is still a cost. To put a GIS into service is very expensive. Money spent in survey and data conversion did not immediately produce tangible results. A political watchdog group routinely uses the media to question the outlay. This has caused significant pressure to the elected officials and has affected the continuity of funding. Elected officials wish to distance themselves from any voter disapproval. Departments directed by either appointed or Elected Official’s value their independence. Executives are concerned the system will compromise their operations and focus them in the beam of negative press. In order to successfully implement large-scale organizational change, we had to overcome concerns that: a.) The cost was irresponsibly expensive, b.) An unfinished product meant an unfinishable product, and c.) The product would hobble independent governance of the various Departments. Three Passkeys In order to overcome the barriers to change we held to three key principles. 1. Vision: Clearly define the goal to be met. Map out the details and specifications of achieving those goals. The mission must be clear. 2. Creativity: Respect all those employed in making the change. Allow for creativity in reaching the goals, within specifications. Listen well to input. Allow the staff to help define the process. 3. Milestones: Observe the progress closely. Mark the milestones. Celebrate the progress. Communicate often how well the staff is progressing towards the goal. A Shared Vision Our goal is to build a countywide GIS. This vision was strongly held by a few individuals but was not shared. Buffeted by the winds of public opinion it was difficult to lash together a shared vision. Once a definite commitment was made by those in command of the County, the ranks were able to pull together. Early attempts to build a GIS were thwarted by understaffing, poor planning and lack of executive endorsement. The original effort assigned one person to data conversion. One person was to digitally convert paper maps to computer aided drafting files (CAD). This task, would have taken over 13 years to complete. The employee became discouraged, the vision became diluted and witnesses to the project felt that their suspicions, that a GIS could never be built, were confirmed. One Executive stepped forward and personally championed the cause. He recognized the need to for a comprehensive strategic plan and contracted with a consultant to develop one. He also hired surveyors and technical staff, purchased equipment, and was awarded a software grant. I think he reasoned that inertia could be overcome by momentum. An Executive Steering Committee was formed to guide the momentum. It was a round-table approach. Unfortunately, the high profile project attracted a cautious public. The public observers were unconvinced that the project was a reasonable expenditure. This made the Elected Officials uncomfortable. Department Heads, both on and off of the Steering Committee reassessed their association with the project and eventually Steering Committee meetings stalled and funding dipped. Finally, the Commissioners assigned the County Administrator the tasks of building unity within the County and assuring the public that the project was sound. The commitment of the highest-ranking officials has been reassuring to the citizens and to the officials. Our goal, to build a countywide GIS, could only be realized with a shared vision. Commissioner endorsement has helped subordinate officials to understand that this can be done. Further, that GIS is a service to the departments. It has been demonstrated to have a positive benefit/cost ratio and it is useful tool. It will not control how a department executes its mandate. The program is now in its fourth year. Creativity Mason County experienced over 160% employee turnover in the initial phases of GIS development. Data conversion, necessary to build a survey accurate basemap, will require over 54,000 iterations of the same task. It is mind-numbing work. The employees were able to help improve job satisfaction. Given the Procedure’s Manual to update, employees automated some tasks, shortened some processes and bought time between shipments. The staff was then given an opportunity to devote the time between shipments to developing skills that will soon be in demand. One person is building a state of the art hydrological model while another person is becoming the County demographic expert. Moving from a drafting table and hand drawn cartoon maps to ultra accurate digital maps is a giant change in our local government culture. Allowing employees to help design the process to conform to the product specifications has not only led to better job satisfaction and retention. It has also led to visible interim products that have helped keep the project vital. Milestones Improved job satisfaction and permission to develop key projects by the staff have helped to draw positive attention to the Mapping Services Department. The hydrological project will eventually collect near real-time flood crest data from the internet. The model will not only serve the Public Works Department but also those charged with protecting endangered salmon. When one of our highways floods, the salmon are tricked into swimming across the road into a farmers field. This attracts negative attention now, but will be avoidable in the future. Citizens, as well as engineers and salmon are benefiting from the special projects. Simple plots of the demographics were made and donated to a nonprofit group. The group is charged with identifying housing solutions for lower income citizens. They were immediately deemed useful and more refined work is on the drawing board. Allowing for creativity improved production on a long and dull process. Valuing employee input has made not only a better process, but also a better workplace and a better reputation for the Department. The results shed a positive light on the program, which was needed to maintain a sense of success and motion. It has led to continued and enthusiastic support from once tentative executives. Conclusion Wholesale change, on a countywide scale, is an enormous effort. Lasting change can only be accomplished with:
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