Change requires ownership at the level of Individual, Team and Organisation - real change happens in Dialogue.

Change Models

William Bridges Model - The William Bridges model is described as useful to “guide organisations through the process of transition”. It is an approach that focuses on the human response to change as a multifaceted process through which leaders can support their team members. It doesn’t consider change as a ‘thing’ but a process that occurs. It addresses the ‘loss’ often felt through a transition considering how individuals respond to change, both emotionally and psychologically, and aims to lessen the discomfort that employees experience.

Kotter’s 8 Step Change model - Kotter

Our challenge with both of these models is that it ultimately still sees change as something that is ‘done to’ people in a parent-child manner rather than providing space for them to consider the change, voice their opinions and take ownership of what they can do to help deliver it. The solutions to organisational challenges are generally well know to those who do the work and hearing what issues may arise in a change implementation directly will not only give greater possibility of the change being sustained but also make it more likely to be adopted by employees.

Our approach to Employee Engagement around Change

We take an approach to engaging an organisation about change that draws from both William Bridges and Kotter.

1. We build a tool for conversation from those who hold the vision for the change and need to be aligned around it.

2. We test the draft with employees to see how it resonates, to raise awareness of the change and to identify obstacles in the system.

3. We feedback the data to the senior stakeholders and redraft the tool in dialogue with them.

4. We train a network of change advocates to facilitate dialogical engagement workshops throughout the organisation.

5. We finalise the draft ensuring it supports the dialogues required to embed the change required.

The benefits of this approach is that it gives people the chance to consider the big picture of why the change is required, what their role in delivering it is and allows their concerns to be heard. This approach also enables relationships across business areas that don’t naturally form.

We construct the visual tools in a similar format to the WB change model, focusing on the Past/Present/Future of the organisation. We pay careful attention to reflect employee’s lived experience of work. These tools consist of all of the conversations that have been had throughout the organisation around the issue reflecting the good, the bad and sometimes the ugly!

Clients go on to use them on a regular basis long after we have left and the organisation has engaged employees around a strategic change. Previous clients have used them in strategic announcements, for targeted conversations (toolbox talks), to check organisational progress, for induction processes, or even in conversation with potential investors.