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Change Management Assessment 3 Answers

Project

 

Instructions:

 

This assessment consists of two parts. Trainer may decide whether this will be an individual or a group assessment.

If you are not sure about any aspect of this assessment, please ask for clarification from your Trainer.

 

Duration:

 

Trainer will set the duration of the assessment.

 

Your tasks (Specifications)

 

Part A

 

You must submit copies of:

 

• one survey
• drafts of communications and overall project plans to indicate review of plans (including highlighted strategic element/s)
• planning and support documents for your 15–20 minute information session (such as a plan for the session, PowerPoint presentation, handouts, and a creative activity for gaining trust and acceptance of change process)

 

Your trainer will be looking for:

 

• knowledge of change management process.
• knowledge of components of change management project plan.
• knowledge of specific organisational requirements from the scenario.
• knowledge of potential barriers to change from the scenario.
• knowledge of a range of techniques for embedding change and gaining trust.
• leadership skills to gain acceptance of plan and gain trust.
• innovation skills to develop creative ways of getting people to accept change.
• planning and organising skills.
• problem-solving skills to respond to barriers to change.
• project management skills to implement change management strategy.
• teamwork skills to consult with relevant groups for input.
• verbal communication skills to describe and promote change management plan.

 

Part B

 

You must provide:

 

• action plans for transition, communication.
• two contingency plans related to transition and communication action plans.
• amended action plans and contingency plans based on data in part 2 of the scenario 2.
• evaluation and continuous improvement schedule.

 

Your trainer will be looking for:

 

• application of quality management and continuous improvement theories to planning and scheduling activities.
• application of creativity and innovation theories to scheduling evaluation and continuous improvement.
• application of organisational learning principles to continuous improvement planning.
• application of sustainability practices to planning/revising plans.
• analytical skills to identify improvement opportunities based on data in the scenario.
• demonstration of creativity skills to think laterally and identify improvement opportunities to revise activities based on data in the scenario.
• demonstration of learning skills to develop options for continuous improvement from data in the scenario.

 

 

Appendix 3

 

Scenario 1 – Task: Fast Track Couriers Pty Ltd

 

It is the end of the financial year and one month into the implementation of a change management strategy. You are hearing that the implementation has not achieved the employee’s trust, understanding and support that you expected and is essential for success, particularly among truck drivers.

You are an external change management consultant employed by Fast Track Couriers to revise the communications strategy. You have been asked by the General Manager to develop and deliver an innovative and more effective communications plan.

Following the communications plan (provided in Appendix 4), you will need to evaluate the management of truck drivers through the change management process. Develop a survey to gauge trucker opinion on the following ten dimensions of employee satisfaction:

 

Dimension	Description
Training	Adequate for role?
Role Clarity	Are roles and responsibilities clear?
Trust	Do employees trust the change management (CM) process and management?
Evaluation	Is performance fairly measured?
Leadership	Is leadership adequate and does it inspire confidence?
Communication	Is communication clear and two-way?
Procedures	Are there clear and effective procedures to follow?
Recognition	Is performance recognised?

 

 

Diversity	Are individual differences valued and appreciated by Fast Track Couriers?
Team work	Is team work encouraged and promoted?

 

Once you have completed the survey, meet with the union representative (trainer) to discuss results and get additional input.

Draft a revised communications plan to conform to the identified risks in the risk management analysis.

After you have gathered input, meet with the General Manager (trainer) to discuss your suggested revision of the communications plan.

You will then need to implement the revised plan. Part of the revised communications plan will include a 15– 20 minute information session that you will deliver to the employees.

 

Goals

 

FTC has the following goals for the Change Management strategy:

• Goal A: Implement PDA/GPS usage (productivity function) on truck fleet in the first quarter of the 2012 financial year.
• Goal B: Implement one person/truck policy using automatic lift gates in the first quarter of the 2012 financial year.

Achievement of these goals should increase net profit in the next financial year by $200,000 due to increased efficiencies and increased business.

Goal A is essential to the business to ensure (in the following order of importance):

1. Most efficient use of resources to cover market needs. Management will look at more than the raw hours spent on job and consider all factors such as job difficulty, traffic conditions in order to optimise fleet usage.
2. Job performance measurement for training needs.
3. Recognition of outstanding performance (bonuses for exceeding targets; advancement/ leadership opportunities).

