Change management in healthcare is inevitable, especially in times of crisis, innovation, or reform. However, change can also be stressful, disruptive, and challenging for your team. How can you help them cope and thrive during the transition? Here are some tips on how to build team resilience during a change management process.
Before you implement any change, make sure you communicate the purpose, vision, and goals of the change to your team. Explain why the change is necessary, what benefits it will bring, and how it aligns with the mission and values of your organization. This will help your team understand the rationale behind the change and feel more engaged and motivated to support it.
There is one key and critical difference in succeeding in change management in healthcare vs. other industries — clinician engagement. If there is no engagement, demand or buy-in from the individuals that are caring for the patients we serve, it doesn’t matter what strategy, process or tools you put in place, it will be hard to get to your desired outcomes because at the end of the day, the clinicians control the decisions on what’s the best way to manage their patients’ health and cost outcomes. Without clinician engagement, workarounds occur and little progress is made.
Break the change process into achievable phases with specific objectives. This provides a sense of progress and accomplishment, reducing anxiety and uncertainty. Defining the purpose is crucial as it creates a sense of direction, instills motivation, and fosters a shared understanding among team members, ensuring alignment and commitment to the change.
Creating a sense of urgency around the change initiatives is necessary as much as securing an early buy-in. A critical mass of supporters is key to creating momentum and sustaining the initiatives.
One thing I have found helpful is to identify champions of change within the team who are not in leadership that will help drive the change as peer to peer rather than top bottom approach. It is also helpful to offer psychological support to staff as they are navigating the change environment which sometimes may involve job losses, demotions or transfer of responsibilities. Even those who may be going up the ladder need support to navigate increasing responsibilities
Change always starts with and within individual to individual by motivation to do and allow open cultural demonstration, producing importance of it for organization in following goals and by communicating, imitations etc,, any person who starts changing himself / herself will be noticed by his / her colleagues and this leads to total change in the culture of an organization,
Change can be more successful and less stressful when your team is involved and empowered in the process. Seek their input, feedback, and suggestions on how to plan and execute the change. Encourage them to share their concerns, questions, and ideas. Delegate tasks and responsibilities that suit their skills and interests. Recognize and reward their efforts and achievements. This will help your team feel more valued, respected, and confident in their roles.
Worker consultation is a essential when planning organisational changes. 1) these people know the work better than anyone else in the business because they do the work and therefore can provide genuine insights into what changes would or wouldn’t work and why 2) consulting with workers during the planning stage can reduce stress levels by ensuring they feel more control over the change, and are likely to buy-in more to the changes if they feel they contributed to them.
A different way is mentorship and peer support. Encourage experienced team members to mentor those who may struggle with the change. This fosters a supportive environment where team members can learn from each other and share coping strategies. Involving and empowering the team is vital as it leverages their expertise, builds trust, and enhances their ownership of the change process, ultimately leading to greater resilience.
One of the ways I have found this to be successful is simply by knowing your team. Know who is passionate about a certain topic, know who your change champions will be, speak to the people who might be resistant, and get their input. While you may not be able to solve all of their concerns, it may help steer the change process in the right direction.
Building Team Resilience: The Fun Way Juggling Acts: Team members learn to juggle tasks as if they're in a circus. Adaptability, anyone? Laughter Yoga: Incorporate a dose of laughter yoga into meetings. Because giggles are the best stress-busters! Resilience Awards: Celebrate bouncing back from setbacks with quirky resilience awards. Think "Rubber Band Resilience" for that stretchy comeback. Change Karaoke: Sing your way through change challenges. Bonus points for rewriting lyrics to reflect your team's journey. Meme Mondays: Start the week with change-related memes. Laughter is the secret sauce to resilience.
During the times of change, emotionally intelligent leaders are needed. Uncertainty takes its toll on the staff. Therefore, someone who can provide direction and assurance at the top is very critical.
