LDR 615 During a change initiative, what can organizations use to identify or verify truly objective and measureable success?

When it comes to change, it is important to have data to back it up. Organizations should implement a few things when obtaining this data. One tool they can use is SMART goals. SMART stands for smart, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (Association Forum, 2021). With any goal or change that is being set and worked on, you should ensure that the goal passes the criteria. This allows you to stay on track with the goals and have measurable data. Organizations can also use scorecards to help create goals and objectives for the organization (Association Forum, 2021). Scorecards can be used to track progress because you can compare historical data with current data to select the goal that you are wanting to work. This is something that is done in call centers. They use measurable data, called KPI’s. Scorecards can contain whatever it is the organization wants to track, but in most call centers, some of the common ones are average handle time (aht), average talk time (att), after call work (acw), or hold time; however, there are a lot more. The organization will pull past data to get averages and then set the goal from there. For example, one of our goals is to have an average handle time of 400 seconds. Our handle time is comprised of talk time, hold time, and after call work. This allows us, managers, to focus on the behaviors driving the handle time to help work on the goal. The same thing applies to scorecards in other organizations. They are used to measure data that allows the organization to change the behavior and drive performance. This allows them to track the progress and reward those who are top-performing, and it helps to increase performance, driving morale, productivity, and success. Another thing that can be used is the six sigma process. This process allows the organization to look and see where improvements are needed by improving production, minimizing inefficiencies, and improving the overall customer service experience (Association Forum, 2021). The organization will have insight and be able to improve the organization overall, as it allows the organization to determine the best way to change a process or procedure (Association Forum, 2021).

My current organization uses KPI’s, surveys, employee engagement, SMART goals, and so on. My organization has set goals, both short-term and long-term. They collect data using an automated system that has algorithms to collect the data, and we use tableau for the reporting. Now, I can only speak on the call center portion, as the organization I work for is very large and has many different departments. The KPI’s allows us to dive in with our employees to drive performance, increase production, create growth opportunities for employees, and growth of products for our consumers. There is so much data that is collected that our analysts go through and break it down for us to be able to explain it to our staff. We do use a six sigma process as well. We have a little bit of everything, but most importantly, we do provide surveys for employees and consumers to obtain their feedback on different aspects. This allows us to improve things for everyone.

Reference:

Association Forum. (2021). Performance measurement & metrics. https://www.associationforum.org/mainsite/browse/professional-practice-statements/performance-measurement-metrics

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In the context of my organization, the use of both quantitative and qualitative measures is required. Qualitative measurements are based on observable futures, which cannot be determined with numeric measurements; they are categorized into identifiable terms (Keathley, 2021). Quantitative measurement is descriptive by nature and is represented by a numeric value (Keathley, 2021). For example, quantitative measures would reflect the financial status, increase or decrease in giving, and donations, the fluctuance in the number of the attendance, the retention of stakeholders, and overall statistics, which would present an accurate condition of the organization Keathley, 2021). Qualitative measures would allow the organization to understand better the stakeholder’s acceptance of the changing process, participation, feedback, and understanding of how the process affects the organization (Renata, n.d). Observation, interviews, polls are methods that would allow organizations to collect data that would be analyzed to draw conclusions (Renata, n.d).

References:

Keathley, C. (2021). Qualitative and Quantitative Measurements. Study. https://study.com/learn/lesson/the-difference-between-qualitative-quantitative-measurement.html Renata, R. (n.d). What are Qualitative Measurements? The Classroom. https://www.theclassroom.com/advantages-disadvantages-crosssectional-studies-8758457.html

In healthcare, the point of all research is to apply the findings to improve clinical practice outcomes (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). One of the most important questions to keep in mind during appraisal is asking what the research means for clinical practice. Levels of evidence or a hierarchy of evidence provide guidance, and which hierarchy or level is appropriate depends on the type of clinical questions asked.

Quantitative ranks at the highest level of confidence for intervention questions, compared to designs that give lower confidence levels (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). The higher a rank in the hierarchy, the more confidence clinicians can have that the intervention will produce the same outcomes in similar patients for whom they care. Interpretation of results must include factors of validity and reliability. Possible sources of bias must also get examined.

Qualitative evidence is narrative, reflective, or anecdotal information, thus answering questions about human experiences (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). Qualitative evidence may not be as familiar to clinicians as quantitative evidence. Answering qualitative questions provides clinicians with the why, whereas quantitative evidence tends to provide the how-to practice. Qualitative appraising helps clinicians understand the experiences and values of patients. It is imperative to combine quantitative evidence with patient preferences and clinical expertise, using both methodologies to improve clinical practice outcomes.

