Change Management Playbook

State of Washington, Human Resources Community Governance

Table of Contents
OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................... 5

WHY THIS PLAYBOOK EXISTS ......................................................................................................................................... 5

WHO SHOULD USE THIS PLAYBOOK .............................................................................................................................. 5
HOW AND WHEN TO USE THIS PLAYBOOK .................................................................................................................... 5
TYPICAL TIMELINE.......................................................................................................................................................... 5

STEP 1 | PREPARE FOR CHANGE ................................................................................................................... 6

BUILD YOUR CHANGE TEAM ..........................................................................................................................................6

DEFINE THE CHANGE ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
CHANGE LEVEL ASSESSMENT ......................................................................................................................................... 7
DESIGN YOUR SPONSORSHIP .........................................................................................................................................8
ASSESS YOUR ORGANIZATION AND RISKS ......................................................................................................................9
IDENTIFY RESOURCE NEEDS ......................................................................................................................................... 11
CHECK AND ADJUST PLAN ........................................................................................................................................... 11
PLAN TO CELEBRATE SUCCESS...................................................................................................................................... 12
LEADERSHIP REFLECTION WAYPOINT ............................................................................................................................ 13

STEP 2 | MANAGE CHANGE ........................................................................................................................15

DEVELOP COMMUNICATIONS PLAN.............................................................................................................................. 15

DEVELOP SPONSOR PLAN ............................................................................................................................................ 17
DEVELOP COACHING PLAN .......................................................................................................................................... 17
DEVELOP TRAINING PLAN ............................................................................................................................................ 17
REVIEW AND REFINE CHECK AND ADJUST PLAN ........................................................................................................... 18
LEADERSHIP REFLECTION WAYPOINT ............................................................................................................................ 18

STEP 3 | REINFORCE CHANGE .................................................................................................................... 19

GATHER AND ANALYZE FEEDBACK ................................................................................................................................ 19

MONITOR AND ADJUST COMMUNICATIONS ................................................................................................................. 19
IMPLEMENT RESISTANCE MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 19
CELEBRATE SUCCESSES.................................................................................................................................................20
LEADERSHIP REFLECTION WAYPOINT ............................................................................................................................20

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OFM Change Management Playbook 4
Overview

Why This Playbook Exists

Change management is the art and science of managing the people side of change. An organization could identify a
logical and critically-important change, have the support of a terrific leadership team, and have an ace project
manager enlisted to make the change happen, and yet that change would still be at risk of failing implementation.
Why? Because change happens one person at a time, and if we forget to understand, anticipate, and plan for the
reactions that individuals are likely to have, we will fail more often than not.

With that in mind, this playbook provides a simple, proven, and easy-to-follow change management methodology
for your HR Subcommittees to use as they identify and implement changes for the HR community.

Who Should Use This Playbook

This playbook is designed for use by any Washington State agency. It is designed to be used in conjunction with
involved leadership and strong project management—without these elements, change management is likely to fail.

How and When to Use This Playbook

This methodology is intended to help manage the people side of change, and therefore should only be used when:
› The change affects a significant number of people, and
› The change changes the daily work of those people in some way.

Changes that do not directly affect workers, or that affect them rarely, may not require such a rigorous approach to
change management.

Typical Timeline
The change management approach spelled out in this playbook includes three distinct phases: preparing for change,
managing change, and reinforcing change. It is reasonable to estimate three months for the typical “preparing for
change” phase of work, if the committee has sufficient availability and resources to do the work in a timely manner.
The remaining two phases depend largely upon the complexity of the change and the project management timeline.
It is not unusual for “reinforcing change” on complex projects to be measured in years, not months.

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Step 1 | Prepare for Change

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

—Benjamin Franklin

The first phase of change management, preparing for change, is the most critical. Without adequate preparation,
your team will continually be playing catch-up as the change is implemented, which will require greater time and
resources.

Build Your Change Team

The Change Team doesn’t have to be big, but it does have to be active. The team should be at least three individuals
who have:

› The ability and willingness to contribute sufficient time to the effort

› A thorough understanding of the change to be supported
› Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
› The support of leadership

Assign Team Roles & Responsibilities

Your team will need to assign at least two roles:
› Convener
› Change Manager

The Convener will be responsible for managing the Change Team, but not the change itself. This individual will set
meetings, prepare agendas, gather resources, distribute tasks, and drive communication.

The Change Manager, on the other hand, is responsible for managing the change itself. They will lead the team
through discussions that will satisfy each of the portions of this toolkit, as they build the Change Management Plan.
While the development of the change management strategy will be a collaborative effort of the whole team, the
Change Manager will be the one responsible for compiling and executing the plan.

It is important to note that the Change Manager is not the same thing as the Project Manager, and only in rare
circumstances would you want them to be the same person. The Project Manager needs to be focused on the steps,
timing, and resources for the project. The Change Manager needs to be focused on the people side of the project. It
is very difficult for one person to handle both aspects at the same time.

