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Leading Organizational Change and Building Strategic Partnerships
Sherrie Senkfor and Jennifer Vandever
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
• SIUE is a public master’s degree granting university with approximately 14,000 students
• Located approximately 25 minutes from downtown St. Louis, Missouri
• Large College of Arts & Sciences with several professional schools (Business, Nursing, Engineering, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Education)
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
• Part of a three-campus system with the other campuses located in Carbondale and Springfield
• SIUE has large outreach program in East St. Louis, Illinois with one of the largest Head Start programs in the nation, among other programs
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Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleHistory of Systems
• Share installation of Oracle’s E-Business Suite for Financials with other SIU campuses
• In 2004, chose Sungard Banner products to replace existing IDMS and HRS systems
• Implemented Sungard Banner Student in 2006• Went “live” with Sungard Banner HR in July
2008
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Information Technology Services
• Little communication to campus about the change process
• The volume of communication was high but the quality was low
• Communication was often with the wrong people in user groups
• The expectations of the users and IT staff were never aligned
Office of Human Resources
• Little to no communication to campus community regarding process changes
• No training to develop new skills needed for conversion and implementation
• Assumptions made by ITS regarding roles and responsibilities for HR staff but no communication occurred with key stakeholders in HR
• No understanding of time commitment for implementation after system went live
Organizational Culture July 2008 Lack of Change Management
“Why Isn’t Linda Printing My Report Anymore?”
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Organizational Culture July 2008 Lack of Leadership
Office of Human Resources
• Former HR Director left Fall 2007• Assistant HR Director-Employment
resigned June 2008• Payroll Manager announced her
retirement in Spring 2008• NEW HR Director began mid June
2008; had no prior experience with systems conversion
• Associate HR Director rejoined HR Department in June 2008 after working on the conversion project for 2 years in another part of campus
Information Technology Services
• Former Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor left Fall 2007
• Created new position of Chief Information Officer
• Moved all campus IT to one Vice Chancellor area
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Organizational Culture July 2008Lack of Necessary Job Knowledge
Office of Human Resources
• Financial package not purchased so many processes had to be created and tested
• Testing occurred on live data/no parallel systems were run
• Staff not trained on SQL database skills needed
• Audit reports to verify data were created after system was implemented; often times “things did not work” with no understanding as to why not
Information Technology Services
• IT staff being transitioned from mainframe environment to a new environment that required all new skills
• New IT environment requires constant updating of skills for everyone
• Little investment in IT staff professional development/training- some training had been required of them on their own
“if you want to keep your job after Banner is implemented, you better take these classes”
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Organizational Culture July 2008No Performance Standards or Feedback
Office of Human Resources
• No performance reviews done in many years
• No goals or objectives to see what changes needed to occur
• Concept of “process improvement” complete foreign
• No work flow analysis was conducted
• No data collection for measuring performance or benchmarking
• Poor customer service
Information Technology Services
• No performance reviews done in many years, within most IT units
• No long-term planning; almost all action done as reaction to an immediate need
• No data collection for measuring performance or benchmarking
• Limited research or benchmarking to external community produced decisions with limited vision and scope
• Poor customer service
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Organizational Culture July 2008Overall Work Environment
Office of Human Resources
• Emotional outbursts were common even, in some circumstances, encouraged by former HR director
• ITS Director perceived as “abusive” to female HR staff
• Teamwork was dependent on personal relationships and not work/task interdependency
• HR staff demoralized, overworked and frustrated with implementation and extra work/surprises
Information Technology Services
• Angry outburst between IT staff were common, often daily
• Angry outburst between IT staff and users were not uncommon
• Users were frustrated• IT staff reported not wanting to
come into the building in the morning- would sometimes sit in their cars, dreading the day, sometimes crying
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Organizational Culture July 2008Overall Work Environment
Office of Human Resources
• Uncertainty existed with new leader and overall management turnover
• “Temper tantrums” and tears were not uncommon
• HR staff worked many long hours – did not believe pace of work could continue and that “no one cared”