Reference

Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2019). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (4th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

Rahman, M. H., Tumpa, T. J., Ali, S. M., & Paul, S. K. (2019). A grey approach to predicting healthcare performance. Measurement, 134, 307–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2018.10.055

Stouten, J., Rousseau, D. M., & De Cremer, D. (2018). Successful organizational change: Integrating the Management Practice and scholarly literature. Academy of Management Annals, 12(2), 752–788. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0095

Goals are an essential component of every area of business and life since they offer a feeling of direction, motivation, a clear focus, and clarify priority. Setting objectives gives you a target to shoot for. A SMART purpose is intended to assist guide goal planning. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely (University of California, 2019). As a result, a SMART goal integrates these factors to help you focus your efforts and boost success. Specific goals have a far better likelihood of being achieved—a SMART objective must-have metrics for tracking progress. L will not determine the gain or if you’re on pace to meet the purpose if there are no criteria. A SMART objective must be realistic and reachable. A SMART goal must be practical because it can be realized given the available resources and time. A SMART purpose must have a start and end date (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 2018). There will be little sense of urgency and, as a result, less incentive to attain the objective if the goal is not time-constrained. By making goals precise, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and timely, SMART goals help leaders achieve desired objectives. The SMART approach encourages individuals to go farther, provides direction, and aids in achieving overall objectives.

The

The University of California. (2019). SMART goals: A how-to guide. https://www.ucop.edu/local-human-resources/_files/performance-appraisal/How%20to%20write%20SMART%20Goals%20v2.pdf

The

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. (2018). Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals. Umassd.edu. https://www.umassd.edu/fycm/goal-setting/resources/smartgoals/

This is exceptional work, Carolee. The focus on SMART goals on setting goals and verifying the success of change initiatives is insightful and well done. However, other critical tools can be used to identify and verify the objective and measurable success of the change initiative. One of such tools is change readiness surveys. These are online surveys provided to acknowledge how the stakeholders perceive change at various points in the project’s lifetime (Garnett et al., 2020). The surveys can take different forms, including free texts. The other tools are flowcharts and process maps. These tools show how steps of a change process fit together. They enable stakeholders to understand the change process at a glance. They illustrate what occurs at every stage and how the events impact decisions and other actions (Ahmed et al., 2019). A project performance flowchart is essential in demonstrating whether or not the change management initiatives work according to the plan. Culture mapping can also be used by organizations to help in the visualization of an organization’s culture (Lewis, 2019). It can be used to find information essential to the change initiative and identify ways to reduce project risks.

References

Ahmed, E. S., Ahmad, M. N., & Othman, S. H. (2019). Business process improvement methods in healthcare: a comparative study. International journal of health care quality assurance. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA-07-2017-0116

Garnett, B., Moore, M., Kidde, J., Ballysingh, T. A., Kervick, C. T., Bedinger, L., … & Sparks, H. (2020). Needs and readiness assessments for implementing school-wide restorative practices. Improving Schools, 23(1), 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219836529

Lewis, L. (2019). Organizational change (pp. 406-423). Routledge.

With 70% of change initiatives fail and 29% of change initiatives being launched without any formal structures at all, the role that leaders have within the organization are essential for identifying objectives and measuring the process as the change is being implemented (Blanchard, 2010). It is important for organizations to compare and review a variety of tools to help objectives be measurable successes along with providing short-term wins to help encourage the change initiative. It is necessary to identify the outcomes as either short-term, intermediate, or long-term objectives. Short-term outcome objectives involve the initial expected changes within he targeted population after implementing interventions; Intermediate outcome objectives provides the progress toward reaching long-term objectives; and long-term objectives is achieved when the program or policy has been in place for a period of time (CDC, n.d.) According to the CDC (n.d.) the SMART objective can be used to measure success S-Specific: who, what and where; M-Measurable: focuses on how much change is expected; A-Achievable: provided program resources and planned implementation; R-Relevant: specific to policy/program goals; T-Time-Bound: focuses on When the objective will be achieved.

Key performance indicators (KPI) and metrics are another way to “measure how well companies, business units, projects or individuals are performing in relation to their strategic goals and objectives. Well-designed KPIs are vital navigational instruments, giving a clear picture of current levels of performance and whether the business is where it needs to be” (Class Consulting Group, 2020).True objectives can also be measured through surveys, performance evaluations, interviews, audits, patients satisfactory scores, and through Medicare and Medicaid CMS compliance

My organization utilities patient satisfactory scores from patient evaluation surveys to measure the success of our organization when reflecting upon the customer service they received such as the care our team members have provided to our customers (patients). Patient comments within the evaluation survey are essential within our organization and are used as a tool to help guide changes needing improvements and reflect upon areas that our organization is excelling in. Chart audits are also used as a tool to evaluate time management upon medication administrations, documentations such as pain scores and assessment charting, and ADL cares (such as baths, input, outputs, hygiene etc) to help make changes of improvements to better the care our patients receive. It is important to evaluate how external stakeholders (patients) view the organization to help improve changes that are needing to be made.

References

Blanchard, K. (2010). Mastering the art of change. Training Journal, 44–47. https://web-s-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=80aff27e-a012-42cf-a258-6c8eebf52d2a%40redi

Center for Disease Control (CDC). Developing program goals and measurable objectives. https://www.cdc.gov/std/Program/pupestd/Developing%20Program%20Goals%20and%20Objectives.pdf

Class Consulting Group. (2020). How to measure organizational success?: An important tool. https://www.theclassconsultinggroup.org/post/how-to-measure-organizational-success-an-important-tool

LDR 615 During a change initiative, what can organizations use to identify or verify truly objective and measureable success?