You may want to include the Project Manager on your Change Team, or you may elect to simply have regular check-
ins between them and the Change Manager. (See worksheet, page 1)

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Define the Change
Once you have your Change Team assembled, the first order of business is to define the change. This may seem
obvious – after all, this playbook wouldn’t be in use if there weren’t a change afoot. However, there are some specific
definition criteria that will help in the change management process: a defined objective, a description of the scope of
the effort, measures of success, and a change sizing assessment.

Objective
The objective, simply, is the intended outcome of the change. Defining this carefully will provide a “north star” for
the change process. As you define the objective, answer these questions:
› Will there be an “outome” of this change, and can you describe it?
› What effect will this change have on the organization?

Ultimately, you will want to draft a simple statement that describes what the change aims to do. This can be used as
a short “elevator speech” as to what the change is and why it is being undertaken.

Scope of the Effort

The Scope of Effort describes the work necessary to achieve your stated Objective. This is probably a longer
statement than the Objective. As you draft your Scope of Effort, answer these questions:
› Who will it affect? How?
› Why is it happening now? Is it urgent? Why?
› What are we doing?
› What will it make better? How?
› How are we doing it?
› By when do we want it to be completed?

Measures of Success
We need to be able to know how to measure the change effort, so we can identify whether we are making progress
or not. Some examples of measures that are used for change efforts include survey responses, readily available data
(e.g. number of times something is accessed on a website), or a combination of both.

A good guide for measures is the SMART model. The measures should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic
and timely. (See worksheet, pages 2-3)

Change Level Assessment

Part of understanding the change at hand is understanding just how BIG the change will feel for your organization.
Because we are dealing with the people side of change, it’s only partly about the reality of the level of change, and
it’s largely about how large that change feels to those affected.

The simplest way to do this is for the Change Team to answer the questions below as best as they can. However, the
view of the Change Team is often influenced by many factors, and they may not have the whole picture. If at all
possible, gather responses to these three questions below via verbal surveys, paper surveys, or online surveys. (See

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worksheet, page 4-5, for an example) Responses should be captured in numerical format, according the the numbers
for each row. If the change affects multiple agencies, tabluate results for each agency so that you can identify areas
of greater impact.

What is the reach of the change? That is, how broadly will this change reach across our workforce?
Considerations: What percentage of the workforce will be affected by this? Will it affect everybody the
same, or will it only have a major effect on some individuals?
1. This change will have BROAD REACH
2. This change will have SOME REACH
3. This change will have LITTLE REACH
4. This change will have MINIMAL REACH

What is the complexity of executing the change?

Considerations: How simple or complex will the execution of this change be? Does it require the replacement
of systems or software? Can it be managed internally, with existing staff?
1. This change is HIGHLY COMPLEX
2. This change is SOMEWHAT COMPLEX
3. This change is SIMPLE
4. This change is VERY SIMPLE

How different will things be after the change?

Considerations: How different will things feel after this change is made? Does making this change require a
change in workflows? Will it change anybody’s job description?
1. This change will make things VERY DIFFERENT
2. This change will make things SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT
3. This change will make things A LITTLE DIFFERENT
4. This change will make things NOT NOTICEABLY DIFFERENT

Average the numerical results for each question, and pay particular attention to any average scores (or agency-
specific scores) below 3. Generally speaking, a group of lower scores on this assessment will mean a greater need for
Change Management throughout the project. Consider the results from this assessment as you:
› Design your sponsorship
› Identify resource needs
› Plan communications
› Develop coaching and training plans

Design Your Sponsorship

One of the critical elements of any change effort is a definition of sponsorship. Sponsors play different roles – some
will be Activators, Promoters, part of a Sponsorship Coalition, or the primary Sponsor for the effort. The roles are
critical as they form the governance of the change effort, and provide the structure to give the team guidance and
input along the change journey. The model below provides a definition of each of the roles of sponsorship, some
guidance on who should play each role, and some of the messages that each role is responsible for. (See worksheet,
pages 6-7)

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Sponsorship Model Overview

Sponsor
Sponsorship Coalition
Promoters
Activators

The Sponsor
 Role: Is the project’s “owner”.
 Who: Should be as high-level as
possible.
 Message: Defines what success of
the project accomplishes for the
organization. Ties the project to the
organization’s overall strategy.
 Speaks to: All levels in the
organization.

The Sponsorship Coalition

 Is made up of the Promoters and the Sponsor.

Promoters
 Role: Are the “cabinet members” for the Sponsor. Offer input, assist in implementation.
 Who: The leaders of departments or agencies within an organization.
 Message: Cheerleads for the sponsor. Defines success for each department or agency. Bears
responsibility for bringing messages in to the Coalition, such as trouble spots.
 Speaks to: Activators

Activators
 Role: Is at the front lines of implementation.
 Who: Top-level managers or supervisors of workers impacted by the change.
 Message: Defines what success of the project accomplishes for the work group; makes the case for how the change
will make daily work better.
 Speaks to: Mid-level managers and front-line staff.

