Management communication -change management

St Raphael’s Hospital: We care for all.

Letter of transmittal

Dear Dr Richards,

Attached is the final version of the report “Multidisciplinary Communication Strategy for St Raphael’s”.

The main findings of the report are that St Raphael’s appears to have a strong social and emotional framework, responds best when guided by the Board butare empowered to respond locally and favour communication processes that reinforce existing inclusion, identity and territory constructs . The use of a multi-disciplinary change communication strategy will enhance existing strengths of the organisation as well as further realise competitive gains.

The significant contribution of staff, managers, colleagues in the Human Resource group and Union delegates is acknowledged, with appreciation. Collectively, these narratives provided a clear understanding of strengths and weaknesses of prior changes as well framing desired intent and processes for future communication processes. Collectively, it is anticipated that through understanding past change and response that more equitable communication and change processes will occur in the future.

Thank you, on behalf of the Human Resource Group, for the opportunity to work on this report.

LXX DXXX

LXX DXXX

Human Resource Consultant

Transmitted: 24th February 2012.

St Raphael’s Hospital: We care for all.

Title page

Report Title: A multi-disciplinary Change Communication strategy for St Raphael’s Hospital Group to enhance competitive position

Report prepared for: Dr Anne Richards

Report prepared by: XXXX

Human Resource Consultant

St Raphael’s Hospital Group.

Reported presented on: 24th February 2012.

St Raphael’s Hospital: We care for all.

Table of contents

Executive Summary v

Introduction 1

Part One: Background information 1

Part Two: Proposed organisational Change 5

Part Three: Multi-disciplinary Communication strategy 6

Conclusion 9

Recommendation 9

References 10 St Raphael’s Hospital: We care for all.

Executive summary

Organisations need to achieve a balance between change and inertia, choice and constraint, so as to improve competitive positioning. Both change and inertia are leveraged through policy, process, structure, culture and communication mechanisms. St Raphael’s Hospital Group, a leading not for profit health care provider in NSW, has 12 regional hospitals and provides generalist, palliative and rehabilitation services, has facilitated both inertia and change mechanisms over the last two years, driven by internal and external threats and opportunities. It is in the second year of it strategic plan cycle yet is experiencing inertia in regards to significant strategic imperatives, in particular, crisis and change management responses.

St Raphael’s has distinct organisational features of a strong socio-emotional framework that promotes unity, inclusion and team work; a strong sense of individual identity, efficacy and territory; preferences for local flexibility to implement strategy; perceptions by staff that some management are inadequate leaders in change and non-routine situations; as well as identity subgroups where the frontline staff and middle and senior managers have different perceptions of change. Cumulatively, these responses and constructs appear to be contributing to the state of undesired inertia.

In an attempt to re-energise change the Board has concluded that a fundamental change to the Human Resource Management Framework may result in a resource based competitive advantage. The Board understands that the change process is influenced by a tridimensional construct of individual and group perceptions, the change context and the change process utilised (Oreg,2006). Implicit to the change process is strong leadership capability and a multidisciplinary communication strategy as well as emphasis on the threshold of inertia and change, known as liminality. The recommended change communication strategy is designed to enhance the existing communication structures, methods and features and provides communication alternatives for non- union members, nomination of leaders respected by staff to communicate change messages, situated explicit communication messages for identity subgroups, an understanding of the power of the rituals in change as well as an evaluation phase. A communication strategy as part of a concertive change management plan, provides opportunities for the individual, group and organisation to maximise opportunities and synergies and improve internal and external relationships.

This Exec Summary should be more succinct.

St Raphael’s Hospital: We care for all.

1. Introduction

St Raphael’s Hospital is a leading not for profit health care provider that faces internal and external pressures. The Board believes that competitive advantage will be enhanced by utilising a more dynamic, networked but flexible Human Resource Management model. The recruitment of new senior managers and frontline staff are additional elements of change. The Board have recognised that the Communication Strategy is instrumental to the success of this change.

This report will provide a précis of preceding change interventions, employee responses and communication methods, structures and flows so as to construct an understanding of effective and ineffective change communication strategy elements, specific to St Raphael’s .It will discuss marked organisational features , in particular the strong socio-emotional framework ,sense of individual identity , efficacy and territory as well as recommending a multi- disciplinary communication strategy, that enhances existing communication strategies. The elements of this strategy are based on an understanding that organisational change occurs through a tridimensional construct of individual/group perceptions coupled with the change context and the change process utilised(Oreg,2006). The report concludes with recommendations

Part One: Background Information .

2. Theoretical Context of change

An organisation often deliberately pursues the dichotomous and conflicting mechanisms of change and inertia. This dichotomy may enhance performance and maximise opportunity, as well as reinforce perceptual or pragmatic choice or constraint of routine for employees. The adjustment of choice or constraint through policy, process, structure and culture influences:

St Raphael’s Hospital: We care for all.

