Managing Change within the UK Fire and Rescue Department - Case Study Example

Managing Change within UK Fire and Rescue Department 1. Introduction Organisations are existing in a dynamic environment and the challenge of implementing and managing change to cater to the changing dynamics and expectations of the society and the various stakeholders is essential for the successful existence of the entity (Thomson & Strickland 2003). In this paper, the need for change within the UK Fire and Rescue services in terms of the attitude of personnel towards the work boundaries is being taken in to consideration. The paper will provide an overview of what change management amounts to and a brief literature review of change management theories and concepts. It will also address best practices and monitoring in implementing change. 2. Background to the Change Implementation Changes in British law requires that UK Fire and Rescue department make arrangements to deal with non fire emergencies such as traffic collisions, water rescues and animal rescues in addition to the main duties related to fire incidents (Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service:A Review Of Specialist Rescue & Support Arrangements, 2010). It is not only the legislative stipulations, but also the moral concepts and the public expectations that are aligned this thinking (Fire and Safety National Framework 2008-2011, 2010). However, certain members of the staff hold the opinion that Fire & Rescue services should only fulfill their legal obligations by only responding to incidents that are outlined in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 . The need for change is required in the mindset of the employees to accept and embrace the broadened responsibilities imposed by the laws and also by the public expectations. In order to implement effective change, it is important to follow a proper process of delivering such change within an organisation. The next section would discuss this aspect of implementing change. 3. Process Of Delivering Change Within Organisations The first step of managing and delivering change within an organisation is to analyse and take in to account the current status of the operations, the employee mindset and the issues and problems surrounding the change program to be implemented. Once the analysis is complete and change recommendations are mapped out, the next step is to implement change through a proper process. The Five Phase Approach proposed by Cummings and Worley (1993) can be utilized for this purpose. Following is a brief outline of this process. Step 1 – Motivating Change – This involves creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change. Step 2 – Creating a new vision – The change should lead to a new vision and should contain a mission, valued outcomes, valued conditions such as employee mindset and also describe midpoint goals to facilitate achievement evaluation. Step 3 – Developing political support – This phase involves the assigning of change agent powers, indentifying key stake holders who are affected by the change and influencing the mindset of the stakeholders to garner support for the change being implemented. Step 4 – Managing the transition – At this stage, the activity planning, commitment planning and configuring the management structure to facilitate and fit with the changes taking place should be attended to. Step 5 – Sustaining momentum – This last phase of delivering change involves providing resources for the change; building support systems for the change agent; developing new competencies and skills needed to support the change; and finally to reinforce new behaviours. Having discussed the process of delivering change within organisations, the next section review briefly some of the existing literature on managing change. 4. Review of Current Literature on Managing Strategic Change. The management of change is a topic explored by many scholars and the theories and concepts relate to both planned and unplanned responses to pressures and forces from the environment (Weiss, 2001). There are various models for mapping and implementing change, identifiable within literature. When it comes to different types of change, Ackerman (1984) identified three types of changes which organisations face. One is the developmental change which involves improvement of the status quo. The second type is a transitional change. Here the change takes place over a controlled period of time, with interim transition state to reach a known and pre determined new state. Last type of change is the transformational change. Here a new state, which is unknown till it emerge and takes shape over the death of old state (Akerman, 1984). In the case of UK Fire and Rescue Department change situation, it is more of a developmental change that requires to be implemented. The ADKAR model proposed by Jeff Hiatt (2006) outlines five key phases in the change management process. These include Awareness of the need to change; Desire to take part in and support the change; Knowledge of how to change; Ability to implement change and reinforcing change to sustain it (Hiatt, 2006). All these theoretical perceptions