Information Technology Services
• Vacations had been denied or cancelled for years
• IT staff was demoralized and left feeling isolated from campus community
• Limited support for operationally necessary items (e.g. office supplies, chairs, computer monitors)
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Organizational Culture July 2008“Transformational Change”
Office of Human Resources
• Former system had worked very well for 20+ years; new system lacked numerous features needed to operate effectively
• Work flow and job responsibilities changed
• “Control” of system moved out of transitional mainframe environment; HR did not understand implication
Information Technology Services
• IT went into implementation with expectations of users’ roles that were not clearly stated or understood by the users
• Merger of three separate IT departments under Academic Affairs– Telecommunications– Academic computing– Information technology
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Kotter 8 Step Change Model
1. Create a Sense of Urgency
2. Form a Powerful Coalition
3. Create a Vision for Change
4. Communicate the Vision
5. Remove Obstacles
6. Create Short-Term Wins
7. Build on the Change
8. Anchor in Changes in Corporate Culture
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Kotter 8 Step Change Model
Step 1: Create a Sense of Urgency• System conversion occurred whether HR staff was ready or not• Old system was gone; processes were incomplete, did not work or
were non existent• HR and ITS leader believed that change had to occur in order for
both departments to succeed; success was mutually dependent• All involved “hated” the way they “felt” about the conversion;
general belief that working environment was “unhealthy” and “toxic”
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Step 2: Form a Powerful Coalition• New HR director and new ITS director met to talk about conversion
problems; both were concerned about staff morale and system functions
• Agreed that:– Focus was to move forward not dwell on past oversights,
mistakes, poor communication– Only through an effective working relationship we could move
forward with systems improvement– Success was mutually dependent; could not get to end without
working together– We would trust each other until proven otherwise
Kotter 8 Step Change Model
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Step 3: Create a Vision for Change• Reinforced concept that only by working through issues was the
situation going to improve• Weekly meetings set up with ITS and HR to talk about issues,
progress and concerns; all communication on problems and concerns were to occur in these meetings
• Projects prioritized (and repeatedly followed up on) • Annual HR performance objectives were set to include operating
efficiencies and cost savings.
Kotter 8 Step Change Model
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Step 4: Communicate the Vision • Quarterly meetings were held with HR staff to communicate
goals, update staff on conversion, and talk about progress in goals
• Individual goals based on overall objectives; relationship between individual goals and department objectives were openly discussed
• Leaders agreed to “model” positive problem solving; at the beginning all meetings were led by ITS and HR leader
• Key HR staff members were counseled before meetings on 1) prioritizing issues 2) communication expectations 3) listening and not blaming
Kotter 8 Step Change Model
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Step 5: Remove Obstacles• Unsupportive ITS staff member removed• ITS staff reassigned to positions better matched skill sets• Role expectations were openly discussed; key HR staff member
was sent for SQL training and received training from ITS staff• ITS staff member worked in HR to understand process and
work flow• HR staff was able to contact ITS staff after hours if processing
problems occurred• ITS agreed to fund HR position to help with reporting• Employees counseled on unacceptable behavior
Kotter 8 Step Change Model
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Step 6: Create Short-Term Wins• Success was celebrated in weekly meetings; actually physically
applauded accomplishments • HR staff praised by ITS Leader, ITS staff praised by HR staff for
progress in meetings• HR Director gave positive feedback on well managed meetings• ITS leader reinforced and encouraged positive behavior• Payroll and benefit metrics were established to identify and track
processing issues
Kotter 8 Step Change Model
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Step 7: Build on the Changes• ITS and HR leaders moved weekly meeting to bi-weekly and then
monthly as issues were addressed• HR director asked Associate director to lead meetings and
expressed confidence in ability to conduct self professionally• HR director encouraged key HR staff to meet ITS staff outside of
work hours• HR director acknowledged progress as it occurred, particularly
when processing issues no longer occurred • Processing “failures” were openly discussed and resolved• ITS staff requested to participate in HR interview process for HR-IT
staff member and input highly valued
Kotter 8 Step Change Model
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Step 8: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture• Monthly meetings are part of working together• Open and transparent communication between leadership in two
