How do you modernise a function (automate and uplift capability) with restructuring - and get positive engagement from those impacted

Get clarity on 'the problem that needs to be solved'

We started with building a Change Strategy that outlined all the things that need to change and the way we wanted to approach the change.  This was built from talking with people across the business about what worked well in past change projects, and what didn't. We also talked to key stakeholders to better understand their expectations - so we could manage them throughout the program of work.

There were a number of challenges in delivering the change successfully.

1. By implementing a new "modern" system, that automated a lot of the Planning and Scheduling process, APA would need less resources in the team - which meant those implementing the system, were also making their job redundant.
2. People had bad experiences with past restructures, and lacked confidence and capability to do it well
3. Due to the highly manual processes and activities that the Planning and Scheduling team were doing, the team was comprised of lower-level roles that were skilled at data entry. We knew that when the new system was implemented there would be a skills gap - with data entry skills no longer required, and more sophisticated analytical skills required.

We confirmed these challenges with key stakeholders and built specific activities to address each in the Change strategy and roadmap.

Leverage what currently exists

To get engagement, and not trigger defensiveness, in the team, we adopted a principle of leveraging as much of the current state as we could - this included trying to keep as many employees as possible, instead of "writing-off" the lower-level employees who did not have analytical skills and experience.

We conducted a Capability assessment and built Skills Profiles for all new roles, working with the Planning and Scheduling Manager. In the assessment we measured the technical skills of staff as well as their potential to transition from low-level routine work to more strategic analytics, system management and the ability to optimise the system outputs.

This assessment also supported the selection process and helped us identify opportunities for staff across the business, supporting career growth and minimising job loss.  We presented the new role profiles to impacted staff so they could review the skills and responsibilities required for each role and choose which one was the best fit for their career path.

Restructure with a human-centred approach

Our restructure program was designed to  provide dignity and agency for those that stayed in the team as well as those that moved to other teams or chose to leave the business. This involved:

• Supporting the Head of Network Operations to communicate and lead the process with staff, in a way that made them feel supported and informed (and not excluded or kept in the dark).
• We worked with the Planning and Scheduling Manager to develop a workload transition plan that moved staff into the new structure and system slowly, in a staged approach, enabling staff to build their capability and confidence in the new system and processes, and feel that they could continue to be successful even though their ways of working had been completely rewritten.
• The Employee Experience Journey was mapped to ensure we maintained the engagement of staff while minimising insecurities during the restructure process, and to identify any points where there was a lack of communication ("going dark")
• A partnership was formed with HR to build a selection plan that aligned with the business policies, planned and delivered the staff selection schedule Australia-wide, and enabled leaders to move swiftly through the process minimising the uncertainty for staff.
• Career discussions were used instead of formal interviews to minimise the sense of threat and intimidation, and we included a Development Support Bonus for all impacted staff (where the business funded a training program of the staff member’s choosing) as a retention mechanism, signal of support and to facilitate, an employee-led, sense of growth during the transition.

Tackling the culture of perfectionism

The system was implemented using an iterative and agile approach, which required the business to have a level of openness towards "things not being perfect and the solution not 100% delivered" during go live.

This was a direct contradiction to the current cultural expectations of projects, and past technology implementations - and was seen as a barrier to adoption.

To counter this, we identified staff members who had high credibility and influence across the impacted staff-base and we set them up as advocates and sponsors of the change with early access to our communication materials, system demos, key messages and timing of activities. These influencers were on-the-ground. They answered staff questions (as soon as they arose) and they provided confidence that this change (and the modernisation) was in their best interest, for their roles, the business and their careers.

The change program was also deliberately designed to facilitate the shift away from expecting "perfectionism". This included slow exposure to the new system and awareness-building of the  need to optimise and improve the system from go-live, based on the team's experience and new ways of working.  There was also a constant and highly transparent communication flow, to ensure employees were comfortable with the fact the system wasn't perfect  on go-live, and they could live with it because things were always moving and improving.

There was also  a staged approach to the rollout, with early screenshots of the system provided to staff, followed by base-level demo sessions that staff could book into, volunteers in user acceptance testing, and forums set-up for staff to share their experience of the system with those who were part of later stages in the rollout and had not yet transitioned to the new ways of working.