BSBINN601 Lead and manage organisational change Assessment Task 2

Develop change management strategy

Assessment description

Using the scenario information supplied, you will undertake a cost–benefit analysis for high-priority change requirements, undertake a risk analysis, identify barriers, and develop mitigation strategies. You will develop a change management project plan, assign resources and develop a reporting process. You will then present your analysis and project plan to management for approval.

Procedure

1. Review the simulated workplace information for Fast Track Couriers.
2. Develop a change management strategy for Fast Track, which you will present to management (your assessor) for approval, by following steps 3–8 below.
3. Identify change goals and specify:
   1. who/what is impacted
   2. how they are impacted
   3. when the impacts will be realised.
4. Identify the change goals you have identified are related to the organisation’s strategic goals.
5. Undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the change requirements. Include:
   1. the change requirements
   2. the costs of changes
   3. risks
   4. the possible benefits of each change
   5. assessment of the benefits against the costs and risks
   6. categorised changes:
      1. feasible (F)
      2. maybe feasible (MF)
      3. not feasible (NF).
6. Undertake a risk analysis of the change requirements:
   1. identify the risks and barriers
   2. analyse and evaluate the risks and barriers
   3. identify mitigation strategy.
7. Develop a change management project plan. In order to justify your plan, include a brief explanation of the change management theory/methodology followed to embed change. Your plan must reflect theory and you must be prepared to explain to management how key elements of your plan, such as stakeholder management, communication, and education/training plans, show elements of a particular theory.
8. Include the following components in your plan.
   1. Stakeholder management.
      1. Identify key stakeholders and roles.
      2. Identify commitment level.
      3. Identify concerns/issues (and how these will be addressed).
      4. Develop consultation methods for engaging identified stakeholders.
   2. Communication plan:
      1. audience
      2. message
      3. when this communication will occur
      4. how the message will be communicated (e.g. email, face to face, newsletter)
      5. person responsible.
   3. Education/training plan:
      1. participants
      2. the skills the training will provide
      3. when the training will occur
      4. how the training will be delivered (e.g. classroom, online, on-the-job)
      5. person responsible.
9. Your project plan should also include a measuring/reporting strategy. Measurement and reporting strategy should include:
   1. how you will measure success
   2. how you have reached agreement for reporting protocols with managers including:
      1. who the relevant managers are
      2. who will submit information for reporting
      3. who will produce the report
   3. how you will report success including:
      1. format of reports
      2. when reports will be produced (weekly, fortnightly, monthly)
      3. who will receive a copy of the report.
10. Finally, your project plan should also include a list of resources (tools, supplies, etc.)
11. Deliver a formal presentation (using PowerPoint) to management (your assessor) to gain approval for your change management strategy. Your assessor will approve your strategy based on your completion of this assessment task and satisfaction of specifications below.
12. Ask for authorisation to implement strategy.
13. Submit all documents to your assessor as per the specifications below. Ensure you keep a copy of all work submitted for your records.

Specifications

You must present and then submit a copy of:

• one PowerPoint presentation containing analysis and change management project plan.

Your assessor will be looking for how you:

• explain the change management process or cycle and outline strategies for communicating and embedding that change
• explain components of the change management project plan
• explain specific organisational requirements
• outline potential barriers to change
• demonstrate leadership skills to gain acceptance of plan and gain trust
• demonstrate planning and organising skills
• utilise problem-solving skills to identify and respond to barriers to change and analyse risks
• use verbal communication skills to describe and promote change
  management plan.

Adjustment for distance-based learners

• No changes to the assessment procedure or specification are required.
• The presentation may be conducted via video or teleconferencing.
• Documentation may be submitted electronically.
• A follow-up interview may be required (at the discretion of the assessor).

Appendix

Task: Fast Track Couriers Pty Ltd

It is the end of the 2015 financial year. You are an external change management consultant employed by Fast Track Couriers. You have been asked by the General Manager to develop a change management strategy and present the strategy to management for approval.

Management has identified the following high-priority change requirements.

• Goal A: Implement PDA/GPS usage (productivity function) on truck fleet in the first quarter of the 2016 financial year.
• Goal B: Implement one person per truck policy using automatic lift gates in the first quarter of the financial year.

Achievement of these goals should increase net profit in the next financial year by $200,000 due to increased efficiencies and increased business.

Goal A is essential to the business to ensure (in priority order):

1. most efficient use of resources to cover market needs. Management will look at more than the raw hours spent on job, and consider all factors such as job difficulty, traffic conditions, etc., in order to optimise fleet usage
2. job performance measurement for training needs
3. recognition of outstanding performance (bonuses for exceeding targets; advancement/leadership opportunities).

Goal B is essential to the business to ensure:

• most efficient use of resources to cover market needs
• reduced need to hire external truckers; use of present employees as much as possible
• reduced possibility of lifting injury.

The change management strategy, once approved by the General Manager, should be implemented immediately.

People/structure

Fast Track Couriers has implemented and recruited the people required to fill the roles in the following organisational structure:

Managerial duties/role description

Resourcing/budget

The budget for implementing the change strategy (excluding cost of new trucks, technology and lift gates, lost productivity from truckers) is $25,000. Overruns must be approved by General Manager.

You will be employed for two weeks full-time (40 hrs/week) and 8 hours a week until end of the first quarter.

Resources:

The following resources are available for your use:

Other resources must be requested for approval by General Manager.

