Strategic Public Sector Governance

The Critical Role of Communication for Change Management Sponsors Change management sponsors are the executives or senior leaders with authority to drive change forward in an organization. Active and visible sponsorship tops the list of key contributors to successful change initiatives. A global leader in change management, Prosci has studied these contributors in all 11 editions of its Best Practices in Change Management report, and sponsorship came out on top in every single one. Sponsorship is so important that it beat out the second contributor (a structured change management approach) by a 4:1 margin in the most recent report. We cannot overstate the role change management sponsors play in effectively managing change in organizations. They are responsible for building support, enlisting help from other leaders and motivating change participants. Purposeful and consistent communication is the tool sponsors must use to provide context for the change and bring employees on board. Employees and leaders are far more likely to engage in a change when they understand what it means to them and why its necessary. Ineffective sponsors often rush through change, failing to facilitate understanding and build support through frequent and clear communication. Communication considerations for change management sponsors The purpose of employing communication as one of the key areas of change management is to disseminate information to the intended group of people. There are many forms of communication channels available within an organization including employee portals, newsletters, emails, static and non-static media as well as face to face communications. Many organization misunderstood the change communication as a process of mediating instead of intermediating. To have effective communication, information needs to be interpreted and reinterpret them into ideas and processes that are easy to understand, thus applying the mediating technique. While using the communication channels, its best to incorporate latest technologies albeit social network and video conferencing to enhance outreach to employees. However, although it is the management's decision to establish any means of communication channels deemed effective, one must avoid a typical top-down and one way conduits approach while using these communication facilities to avoid a breakdown in communication. Communication helps change management sponsors explain the vision for the change to create necessary buy-in. Sponsors that adopt the following communication practices can better articulate the why, what and so what of the change, increasing the chances that employees will understand and activate the behaviors needed for success. 1. Communicate the why People, by nature, are resistant to change. They first need convincing that the change is important and worth the energy it will take to implement it. Beehives change model of choice, identifies 2. Awareness as the first phase of change. This phase requires organizations and sponsors to communicate early and often why a change is necessary, including what the risk is to the business and employees if they dont change. Sponsors that first embrace the change on a personal level can better predict potential employee resistance and use these insights to more effectively communicate why the desired change is necessary and worth the effort. Only after employees understand the reason for a change will they consider adopting it themselves. 3. Stay active and visible throughout the change Change initiatives frequently fail because sponsors and leaders dont stay committed to the change management process. Employees notice disengaged leaders and believe the change isnt that important for them to pay attention to or adopt. They are more hesitant to get on board, sensing a lack of commitment and possibility the change wont take root. Change, supported by consistent and frequent communication, can take months or years to implement fully. The sponsors role extends far beyond logistical planning and announcing the change. They must stay engaged and committed, consistently communicating why the change is important and publicly modeling it through their own behavior and expectations. 4. Give employees a voice Successful change happens only when individual people embrace change and alter their behavior. Employees are active, not passive, participants in change. Sponsors and leaders should identify critical feedback opportunities for employees during change initiatives. Common feedback and listening methods include surveys, town hall meetings, and dedicated email inboxes or online forms. Most importantly, change management sponsors should listen and learn from employee input. Are there signs of change resistance in the organization that require more consistent and thorough communication to overcome? Do employees not understand how to implement a particular aspect of the change and need better training? Listening to employees is only the first step. Taking action on the input and insights promotes trust and creates a greater willingness among employees to adopt the change. 5. Enlist support from other people and project leaders The change management sponsor alone cannot lead an organization through change. Other sponsors, people managers, project managers and change practitioners play critical supporting roles. Successful change requires engagement from all of these internal leaders to drive momentum, credibility and trust. The Prosci Change Triangle (PCT) illustrates the interconnected roles of these leaders. The triangle defines roles, responsibilities and expectations for the three legs of change: Leadership/sponsorship, Project management and Change management. How effectively people managing these change functions collaborate with each other and communicate with employees determines the success of the change: Prosci further defines five key roles of people managers: Communicator, Liaison, Advocate, Resistance Manager and Coach. Prepare with a change management communication plan Organizations can prepare for change by helping leaders understand their role and equipping the business with a Leadership/sponsorship: Responsible for defining and communicating the Why for the change Change management: Responsible for communicating with and engaging employees to ensure they have the information and resources needed to adopt the change Project management: Responsible for communicating with the other two disciplines on the progress of the technical side of the change change management methodology. Beehive aligns its change management communication planning with Proscis ADKAR model. Other popular models include Kotters Change Model, Lewins Change Management Model and the McKinsey 7-S Framework. Change management communication plans should always begin with the following steps, regardless of which change model an organization uses: Learn, listen and agree on the strategic communication approach Organizations that implement an effective change management communication plan, with a change sponsor at its helm, will experience greater success creating a healthy environment ready to take on the next change that comes its way.

QUESTION 3 (25 Marks)

The task of defining good governance remains complicated by the fact that attempts to apply the attributes may cause Understand the organizations culture and assess its readiness for change Gather input from executive leaders and the core change project team Agree on the rationale the why for the change Audit existing communication channels and tools disagreement. More specifically, good governance attributes such as constitutional legitimacy, administrative competence, public participation and accountability may conflict with one another while excessive emphasis on some attributes over others may lead to adverse results. In view of this critically discuss the principles and importance of good governance for strategic alliances.