Being an effective change manager – tips, tools & tactics

Diploma in the Management of Modern Public Service Delivery

IPA

22 January 2009

Owen JacobDept of the Taoiseach

My backgroundMy background Owen Jacob TCD & IPA Revenue Commissioners

ICT, strategy, planning, HR International consultancy Customer service policy Modernisation & change

management projects Dept of the Taoiseach

Organisational Review Programme

Case study 1Case study 1Restructuring Restructuring the the RevenueRevenue

Revenue’s structureRevenue’s structure

Inherited British Inland Revenue, Customs &Excise structure

Evolved piecemeal over 75 years No over-riding design model Ad-hoc structure Mixture of tax type & function Increasingly difficult to manage

The world ‘outside’ is changing fast…

An organisation that doesn’t change at the same speed as its environment dies

What the boss wants…

“When I have a problem I want to see the whites of one pair of eyes, not twenty pairs of heels”

Structure v. Strategy mismatch

Structure Focus on the tax Focus on the function

Strategy Deliver excellent customer

service Tackle the non-compliant = Focus on the customer

Cracks in the structure… Did not support overall view of customer. Did not foster sharing of

Information – Knowledge – Experience Resources divided by tax/function – not

matched to risk Unclear lines of responsibility and

accountability. Not in line with international best practice.

Review team Small, highly motivated,

independent, well resourced team Empowered by the Board Thought outside the box Traveled the world looking for best

practice Made radical recommendations

Discussing the undiscussable

Undermining complacency Retaining trust Using credible examples Ownership within the organisation

– by Revenue, for Revenue Progress in small steps

The organisational iceberg - 1

Overt organisation

Structure, technology, objectives, operating systems etc

Publicly visible, rational

The organisational iceberg - 2

Overt organisation

Structure, technology, objectives, operating systems etcCovert organisation

Power, influence, ambitions, loyalties, empires, fears, inflexibility etc

Hidden, emotional, may not be rational

Publicly visible, rational

The classic crisis Public Accounts Committee inquiry

into DIRT tax Tribunals of Inquiry into

Big business Wealthy businessmen Top politicians Property sector

…laid bare serious tax non-compliance

Organisational restructuring…

It’s like changing the wiring while keeping the lights on

Path to successPath to success Crisis Quality of analysis & blueprint Leadership Four Ps

Patience Politics Pragmatism Process

Examples of best practice & successful restructuring from other Revenues

Benefits of new structure?Benefits of new structure? Structure = strategy Integrated approach to customer Clear accountability & responsibility –

no hiding place Coherent, sensible structure Competition between regions Freedom to deploy staff where needed Information sharing

Case study 2Case study 2Modernising a tax Modernising a tax processprocess

Gift & Inheritance TGift & Inheritance Taxax (CAT) (CAT) CAT administered separately from other

taxes Old fashioned approach Factors driving change

Case processing too slow New top management Decentralisation of CAT Online filing via ROS

How?How? Full time project team ‘Outsider’ to manage project Supported by ‘insider’ experts Analysis

Work flow processes Forms Information technology Legislation

Consultation Scoping Document = recommendations

Internal consultationInternal consultation Informal with key experienced staff especially at

front line Steering Group Seminars

Presentations by top management Workshops Feedback Follow-up

Shared understanding & commitment

External consultationExternal consultation

Law Society (solicitors) Institute of Taxation (tax

accountants) Roadshow

Be honest Sell benefits… get out there!

How did we do?How did we do? Successfully delivered 6 week form turnaround time down to 1-5

days Team working, BPR, real self-assessment,

new IT, new forms & guidelines, online filing all a success

Staff pleased with change Middle management now convinced Customers delighted

Case study 3Case study 3ICT enabling ICT enabling transformational transformational customer servicecustomer service

PAYE problems – PAYE problems – before…before… afterafter Too much paper… paper eliminated Correspondence channel too time consuming… iC

makes it very fast Correspondence backlogs… iC helped managers &

case workers reduce backlog to acceptable levels Inefficient phone systems… major revamp of telephony Poor customer service… won national & EU customer

service awards Staff frustrated… staff delighted

Find best practiceFind best practice Visited & studied other “best of

breed” organisations Public & private sector Got industry analyst advice Consulted best ICT brains in civil

service Asked ourselves what would

‘perfect’ customer service be? …& worked back from that to what was possible

ICT… the key enablerICT… the key enabler

Harness ICT talent Be creative Look at service from customer’s point of

view Small business/ICT project team

Ambitious, pragmatic, can-do attitude Quick decision making & support from the

top Excellent personal relations Utilised state-of-the-market ICT technology

The ICT usedThe ICT used VoIP telephone system

Call treatment, voice recognition (incl. PPSN validation), automatic call routing, self service, screen pop enabler

Web self service Most popular self service channel (best for

complex transactions) SMS text

Hasn’t caught on for self service… yet Integrated Contacts system (iC)

No paper, instant on-screen retrieval of post, automatic statistics, faster processing, all contacts (incl. email & phone) included, screen pop

Lessons?Lessons? Learn from best practice elsewhere See everything through customer’s

eyes Aim for an idealised service Make use of serious ICT talent Be very tough with ICT contractors Test ICT applications exhaustively Have fallback in place in case ICT fails Sell benefits to ICT users Train & support ICT users carefully

Conclusions…Conclusions…

How people react - 1How people react - 120% 60% 20%

How people react - 2How people react - 220% 60% 20%

Always resist

change

Need to be convinced & wait to see which way wind is blowing

Actively embrac

e change

How people react - 3How people react - 320% 60% 20%

Always resist

change

Need to be convinced & wait to see which way wind is blowing

Actively embrac

e change

Harness them & temper their

expectations & must include leadership

How people react - 4How people react - 420% 60% 20%

Always resist

change

Need to be convinced & wait to see which way wind is blowing

Actively embrac

e change

Main focus of communication & must be won over

Harness them & temper their

expectations & must include leadership

How people react - 5How people react - 520% 60% 20%

Always resist

change

Need to be convinced & wait to see which way wind is blowing

Actively embrac

e change

Ignore Main focus of communication & must be won over

Harness them & temper their

expectations & must include leadership

Kotter’s Kotter’s 8 steps to change8 steps to change (HBR March/April 1995)(HBR March/April 1995) Establish a sense of urgency Form a guiding coalition Create a vision Communicate the vision Empower others to act on the

vision Plan for & create short term wins Consolidate improvements Institutionalise new approaches

My top 10 tipsMy top 10 tips Top notch project team High quality analysis Clear vision Inspired leadership (plus a crisis) Be political Communicate Empower change champions Reward supporters Be pragmatic & get stuck in Get quick wins

FinallyFinally Change is not easy – most people &

organisations resist change So…

Get the analysis & vision right Communicate continuously But, do not crucify yourself on the cross of perfection Learn by doing – start small & build it up Be brave, lead from the front

Thank you