Innovation, non-routine response and allowable instability or alternatively predictability, compliance , establishment of more routinized responses and stability. Both states are possibly essential for sustainable competitive outcomes.(Droege, Lane &Spiller, 2011,p96-98; McKendrick & Wade ,2010)

3. Company background

St Raphael’s Hospital, a leading not for profit health care provider in NSW, has 12 regional hospitals and provides generalist, palliative and rehabilitation services, has facilitated both inertia and change mechanisms over the last two years, driven by internal and external threats and opportunities.

4. Précis of Change Interventions from 2010.

4.1The change /inertia dichotomy has been driven bythe 2010-2015 Strategic Plan and pursuant Tactical and Operational plans. The main foci are productivity gains, enhanced community recognition, increased market share, increased teamwork and enhanced crisis and change management responses.

4.2Between 2010 and 2011 there had been three successful productivity interventions driven by Practice Managers, at each site. The communication plan included both formal and natural communication structures and vertical, downward, upward and linear message flow (Altinoz,2009) with the communication methods , adapted from best practice methodologies advanced by Steyn,2003 and Turner, Milligan, Deputy, Whitefield & Stiffler, 2011:

· Mediated chat rooms for suggestions via the Intranet.

· Change related guessing and slogan competitions via the newsletter (hard and soft copy)

· “Waste not, want not” drop in breakfast and dinner Kiosk. Free breakfast or dinner was offered to all staff and union delegates to facilitate voluntary informal discussion about productivity changes between staff and a senior management representative. (Detail: Duration 4 weeks , 8 sessions, 562 staff and union delegates attended , Cost of meals: $2810, $5 per head ) An additional positive outcome was that the Staff Canteen experienced increased sales after catering for the Change Kiosk, which has reduced subsidy cost burdens.

· Team briefs

· Newsletter updates

4.1. In January, 2012, due to inaction by management concerning the Crisis Management Process, the Board engaged a Crisis Management Consultant and adopted all recommendations. The directive occurred without consultation, included an unrealistic timeframe and provided no pathway or support for success.

5. Précis of employee responses to Change Interventions from 2010

5.1Whilst it appears that there was complete cognitive acceptance of the urgency of the Crisis Management Plan, the Senior Management team failed to implement any of the Crisis Management Plan. This may have been due to the nature, scope, scale and magnitude of change: considered transformational rather than incremental and continuous rather than episodic (Dibella, 2007, pp231-235) compared to the three week timeframe dictated by the Board

5.2Negative, mixed, positive or neutral responses to organisational change are mediated by perceptions of “favourability of outcomes, justice, scale, pace and timing…” of the change (Smollan, 2006,pp.143-146). Mixed response was evident as staff accepted some elements of the response but rejected others. The negative responses included manifestations of fear, anger, neglect of task, social network campaigning(via intranet) against the change and union directives to go slow on all non- clinical duties.

5.3 Nominally, staff have perceived that the changes would result in diminished territorial control, connectedness, efficacy, status, socio-emotional connection and value (Rooney, Paulsen, Calan, Brabant, Gallois & Jones 2010). Employees at St Raphael’s believed that established relationships and communication processes for crisis and routine situations were effective, efficient and valuable and would be weakened by the Crisis Management Plan.

5.4The strong sense of territory, network and relationships at St Raphael’s highlight that staff are embedded in a strong social system and this system may have been instrumental in influencing staff during previous changes, played a substantial role in providing cues concerning the change as well as promoting a counteractive inertia response to the suggested change (Brown & Quarter 1994, cited by Oreg, 2006).

5.5As suggested by Chreim, 2002, communication is a major mechanism to influence control and choice. Unlike the productivity initiatives, the communication process was predominately one way, formal, dictatorial, incomplete and did not recognise or utilise the strong social-emotional framework , contributing to both goal and relationship conflict at St Raphael’s (Nutting, Cielens & Strachan 1996).

Part Two: Proposed organisational change

6. Proposed change : Dynamic Human Resource Management Model

6.1 Rationale: …

6.2 Accordingly, the Board agreed to adopt …

Part Three: Multi-disciplinary Change Communication Strategy.