Assess Your Organization and Risks

Assessing the organization’s readiness for change gives the Change Team guidance as to where to spend the most
effort, and it also can illuminate risks that could take a project off-course. Within the state government context, this
is further complicated by the difference between agencies. The first step is to develop an instrument to gather the
necessary information, which is followed by some analysis of how this information changes the Change Plan. If the
change is to happen across many agencies, you may wish to assign scores separately for each agency, in order to
highlight agencies where a heavier investment of Change Management resources is necessary. If possible, the
sample size should be sufficient to enable averaging of scores, in order to not be overly-influenced by individual
respondents.

Organizational Assessment
This simple three-question instrument can be delivered at the same time as the Change Level Assessment, if that
allows for greater efficiency. Delivery methods can include verbal surveys, paper surveys, or online surveys (See

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worksheet, pages 8-9 for an example). Responses should be captured in numerical format, according the the
numbers for each row.

What is your agency’s capacity for this change?

Considerations: How many other things are changing at your agency right now? How adequate is your staffing? Are
there other major initiatives underway?
1. NO CAPACITY for change
2. LOW CAPACITY for change
3. SOME CAPACITY for change
4. HIGH CAPACITY for change

What is your agency’s readiness to execute a change?

Considerations: What is your agency’s history of executing changes? How comfortable is your agency’s leadership
with change? How comfortable are the mid-level managers and supervisors? What about the front line staff?
1. NO READINESS for change
2. LOW READINESS for change
3. SOME READINESS for change
4. HIGH READINESS for change

How supportive is the sponsorship for this change in your agency?

Considerations: Thinking about the individual or individuals most likely to act as the sponsor for this change in your
agency: Do they have a track record of supporting change initiatives? Are their direct reports likely to follow their
lead on this change? What about front-line staff?
1. NO SPONSORSHIP for change
2. LOW SPONSORSHIP for change
3. SOME SPONSORSHIP for change
4. HIGH SPONSORSHIP for change

Risk Assessment
Compile the results of the Organizational Assessment by averaging the numerical answers for each question, either
for state government as a whole, or by agency. Any average score below a 3 should draw your attention. Some
potential risks and responses for low scores on each of the three questions are:

Low-Score Risk Response

Spend extra effort defining and securing
Change may be hampered by competing
Agency Capacity resources for the change; be prepared to use
priorities.
feedback for corrective action.
Spend extra effort in identifying your
Cynicism or discomfort may create barriers
Agency Readiness sponsors for the plan; coach sponsors well;
to change.
leverage celebrations of success.
Front-line staff may not learn about the
Spend extra effort on your communications;
Sponsor Support change, or may not understand its
develop a robust training plan.
importance.

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Identify Resource Needs
In order for the change to stay on schedule and properly take hold, you will need specific resources assigned to the
process. These may include fiscal resources, physical resources, directly-assigned personnel, and
time/effort/attention from others.

The purpose of this task isn’t about budgeting—hopefully the Project Manager has that covered for the project, but it
may highlight some additional needs that the Project Manager may not have considered. Stay focused just on those
needs you have for the people side of change, not for the project itself. (See worksheets, page 10 for an example)

Ask the team the following questions:

People Resources
› Do we have all the right people on our Change Team? Are they available to do the work?
› Do we need any others to help support us with time or attention?

Fiscal Resources
› Will we need budget for materials, such as for communications?
› Will we need budget for people’s time?

Physical Resources
› Do we have the materials we need to manage the change?
› Do we need physical spaces for some phases of our work?
› Do we need electronic spaces (e.g website or sharepoint site)?

Check and Adjust Plan

You’re nearly there! The first step, preparing for change, is nearly complete, but first we need to consider what
potential roadblocks we’ll encounter and how we’ll overcome them. The one thing that the team can definitely
anticipate, no matter what the change is, is that there will be resistance. Instead of being reactive to any resistance
that the team encounters along the change journey, it’s important to anticipate and plan for resistance.

The change team should work together to develop a “Check and Adjust” plan. (See worksheets, page 11 for an
example) This plan will help to anticipate resistance, identify it when it occurs, and have a thoughtful plan to address
the resistance. Through a discussion, the team should identify as many points of potential resistance that they can
think of. Then, for each potential resistance, answer the question:
 How will we be able to identify it when it happens?

This question is intended to identify measures that the team should monitor as the change is rolled out. Measure
might be things like number of trainings completed, number of downloads, or number of “workarounds” that are
accessed. Each potential resistance should have a unique way to measure it.

The second question to answer for each potential resistance is:

 What should we do about it?

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This is the team’s response to the resistance. It’s critical that the response be thoughtful and use the entire change
sponsorship model to support the change. For example, if the resistance requires additional communication, be as
specific as possible regarding who the communication should come from, how frequently, and what the message is.

