Case Study

A major supermarket chain in Brisbane employs 100 trolley pushers who collect all the trolleys that customers leave scattered around the car parks and streets.Also, the supermarket employs 400 Check-Out staff that scan the customers' purchases and put them in bags for customers.The supermarket chain has 4 big outlets in Brisbane.

The supermarket has identified an innovative trolley technology that uses computer chips on the trolleys that can automatically scan every item that is put into the trolley. The supermarket has trialled this technology and is satisfied that it will result in significant cost cuts for the company in terms of reduced staffing, improved productivity and fewer transaction errors.

They have also identified a process of ensuring that customers return their trolleys in the trolley bays. The new process will require customers to put a $2 coin into the trolley to access the trolley from the bay. After they have completed their purchases, they can return and attach the trolley to the trolley line-up to retrieve their $2 coin.The supermarket trialled this process with a small percentage of its regular customers. Some customers did not mind the new system, but others were very unhappy with the added inconvenience.

The CEO and the leadership team of the supermarket are very excited about introducing both the above systems.They believe that it will result in a net profit increase of $12million in staff costs and efficiency costs.They have purchased the computerised trolleys already from Germany and the shipment is ready to be brought into the stores from their warehouse. They want to implement the change within 3 months.

The staff has been advised about this technology and the plan to introduce the self-checkout $2 trolleys within 3 months.

The trolley pushers have contacted their Union as they are concerned that at least 80%of them will lose their jobs. They are also concerned that those who do not lose their jobs will need to learn the new systems and may get fired if they are not able to handle the new technology.

The checkout staff is also very worried.The middle managers are also unhappy because they are not sure if the training can be achieved within 3 months.Most staff believe that the change will affect not only their small teams, but the entire culture of the organisation.

The customers of the supermarket comprise people in the age group 12- 85.Some older customers have never used computers.Some of them are worried that the changes will have a negative effect on customer service.They feel they will miss the human interaction.

You have been appointed as an external consultant to help the CEO develop a change management plan.Complete the change management template below

Change Management Plan Template

Questions

W rite yo ur responses below

Introduction

1.What systems is the CEO planning to change?

2.What are the CEO's goals/ objectives?

3.What are the staff worried about?

Change Management Team

4.Who should be part of the team that leads the change process?

Rationale for Change

5.Why are the changes necessary?

6.What are some of the blockages that will prevent the changes from happening smoothly?

Key Stakeholders

7.Who are the key stakeholders?

8.What will be the main fears of each of the following groups?

a.Staff

b.Management team

c.Customers

d.Unions

9.What method/s will you use to communicate with each of the following groups?

a.Staff

b.Management team

c.Customers

d.Unions

Ethical Issues

10.What are some of ethical issues that management should think about?

11.How will you address the above ethical issues?

Resistance to change

Most people will try to block or resist the change because:

They are worried about the future

They don't want to give up existing benefits

They think the change is not good

They don't like change

12.What will you do to manage staff resistance to change?

Give at least 4 methods

13.What will you do to manage customers' resistance to change?

Give at least 4 methods

Change Plan Elements

14.What will you do to make sure that you can meet the timelines for the project?

15.What are the jobs/roles that will be needed in the future?

16.What kind of training will be needed for staff?

17.What kind of support/training will be needed for customers?

Key change messages

18.What are TWO key messages you want to convey to staff?

19.What are TWO key messages you want to convey to management?

20.What are TWO key messages you want to convey to customers?

21.What are TWO key messages you want to convey to the Unions?

22.ACTION PLAN: W rite a detailed action plan that shows what you will do in each week to manage the change

WEEK

What will you do?

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Consolidation

23.What are some of the barriers to change you will come across in the 12 weeks?

24.What will you do regularly to remind everyone about the benefits of change?

Evaluation

25.How will you know if your change plan has been successful or not?

Give at least 5 success indicators

26.How will you inform all the stakeholders about the outcomes of the change project?