Planning for and actively managing the human side of change can ease transitions
You don’t need to be an expert in ancient Greek philosophy to understand that change is the only constant in life. From new buildings to new technologies to new policies, change on campus is happening more rapidly and frequently than we can sometimes keep up with. Fortunately, there are campus change management resources that can help us navigate change and emerge more resilient.
Where project management focuses on the planning and implementation of a project within a particular scope and budget, change management focuses on the human side of the transition from the old way of doing things to the new. These two processes often go hand-in-hand to smooth the delivery of a new solution (such as technology or policy) and ensure stakeholders adopt, utilize, and embrace the solution. Change management can happen on a few different levels, and campus provides helpful resources for personal, project, and organizational change.
Personal Change Management
The UW–Madison Office of Human Resources provides all employees with a spectrum of resources for navigating the types of change we all may experience at some point. Their foundational advice is to focus on what you can influence and what you can control during times of change, and their change preparedness web page includes links to popular Thrive@UW courses, career mentoring resources, and personal growth tools such as wellness apps.
Professional Development for Change Management
For individuals looking to grow their skills as leaders of change on campus, UW–Madison Division of Continuing Studies offers an affordable Change Management for Projects course that will equip you with the change management skills you need to ensure your project makes it through implementation to become the new status quo.
If you are in the early stages of thinking about making a change within your unit or department, the UW–Madison School of Business Center for Professional & Executive Development (CPED) has a great overview of the five key questions you should consider before moving forward. CPED can also provide individual consultation and twice a year they host a two-day course on leading and implementing change initiatives.
A Shared Approach to Change on Campus
UW–Madison’s Office of Strategic Consulting (OSC) is an internal consulting office that provides a full suite of services, including Organizational Change Management guidance, to help faculty and staff navigate systemic, technological, and structural transitions across campus. OSC can guide campus teams through the process of letting go of the old way and embracing the new, while helping teams develop strategies to address change resistance.
Even if you aren’t certain what kind of support you might need as part of your change management strategy, you can request a no-commitment, no-cost thinking partner session with an organizational effectiveness consultant. You can also request an intake to learn more about how OSC can partner with your team on change efforts.
To help create more consistent and enduring change at UW–Madison, the Office of Strategic Consulting has partnered with campus leaders to develop a change management framework for the university community. Known informally as S.E.A.T., this shared approach includes four phases that help keep people at the heart of change:
- Stage: Define the change and success
- Engage: Involve the right people and build alignment
- Act: Support adoption during implementation
- Thrive: Sustain and reinforce the change
Inspired by the university’s iconic Sunburst Terrace chairs, S.E.A.T. offers a practical, people-centered approach that anyone can use, ensuring Badgers have an actual and metaphorical seat at the table when it comes to leading change on campus.
To help UW–Madison employees use the S.E.A.T. framework, the Office of Strategic Consulting is developing a dedicated webpage and toolkit for anyone leading or supporting change on campus. Look for the S.E.A.T. framework, toolkit, and related resource rollout from OSC in the coming months.