Change Management Abroad: The Inaugural Colorado State Agency Change Manage
By Quentin Boose, Process Improvement Intern
January 17, 2019
The cohort of the inaugural Colorado State Agency Change Management Peer Exchange
December 5, 2018 marked the first Colorado State Agency Change Management Peer Exchange (Peer-X) where public servants from around the state connected at the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) headquarters, in Denver, to share their organizational change experiences surrounding improvements in their different state agencies. The all-day event included presentations, expert and practitioner panel sessions, and networking time for participants. At the conclusion, participants left with new change management techniques along with contacts in a specialized community of practice.
One of the six presenters for the event was Heather Weir, the Director of the Office of Planning, Partnerships and Improvement at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), who explained her path to implementing change management coaching at CDPHE. From taking CDOT’s change management certification course four years ago, Weir has integrated change management into manager training and has taught 30% of the 300 supervisors at CDPHE. “When I attended the CDOT course, I thought, ‘Wow, there’s so much to this, this is something we need’ and so I became really interested in bringing the training [to my department]” she stated. “But it took me two full years to start change management at [CDPHE].” Along the way there were obstacles and convincing executives at the agency to pursue change management initiatives. “It took a kind of good luck and timing, but also just saying, ‘Nope, we need to get there.’”
Now, Weir and others at CDPHE have started the process for institutionalizing change management training. In the next few years, the department hopes to include more specialized classes: change management trainings for project managers and for CDPHE executives. “It feels like the state's going to go to the next level of change management adoption. We have such an amazing mission and such important jobs. It just makes me happy to see people recognize [change management] as a value add,” Weir concluded.
Another Peer-X attendee was Alice Huyler, Learning and Development Manager at the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS). She was one of the many that were “pretty darn new” to change management. The Peer Exchange was a valuable opportunity for Huyler to learn about change management techniques and network with experienced change managers across Colorado. “I’m brand new to my current position,” Huyler stated, “So, I liked learning about the [change management] tools, and then hearing about how other agencies are bringing them to life while connecting with people that I know I can reach out to.”
One of the approaches that grabbed Huyler’s eye was the Five Tenets of Change, presented by Susie Patterson, a Prosci Change Advisor and change management expert. Patterson regularly coaches organizations like CDOT to establish a positive culture around changes, working to make government agencies lean and agile. The Five Tenets lay the foundation for explaining and justifying organizational change management to employees. With participants’ change projects in mind, Patterson took them through an early assessment to demonstrate how change management best practices will increase the success rate of projects within the various government organizations. The ability to accurately and succinctly communicate the Five Tenets of Change to managers and coworkers allows the organization to see the realities of change and then demonstrate how the application of the first four tenets leads to the fifth one, generating the desired outcome of a change.
Prosci's Five Tenets of Change Management
In addition to the Five Tenets, Peer-X attendees were also guided through the Project Change Triangle (PCT) model by Michelle Malloy, the Senior Program Manager of Strategy and Change Management Services at CDOT. According to the model from Prosci, if a project is missing any of the three components, (leadership, project management, and change management) the project will struggle or fail. Without leadership and direction, a project will struggle to remain a priority and can be lost in the confusion of the other work going on in the organization. Without a solid approach for the technical side, a project may not arrive at the necessary solution. Without a well-thought out approach for the people side, an effective technical solution may not be embraced and utilized fully or effectively by employees. All three elements are necessary when a state agency launches a project or initiative to realize the planned benefits.
Prosci's Project Change Triangle (PCT) Model
The 2018 Inaugural Colorado Change Management Peer Exchange was a day full of learning about change management and networking amongst all the different state agencies. From the Colorado National Guard to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, all 19 state agencies were able to glean strategies and tactics in order to ensure that those impacted by change are successful with that change. Michelle Malloy’s mantra is “Organizations don’t change...People Do” and for Colorado’s State Agencies focused on improving, ensuring that our people have what they need in order to be successful is vital. Malloy has more plans in place to continue the connections and to reinforce the learning from the day’s event. CDOT has experienced first hand the benefits of an Organization Change Management Program in order to deliver results and realize planned benefits from internal business projects. The hope is that all of Colorado’s State Agencies can leverage what CDOT has learned in order to implement their own programs. This new community will continue to learn, grow, and be committed to the people side of change.
Want to learn more about Change Management at CDOT? Check out our improvement efforts at the Office of Process Improvement’s website!