You step into a new environment that has performed poorly for a long time. I could be talking about a manufacturing plant, a church, or a hospital.
Full of vigor and new ideas, you immediately see an abundance of low hanging fruit ready to be plucked from the trees of failure.
A plan of action is developed and the journey to improvement begins. Soon, negative vibes come your way. Primarily from veterans who have "always done it a certain way". You know you must win them over but this is easier said than done.
Any suggestions on how to succeed? I have a few but want to hear yours first.
This scenario exists in customer-supplier relationships. A supplier constantly gets beat up for poor quality. Initially having cordial relations, the dealings have soured after years of chargebacks, insults, criticisms, etc. You come in as the new guy responsible for developing the supplier. Seems like an impossible task.
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Yes a culture change is very difficult to promote. Even the strongest approach of using data tends to not be all that effective. So what has worked.....emphasizing that the veterans have the ability and knowledge to make the change with the support of the data. Involve them in this move by having them take a "piece of the pie" and lettig them run with it and then drive this information to prove the results. Afterall, management likes to see results in numbers.
Culture change is difficult. It can happen by engaging the entire workforce in improving the organization. Yes, it can be done and management will see the results in "the numbers"
I think you hit the nail on the head by saying the entire workforce must be engaged! But how do you do that?
I'm curious about what you meant in saying the strongest approach of using data tends to not be all that effective. Can you elaborate on that point?
I do agree that the veterans are important.
It is critical to create a structured approach to change and empowering the veterans to exercise their knowledge within the structure.
Without the structure, veterans will default to what they know as the norm or accepted way of doing things. The structured approach (born from data)keeps everyone focused on the big picture.
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