Managing Change During LGR

Overview

The English Devolution White Paper published in December 2024 sets out the case for local government reorganisation claiming that unitarization can cut wasteful duplication of bodies, reduce the number of politicians and reduce fragmentation of public services. A key component of the change will be service transformation, supporting improvements in delivery by bringing together service elements such as supported housing, social care and homelessness in the same organisation. The changes are likely to be sweeping and will impact the day-to-day work of local authority employees across the board.

This training programme is aimed at supporting managers who will be at the forefront of implementing change. Their challenges will include organising, encouraging and supporting employees through active engagement throughout the process. At the same time, they need to be able to look after themselves, remaining resilient and avoiding the possible consequences of pressure turned to stress.

Aims

To provide manages who have responsibility for implementing change with an insight into the dynamics at play during transformational change and practical skills for encouraging and supporting their staff during the process, while maintaining their own resilience and wellbeing.

Format

The programme has been designed for in-house delivery. It consists of three elements:

• A self-study assignment
• A two-day workshop
• Post-workshop actions based on the action plan developed towards the end of the workshop

N.B. To increase accessibility for those who cannot attend for two full days, the programme is also available in a modular format consisting of four half-day modules that can be sceheduled over two days  day or on four separate days. Participants can chose which of the four modules to attend.

Learning Objectives

On completion of the programme, participants will be able to:

• Describe the different types of change and identify how these definitions relate to their own change examples
• Explain the characteristics of the change process and how systems, processes and people are impacted
• Explain the different responses people have towards change and why some people find it difficult and resist change
• Make a personalised assessment of their own team’s readiness for change and identify approaches they might employ to overcome resistance and improve the chances of success
• Identify their stakeholders and develop strategies for communication with them and exerting appropriate influence during the change process
• Describe a framework for managing the stages of the change process
• Describe how to maximise the engagement of staff and encourage innovation by removing the barriers to staff involvement
• Support others through change by recognising the emotional impact of change and adopting appropriate responses according to the individual’s needs at any point in time
• Identify their own vulnerability to stress during the change process and strategies they can employ to boost their resilience and avoid the consequences of excessive pressure.

Self-Study

The workshop will be preceded by a self-study assignment including:

• A reading activity providing:
  • A description of the different types of change and their characteristics
  • An introduction to innovation
• Completion of the Innovation Capability Audit
• A practical activity identifying a change they will be facing or one they are already facing, and describing:
  • The type and nature of the change
  • The impact the change is likely to have on the work of their team
  • The likely response of their team members
  • What actions they have already taken to prepare their team for the change
  • Any further actions they plan to take to engage and involve their team

Participants will be asked to share and build on their examples during the various practical sessions throughout the workshop.

Workshop Content

Types of Change

• Developmental change – incremental improvements
• Transitional change – new processes, products or services
• Transformational change – fundamental change to systems, process and culture

The Nature of Change

• Characteristics of change – depth, speed, method of implementation
• Explicit change – structure, processes, practice
• Implicit change – behaviours, relationships, attitudes, norms, accountabilities

Resistance to Change

• Responses to change – inactive, proactive, reactive
• Why some people resist change – self-interest, low tolerance, different assessment, misunderstanding
• Readiness for change – the change equation
• Overcoming resistance – communication and education, participation and involvement, facilitation and support, negotiation and agreement, co-option

Leading Change

• Who are your stakeholders? – stakeholder mapping and analysis
• Influencing strategically – politically savvy, leverage networks, self-promotion, building and maintaining trust
• Establishing trust – trust triangle and trust equations
• An approach to change – Kotter’s eight step approach
• Encouraging innovation – overcoming the barriers, assessing the capability to innovate

Supporting Others Through Change

• Communicating change – Start with Why (Simon Senek)
• The psychological contract – formal and informal contract
• Handling the emotional dimension - Kubler Ross Change Curve

Looking After Yourself

• Personal resilience – what it means in practice
• Pressure, stress and burnout – pressure-stress relationship, avoiding burnout
• Boosting resilience - being assertive, prioritising, circles of influence and concern, enabling beliefs

Action Planning

• Collation of the actions identified during the workshop framed as SMART objectives