Managing ChangeBringing Stakeholders on Board

Practical Reflections

Paul TakalaChief Librarian/CEO

November 2014

My Experience• 20 years of implementing change through technology and

innovation– HPL CEO/Chief Librarian since 2012– HPL IT Director, Manager 2001-2012– Wentworth Libraries IT Director 1999-2001– NYPL: Reference Librarian, System Analyst, Web

Coordinator 1994-1999• Other work experiences

Personally, I am committed to sustainable long term change, not superficial short lived change

HPL’s Experience since Amalgamation2001 2013 % Change from

2001

Staffing in FTE 320 309 -3.4%

In person visits 3.3 million 3.72 million 13%

Circulation of Materials 4.5 million 7.2 million 60%

Computer Sessions 294,350 850,033 189%

Program Attendance 34,792 153,570 341%

Public Service Value Chain

Employee Engagement

Operational Performance

Customer Satisfaction

Confidence & Trust in Org.

Drivers of Employee Engagement1. Career Path with opportunities

2. Fair pay and benefits3. Perception employer provides good value to clients

4. Satisfactory work environment5. Employees understand and value how their work impacts customers

6. Positive perception of senior management7. Leadership development

Things I Know about Change• The rate of change is accelerating and will continue to do so• You need to play the short and the long game• We will bring in staff with new skills but our overall success

will be more dependent on how we develop and move existing staff forward

• Whether working with the Board, the City, Community Partners or staff developing productive relationships is the key

• I personally define successful Change Management as continual evolution, abrupt radical change is often a sign of failing to act in a timely manner

• Trust takes consistent effort and time to establish but can be broken quickly

Why do people resist change?

Myths We Tell Ourselves

People resist change, because:• Fear of failure • Fear of unknown• Attachment to current processes• It is just hard for people to change• People don’t like change

The Reality• I will change if I am in control, if it is my choice. Resisting

change is all about reacting to losing control.

• People really do not care too much about current procedures and processes; what they care about is the sense of control that the knowledge of and familiarity with those processes give them

• In a time of accelerating change, maintaining employee engagement is more difficult, it is easier for people to feel in control when they have a sense of stability. We need to create less fear and more hope for the future, but that must be based on reality.

People Understand Change• People naturally know how to measure the scale of change• Getting people to change is easier when you understand people• Trust is critical, we need to avoid getting people to get their

backs up• Some change management processes can be used unethically.

They can be based to trickery; we need to avoid methods that manipulate people

• A critical question we need to ask about our organization: Do we allow people to ask the question WHY in a safe way?

Disappointed expectations are the cause of most human conflict

Focusing Energy• Sometimes people resist change to gain

control of the situation; they speak out to become the centre of attention. The more you talk to them the worse it gets

• During change there is energy, so do not push back against resistors, this just adds energy to the resistance and makes them push back harder

• Resistance to change can be useful, it is not always bad. We need to channel the energy that is created in positive directions

Effective Change Management• Change management is about dealing with people’s sense of

control and the loss of it• Emotions kick in when people feel they are not in control • Emotional stages set-in when there is: surprise, bad news or

immediate deadlines• The time to talk about change is before change happens,

during change emotions take over. • Get buy-in to realizing the need for change• Do not get buy-in for a solution• Understanding the process you can see what is happening,

but that does not stop you from going through the emotions

5 Stages of Grief • Kübler-Ross model provides insight into emotions and behaviors

exhibited when experiencing loss• Model simple – reality more complex• No guarantee people will finish the stages• Expression of emotion happens in different ways

Communication is Key• The problem is not that we do not know how to communicate• We communicate effectively all the time, just maybe not what

we want to• Everyone has a natural built in BS detector– People can tell when you ask a question after a decision

has already been made

The rumour mill exists because people are trying to fill in information; the less information you communicate in a timely manner the more people will get their information from the rumour mill.

Combating the Rumour Mill• During major changes there is always a lot of information you

cannot share because you do not know the answers• So you need to figure out what you can say, if you do not the

rumour mill will dominate discussion and bad emotions will escalate– If all you know is no one is going to lose their jobs in the

next 2 months then say that• Management needs to make an effort to think about and

articulate what they know about the essential questions and share the information with staff in a timely manner

7 Essential Questions1. Why?2. What’s in it for me? (WIIFM)3. Next Monday what should I do differently?4. What won't change?5. What might go wrong?6. What will we do when things go wrong?7. How are we doing or how did we do?

• 3, 5 and 6 create opportunities to engage staff• 7 is a critical follow-up

Some experiences• Working with the Library Board – Normal process – 2 to 3 times– Policy decisions, share key operational issues FYI

• Current Strategic Planning process– System-wide facilitated discussions, action on key themes

• RFID and process changes– Board/Admin messaging around change

• Amalgamation– Unified Job Descriptions, reducing uncertainty

• ILL Experience – best advice I ever had

Concluding Comments• “Create a culture of why if you want to create a culture of

change”• “Only Wet Babies like Change” - that is because they are

uncomfortable with the current state, if people are not uncomfortable they will not want change

• “If you want things to stay as they are, things will have to change” Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (Italian Writer, 1896-1957) – if we want to continue to serve our core mission and stay true to our core values, then we are going to have to let go of processes and things

Discussion/Questions?

Paul Takala, Chief Librarian/CEO Hamilton Public Library

ptakala@hpl.ca 905-546-3215