7. Communication strategy to maximise inclusion, territory and identity.

The Board recognises unequivocally that the communication strategy will be instrumental in …

7.1 Rationale for the Communication Strategy.

[2 points here]

…

8. Communication strategy elements.

[5 points detailed with brief justification here]

9. Conclusion

In conclusion, through gaining an understanding of prior change interventions, both effective and ineffective , associated communication strategies and employee responses as well as considering the current strategic intent, organisational features and frameworks , the Board of St Raphael’s concluded that a Dynamic Human Resource Management Model would best equip employees, management and the Board to create a positive socio-emotional and procedural pathway and culture to achieve productivity gains, enhanced community recognition, increased market share, increased teamwork and enhanced crisis responses. The Communication Strategy to implement this new Mode is paramount to its success. The recommended multidisciplinary communication strategy builds on synergies created by the existing communication strategies as well as strengthening the socio-emotional framework through non- union voice mechanisms, considering the role of leaders, understanding identity subgroups, developing managers to leverage rituals for change as well as evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of the Communication Strategy.

10. Recommendation

10.1Given perceptions of management competencies, as discussed 7.2, it is recommended that the Board and Human Resource obtain additional data through surveys and benchmarking with the aim of aligning management recruitment, development and performance review more closely to strategic intent, competitive positioning and staff expectations.

11. Bibliography

Altinoz, M (2009). ‘An Overall approach to the communication of Organizations in Conventional and virtual offices’, International Journal of Social Science, Vol 4,no 3,pp 217-223, retrieved 19/1/2012 from ProquestCentral

Benson, J (2000).’Employee Voice in Union and Non-union Australian Workplaces’ ,British Journal of Industrial relations, Vol38,no 3,pp453-459 retrieved Proquest Central

Chrein, S, (2002) ‘Influencing organizational identification during major change: A communication-based perspective’, Human Relations, Vol 55, no 9, pp1117-1137, retrieved from Sage publications.

Dibella, A. ( 2007). Critical perceptions of organisational Change, Journal of Change Management,Vol 7, no 3-4 pp,231-242. Doi: 10.1080/14697010701649707.

Droege, S, Lane, M& Spiller,S (2011). Intersecting Three muddy Roads: Stability, legitimacy and Change, Journal of Managerial Issues, Spring 2011,Vol23,no 1, pp96-114 retrieved from Academic Onefile, Infotrac.

Hargie, O& Dickson ,D(2007).’ Are important corporate policies understood by employees? A tracking study of organizational informational flow’, Journal of Communication Management,Vol 11,No 1,pp9-28,retrieved from Emerald ,doi 10.1108/13632540710725969

McKendrick, D., Wade, J., (2009).Frequent Incremental change , organizational size, and mortality in high tech companies, Industrial and Corporate Change, Vol 19, no 33, 619-639.doi10.1093/icc/dtpo45

Morris, S & Calamai, R ( 2009).’Dynamic HR: Global Applications from IBM’, Human Resource Management ,Vol 48, no 4,pp641-648,retrieved from Wiley Inter science ,doi 10.1002/hrm.20302

Nutting, J, Cielens, M, Strachan, J (1997), ‘The Business of Communicating’, Australia McGraw Hill.

Oreg,S (2006) Personality, Context, and resistance to organizational change, European Journal of Work and organizational Psychology,vol15,no 1:1,73-101, doi :10.1080/13594320500451247

Reber, A, (1985) The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology ,England: Penguin.

Rooney, D, Paulsen, N, Callan, V, Brabant, M, & Gallois, C & Jones, E,(2009)’A new role for place identity in managing Organizational Change’, Management Communication Quarterly, Vol 24(1),pp44-73, retrieved from sagepublications,doi10.1177/0893318909351434

Smith, A & Stewart, B (2011),’Organizational Rituals: features, Functions and Mechanisms”, International Journal of Management reviews, Vol 13, pp 113-133 retrieved from Proquestcentral, doi 10.111/j.1468-2370.2010.00288.x

Smollan, R , (2006) ‘Mind ,Hearts and Deeds: Cognitive, Affective and Behavioural Responses to Change’, Journal of Change Management,Vol 6 no 2, pp143-158,doi 10.1080/14697010600725400.

Steyn, B,(2003)’From strategy to corporate communication strategy: a conceptualisation’, Journal of Communication Management , Vol 8,no 2,pp168-183,retrieved from ProquestCentral.

Turner,P, Milligan,L,Crady,K, Deputy,L, Whitefield,C&, Stifler,D, (2011),’Multidisciplinary communication Strategies for Magnet success’, Nursing Management ,April, retrieved from Proquest central.

Vos, M (2009)’Communication quality and added value: a measurement instrument for municipalities’, Journal of Communication Management ,Vol 13, no 4,pp 362-377,retrieved from Emerald, doi 10.1108/1363254091004623

Multi-DISCIPLINARY CHANGE Communication Strategy

This document highlights the competitive, socio-emotional and communication strengths and barriers evident at the St Raphael’s Hospital Group and proposes a multi-disciplinary change communication strategy to further enhance competitive position.

Strengthening St Raphael’s Competitive Position