Table 5.1 Rate the Organization's Readiness for Change

Readiness Dimensions Scoring: Yes = +1 Undecided = 0 No = 1	Score
Organization's history of change management experiences 1. Has the organization had generally positive experiences with change management? 2. Were the changes led by competent, well-liked leaders? 3. Did a broad cross section of employees understand that change was needed to take advantage of opportunities? 4. Was organizational data used effectively in previous change experiences? 5. Were change teams widely used to listen, communicate, and reduce the anxieties of fellow employees?
Executive leadership 6. Are senior leaders known for exploring the external environment and its possible risks to the organization? 7. Do senior leaders share their assessment of the external environment with organizational members? 8. Are senior leaders in the organization considered trustworthy? 9. Do senior leaders appear to be "self-aware" and understand their strengths and weaknesses? 10. Do senior leaders actively nurture the involvement and commitment of others?
Collection and use of data 11. Does the organization have a disciplined approach to collect, accumulate, and integrate data from the external environment? 12. Is the external environmental data translated into useful information for the organization? 13. Is there a culture of collecting, analyzing, and using internal data? 14. Does the organization make internal improvements based on its data? 15. Are data collection methods up to date with the organization's industry?
Organization culture 16. Is conflict dealt with openly and with a focus on resolution? 17. Are employees encouraged to constructively voice their concerns on issues? 18. Is innovation encouraged for employees at all levels in the organization? 19. Would a significant number of employees define the organization's culture as flexible and adaptable? 20. Has a broad cross-section of organizational members answered the question: "Why Change?"
Openness to change 21. Are organizational structures and boundaries permeable, allowing the free flow of information across the organization? 22. Do senior leaders approach renewing strategies and strategic goals as an opportunity to examine how to change the organization? 23. Does the organization have communication networks that work effectively in all directions? 24. Will the proposed change be viewed as generally appropriate for the organization by those not in senior leadership roles? 25. Do employees who will be affected believe that they have the resources to implement the proposed change?
Measures for change 26. Are there measures available for tracking the progress of the change? 27. Does the organization successfully meet predetermined deadlines? 28. Does the organization keep track of innovative activities? 29. Does the organization carefully steward its resources? 30. Does the reward system focus on both short-term and long-term results?
People dimensions 31. People who know how to champion causes stay with the organization. 32. Middle managers actively link senior leaders to the rest of the organization. 33. Are people rewarded for bringing about organizational change? 34. Has a champion of change articulated an inspiring vision of change? 35. What is the mood of the organization now: upbeat and positive?
Total score

Source: Adapted from Stewart, T. (1994, February). "Rate your readiness to change" scale. Fortune, 106-110; Holt, D. (2002). Readiness for change: The development of a scale. Organization Development Abstracts, Academy of Management Proceedings, and Judge, W., & Douglas, T. (2009). Organizational change capacity: The systematic development of a scale. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 22(6), 635-64