Below is a simple framework to use in creating the check and adjust plan:

Potential Resistance How to Identify How to Address

What’s the resistance that How will we be able to What should we do about
we anticipate to this identify when it happens? it?
change?

Plan to Celebrate Success

Change requires a “glass half full” mindset. There will be setbacks, but in the end, we know that change is good and
will move the orgnaization to be better overall. As a result, while we want to anticipate and plan for resistance, we
also want to anticipate and plan for success. (See worksheets, pages 12-13 for an example)

Below are a few simple questions to guide the team to develop a plan to celebrate success:
1. What are the key indicators of success in this change effort?
Before launch, the team should consider what their “success metrics” will be. Answer the question: “We’ll
know we’ve been successful with change when….”

2. What are the points along the “change journey” that we should celebrate?
Sometimes there are points along the journey that need to be celebrated, not just when you reach your
destination. Consider which milestones will be important to celebrate.

3. How should we plan to celebrate the success in #1 and 2 above?

Identify how to celebrate each success in #1 and 2 above. Don't forget to include these items in the
Communications Plan that you will develop in Step 2: Manage Change.

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Leadership Reflection Waypoint

“The only thing that is constant is change.”

—Heraclitus, Greek philiosopher, 5th century B.C.

At this point, you have completed the first step to preparing for change. It’s an important time for change leaders to
stop, step back, and reflect on the learnings and insights they’ve gained so far, in order to be better prepared for the
change journey ahead.

Below are a set of questions to consider, perhaps through a discussion within the change team and including the
sponsor. Some of the questions might be:
 What have we learned about the capacity for change in this organization?
 What are the elements that are most challenging? Where do we anticipate that we will succeed?
 How is culture impacting the ability for this organization to accept the change we are preparing for?

This discussion should lead to a set of insights that will help guide the change effort, but can also be important
guideposts for leadership of the organization to assess the “change readiness” of your organization. Leaders might
consider these questions:
 If change is especially challenging for this organization, how can the leadership team work to better prepare
the organization to have the capacity for change?
 How are our challenges with change related to our success as an organization?

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OFM Change Management Playbook 14
Step 2 | Manage Change
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer
yourself in any DIRECTION you choose.”
—Dr. Seuss

It’s time to jump in! You now have the supports in place to make this change effort a success – the change team, an
assessment of the magnitude of the change, a plan for every risk or type of resistance, and an assessment of
resources required. These are the critical foundations for decision-making and definition of the change.

Now it’s time to build the plan to manage change. Some of the questions this step will answer are:

 What should we tell people about this change effort?

 Who do we need to inform?
 How will we ensure that the change “sticks”?
 How will we inform people that they need to work differently?

It’s important that you work through this step together with the change team, and review it with the sponsorship
coalition. Having their support and buy-in will ensure that you’re all on the same page – just in case the going gets
tough.

Develop Communications Plan

A Communication Plan is a core element to any change implementation. We recommend that you build the
communications plan in two steps (See worksheets, pages 14-21 for an example):

First, we will identify a sender, a receiver, and a mode of communication. In preparing to design our communication
plan, we need to make sure we have all the appropriate parts and pieces identified correctly. Here’s an example of
this exercise:

SENDER MODE RECEIVER

 Governor  Town Hall  HR Managers
 State HR Director  Face-to-Face  HR Staff
 HR Managers  Email Distribution Lists  Agency Staff
 Agency Leaders (please specify)  Goal 5 Council
 Goal 5 council  Website  Labor Representative
 State HR  Sharepoint
 Deputies  Agency Newsletters
Results WA Cohort  EOC Report-Out
Participants

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Second, we will want to identify the specific messages that will need to be communicated throughout the change
effort. We use a simple format to define each communication: Description, Timing, Sender, Receiver(s), Mode, and
Main Messages. This format should be used for as many messages as the change team can anticipate in advance.
Here’s an example format (see the workbook for a full example of a communication plan).

COMMUNICATION #1: DESCRIPTION

Timing: (When will this communication take place?)

Sender: _____________________________________________________

Receiver(s): _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Mode: _____________________________________________________

Bullet list of main messages:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

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Develop Sponsor Plan
At this point, you’ve identified your sponsor, your promoters and your activators. But those individuals will need
much more to help them be successful. They need talking points for discussing your change effort and they need to
know with whom they need to be communicating those talking points.

For your Sponsor, your Promoters and your Activators, you will define:

 What are the key messages they need to be communicating?

 Who should they be communicating with?

This step is critical to ensure your sponsorship coalition has what they need to support the change effort. Share the
sponsor plan with your sponsors and promoters, and give them an overview of what you expect from them. This
preparation will go a long way to ensuring you have the support you need to manage change. (See worksheets,
pages 22-23 for an example)

Develop Coaching Plan

The Coaching Plan is simply a way to prepare to lend encouragement to members of your Sponsorship Coalition as
they undertake efforts to support the change process. It is helpful to pllan for this in advance, and to set the
expectation that they will be coached. This will minimize the likelihood of an awkward conversation if things aren’t
going as planned and you need to coach without preparation.

