Fletcher Building

The business need

Fletcher Building was in the early stages of an ambitious culture change across all divisions and all business units. The culture change was to be supported by a training programme that would teach a new approach to health and safety in the workplace.

Fletcher Building had selected and trained a group of trainers to roll-out the training to the business. However before they started to deliver the programme, change leaders wanted to know how ready the trainers were for this vital role, and what did they need from managers to make it happen?

What we did

Changeability began by spending some time getting a very clear understanding of the project and its goals. Having identified exactly what Fletcher wanted to assess amongst the group of trainers, a unique online survey was created and implemented involving 48 staff.

After an initial analysis of the survey results, a group of 15 respondents were invited to participate in a 2-hour focus group designed to drill down into issues and themes highlighted in the survey. Finally a straightforward report, designed to assist Fletcher Building in maximizing the success of their planning, was prepared and delivered to the change leaders.

Outcomes

The survey, focus group and subsequent report gave a clear picture of how prepared the trainers were for the job of rolling out this vital training across the business and what support managers could give them that would be helpful. The report included ideas and solutions from the group and simple recommendations on where managers needed to focus.

What the customer said

“The Changeability report shone a bright light on the needs of our trainers and identified issues we just simply hadn’t thought about. The knowledge gained from using these external facilitators has meant that we can target the issues of real importance and as a result we’re much more confident of a good result for the change process”.

Hans Buwalda, Environment, Health and Safety Manager, Infrastructure Division, Fletcher Building

New Zealand Blood Service

The business need

Since 1998 the New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) has been helping to meet the health needs of New Zealanders by providing safe, appropriate and timely access to blood and tissue products and other related services.

A decision was made that their established IT system, used for managing the traceability of blood from donor to recipient, no longer met modern standards for resiliency and in 2010 NZBS embarked on a major project to upgrade the system.

As a fundamental business critical change it was important that everything was done to help ensure this upgrade was a success. Change often fails due to lack of engagement from key people and NZBS were keen to avoid such a costly failure.

The project team identified Lead Users as fundamental to successful implementation. Their role was to be pivotal in helping to deliver training to Users and ensuring that the move from one system to another was smooth and effective.
Change Leaders wanted to increase engagement and to identify any unforseen barriers or risks that, if left hidden, could impede or even derail the process. They wanted to assess the readiness of their Lead Users to play their part in this important change and wanted some practical recommendations on where to target their management resources to increase the likelihood of success.

What we did

Changeability provided the perfect solution for NZ Blood. Their experience in using a solid evidence and research based approach to supporting successful change was invaluable. All Lead Users attended a Moving Through Change workshop which provided an engaging mix of practical input, group activities and facilitator led discussion. The workshop included the Changeability Readiness Assessment and resulted in each Lead User completing their own action plan on how to play their part in delivering the change successfully.

Data captured during the workshops was collated and analysed by Changeability’s psychologist in order to make practical recommendations to strengthen the change process and deliver the outcomes of the project for NZ Blood.
A report was delivered to Change Leaders containing the recommendations and simple justifications, together with a snapshot of the key themes and messages gathered from Lead Users during the workshops.

Outcomes

The workshops and subsequent recommendations were an essential part of the risk management process and helped NZ Blood to deliver the change on time and to specification. Lead Users were engaged and motivated to play their crucial part in the implementation process while Change Leaders were able to apply a number of practical recommendations, based on an accurate analysis of what was needed, to ensure the change process would be successful.

What the customer said

“The Changeability report provided an accurate view of issues and barriers that could compromise the acceptance of the new system. After analysing the data they were able to give us some clear and concise recommendations. These enabled us to focus management time in the right areas and helped us to deliver the project outcomes and avoid any costly delays. I particularly liked the fact that it was not just a bunch of findings but the report told us exactly what we had to do to make sure the change was a success – it even prioritised the actions for us.”

John Cox, Project Manager, NZ Blood

“The workshop significantly increased the level of engagement shown by Lead Users at a crucial stage of the change. They came out of the workshop positively glowing and highly motivated to play their part. Delivering the project on time was vital and the Changeability workshop was very important in helping us to achieve such a positive result.”

