Managing Change While Maintaining Continuity Richard P. West Executive Vice Chancellor/CFO EDUCAUSE Chicago, IL May 25, 2006

2 Managing Change While Maintaining Continuity could just as easily be about Managing Continuity While Maintaining Change

3 Why Change?  “If universities were held up to accepted business standards, most would be considered grossly mismanaged”  Higher education is a service industry ripe for change –High cost increases and fewer dollars –Low productivity –Increased competition  Also, change just happens – it is a constant!

4 Change and Continuity  Constant tension between change forces and continuity forces  Balance between stability and innovation  Average client or employee wants stability –while managers strive to achieve consistency and predictability  High demand “power users” want more flexibility, functionality and engagement –managers need to continuously improve the organization’s services, knowledge and skills

5 The Challenge  The need to recognize that change is constant in an organization’s service environment  Organization is constantly changing due to employee turnover, employee skills development, experiences and knowledge gained  Some level of continuity is essential for both the organization and individuals

6 Change and Continuity – Part II  Both clients and employees are constantly changing –Never ending turnover requires retraining all the time, but also gives the opportunity of new ideas with new employees –Employees gain experience each day and develop skills if they are properly motivated –Professional development investments in people –Potential of employee’s better understanding and acculturation with the organization’s mission and goals

7 The Learning Curve  Organizations have learning curves  Individuals, collectively, are the organization  Individual learning, cumulatively, is organizational learning  As the mix of people and their experiences and skills are changing, the learning curve in an organization is constantly in flux

8 Elements for Organizational Learning  New skills, attitudes, values and behaviors acquired over time  What is learned becomes the property of some collective unit  What is learned remains within the organization even if individuals leave DeBella and Nevis, 1998

9 Getting Comfortable with Change  Grounded in learning for the individual –What does any change mean for the employee –What does any change mean for the employee’s work processes –What does any change mean for the individual’s work unit  Predictability and continuity always important for employees

10 Recognizing Differences  Fast or slower  Role in the organization  Generational styles –Traditionalist = evolution, not revolution –Boomers = how they can make an impact –Gen X = autonomy and honest feedback –Millennials = coaching and collaboration  Time spent “up front” on learning will reduce on-going individual and organizational dysfunction later

11 Organizational Strategies to Manage Change, Yet Maintain Continuity

12 Change Response Strategies Quality Improvement (QI) philosophy Develop Action Plans, Productivity Proposals Process Review Implement Proposals Reporting and Measurement Identify Improvement Targets Rewards & Recognition

13 Improving Service through Changing Technology Total Cost of Ownership in ERPT=C=O “TCO is an attempt to quantify the life-cycle financial impact of deploying information technology in an institution.” T = (C 1 + C 2 + C 3 + C 4 +C 5 …C N ) = O Gartner Group “TCO A Critical Tool for Managing IT” Bill Redman, et al

14 TCO in ERP: Life-Cycle Costs Time Operate and MaintainReplace Costs Acquire and Implement Total Life-Cycle Costs

15 Applying TCO: Life-Cycle & Generations  Personnel & Support………..annual  Software…………………….1 – 3 years  Hardware……………………2 – 5 years  Wiring………………………5 – 15 years  Physical Plant………………30+ years CAUSE/EFFECT “Departmental Budgeting for Information Technology” John L. Oberlin

16 Applying TCO: Best Practices/Benchmarking “Best practices for total cost of ownership (TCO) are based on proper deployment of technology, and integrated with process and management practices.” Gartner Group “TCO Best Practices Amplify IT Cost Reductions" Michael O’Connell

17 Services & Technology: The ERP Infrastructure ERP strategy has to be an improvement of services strategy

18 Organization-wide Strategy to Communicate with Employees & to Encourage Change  The Balanced Scorecard –Employee climate surveys and acting on results –Customer satisfaction surveys and acting on results –Benchmarking –Seeking out best practice opportunities  Most consistent response from climate surveys is need for communication and opportunity for improvement in skills

19 Employee Communication  Communication strategy –Constant –Integrated into the whole organization –Highly visible –Recognizes generational differences –Provides opportunities for discussion and learning –Articulates the vision

20 Leadership Responsibilities  Listen, reflect, learn and adapt  Be a role model  Provide for professional development  Use teams  Make sure everyone practices what the organization preaches

21 The End Game It’s all about investing in people and they are constantly changing. So you do, too!