PARTNERS IN CHANGE:PARTNERS IN CHANGE:HOW FOUR FOUNDATION HOW FOUR FOUNDATION COLLEGE MANAGERS COLLEGE MANAGERS MADE A DIFFERENCEMADE A DIFFERENCE

Conference Presentation – 2006 TEM Conference, Sydney Hilton

Darlene Sebalj, Susan Hudson, Jan Ryan & Juliet Wight Boycott

Partners in Change

DARLENE SEBALJPhD Student, University of Newcastle

Former College Manager, College of Science Technology and Environment,

University of Western Sydney

SUSAN HUDSONProject Manager, Office of the DVC (Corporate Services)

Former College Manager, College of Arts, Education, & Social SciencesUniversity of Western Sydney

JAN RYANCollege Manager, College of Business

(Previously known as the College of Law and Business)University of Western Sydney

Partners in Change

University of Western Sydney

• 7th largest University in Australia• 35,000 + students• 6 teaching campuses – spread across

Greater Western Sydney• 1 January 2001 – 3 “member” universities join to form one unified UWS• 3 separate cultures had to merge• Birth of a new organisation

Partners in Change

The Four Colleges:

• Academic structure of 4 “super” Colleges led administratively by a College Manager

• 4,500 – 10,000 student enrolments• Contained between 4 and 7 Schools and 1 and 5 Research Centres• Budgets of between $23M - $50M• Based across 3 to 6 teaching campuses • Consisting of between 45 and 100+ administrative and technical staff• Initial 12.5% admin staff reduction target

Loss of Networks

Competition for Resources

Lack of Common Policies &

Procedures Positioning & Power

Struggles

Low Staff Morale

Environmental Turbulence & Uncertainty

Difficulties in Achieving Set

Objectives

Poor Communication with Key College

Stakeholders

NEED FOR AN ALLIANCE

Partners in Change

LARGE-SCALE ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE ENVIRONMENT

Partners in Change

The alliance amongst College Managers was founded on:

• A strong work ethic

• Personal and collective integrity

• A commitment to resource efficiency

• A commitment to administrative best practice

• A commitment to the well being of each College and their staff

• A commitment to the success of the “new” UWS

• A good sense of humour

• A strong element of TRUST

Partners in Change

Benefits of the Alliance:

• Provided an organisational voice

• Built our organisational profile and strength

• Significantly improved our bargaining and negotiating power

• Provided a platform from which to lodge collective strategies and initiatives

CommunicationChannels

Underlying Values &

Principles

Supportive Environment

Staff Engagement

Standardised Processes &

Practices

ALLIANCE

Staff Development& Empowerment

Partners in Change

The Alliance – Core Strategies:

Partners in Change

Clear and effective communication in a change state:

• We deal far better with change when we have information on what is going on

• Honest, forthright communication is essential

• In times of change, people are hungry for information

Alliance Core Strategy – Develop Communication Channels

Partners in Change

Create ways to communicate:

• Identify areas of disconnect and work on reconnection by establishing key consultative groups

• Meet regularly with your staff

• Establish forums

• Identify areas of potential trouble and establish rapport with all relevant stakeholders

Alliance Core Strategy – Communication Channels

Partners in Change

The value of consultation:

• Creating network

• Ensuring consistency of information

• Dealing swiftly with problems

• Providing a forum for lobbying opportunities

• Providing avenues to avoid pending disasters

• Providing opportunities to bridge the disconnect

Alliance Core Strategy – Communication Channels

Partners in Change

“...the most critical ingredient of any change effort is leadership and managing

change is fundamentally a people issue…” (Karp, 2006, p. 4)

People ARE the organisation

Staff Engagement

Alliance Core Strategy – Staff Engagement

Partners in Change

• The individual is central to accepting or rejecting change

• It is crucial to articulate the vision and provide rationale for the change

• Manage interactively – ensure open, 2-way information flow

• Walk the talk – nothing beats face to face

• Empower your people

• It is important to ask……“What do you think?”

• Cultivate quality relationshipsAlliance Core Strategy – Staff Engagement

Engagement in a change state:

Partners in Change

Providing a supportive environment:

• Create staff development opportunities

• Create Group opportunities to enable sharing of stories

• Provide an environment to validate experiences and allow staff to value their contributions

• Create Individual opportunities to provide an opportunity for staff to develop and grow in the new environment

Alliance Core Strategy – Supportive Environment

Partners in Change

How did we pull this together?• By developing a culture of openness in

a consultative environment

• By creating strong relationships – TEAM formation

• Respect for each other

• Sharing of ideas

• Recognising the individual

Partners in Change

The Four Change Dimensions:

. .

PERSONAL INTERPERSONAL

MANAGERIALORGANISATIONAL

Partners in Change

How we changed:

• Personal - we formed a collaborative alliance based on non-territoriality, integrity, mutual support and a common vision.

• Interpersonal - we mirrored our alliance principles to our staff, strengthened by our communication strategies. We walked the talk.

• Managerial - we used a participative model as we developed standardised systems, processes and common practices. Fostering staff engagement and a supportive environment.

• Organisational - we optimised each College’s administrative structure, resource distribution and alignment of best practice.

Partners in Change

The ALLIANCE formula:

Assess the need for an allianceLink up with suitable alliance partnersLiaise, connect and build your allianceInform each other at all timesArticulate the alliance’s strategyNetworkCommunicate your strength in numbers Enjoy life… celebrate!

Remember to…. have fun !!

PARTNERS IN CHANGE:PARTNERS IN CHANGE:HOW FOUR FOUNDATION HOW FOUR FOUNDATION COLLEGE MANAGERS COLLEGE MANAGERS MADE A DIFFERENCEMADE A DIFFERENCE

Conference Presentation – 2006 TEM Conference, Sydney Hilton

Darlene Sebalj, Susan Hudson, Jan Ryan & Juliet Wight Boycott