Think ahead to determine when you will need to coach the Sponsor, Promotors, and Activators. Each will likely need
to hear a different message at different times. If nothing else, the pre-established coaching routine will serve to keep
them accountable to the role they play in Change Management. For each type of sponsor, determine how many
times they will need coaching, when those coaching sessions will happen, and who will coach them.

Note: Depending on the makeup of your Sponsorship Coalition, the Sponsor may be the coach for the Promoters,
and a Promoter may serve as a coach for the Activators. (See worksheets, page 24, for an example)

Develop Training Plan

Not unlike the Sponsorship Coalition, the front-line employees who are affected by this change will need to know in
advance that they will have opportunities to be trained in relation to the change. The size and complexity of the
Training Plan will be directly proportional to the size and complexity of the change.

Think ahead about who will be affected, and what they will need to learn about how the change affects them: Will
they need to learn new procedures or processes? Will they need to learn how to use new software or tools? How will
this change their daily work?

To develop your Training Plan, determine the full list of target audiences, when they will need training, who will do
the training, and what mode the training will be delivered by. Simple changes could be communicated by an email or

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a short video, while complex changes may require the scheduling of training classes with an in-person instructor.
(See worksheets, page 25, for an example)

The trainer(s) should develop the actual curriculum, but that content should be vetted with both the Project Manager
and the Change Manager.

Review and Refine Check and Adjust Plan

At this point, you have started to involve more people in the change effort – from sponsors to promoters to
stakeholders. You may have learned about more risks or even encountered resistance. Along the way, make sure
that the change team is updating the “Check and Adjust Plan” to account for this new information. In order to make
these adjustments, pay attention and catalog actual resistance and the evidence that makes you certain resistance is
happening. For each resistance point identified, a strategy for addressing that resistance must be developed.

Leadership Reflection Waypoint

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

—Mahatma Ghandi

Congratulations, you’re ready to launch! Making change happen is hard work, but with the first two steps of your
change plan complete, your change effort already has dramatically increased the chances for a successful outcome.

As change leaders, we often encounter resistance. This resistance can be frustrating, especially when you have a
vision for how things will be better through the change effort. Resistance can manifest itself in many forms –
confusion, distrust, apathy, disinterest, rejection. From time to time, it’s important for change leaders to take a step
back from managing change and consider what the change “feels” like. Does it feel like more work? Does it feel like
my leaders aren’t listening to me?

One of the best ways to create engagement in change is to have people believe that leaders are in the change with
them. That means having empathy for what the change feels like, and acknowledging that it is going to be hard. It
also means communicating “what’s in it for me” with the people at the front lines of change. It doesn’t mean backing
away from the challenge, but it is important to show that “we’re in this together.”

As you look back at the work you’ve done to manage change, consider these questions together with the change
team:

 What have we learned about connecting better with the people at the front lines of change?
 What have we learned about being change leaders?

(See worksheets, page 26)

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Step 3 | Reinforce Change

“THE WAY POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS CARRIED OUT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE
AMOUNT.”
—B. F. SKINNER

Now is no time to let your guard down! Even the best-executed changes can ultimately fail if they aren’t properly
reinforced throughout the organization. Use the tools in this section to ensure that your change stays on track and
ultimately becomes “adopted” by the organization.

Gather and Analyze Feedback

It’s highly likely that something will go wrong as the change rolls out. Having the team discipline to listen to feedback
and respond with reasonable changes will support the eventual adoption of the change—nobody wants to feel like
the change has been rammed down and that they haven’t been heard.

Develop a matrix that captures specific feedback you have heard, and work with the Project Manager and the
Sponsor to determine what you can do about it. It may be helpful to set yourself a regular calendar to watch for these
bumps in the road—they are often much easier to correct when they are identified early. (See worksheets, page 27)

Monitor and Adjust Communications

Similarly to watching for feedback about the change, you need to watch for feedback about the communications.
One person might have been confused by part of an email, while another might not have understood what they
heard at their staff meeting, and a supervisor might express concern that the communications will increase the
anxiety of their front-line staff about the change. At the same time, you may hear from others for whom the
communications are working great. Whatever the feedback, it will be very important to catalog it and leverage it to
adjust further communications as necessary. (See worksheets, page 28)

When you gather this feedback, determine if it affects any future communications you have planned, and if so, adjust
them accordingly.

Implement Resistance Management

It’s time to act! You are at a critical juncture for this change effort, and for all of your planning and preparation to be
worthwhile, the change team will need to take action to implement the Check & Adjust Plan.
Use the Check & Adjust Plan as a starting point. If any of the challenges you conceived of then have come to pass,
you have a pre-determined strategy. For unanticipated challenges, you will need to determine new responses. (See
worksheet page 29)

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Celebrate Successes
Earlier in the process, your team identified probable opportunities for celebrating success. Now is the time to dust off
those recommendations, check them against how the changes have developed, and choose those key celebrations
that you can have.