Education/training

• Goal A: Implement PDA/GPS usage (productivity function) on truck fleet in the first quarter of the 2016 financial year. Requires a half-day training session.
• Goal B: Implement one person per truck policy using automatic lift gates in the first quarter of the financial year. Requires a half-day training session.

Project management reporting

The General Manager would like you to report to her on a daily basis in the initial week of the project, and then weekly until the end of the first quarter. The HR manager should receive a copy of this report.

BSBINN601 Lead and manage organisational change Assessment Task 2

Fast Track Couriers policy mandates the use of the following project management BSBINN601 Lead and manage organisational change Assessment Task 2.

• Green: completed
• Amber: in progress

Background information: Fast Track
Couriers Pty Ltd

About Fast Track Couriers

Fast Track Couriers is a courier company that has been operating in New South Wales for the last 15 years. Its primary business function is delivering medium to large size packages across metropolitan Sydney.

Strategic plan goals

The organisation’s strategic goals are:

• to expand business in the metropolitan area so that small to medium package deliveries market share increases by 7.5%.
• to expand the business to include small and medium package deliveries to regional NSW.
• to develop an integrated approach to distribution management utilising technology such as PDA devices and GPS.
• to develop and maintain a cohesive and well-motivated workforce.

Strategic goals are supported by the following operational and human resources goals.

Operational plan goals

• Testing of the distribution management system is to cease and allow implementation within the first quarter of the 2016 financial year.
• The truck fleet will need to be expanded by 8 trucks within the 2016 financial year.
• Small distribution hubs will be positioned at Maitland, Goulburn, Nowra and Bathurst, each manned by two employees within the next eighteen months.
• Fast Track Couriers will complete 20% of deliveries to regional locations in the next three years.

Human resources goals

• Incorporating a Human Resources function to facilitate the changes in workforce management in the first quarter of the 2016 financial year.
• Introducing professional development and training to achieve organisational goals and promote understanding of organisation’s strategic goals in the first quarter of the financial year.
• Eliminating industrial relations problems in the financial year. Concluding negotiations with employees and union.
• Eliminating lifting injuries.

Employee profile (pre-changes)

Fast Track Couriers employs the following people:

• General manager (GM) – Generally on the road; never in office.
• Chief financial officer (CFO) – Reports to GM and keeps office hours; 9–5, Mon–Fri.
• Accountant – Reports to CFO and keeps office hours; 9–5, Mon–Fri.
• Truck drivers (x20) – Report to office.
• Office team manager – Reports to GM and keeps office hours; 9–5, Mon–Fri.
• Office team members (x5) – Perform administrative, sales, customer relationship management duties. Monitor truck drivers and handle enquiries. Report to office team manager.

Head office employees

• Covered under individual contracts.
• Salary range is $32,000–$75,000 annum.
• Small team of mainly female employees, ranging in age.
• Lots of opportunity to participate in learning and development programs due to management support; however little desire to participate.
• High employee engagement scores. Employees cite team work and opportunities as motivating factors affecting the business success.

Drivers

• Covered by an award.
• Salary $45,000 per annum.
• Heavily unionised.
• Employee demographics are all male employees aged 25–65.
• Little opportunity to participate in learning and development programs due to being on the road; however, little to no interest in participating in development opportunities.
• Large number of workplace injuries due to heavy lifting.
• Low employee engagement scores. Drivers cite pay as an issue.
• Currently experiencing low turnover.
• History of industrial disputes regarding pay and previous change initiatives.

Background to workforce management and relations

The company communicates with employees via email for head office employees, and a printed monthly newsletter for drivers. The company provides information regarding policies and procedures through documented manuals that are held in each truck as an employee manual. Office-based staff can access copies of these manuals at the office.

All trucks are fitted with a GPS system to assist drivers with navigating to each pick-up and drop-off location. Trucks are also assigned a PDA that provides drivers with the details of each pick-up and drop-off and records when a job starts and finishes. The data from this device is sent back to head office to monitor job progress but is not used to complete productivity reporting. When this device was introduced, drivers were not happy, as they felt the organisation was saying that it did not trust the drivers to manually record the time spent on each job. Many of the drivers also resented having to learn how to use the device and thought it was a waste of time.

Head office employees work very closely together and are a very cohesive and motivated team. They are positive about the organisation’s direction and respond well to change.

Drivers have historically reacted negatively to change. Change implemented in the past has met with resistance and was therefore difficult to implement. Drivers have in the past done their best to block any changes from being implemented, even going to the lengths of threatening strike action and having the union involved to assist with resolving the issue.

Fast Track Couriers currently allocates two drivers per truck to ensure that drivers are able to load and unload heavy packages. The strategy going forward is to remove the need for having two drivers per truck by installing an automatic lift gate on the back of each gate at a cost of $10,000 per truck. This will mean that only one driver is needed per truck as no heavy lifting will be required.

It is Fast Track Couriers’ intention to use these surplus drivers to drive the new trucks that will be purchased to enable the company to extend its services to regional NSW.

Drivers are currently happy with the work environment, as they enjoy working as part of a two-man team. The organisation typically leaves the drivers alone and lets them do their job as this is what seems to make them happy. Management has tried in the past to have drivers participate in organisational activities. These activities were not received positively and the drivers complained and asked not to be involved. The drivers’ view is that their preferred team is their two-man driver team and they only see the benefits of that specific working arrangement. There is a high value placed on communication with trucking team members.