Allison Eldon, Change Manager, NZ Blood

Westpac Bank

The business need

As an integral part of the Christchurch communities Westpac New Zealand understood that it was their responsibility to come to the immediate aid of staff during such a traumatic time, providing support and counsel to employees and their families. Despite the most courageous attempts by employees to be resilient, many struggled to cope with the trauma of the quakes and the associated uncertainty. Overwhelmed by a flood of powerful emotions these employees found it difficult to adjust to a life that had been changed forever. While counselling provided short-term relief, Westpac understood that their employees needed the support of a long-term program to help them get through. They also believed that retaining their workforce was critical to preserving their invaluable customer base. This meant empowering staff with a set of tools to ensure they had the resilience to overcome adversity and remain emotionally stable during difficult times. As a result Westpac sought to engage an organisation capable of helping staff work through the trauma of the past earthquakes, as well as provide employees with the skills to overcome future challenges.

What we did

Changeability provided the perfect solution for Westpac. Their experience in trauma recovery and supporting communities through adversity ensured they could lay the foundations for the long-term wellbeing of Westpac staff. Furthermore Changeability was a not-for-profit social enterprise, meaning Westpac could be certain that any proceeds would be filtered back for community benefit. Working closely with employees, Changeability sought to instil a culture of sustainable resiliency at Westpac. Personal resiliency workshops gave staff the opportunity to come together and share their experiences. They also provided the chance for staff to take the time to assess their own levels of resilience. These exercises provided insight into the strengths and weaknesses of each individual, and allowed personal long-term resiliency action plans to be developed. The second phase of workshops held by Changeability focused on distress management in the workplace. By working staff through different scenarios Changeability and Westpac were able to collaboratively develop a distress management framework which provided employees with a set of tools to effectively manage customers during difficult circumstances, preventing situations from escalating and preserving valuable relationships.

Outcomes

The workshops run by Changeability returned the self-belief to Westpac staff. As one employee explained, “it was just such a relief to understand my own emotions and to know that others felt the same way”. This relief provided peace of mind for employees moving forward, and together with the distress management framework gave employees renewed confidence that they could continue to provide a great service whatever the future would throw at them. “I’m just so much more confident in myself and my ability to deal with stressful situations in the future” explained one employee, while others stressed the practical nature of the solutions that Changeability provided. “The framework Changeability gave us was just so practical – not only will I be able to take away the resiliency ideas and practice them, but I will be able to implement the distress management guidelines immediately.” In choosing to work with Changeability, Westpac understood that they couldn’t predict the future, but they sure could plan for it.

What the customer said

“Focusing on the emotional wellbeing of our employees has helped us to safeguard the future of our business.  Now Westpac can now look ahead with confidence and excitement to work with the communities of Christchurch and build a stronger, more prosperous city.”

Joanne Nicol, Head of Organisational Development, Westpac

Royal New Zealand Plunket Society

The business need

As part of a programme of organisational change, Plunket was looking to implement a new method of service delivery. It was vital that the organisation understood how key change leaders were orientated to the change, and what they needed to navigate it successfully. Plunket also wanted simple to use tools which managers could employ to support their direct reports through the change. It was essential that any intervention from Changeability be well aligned with the culture Plunket was looking to develop.

What we did

A two-stage process was designed to meet the needs at Plunket. Firstly, Changeability ran a workshop for both area managers and clinical leaders giving them an opportunity to develop their own personal action plan to engage in the change more successfully. A report was provided to the HR change leader, highlighting areas of strength in delivering the change and potential barriers that needed attention. Secondly, a workshop was held for the area managers so that they could better reflect on what the change meant for them and to provide them with an assessment tool to more effectively support their teams.

Outcomes

The first workshop created the opportunity for many useful conversations to identify what was needed both individually and collectively to implement the change successfully. The train-the trainer format of the second workshop allowed area managers to look deeper into the change and consider what it meant from both an organisational and leadership perspective. As a result confidence around leading the change was increased.

What the customer said

“Changeability uses a model that managers and staff can easily understand. Staff who attended Changeability got real value from it”.

Susan Todd, Organisational Development Consultant, Plunket

About Plunket

Plunket is the largest provider of support services for the development, health and wellbeing of children, with over 650 clinical staff and an estimated 8,000 volunteers spread throughout New Zealand.