This step is important because it not only gives positive reinforcement to teams or individuals who have excelled at
implementing the change, but it also gives hope and encouragement to those teams or individuals who may be
struggling with the change.
Based on the plan you developed for Celebrating Success, review your key indicators at the pre-determined points,
and implement “celebrations”, adjusting them as necessary. To make these decisions, answer these two questions:

1. Which of our three key indicators have had the greatest success?
2. Which of our planned celebrations are still highly relevant, based on where we are in the change? Which
should we implement?

(See worksheets, page 30)

Leadership Reflection Waypoint

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

—John F. Kennedy

Now that you have completed—or at least largely completed—your Change Management process, capturing
answers to the following questions will set you up for greater success next time:

1. What have we learned about ourselves as leaders by going through this Change process? What can we take
back to our roles in our respective agencies?
2. What surprised us most in this Change process?
3. What would we have done differently, knowing what we know now?
4. What is the number one piece of advice you would give to the Change Manager for the next State HR
Change Management process?

(See worksheets, page 31)

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Building the Change Team

Identify Team Members

The Change Team doesn’t have to be big, but it does have to be active. The
team should be at least three individuals who have:

› The ability and willingness to contribute sufficient time to the effort

› A thorough understanding of the change to be supported
› Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
› The support of leadership

Assign Team Roles & Responsibilities

Your team will need to assign at least two roles:

› Convener
› Change Manager

The Convener will be responsible for managing the Change Team, but not the
change itself. This individual will set meetings, prepare agendas, gather
resources, distribute tasks, and drive communication.
The Change Manager, on the other hand, is responsible for managing the
change itself. They will lead the team through discussions that will satisfy each of
the portions of this toolkit, as they build the Change Management Plan. While the
development of the change management strategy will be a collaborative effort of
the whole team, the Change Manager will be the one responsible for compiling
and executing the plan.

Convener:

Change Manager:

Team members:

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Objective, Scope, Measures

Objective:
The objective, simply, is the intended outcome of the change. Defining this
carefully will provide a “north star” for the change process. As you define the
objective, answer these questions:
› Will there be an “outome” of this change, and can you describe it?
› What effect will this change have on the organization?

Ultimately, you will want to draft a simple statement that describes what the
change aims to do. This can be used as a short “elevator speech” as to what the
change is and why it is being undertaken.
Objective:

Scope of Effort:
The Scope of Effort describes the work necessary to achieve your stated
Objective. This is probably a longer statement than the Objective. As you draft
your Scope of Effort, answer these questions:
› Who will it affect? How?
› Why is it happening now? Is it urgent? Why?
› What are we doing?
› What will it make better? How?
› How are we doing it?
› By when do we want to be complete?

Scope of Effort:

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Measures:
We need to be able to know how to measure the change effort, so we can
identify whether we are make progress or not. Some examples of measures that
are used for change efforts include survey responses, readily available data (e.g.
number of times something is accessed on a website), or a combination of both.
A good guide for measures is the SMART model. The measures should be
specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
Potential Measures:

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Change Level Assessment

What is the reach of the change? That is, how

broadly will this change reach across our
workforce?
Considerations: What percentage of the workforce will be affected by this? Will it
affect everybody the same, or will it only have a major effect on some
individuals?
1. This change will have BROAD REACH
2. This change will have SOME REACH
3. This change will have LITTLE REACH
4. This change will have MINIMAL REACH

What is the complexity of executing the change?

Considerations: How simple or complex will the execution of this change be?
Does it require the replacement of systems or software? Can it be managed
internally, with existing staff?
1. This change is HIGHLY COMPLEX
2. This change is SOMEWHAT COMPLEX
3. This change is SIMPLE
4. This change is VERY SIMPLE

How different will things be after the change?

Considerations: How different will things feel after this change is made? Does
making this change require a change in workflows? Will it change anybody’s job
description?
1. This change will make things VERY DIFFERENT
2. This change will make things SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT
3. This change will make things A LITTLE DIFFERENT
4. This change will make things NOT NOTICEABLY DIFFERENT

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Based on what we have scored here, what parts
of our plan will need particular attention?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Sponsorship Coalition

Sponsorship Model Overview

Sponsor
Sponsorship
Coalition
Promoters
Activators
The Sponsor
 Role: Is the project’s
“owner”.
 Who: Should be as
high-level as possible.
 Message: Defines what success of the project accomplishes for the organization.
Ties the project to the organization’s overall strategy.
 Speaks to: All levels in the organization.

The Sponsorship Coalition

 Is made up of the Promoters and the Sponsor.

Promoters
 Role: Are the “cabinet members” for the Sponsor. Offer input, assist in
implementation.
 Who: The leaders of departments or agencies within an organization.
 Message: Cheerleads for the sponsor. Defines success for each department or
agency. Bears responsibility for bringing messages in to the Coalition, such as
trouble spots.
 Speaks to: Activators

Activators
 Role: Is at the front lines of implementation.
 Who: Top-level managers or supervisors of workers impacted by the change.
 Message: Defines what success of the project accomplishes for the work group;
makes the case for how the change will make daily work better.
 Speaks to: Mid-level managers and front-line staff.

