Making change stick: A universal framework

Embedding organisational change is the last 10% of any change transformation and yet it holds the key to making things stick. It’s so easy to think, ‘we’ve got this’ and move onto to the next change initiative only to later realise that the change is not cemented into the DNA of individuals and teams.

So, what do we mean by organisational change? Here are just a few examples:

• You’ve launched your new values in the organisation and yet not everyone knows them, let alone lives them.

• You expect managers to take on business development as part of their role, you’ve provided training, you’ve set KPI’s and yet managers continue to revert to old habits.

• You’ve purchased LinkedIn Learning, told everyone about it but only a small percentage of your workforce are using it.

• You make a stand at your most recent conference about the importance of collaboration and not working in silos and yet months later too many people are still behaving territorial.

As we reflect on successful organisational changes the Tonka Learning team have supported over the past few years, they all share the same things… strategies to deliver on the last 10%. 

In the example below, Worrells approached us to elevate the technical capability of their workforce. This plan involved managers with specific expertise in systems and technologies creating online videos on MS Stream and making available to everyone in a structured format. This program was called Technical Academy (TA).

Systems & Processes	TA was built into all employee individual development plans.
Communities of Practice	Each week teams would get together for 45-minutes to share their learnings from the videos watched in the previous week, facilitated by their manager.
Maintaining Momentum	Managers met together every fortnight for 45-minutes to discuss wins and learnings and share ideas. This continued for 6-months.
Measurement & Reporting	Compliance rates were presented to the Partners every month. Managers were trained on how to solicit feedback from their team in the first month (pulse checks).
Training	Managers were trained on how to create and upload online videos and facilitate weekly team meetings (community of practice sessions).
Time Back	Other training was de-prioritised during the implementation of TA. Managers were provided with time-charge allowances while creating online videos.
Senior Leadership Buy-In	Senior leaders attended all team weekly meetings (community of practice sessions) even though managers facilitated these sessions.
Recognition	Each Friday the Managing Partner would thank the producer of that week’s videos and talk about the value of the topic to the business.
Ownership	Post TA, employees assessed against a 100-point technical checklist and agreed on future development goals.
New Starters	New employees are provided with a TA pathway from day 1.