measuring change

one question at a time

Anyone associated with any organisational programme will want to be able to see how it is progressing. There are metrics for objectives, benefits and milestones met, as knowing where you stand, helps guide us further on our way. In the very same way metrics are crucial for organisational change so that we can see if we´re on the right track with our change initiatives and what the effect is of change interventions. However, sometimes it can be challenging to find out how to measure change.

Measure the change journey

In an effort to satiate data hunger, change professionals may feel tempted to report the status of the change- and communication plan execution. Although retrospection, introspection and keeping track of plan execution is important, it doesn´t actually measure change.

Change takes time. It is a journey along which different stakeholders go through various stages to meet their individual change goals. One of the responsibilities of change professionals is to help organisations translate strategic vision and objectives to change goals that are specific to impacted groups.

It is helpful to map the journeys that will be necessary for each group to meet those goals. Such mapped journeys will include the smaller milestones that each stakeholder group will need to meet along the way and informs the change and communication plans. E.g. the hypothetical change goal “Share own dilemma´s and listen to teams´ ideas” may be supported by a number of interventions, ranging from leadership workshops to big room events to AMA sessions and floorwalking.

Measuring the degree to which those change milestones are met, gives a detailed view of the change status per stakeholder group and indicates where (changes to) interventions are necessary. In this example, knowing how many and what kind of questions are asked during a Q&A session, per stakeholder group, will give quite an accurate indication to which extent each stakeholder group has come to the realisation that the change applies to each individual and hence indicates the change status.

Let´s get rid of the lengthy change readiness surveys

Mostly because, #confessions, I hate filling in surveys myself, I have stopped conducting change readiness analysis based upon lengthy questionnaires about 15 years ago. But that is not the only reason. The average response rate for surveys is 25%, and for internal surveys 30%, which means a response rate of 40% is considered “high quality feedback”.

Let´s take a step back and look at the journey of that survey. Expensive time is spent, creating and editing a high quality survey, timing it correctly and possibly arranging for response incentives. The survey subsequently lands in hundreds of inboxes of busy people. On the first day 15% (average) will fill it out and 15% will delete the message right away. For the next 13 days, the survey request sits in those inboxes and takes up space in people´s mental To-Do-lists until 15% will finally respond and the remaining 55%, quite possibly consumed with guilt, will let it slide.

Surely there are many situations in which long detailed surveys offer the best efficient source of information. It is always a question of balancing investment with outcome: insights gained to accurately inform change plans.

one question at a time

Trustworthy data on the status of informs a change strategy and adaptations to planned interventions all the way to successful programme conclusion.

I have found that quick measurements, often conducted, and specifically targeted, yield great insights into change readiness and change status.

The smiley button survey systems, that have been introduced at airports years ago, inspired me to apply this method to measure change status during organisational transitions.

The concept is simple, ask one question per event only and make the threshold to respond as low as possible. At digital events a live response system can be used.

At live events, touchpads with that one question can be placed at strategic points and hosts ask everyone to leave their feedback by clicking one button only.

Responses average near 90%, which is fantastic, but asking the right question is very important. It should match the event, the phase of the programme and the stakeholder groups present. Also, to prevent people from misunderstanding and accidently giving feedback on the state of the bathrooms, it may be best to change the actual smiley faces to icons or pictures that fit the answers you´re looking for.

Key perspectives

Trustworthy data on change readiness and the status of change is crucial for the success of any transformation programme;
Measuring the status per change milestone that each stakeholder group will need to meet along the way, increases the quality of insights;
Low threshold measurements, often conducted, yield high response rates and good insights into change readiness and change status.

References

Fincham JE. Response rates and responsiveness for surveys, standards, and the Journal. Am J Pharm Educ. 2008 Apr 15;72(2):43. doi: 10.5688/aj720243. PMID: 18483608; PMCID: PMC2384218

Diclemente, C. & Marden-Velazquez, M. Motivational interviewing and the stages of change, Chapter 15 of Motivational interviewing, preparing people for change by Miller, W. R. & Rollnick, S.

Deighton, K. , Instant Feedback ‘Smiley’ Buttons Go Touchless in Pandemic, The Wallstreet Journal. 2021 Mar 8

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