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Let’s Name Some Names
Please fill in the blanks with those individuals or groups that you think should fill
each of the three sponsorship roles:

Sponsor:

Promoters:

Activators:

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Assess your Organization and Risks

What is your agency’s capacity for this change?

Considerations: How many other things are changing at your agency right now?
How adequate is your staffing? Are there other major initiatives underway?
1. NO CAPACITY for change
2. LOW CAPACITY for change
3. SOME CAPACITY for change
4. HIGH CAPACITY for change

What is your agency’s readiness to execute a

change?
Considerations: What is your agency’s history of executing changes? How
comfortable is your agency’s leadership with change? How comfortable are the
mid-level managers and supervisors? What about the front line staff?
1. NO READINESS for change
2. LOW READINESS for change
3. SOME READINESS for change
4. HIGH READINESS for change

How supportive is the sponsorship for this

change in your agency?
Considerations: Thinking about the individual or individuals most likely to act as
the sponsor for this change in your agency: Do they have a track record of
supporting change initiatives? Are their direct reports likely to follow their lead on
this change? What about front-line staff?
1. NO SPONSORSHIP for change
2. LOW SPONSORSHIP for change
3. SOME SPONSORSHIP for change
4. HIGH SPONSORSHIP for change

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Based on the Risk Assessment Table in the
Change Management Playbook, where will we
spend extra effort, given what we learned from
this assessment?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Identify Resource Needs

People Resources
 Do we have all the right people on our Change Team? Are they available to do the work?

 Do we need any others to help support us with time or attention?

Fiscal Resources
 Will we need budget for materials, such as for communications?

 Will we need budget for people’s time?

Physical Resources
 Do we have the materials we need to manage the change?

 Do we need physical spaces for some phases of our work?

 Do we need electronic spaces (e.g website or sharepoint site)?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Check and Adjust Plan

Check and Adjust Plan

The change team should work together to develop a “Check and Adjust” plan.
This plan will help to anticipate resistance, identify it when it occurs, and have a
thoughtful plan to address the resistance. Through a discussion, the team
should identify as many points of potential resistance that they can think of.
Then, for each potential resistance, answer these questions:
 How will we be able to identify it when it happens?
 What should we do about it?

Potential Resistance How to Identify How to Address

What’s the resistance that How will we be able to What should we do about it?
we anticipate to this identify when it happens?
change?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Plan to Celebrate Success

1. What are the key indicators of success in

this change effort?

2. What are the points along the “change

journey” that we should celebrate?

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 3. How should we plan to celebrate the
success in #1 and 2 above?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Develop Communication Plan

PART ONE: COMMUNICATION MATRIX: MIX AND MATCH

For every communication we plan, we will identify a sender, a receiver, and a
mode of communication. In preparing to design our communication plan, we
need to make sure we have all the appropriate parts and pieces identified
correctly.

SENDER MODE RECEIVER

 Governor  Town Hall  HR Managers
 State HR Director  Face-to-Face  HR Staff
 HR Managers  Email Distribution  Agency Staff
 Agency Leaders Lists (please  Goal 5 Council
 Goal 5 council specify)  Labor
 State HR  Website Representative
 Deputies  Sharepoint
Results WA Cohort  Agency Newsletters
Participants

Looking at the matrix above, do we need to add or remove any of the senders to
customize for this particular change?

What other modes might we employ?

Who else might need to hear the information? Are there any receivers that aren’t
necessary for this change?

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PART TWO: COMMUNICATION PLAN & MESSAGES
Each member of the Change Team might be assigned one page of this worksheet.

The timing of the messages is pre-filled, but this may be customized depending on the
change requirements. The notes at the bottom of each sheet indicate some topics that
may be necessary to include within the message, if certain situations present
themselves (such as resistance).

Your task is to choose a sender from the list below, choose which group(s) should
receive the message, and recommend the mode of communication that would work best.
Bear in mind that not all modes are made the same. Face-to-face communication
between individuals is generally the most effective, and broadcast emails are generally
the least effective. You will have to weigh practicality against effectiveness as you fill out
your sheet. Finally, please list some bullets that will serve as a basis for developing
those communications further. If it is helpful, think about who, what, how, why and when
as you draft your bullets. These communications should be reflective of the culture of
Washington state government.

Needless to say, these won’t be the final drafts, but they will give us a great set of
starting points to begin to organize the whole campaign.