 

Goal B is essential to the business to ensure:

 

• Most efficient use of resources to cover market needs.
• Reduced need to hire external truckers and use present employees as much as possible.
• Reduced possibility of lifting injury.

 

Scenario 2– Implement an innovative process Part 1 – Implementation

John Jones, a Production Manager at A. C. Gilbert, has developed an idea for improving efficiencies in the manufacturing process at A. C. Gilbert. The idea came as a result of the innovative ideas program, and John has successfully trialed the program on one line in the processing plant.

The program has been evaluated and found to be successful, and you are now in the process of implementing the program company-wide.

 

Overview of the program

 

The goal of the program is to increase productivity, reduce waste, improve sustainability, and reduce errors on production lines by 20% by allocating specialist team members to individual lines.

A secondary goal is to reduce staff turnover from an average of 32% per annum to 20% per annum, thus improving the skill levels and efficiencies of the plant and reducing costs in recruiting and training new staff.

Production staff and process workers will be divided into five different teams. Each team will be responsible for the manufacturing of five product lines. Team members will only work on their specialty line, and rosters will be altered to ensure adequate staff on each line during the 12-hour production cycle. This may involve changes to staff rosters, in some cases by implementing 12-hour shifts, but will not impact on earnings or result in the loss of any hours of work.

John also suggested involving teams in goal and objective setting for their own product lines. Each month they meet to develop production and error rate projections for the next, with a goal to continuously improving both rates to achieve a maximum of 4% error rate and a 40% increase in productivity within 24 months. Current error rates are at 22%.

To incorporate this change, production lines will be closed for 48 hours for re-tooling. During this period, staff will be re-trained in the production of their designated lines by shift supervisors. Training required will include technical training, motivational training and quality control procedures along with goal and objective setting workshops.

 

Costs

 

It is projected that the costs incurred for the change will be:

 

Development costs
●       Initial trial	$150,000
Implementation costs
●       Re-tooling the production line ●       Training ●       Loss of productivity	$1.2 million $20,000 $50,000
Ongoing costs
●       Initial errors and reduced productivity	$150,000

 

Anticipated savings

 

By implementing the above measures the following savings have been budgeted:

 

• savings of $300,000 per annum in staff turnover costs.
• savings of $1 million per annum in lost productivity and errors.
• savings of $200,000 per annum in service and repairs costs to equipment.

 

Benefits and concerns

 

During the trial, a number of advantages and concerns were identified. There were initial fears that staff would become bored and complacent, continually producing the same lines. Analysis during the pilot found that, after the first week, staff became quite ’proud‘ of their output and felt a degree of ownership for the lines they were responsible for. Morale improved in a ’team’ environment.

Employees were initially reluctant to participate in setting their own error and productivity targets. They tended to over-estimate the percentages and did not wish to commit to large improvements. Managers feel it will take some time and training in understanding the financials and operational reports for them to set realistic targets.

Many employees lack formal education and some have limited English, which was also an area of concern when trying to involve them in what they perceived to be ‘management decisions’. This style of management is a huge change in the workplace. Most employees were used to being lectured for making mistakes, rather than encouraged to participate in decision-making and feeling like they have some ownership of the process and outcomes. There is some reluctance and anxiety involved as a degree of resistance from some long-term employees, who feel they are being asked to do a management job and should be paid accordingly.

 

Management fear there could be some industrial relations implications.

 

Other concerns revolve around productivity levels during the transition. It is understood that it will take some time for employees to operate at full productivity, as they will be working on new production lines and different products. Concerns that deliveries won’t be met and customers disadvantaged is a key concern for management.

From a technology standpoint, the new production lines will be faster and more efficient. However, the current service technicians are used to the old lines and lack the experience to service and maintain the new equipment. It is possible that breakdowns could impact on production targets.