Change can also be demanding and challenging for your team. They may face new expectations, obstacles, or uncertainties. They may need to learn new skills, adapt to new systems, or collaborate with new partners. To help them cope and grow, provide them with adequate support and resources. Offer training, coaching, mentoring, or peer support. Provide clear guidelines, tools, and feedback. Create a safe and supportive work environment where they can express their emotions, needs, and opinions.
Offer flexible work arrangements as a method. Recognize that team members may have different needs during change. For instance, allowing flexible schedules or remote work can help them manage personal commitments while adapting to new processes. Providing support and resources is vital as it reduces stress, boosts morale, and ensures that team members have the tools and knowledge needed to navigate the change successfully, such as offering specialized training programs for new software implementation.
Offer EAP (Employee Assistance Program) if necessary for support. We never know all that employees have gone through outside of work. This inner office change may mimic or reflect a situation from their past that had a negative outcome. Look for signs of post traumatic disorder so he/she does not get loss or disenfranchised in this new change.
Change can also affect the morale and culture of your team. They may experience anxiety, frustration, or resistance. They may lose trust, cohesion, or commitment. To prevent or overcome these issues, foster a positive culture that promotes resilience. Celebrate successes and milestones. Acknowledge challenges and failures. Encourage optimism and hope. Build trust and collaboration. Emphasize the strengths and potential of your team.
Initially, leaders should focus on quick wins and creating lighthouses to motivate employees to work collaboratively and achieve more.
Make holding regular town hall meetings a nonnegotiable at your organization. In the team meetings, discuss the change process and answer employee questions. One more tip is to create a communication channel, such as an email list, where employees can ask questions and share feedback about the change.
Celebrating successes or small wins is really important to boost up the energy and zeal for the end goal. This activity will bring hype and make the change as top priority again
Make it a “we” message. We will work together. Be open and listen to the wins and opportunities. Together work on the opportunities from several perspectives.
Change is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process that requires monitoring and evaluation. You need to track the progress and impact of the change on your team and the organization. You need to collect data, feedback, and evidence to measure the outcomes and benefits of the change. You need to identify gaps, risks, or opportunities for improvement. You need to adjust and refine your strategies and actions accordingly. This will help you ensure the quality and sustainability of the change.
What change needs to be implemented inside the health care system to make improvements so using clinical practice improvement CIP model through 5 phases project phase, Diagnostic phase, implementation phase, impact phase and sustainability phase as a dynamic process for continuous quality improvement at healthcare system
Change is also a learning and growth opportunity for your team. You can help them reflect on their experiences, challenges, and achievements during the change process. You can help them identify what they learned, what they did well, what they can improve, and what they can apply to future situations. You can help them appreciate the value and meaning of the change for themselves, the team, and the organization. This will help them develop their skills, knowledge, and resilience.
Consider implementing a "Change Resilience Lab." Create a dedicated space, either physically or virtually, where team members can experiment with new approaches, share lessons learned, and brainstorm innovative solutions to emerging challenges during the change process. For example, in a software development team undergoing a transition to agile methodologies, a Change Resilience Lab could facilitate cross-functional collaboration and rapid prototyping of agile practices, leading to smoother adoption and increased team resilience. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.
The success of any change initiative depends on the ability of the organization’s leadership to collectively deliver on all of these points. Transparency can serve as a catalyst for buy in amongst the team, but it’s the alignment among leadership that truly drives the process. When leaders are united and actively endorse the change, it resonates throughout the organization. Empowering the team, addressing concerns, and providing support are all integral components. Yet, without leadership alignment, the process may lack direction and momentum. Therefore, while each aspect holds importance, it’s crucial to prioritize aligning leadership to ensure a cohesive approach from the beginning.
Admit failure if stated objectives are unmet, and new things come to light that need a course correction or simply dropping the initiative. Clearly delineating change management objectives and then sharing with the team the conditions when the initiative will be rolled back engenders trust and proves that there is a climate where admitting failures and learning from them is perfectly okay. For example, customer-driven changes need to be rolled back as they no longer want a particular change orchestrated.