Understanding Drivers for Change

• This resource can be completed as an individual desk-based exercise. Allow 1-2 hours if using it in this way. However, it is most beneficial when used by a senior team (perhaps as part of a facilitated strategy or away day) or run as a workshop session by a manager with their team. Depending on the size of the team and the circumstances in which it is being used, allow half a day to a full day for completion.
• Some advance preparation is required for the group exercise, as team members should be asked to research the change drivers that are relevant to their organization and team, as well as their likely impact before attending the session.
• It is a two-part exercise. Part 1 focuses on identifying the nature, likelihood and severity of external drivers. Part 2 looks at how the organization can best respond to the issues identified in Part 1.
• The exercise should be modified depending on the audience. For example, a senior team may wish to spend more time on Part 1 identifying external drivers. At team or department level, the external drivers and indeed how the organization plans to respond to them may already have been decided by the organization’s leadership. Operational teams may find it more useful to focus on Part 2, determining how to make these plans a reality for their specific area of the business.

What You’ll Need

• Blank copies of the Identifying Change Drivers and Responding to Change tables, downloadable below.

• Copies of the worked examples for the Identifying Change Drivers and Responding to Change tables, also downloadable below.

• Flipchart, blank paper and pens.

What To Do

Part 1

1. If you are running this exercise with large group, divide the group up into small teams, and ask each to work on a certain number of drivers.

2. Ask teams to look at each of the external change drivers listed in the Identifying Change Drivers table. They need to do the following things for each driver that they identify:

• Describe the impact (these can be positive as well as negative). Team members should have been asked to research the specific drivers and their impact in advance of the session, and should reach agreement on each one.
• Outline the relevance for the organization (low, medium or high)
• Assign a score for likelihood (1=low likelihood, 5=high likelihood)
• Assign a score for severity (1=low severity, 5=high severity)
• Multiply the scores for likelihood and severity to arrive at a total score for each driver

3. If the groups are getting stuck, refer them to the worked example to help prompt their thinking and discussion.

4. Once all the groups have finished Part 1, bring the whole group back together for a discussion about each of the identified drivers and the scores that have been allocated. Before moving to Part 2, identify the three highest priority drivers.

Part 2

1. In the second part of the exercise groups will consider how their organization, team or department will respond to each of the identified highest priority drivers.

2. Ask the group to work through each driver in turn, using the headings listed in the Responding to Change table. As before, if you have a large group, ask smaller teams to look at a certain number of headings each. Note: not all of the headings will be relevant to every type of change, but they are included to prompt thinking and encourage discussion.

3. Refer the groups to the worked example based on an organization’s response to changing population demographics and the need to develop new recruitment channels to help move things forward.

4. For each area, ask the groups to do the following:

• Fill in the actions column
• Determine who is responsible for delivering it under the responsibility column

5. Depending on remit of the group you are working with, it may be more appropriate to ask them to look at only one or two of the items listed in the required action table, and discuss what they need to do to deliver them.

Review

Once all the groups have finished Part 2, bring the whole group back together for a discussion. Ask each group’s spokesperson to explain each of the specific actions that have been noted, and who has responsibility for it. Invite the wider group to comment on each point. For example:

• Do they agree with the specific actions that have been identified for each heading?
• Is each action appropriate?
• Are the responsibilities for delivering each action correct? Should anyone else be involved?
• Are there any areas/actions which have been missed out?

Ask for a volunteer to collate one final version of the table with all the comments included, which should be sent to everyone who attended the session.

Putting It Into Practice

Think about what the first steps would be for each specific action and how you can take each one forward. For example, this might be setting up an initial meeting with key stakeholders, or doing some research to find out what already exists within your organization or department that you can improve upon or develop.