Question

Employees at the People’s Bank do not trust management and there is a shared perception that information is not shared and communication within the organization is inadequate. On January 14th 2018, Roxanne Padmore was assigned the task of selecting and implementing an investment management software at the People’s Bank. The software was intended to eradicate the need for paper and enhance the execution of transaction between various departments. Some of the eventual users of the software included the compliance, audit, investment execution and wealth management departments. The team selected for implementing the software comprised primarily of personnel from the wealth management department. The software selected by Ms. Padmore and her project team is now being used by the organization. At the end of the implementation process employees complained that the software selected was not user friendly and the software previously used was more effective. Employees also indicated that although Ms. Padmore surveyed the organization on the preferred choice of software, the eventual choice was not the best and cost millions of dollars. The software chosen by Ms. Padmore and her team was the leading brand in many developed countries, used by many banks and the Journal of Investment Management Software stated “it was highly effective and lead to long run cost savings”. However, employees have indicated that the software was not user friendly and has many deficiencies. Furthermore, the use of the software prevents employees from fulfilling critical job functions. Moreover, John Smith an employee in the Compliance Department stated that “the software did not take into consideration the peculiarities of the Caribbean and assumed that one size fits all.” Ms. Padmore and the wealth management team that were responsible for implementation have all left the organization.

(c) Assess the characteristics that would be necessary for a change agent to succeed at the People’s Bank? Propose strategies to ensure the success of the change agent.

Answer 1

Solution -

From the above extract a few aspects are extremely explicit -

• The implementation of the new software was not through and hence their are issues related to efficiency and efficacy of the new software. The software is the best in class but it has not been properly communicated to the workforce, which is why their is resistance to change.
• The workforce of the People's Bank has an impression of the management which is not transparent or supportive and that their is a lack of communication.
• The change brough about by Ms. Padmore's team is not convincing enough for the general workforce.

With the above facts clearly laid out, the characteristics necessary for a change agent to be successful in the Bank are as below -

• Through communicator - A change agent should be well versed on how to communicate the change.
• Empathetic - The change agent needs to have an empathy for the current culture of the organization which will allow her or him to manage the change better.
• User Oriented - The change agent can be organizational oriented but user orientation is also equally necessary so as to ensure better acceptance for the change.
• Ability to produce structure - One aspect is clear that unstructured changes are not very welcome in the Bank and hence the change agent needs to have a structured approach and also not suggest any random fixes.

The strategies for ensuring better success for a change agent would be as below -

• Communication - Their should be proper grassroot level communication on the change aspects and the higher management will have to hold some accountability. This can be dictated through very through and repeated communication with feedback mechanism so that all issues are highlighted and resolved better.
• Ownership - The change needs to be owned by the organization and not just the change agents and hence people from within the workforce should be involved into propoganda of the change and also it's implementation. This will ensure to resolve resistance issues.
• Customization - Every change should be customized as per the needs of the departments and their workforce so that all are inclined to accept the change. This can be done only through effective feedback and their should be regular meetings of the change agent with all the departments post implementation and all feedback should be captured as action points and be resolved within some turnaround time. This will ensure customized care.