Changing social care: an inclusive approach
Workforce involvement and participation: Checklists
Workforce involvement and participation methods
- Self-managed work teams.
- Planning committees or task forces.
- Participative decision-making and delegation.
- Problem-solving groups.
From Lines 2004; Styhre 2004.
Types of training initiatives during a programme of change
- Early on, the workforce should be provided with ‘awareness’ training to help them contemplate and understand the need for change.
- Next, individuals should be able to question the implications for improvement and identify any gaps in their skills.
- In the ‘action’ phase, individuals should test out new ways of working and assess advanced training needs for their own professional development.
From Horwarth 2001.
Reasons for resistance
- Personal disposition.
- Fear of the unknown.
- Fear of loss of status or job insecurity.
- Disruption of routines or relationships.
- Poor timing of change.
- Reward systems that do not reinforce adoption.
From Goltz and Hietapelto 2002; Piderit 2000; Trader-Leigh 2002; Watters et al. 2004; Woodward and Hendry 2004.
Minimising resistance
- Be clear up front how responsibilities will change.
- Assign new targets and link rewards to them.
- Identify whether changes will affect resource allocation.
- Redistribute power without reducing control over consequences in the organisation.
- Keep in mind keepers of indirect power – those with networks and resources to most effectively implement change.
- Chose change agents (or champions) with the potential to effectively influence behaviour.
From Goltz and Hietapelto 2002.