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COMMUNICATION #1: PREVIEW
Timing: Two weeks prior to launch

Sender: _____________________________________________________

Receiver(s): _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Mode: _____________________________________________________

Bullet list of main messages:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Notes: this communication may convey information related to: what to expect and when
to expect it, who else you may hear from, what the benefits of this are for you

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COMMUNICATION #2: KICKOFF/LAUNCH
Timing: At launch

Sender: _____________________________________________________

Receiver(s): _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Mode: _____________________________________________________

Bullet list of main messages:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Notes: this communication may convey information related to: benefits, details, access
details, contact information

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COMMUNICATION #3: FIRST UPDATE
Timing: Two weeks after launch

Sender: _____________________________________________________

Receiver(s): _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Mode: _____________________________________________________

Bullet list of main messages:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Notes: this communication may convey information related to: reminder, initial
clarifications, responses to resistance, how to access training or coaching, what next
steps might look like

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COMMUNICATION #4: SECOND UPDATE
Timing: Four weeks after launch

Sender: _____________________________________________________

Receiver(s): _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Mode: _____________________________________________________

Bullet list of main messages:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Notes: this communication may convey information related to: reminder, ongoing
clarifications, responses to resistance, how to access training or coaching, what next
steps might look like

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COMMUNICATION #5: CELEBRATE SUCCESSES

Timing: Six weeks after launch

Sender: _____________________________________________________

Receiver(s): _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Mode: _____________________________________________________

Bullet list of main messages:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Notes: this communication may convey information related to: stories of early
successes, how this will benefit you/your agency, responses to resistance, how to
access coaching

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COMMUNICATION #6: FINAL UPDATE/WRAP

Timing: Three months after launch

Sender: _____________________________________________________

Receiver(s): _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Mode: _____________________________________________________

Bullet list of main messages:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Notes: this communication may convey information related to: additional celebration of
success, reinforce the need for the change

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Develop Sponsor Plan

The Sponsor: ______________________

Role: Is the project’s “owner”.

Message:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Speaks to: _______________________________________________________

The Sponsorship Coalition

Is made up of the Sponsor and the Promoters.

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Promoters: _________________________________
Role: Are the “cabinet members” for the Sponsor. Offer input, assist in
implementation.

Message:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Speaks to: Activators

Activators: __________________________________
Role: Is at the front lines of implementation.

Message:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Speaks to: Front-line HR staff.

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Develop Coaching Plan

Along the way, the Sponsorship Coalition will need coaching to keep them on-
message and on-task in their roles supporting the change—it’s important to set
expectations early and often! The Coaching Plan will help you plan for these
interactions by determining timing and delivery method:

Sponsor(s) When to Coach? Who Will Coach?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Develop Training Plan

As the change rolls out, front-line employees affected by the change will need
access to training so that they can develop the knowledge and abilities they need
in order to implement the change in an ongoing way. Plan ahead for these
training interactions by determining when they will happen, who will deliver the
training, what medium the training will be delivered by, and who the target
audiences will be.

Target Audience? When to Train? Who Will Train? Medium?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Leadership Reflection Waypoint #2

What have we learned about connecting better with

the front lines of change?

What have we learned about being change leaders?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Gather and Analyze Feedback

It’s highly likely that something will go wrong as the change rolls out. Having the
team discipline to listen to feedback and respond with reasonable changes will
support the eventual adoption of the change—nobody wants to feel like the
change has been rammed down and that they haven’t been heard:

Change Feedback Received What Changes Can We Make?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Monitor and Adjust Communications

As the communications roll out on schedule, you will likely receive some
feedback—one person might have been confused by part of an email, while
another might not have understood what they heard at their staff meeting, and
perhaps a supervisor might express concern that the communications will
increase the anxiety of their front-line staff about the change. At the same time,
you may hear from others for whom the communications are working great.
Whatever the feedback, it will be very important to catalog it and leverage it to
adjust further communications as necessary:

Communication Which Future What Changes Will We

Feedback Received Communications Does Make?
This Affect?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Implement Resistance Management (Check and Adjust Plan)

Use the Check & Adjust Plan as a starting point. If any of the challenges you
conceived of then have come to pass, you have a pre-determined strategy. For
unanticipated challenges, you will need to determine new responses:

Actual Resistance Evidence of Resistance How to Address

What’s the resistance that
we have encountered? How are we sure that this What should we do about
resistance is real? it?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Celebrate Successes

Based on the plan we developed for Celebrating Success, we will review our key
indicators at the pre-determined points, and will implement our “celebrations”,
adjusting them as necessary. To make these decisions, answer these two
questions:

1. Which of our three key indicators have had the

greatest success?

2. Which of our planned celebrations are still highly

relevant, based on where we are in the change?
Which should we implement?

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OFM Change Management
Worksheet: Leadership Reflection Waypoint #3

Now that we have completed—or at least largely completed—our Change

Management, capturing answers to the following questions will set us up for
greater success next time:

1. What have we learned about ourselves as

leaders by going through this Change process?
What can we take back to our roles in our
respective agencies?

2. What surprised us most in this Change process?

3. What would we have done differently, knowing

what we know now?

4. What is the number one piece of advice you

would give to the Change Manager for the next
State HR Change Management process?

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