departments (modeling behavior)• Transitioned roles to new generation of managers• When emotions flare up, leaders encourage staff members to
communicate to find the source of the problem, not to make assumptions and to look for data to make a better decision
• Problems are generally solved at the lowest level
Kotter 8 Step Change Model
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Issues Along The Way Towards Change
• Hiring freeze occurred; ITS funded position in HR was put on hold• Decommissioning of main frame system accelerated; ITS resources
had to be redeployed• HR presented multiple programming needs and had trouble
prioritizing; list seemed to grow and never shrink• HR staff member struggled with learning new programming
language; in house training was not effective due to learning style differences and personality clashes
• Top leadership changes
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Signs of Success
• Acknowledgement of HR staff regarding off hours availability of ITS Staff
• Recognition of ITS’s desire to fund position regardless of hiring freeze; position filled in Spring 2012
• Open communication regarding staff deficiencies in terms of training and mid level leadership
• Request by HR staff that HR director talk to ITS leader on issues; recognition that relationship was open
• More productive, less emotional meetings• “Blaming” decreased as acceptance of limitations increased
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Signs of Success
• Laughing and joking in meetings and one on one• HR support for ITS employee as Employee of the Month• Acknowledgement of limited resources by ITS• Request of other departments to meet with ITS so they can
make same progress as HR (Imitation is the highest form of flattery)
• Limited involvement of senior University leadership in the transition showed confidence in the ability of the HR and IT leaders to work together to resolve issues
• Issues are being resolved at lower levels within departments
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Organizational Culture July 2012Change Management
Office of Human Resources
• Change is discussed before it occurs; metrics now kept on major processes
• Process improvement is part of annual goal setting
• System enhancements communicated before they occur
• Structural changes are discussed with all parties involved before occurring
Information Technology Services
• Tracking system in place for all ITS work to help measure progress and predict available resources
• Systems changes discussed before they are made
• More communication with functional groups from ITS
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Organizational Culture July 2012Leadership
Office of Human Resources
• New leaders assumed positions in payroll, benefits and employment
• Staff meetings of HR managers take place bi-weekly with weekly one-on-one with director to talk about projects and goals
• Leadership opportunities given to others as part of management development
Information Technology Services
• Complete reorganization of ITS• New management team in the
Banner group• Monthly meetings for all ITS
managers and directors• Management and leadership
development program
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Organizational Culture July 2012Job Knowledge
Office of Human Resources
• Employees have been and will be trained on needed skills
• Cross training is occurring in payroll, benefits and employment
• Outside training offered to enhance key skills
Information Technology Services
• Established professional development budget
• Involved employees in professional development and training planning
• Engaged in planning for long-term skills training
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Organizational Culture July 2012Performance Measurements
Office of Human Resources• Annual performance feedback is
given• Managers are assessed on
department productivity and leadership
• Performance issues are immediately addressed
• Department objectives and goals set as leadership team
Information Technology Services• Annual performance feedback is
given throughout ITS• Units meet at least monthly, if not
more often• Performance issues are
immediately addressed• Annual and longer-term goals and
objective set as department
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Organizational Culture July 2012Work Environment
Office of Human Resources• Mutual dependency is accepted• Employees socialize outside of
work• No crying; outburst significantly
minimized• Monthly meetings with ITS and
other key departments are part of regular functioning of department
• Lack of teamwork is addressed; working together is expected
Information Technology Services
• No more yelling, public outbursts• Social committee established
– Monthly birthday parties– Summer BBQ– Holiday event– Baseball opening day– Halloween party– Charity work (New)
• Communication is key and failure in communication is noted and addressed
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Organizational CultureWork In Progress
• Extinguish “blame” culture• Continue training of ITS staff member in HR and increase knowledge of
system• Fully cross training HR staff• Continued communication up front on programming changes• Complete unfinished processes• Increase regular performance feedback• Improve teamwork• Integrate with other functional user governance• Increase understanding of the data structure and what dependencies exist
within in• Assess potential impact of University and system-level leadership changes• Accept limitations existing in both departments