 

Part 2 – Follow-up

Make the following assumptions:

• The new program has been in place for eight weeks with the following outcomes:
  • productivity has decreased by 8% to 66%
  • delays on the line have increased by 10%
  • waste has increased by 10%
  • error rates have fallen by 2% to 20%
  • 15 out of 300 staff have resigned since the new program was introduced, including two shift supervisors.
• After 16 weeks:
  • productivity remains at 66%.
  • delays on the lines have improved and are now at pre-change levels.
  • error rates have remained steady at 20%.
  • staff levels have remained steady.
• The following comments were raised at a staff forum held two months after the
  • New machines are very different, training was not sufficient.
  • Employees feel that figures don’t mean much to them – they are struggling to understand what % rates have to do with their day-to-day workload.
  • Employees understand the importance of sustainability, but have no idea how to apply sustainable practices to workplace or amend own work practices to make them more sustainable.
  • New rosters have been unpopular with some.
  • 12 hour shifts were introduced to keep teams together but they are causing difficulties for staff with regards to managing their families.
  • Longer shifts are also resulting in people becoming tired and making errors.
  • The OHS representative is concerned that injuries might increase as a result.

 

Appendix 4– Progress of implementation

 

The project manager has prepared the following progress report:

 

Green: Completed

 

Amber: In progress

 

Red: Not completed

 

 

Reporting element	Measures	Status
Change goal	Goal A: Implement PDA/ GPS usage (productivity function) on truck fleet in the first quarter of the 2012 financial year.	RED
Project management	Delivery of project activities as per project plan for each stream	Overall status:
	People	GREEN
	Process	GREEN
	Technology	GREEN
	Structure.	GREEN
Stakeholder Management	Stakeholders engaged and comfortable with current position.	RED
Communication	Communication plan activities on schedule.	GREEN
Education	Education plan activities on schedule.	RED
Cost benefits	Project budget on track.	RED
	Cost benefits on track to be realised.	RED
Risk Management	Risk management plan effectively managing risk.	RED

 

Appendix 5– Risk management analysis

 

Risk/Barriers	Impact	Likelihood	Strategies for mitigating risk
Lack of trust regarding use of productivity data. Refusal to implement.	High impact	Medium	Communications and training to outline business need. ‘Tracking productivity helps improve the efficiency of operations, where and when resources are deployed; it is not a tool to performance manage or penalise individuals.’ Address employee concerns.
Perceived threat to job security Resistance to implementation.	High impact	High	Explain connection between business expansion plans and: ·         increased job security: because of the need for drivers to support expansion; because overall profitability and health of the business reduces risk to everyone ·         benefit of training and consequent increase in employability due to new skills.
Industrial action.	High impact	Medium	Address employee concerns. Gain trust and acceptance.

 

Appendix 6 – Communications plan

 

Audience	Message (with strategic elements)	When	Communicatio n method	Person responsible
HR manager	Change management strategy – duties of HR manager.	9 am–10 am, 1 July 2012.	Email (invite with agenda). Face-to-face (office training room).	CM consultant
Trucking/ operational manager	Change management strategy – duties of trucking manager.	11.30 am– 12.30 pm, 1 July 2012.	Email (invite with agenda). Face-to-face (office training room).	HR manager

 

Audience	Message (with strategic elements)	When	Communicatio n method	Person responsible
Management team	Change management strategy – duties of HR manager.	2 pm–3 pm, 1 July 2012.	Email (invite with agenda). Face-to-face (office training room).	HR manager
Trucking team	Change management strategy impacts to trucking team. Duties of truckers – provide an explanation of what will be required. Business need – Gain support by emphasising possible negative effects on jobs if change does not happen. Training schedule – emphasise mandatory nature and threaten performance review consequences for non- compliance.	9 am–10 am, 4 July 2012.	Email	HR manager (assistant may draft)
Sales team	Change management strategy summary. Benefits to organisation.	11 am– 11.30 am, 4 July 2012.	Face-to-face (office training room).	Sales manager to run team meeting
Office team: Accountant; Administrative support person	Change management strategy summary. Benefits to organisation.	11.30 am– 12 pm, 4 July 2012.	Face-to-face (office training room).	Office manager to run team meeting
Truckers (All other employees to receive brief summary only)	Request for feedback.	three weeks post- training.	Feedback survey on ten dimensions of employee satisfaction.	New CM consultant to design and implement. HR Manager to research benchmarking.

