Tips and tricks to effectively manage change in your library

1. Effectively Managing
Change
Megan Drake
msmegandrake@gmail.com

2. My Nerves by tigitogs available under a
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 License

3. What do we mean by change management?
• Change management variously defined as:
• Analyzing and altering processes for improved alignment with organizational
goals (organizational development)
• Managing the human side of change, including readiness and resistance
(transition management)
• Making changes to a project plan (project management)
• Making changes to an application’s specifications or requirements (software
development)

4. What’s so bad about that?
The process of change contains multiple layers of challenge:
• Process redesign
• Identifying priorities of services and work
• Documenting current work
• Figuring out how to get from one to the other
• Change management
• Building staff engagement
• Handling resistance
• Timing & planning
• How much happens before the new system / process?
• How much happens after going live?

5. Two aspects of change
Organizational Development
• Services offered
• Workflows and processes
• Staff allocation
• Metrics
Transition Management
• Resistance to change
• Engagement with change
• Persistence of new processes
• Mindset for ongoing improvements

6. Organizational development
• Identify organizational goals
• Identify stakeholders
• Prioritize current services and desired new services
• Document current processes
• Map current work to new and existing services
(This includes letting go!)

7. Supporting Change
• Identify Stakeholders
• Functional Leaders, Project Manager, Executive Sponsor
• Empower decision making at all levels
• Leadership comes from top down and is strong throughout
project

8. Focus on “Why”
• Don’t get bogged down in “this is how we’ve always done it”
• Throw all existing processes, configurations and codes out the
window. This is your opportunity to start fresh!
• Square pegs don’t like round holes

9. Communication Structures
• Project kickoff – create excitement!
• Centralized point of reference for documentation
• Regular updates to all staff
• Meetings, meetings, meetings
• Celebrate wins and milestones throughout the project

10. Two aspects of change
Organizational Development
• Services offered
• Workflows and processes
• Staff allocation
• Metrics
Transition Management
• Resistance to change
• Engagement with change
• Persistence of new processes
• Mindset for ongoing improvements

11. Managing Resistance to Change
Clear-Sky Tornado Alert: The Sky is Falling by KAZ Vorpal available under a Attribution 2.0 License

12. Managing Resistance to Change
• Explain the decision (organizational and personal)
• Help staff take responsibility for their own transition
• Involve staff in organizational development activities
• Provide plan for ongoing reinforcement of change
• Communicate, communicate, communicate

13. Change: The Valley of Despair used with permission from D Scott Smith

14. So what can you do now?
• Document where you are going
• Identify your stakeholders
• Create a communication plan
• Document your goals for the project
• Prepare for Chicken Little
• Document what you’re doing
• Document all current workflows and then throw them out the window
• Prioritize work in terms of goals for the project
Use the above to engage staff to begin thinking their role in the vision

15. Be The Dude
The Dude big lebowski by Cthulhu79 available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

16. Questions?
Megan Drake
msmegandrake@gmail.com