Chief Learning Officer - September 2007 - (Page 25)

learning solutions Managing Change One challenge companies face is that their capabilities to manage a major business change usually are not strong. Accenture’s most recent High-Performance Workforce Study showed organizations struggle to support their employees adequately through times of change. Of the senior executives surveyed, 57 percent rated their change management support as ineffective or just average. Only 8 percent rated their change management capabilities as “highly effective.” Managing change is a distinctive capability in itself, requiring the disciplined application of leading practices and methods over time as a change program moves through conception to foundation building to deployment to sustained operations. Many organizations find they do not have the expertise required to manage change optimally. Others fail to take heed of received wisdom or might attempt to take shortcuts, leading to problems that have to be fixed down the road anyway. Effective change management involves integrated programs along four dimensions: • Leadership: Steering the organization with consistency, supported by effective communications programs and change sponsorship planning. • Ownership: Creating demand for the change on the part of the culture rather than simply trying to force change. • Enablement: Providing learning, development and support to help the workforce perform in new ways. • Navigation: Planning and managing major program releases. A learning department can provide important assistance, especially in the first three categories. Planning effective two-way communications programs, moving an organizational culture in a new direction, helping the new leader understand the existing competencies of the workforce and planning learning events such as town halls can improve the speed at which the company and its people assimilate change. Assurance of Continued Strength in Leadership For some companies, a change in CEO signals a new strategic and cultural direction, and the learning department can play an important role in helping employees understand new priorities. For other companies, the overriding concern is to assure employees and stakeholders that the management change does not signal major upheaval. I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer 25 September 2007 Take JetBlue Airways, where founding CEO David Neeleman recently moved into the chairman position, with former President Dave Barger becoming the new chief executive officer. The change came at a time of real introspection for the airline, which suffered a serious disruption of service from a severe February 2007 snowstorm that closed several airports, leading to stranded travelers along the JetBlue network. For a company whose employees (whom JetBlue calls “crew members”) pride themselves on service, dealing with angry customers was a rare and unwelcome event. Before moving into his new executive position, Neeleman led the charge to develop what the airline called a customer bill of rights, which detailed JetBlue’s responsibility to keep its customers http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - September 2007

Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Strategies Selling up, Selling Down Take Five Imperatives Guest Editorial Learning Solutions Embarking on a Learning Journey Clo Profile Environment CIGNA Service Operations: Making Strategic Change Happen, and Making It Stick Tactics Black & Decker: On-Demand Learning Creation and Consumption Productivity The Army You Have Human Capital Holiday Inn Express: Delivering Critical Training Globally Case Study: Tegan Jones Business Intelligence Case Study: Lisa Rummler Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - September 2007

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