 

Appendix 7 – Background information: Fast Track Couriers Pty Ltd

 

About Fast Track Couriers

 

Fast Track Couriers is a courier company that has been operating in New South Wales for the last 15 years. Its primary business function is delivering medium to large size packages across metropolitan Sydney.

 

Strategic plan goals

 

The organisation’s strategic goals are:

 

• To expand business in the metropolitan area so that small to medium package deliveries market share increases by 5%.
• To expand the business to include small and medium package deliveries to regional NSW.
• To develop an integrated approach to distribution management utilising technology such as PDA devices and GPS.
• To develop and maintain a cohesive and well-motivated workforce.

 

Strategic goals are supported by the following operational and human resources goals.

 

Operational plan goals

 

• Testing of the distribution management system is to cease and allow implementation within the first quarter of the 2012 financial year.
• The truck fleet will need to be expanded by 8 trucks within the 2012 financial year.
• Small distribution hubs will be positioned at Maitland, Goulburn, Nowra and Bathurst each manned by two employees within the next eighteen months.
• Fast Track Couriers will complete 20% of deliveries to regional locations in the next three years.

 

Human resources goals:

 

• To incorporate a Human Resources function to facilitate the changes in workforce management in the first quarter of the 2012 financial year.
• Introduce professional development and training to achieve organisational goals and promote understanding of organisation’s strategic goals in the first quarter of the 2012 financial year.
• Eliminate industrial relations problems in the 2012 financial year. Conclude negotiations with employees and union.
• Eliminate lifting injuries.

 

People/structure

 

Fast Track Couriers has implemented and recruited the people required to fill the roles in the following organisational structure:

 

 

Managerial duties/role description

 

General manager/CFO	Oversees company; approves major business decisions such as strategic goals, change management initiatives; reports to board of directors; prepares financial reports.
HR manager	Oversees and implements change management programs; collect feedback, assessment results, and all other data regarding change management; provides report to GM on implementation of major changes; oversees recruitment.
Sales manager	Coordinates sales team; provides sales team training; manages performance of sales team.
Trucking /operations manager	Coordinates activities of trucking team; manages performance of trucking team; compiles productivity reports; manages operations, authorises purchasing of operational equipment etc.
Office manager	Coordinates activities of accountant and administrative support. Authorises payroll.

 

Background to workforce management and relations

 

The company communicates with employees via email for head office employees and a printed monthly newsletter for drivers. The company provides information regarding policies procedures through documented manuals that are held in each truck as an employee manual. Office-based staff can access copies of these manuals at the office.

 

All trucks are fitted with a GPS system to assist drivers with navigating to each pick up and drop off location. Trucks are also assigned a PDA that provides drivers with the details of each pick up and drop off and records when a job starts and finishes. The data from this device is sent back to head office to monitor job progress but is not used to complete productivity reporting. When this device was introduced, drivers were not happy as they felt the organisation was saying that it did not trust the drivers to manually record the time spent on each job. Many of the drivers also resented having to learn how to use the device and thought it was a waste of time.

 

Head office employees work very closely together and are a very cohesive and motivated team. They are positive about the organisation’s direction and respond well to change.

 

Drivers have historically reacted negatively to change. Change implemented in the past has met with resistance and was therefore difficult to implement. Drivers have in the past done their best to block any changes from being implemented, even going to the lengths of threatening strike action and having the union involved to assist with resolving the issue.

 

Fast Track Couriers currently allocates two drivers per truck to ensure that drivers are able to load and unload heavy packages. The strategy going forward is to remove the need for having two drivers per truck by installing an automatic lift gate on the back of each gate at a cost of $10,000 per truck. This will mean that only one driver is needed per truck as no heavy lifting will be required.

 

It is Fast Track Couriers’ intention to use these surplus drivers to drive the new trucks that will be purchased to enable the company to extend its services to regional NSW.

 

Drivers are currently happy with the work environment as they enjoy working as part of a two-man team. The organisation typically leaves the drivers alone and lets them do their job as this is what seems to make them happy. Management has tried in the past to have drivers participate in organisational activities. These activities were not received positively and the drivers complained and asked not to be involved. The drivers’ view is that their preferred team is their two-man driver team and they only see the benefits of that specific working arrangement. There is a high value placed on communication with trucking team members.

 

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