Change Advisor — MOHLTC Health Services Cluster
Change Advisor | Health Services Cluster
Change management advisor to HSC Transformation. Working with the office of the ADM / Cluster CIO, provided guidance in organizational change practices, coordinated cluster-wide communications and engagement activities, supported implementation and operationalization efforts of eight associated Transformation project streams.
BACKGROUND
In 2009 the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) was shifting strategically to a health system stewardship role requiring evidence-based decision making.
In accord with that role, the Health Services I&IT Cluster (HSC) of the MOHLTC was implementing a new strategic vision "to deliver sustainable value and be a trusted I&IT advisor and service provider by being agile, responsive, innovative, efficient and effective."
One of the major initiatives in the long-range Strategic Plan for HSC was the HSC Transformation Program, comprising eight closely related project streams and a a ninth cross-program change management stream.
After preliminary work establishing the scope of HSC Transformation, HSC sought change management advice to facilitate achievement of the HSC Vision.
PAIN POINTS
- Historical inertia of corporate legacy systems and large-scale development methodology had led to isolated and disparate solutions
- Accelerating direct experience and expertise of Ministry clients with emerging technologies and agile development processes led to user-developed corporate systems outside of the purview of HSC
- Ministry client perceptions held a high bar for HSC transformation goals
- Overall project complexity and interrelationships of the 8 primary HSC Transformation project streams
OUTCOMES
- Identified core change goals for HSC Transformation — for the program overall; for executive leadership; and for mid-level cluster leaders
- Established cluster behavioural goals with HSC executive leadership, and early commitment to make key HSC Transformation decisions in visible alignment with those change goals
- Early cross-cluster engagement surfaced areas of resistance to HSC Transformation, facilitating adjustment in response to areas of needed attention
- Communications approaches established to support ongoing messaging about the progress of HSC Transformation
- Integrated change approach and tools into the work and workplans of the eight HSC Transformation project streams
CONSULTING RESPONSE
Michael took the role of Change Management Advisor within the HSC Transformation Team, reporting to an executive team lead, and working closely with the office of the ADM / Cluster CIO.
- Established and maintained an overall change plan for HSC Transformation.
- Built engagement and alignment of cluster leadership, through interviews and workshops with cluster management — and led development and tracking of a leadership agenda for change.
- Supported implementation and operationalization efforts of the eight associated Transformation project streams — including assembling and integrating overall change impacts.
- Developed and deployed a change leadership training program for project stream leads, including a toolkit for use in streams — and conducted a collaborative change planning exercise with the stream leads using ExperiencePoint simulation tools.
- Collaborated with the office of the ADM / CIO on broad scale communications, maintaining an ongoing communications plan, supporting a series of employee Town Halls with the ADM / CIO, building and deploying tookits for leadership and project communications, and monitoring communications efficacy.
- Arranged and facilitated cross-cluster focus groups to test and build engagement with HSC Transformation, overall communications, and project stream communications.
- Established baseline metrics for monitoring the progress of HSC Transformation, including a Taking The Pulse web-based survey.
After establishing and promoting the leadership change agenda, identifying change impacts, completing full cycles of cross-cluster engagement and focus groups, and equipping the project stream leads with a change toolkit and training, Michael experienced an unexpected health incident and transitioned his Change Advisor role to a consulting colleague for the final third of the engagement.