Largest US HMO Implements Company-Wide Change Management Strategy

The Need

The company was called upon to re-define every employee’s job functions in 18 months. But such sweeping changes can heavily impact both daily operations and long-term employee retention. The management team knew that by being proactive and acknowledging the potentially huge emotional burden change can bring, they would be able to create an environment of readiness among the staff.

Change was coming and people were uncertain. This made them unproductive because they were worrying and rumors were being spread. The goal was to get people prepared for change while letting them know that nobody had any answers at this point.

The Adventure Associates Process

After performing a needs assessment and interviewing key team members within the company, the AAI facilitators developed a program that focused on:

• The opportunities that change brings to those who are prepared: new career growth paths, more streamlined processes, new and exciting challenges.
• How to remain positive in the face of adversity.
• Strategies for coping with a workplace that is in flux, based on William Bridge’s work, Managing Transitions, and
• The team’s MBTI results.

Bridge’s material was a good fit because the three phases of change are easy to understand and it gives people a good vocabulary to talk about what’s going on and the negative emotions they’re having. The MBTI keyed them in to everyone’s different ways of coping with change and dealing with stress. They made an action plan with specific support they needed and gave that to their team director.

Results

The activities the group participated in were metaphors for change, both personally and professionally. Often when people learn, understand and internalize the metaphor, it’s easier to digest the corresponding life lesson.

The program ended with the team energized, excited by the new changes, and with a plan to make some modifications to their existing infrastructure. During staff and department meetings, the team would reinforce the concepts addressed in the training.