indicate that change needs to take place in a systematic and unified manner, in order to be effective. Applying ADKAR model to the UK Fire and Rescue department’s change management campaign, the first step would be to become aware of the need to change and accept and embrace the greater responsibility placed upon the F&RD morally, ethically and legally. Following this, the desire to change and support this must be stimulated through charismatic and persuasive appeal to the moral and ethical beliefs of the staff through department managers and chief officers. The next step is to provide the knowledge of how to change. This may involve expanded work portfolios, identifying the broader areas of responsibilities, and communicating the changed expectations from F&RD across the entire organisation. Finally, the ability to achieve and sustain the change should be ensured through retraining, new skill acquisition, drills on new rescue situations and expanded workforce if deemed necessary. The awareness and training on the hazards and safety requirements involved in the new and expanded rescue events other than fire events becomes a priority in this change program. 5. Best Practices in Strategic Change Management In implementing change, there are number of best practices which organisations such as UK Fire and Rescue Department can practice in order to increase effectiveness of implementing change. Following are some of them stated in brief (Weiss. 2001): a. Identifying the current state and mapping out the change which should be done through collaborations and participation of all stake holders concerned. b. Communicating the vision to be achieved through the change being implemented. c. Appointing change agents across different levels of the organisation, and providing clear top management support for them. d. Establishing milestones to gauge the progress of the change which usually takes place over a controlled span of time. e. The change should be supported by competency acquisition and retraining programs sponsored by the company which adds value to the affected stake holders. UK Fire and Rescue department has implemented the Integrated Risk Management Planning (IRMP) process which takes in to account a major number of above mentioned aspects. The IRMP is a “holistic, modern and flexible process, supported by legislation and guidance, to identify, measure and mitigate the social and economic impact that fire and other emergencies can be expected to have on individuals, communities, commerce, industry, the environment and heritage” (Performance Report 2004 – 2007 and Integrated Risk Management Plan, 2007). 6. Monitoring Impacts of Implemented Change One of the major elements of a successful change campaign is to monitor its progress over a pre planned period of time. The variances and deviations in achievements should then be probed in to and resolved through modified approaches to delivering change. This can be in the form of altering the change type, the approach of implementation, the support levels for the change agent or the change agent him or herself (Hiatt, 2006). In the case of UK fire and Rescue department’s change, a time plan should be drawn up and monthly, quarterly and special milestone reviews should be predetermined in order to manage the change process. UK Fire & Rescue Department has implemented a number of sequential Integrated Risk Management Plans with milestone targets that facilitate monitoring process over long term (Performance Report 2004 – 2007 and Integrated Risk Management Plan 2007 – 2010, 2010). The monitoring plan should take in to account the risk contingencies involved in the change process inclusive of unforeseen employee reactions such as decisions to resign, absenteeism, low morale, union action etc. The monitoring process should have a continuous looping of feedback information from the stake holders to the change agents so that the process is implemented with minimum frictions and maximum effectiveness (Weiss, 2001). References: Akerman, L.S. 1984. Being First, OD Practitioner, Vol. 18 No 4. Cummings, T.G. & Worley, C.G. (1993) Organisational Development and Change, 5th ed. Minnapolis: Western Publishers. P 145 Fire and Rescue Service: National Framework 2008–11 (2008) Communities and Local Government. Retrieved from http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/fire/pdf/nationalframework200811.pdf Fire And Rescue Services Act (2004). Fire And Rescue Authorities. Hiatt, J. (2006) ADKAR: a Model for Change in Business, Government and our Community: How to Implement Successful Change in our Personal Lives and Professional Careers, Colarado: Prosci Research; 1st edition (August 1, 2006) Lancashire Fire & Rescue Services: A Review Of Specialist Rescue & Support Arrangements July. 2010. Lakshire Fire and Rescue Performance Report 2004 – 2007 and Integrated Risk Management Plan 2007 – 2010. Strathclyde Fire & Rescue. Thomson, A. A. Jr. & Strickland, A. J.(2003) Strategic Management Concepts and Cases, 13th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd. Weiss, J.W. (2001) Organisational Behaviour & Change, 2nd ed. Ohio: South-Western Collage Publishing. Read More