STORIES & SOLUTIONS FOR THE MODERN BUSINESS USER

You may be wondering, “what do dolphins and whales have to do with data and analytics?” Academic David Feeny first made the comparison between dolphins and whales with business by explaining that dolphins surface frequently to take short breaths and maintain contact with the rest of the pod. Whales on the other hand stay submerged for longer, meaning when they need to take a breath it takes more effort and is longer. Dolphins, not whales, set the example for sustaining change.

The last two years have been filled with disruption and change, requiring organizations in all industries to quickly pivot and adapt to changing employee and consumer needs. When uncertainty is the only certainty, organizations must rethink how they build community, strengthen relationships, coach and mentor, and reinforce shared purpose and culture.

For many higher education institutions, a cloud implementation is the largest initiative undertaken in 20 years or longer. However, a successful transformation project is more than modernizing technology. Success is measured on the level of adoption and use of the new system and takes careful planning. Bringing human resources, financial, and student systems together impacts the entire institution, and as with any widespread change, developing a robust communication strategy is vital to project success.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law a year ago on March 11, 2021. The plan, which includes $350 billion dollars in emergency funding, is dedicated to mitigating pandemic impacts for state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments. While now a year old, there is still funding available and recipients still have until December 31, 2024, to assign funds and until December 31, 2026, to spend them.

We’ve all heard the stereotypes. Project Managers: IT geeks that are excited by spreadsheets and their only interaction with people is through a computer screen. Their only job is to check off boxes when things are completed and then deliver a perfect outcome for a project.

At the height of the pandemic, schools sent students home, forcing a sudden shift to remote learning and other interventions to keep students, faculty, and staff safe. In addition to creating a different college experience than prior generations, the pandemic highlighted greater need for colleges to demonstrate the true value of higher education from the student perspective.

The data is in. Employee burnout presents a daunting challenge for the entire workforce. According to the APA’s Work and Well-Being Survey of 1,501 U.S. adult workers, 79 percent of employees had experienced work-related stress in the month before the survey. When workers experience burn out, they are exhausted, less effective, and have lower engagement. With the pace of change not slowing down, what can leaders do to help their employees, teams, and organizations build resiliency, combat burnout, and fight change fatigue?

Throughout 2021, the Avaap change management team presented webinars on topics from leading through change in the public sector to how analytics can improve change initiatives. As we prepare to say goodbye to 2021, we asked our change management presenters to share one more thing about improving the change management process.

New software, mergers and acquisitions, executive leadership changes, or new policies and procedures will always bring disruption. It’s hard for individuals to change, and even harder for an entire organization to accept a new way of working. What might seem like a small change can become a huge headache and challenge if leaders do not effectively manage the people impact of business change. Knowing where your organization has been, where it is today, and what is needed to be successful in the future is key to successful transformation. Here are three things to think about if your organization is approaching change.

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What can you do when an opinion leader is negative about the organization and any changes?