VA FLITE Organizational Change Management Strategy.doc

VA FLITE Organizational Change Management StrategyDepartment of Veterans AffairsFinancial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprise (FLITE)FLITE Organizational Change Management StrategyVersion 4.1July 24, 2008Document Control PageDocument OwnerNameTitleOrganizationEmailTelephoneKathy StellatoFLITE Organization Change Management (OCM) Team LeadDocument HistoryRevisionDateDescriptionAuthor/Editor1.002/19/07Initial Draft2.009/14/07Updated to align with new program decisions and revised program structure.3.011/26/07Updated to include revised program language from VA FLITE leadership and refined program requirements.3.104/30/08Updated to include revised language from Administration liaisons and project leadership.4.005/15/08Updated to include additional comments from project leadership 4.107/25/08Incorporate minor changes based on feedback from the IFAS IPT.FLITE Organizational Change Management Strategy Version 4.1Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryThe first guiding principle for the Department of Veterans Affairs Financial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprise (VA FLITE) Program states, “People, Process, and Tools, in that order, remain the three primary areas of focus.” Although the relationship of all three must constantly be kept in mind, it is particularly important to prepare the workforce for changes that need to occur. The integration of financial management and asset management systems will drive significant changes in the day-to-day job functions of personnel working in these areas.The Organizational Change Management (OCM) strategy for the VA FLITE Program details the systematic approach to transitioning VA personnel and managing the changes required for FLITEs successful implementation. It is intended to guide the work of the FLITE Program leadership and FLITE OCM Team, as well as other leaders throughout VA who are responsible for managing this complex organizational initiative.The OCM strategy addresses five key focus areas, which provide an overall framework for change. These focus areas include:1. Leadership2. Communications and Stakeholder Engagement (C&SE)3. Education and Training4. Enterprise Organizational Alignment5. Site-level Workforce TransitionThe strategy also outlines roles, responsibilities, and relationships for OCM initiatives.Critical Success FactorsThis OCM strategy incorporates lessons learned from previous VA Information Technology (IT) modernization initiatives and addresses the unique challenges of transitioning the VA workforce to FLITE processes and tools. Based on these lessons, the following critical success factors for the FLITE Program have been identified:· Build an atmosphere of openness and honesty between the FLITE Program Directors Office (PDO) and VA stakeholders through effective governance and engagement.· Involve leaders at all levels and assign accountability for results.· Engage the most knowledgeable and respected VA financial and logistics subject matter experts (SME) to configure the solution and oversee the introduction of the solution in the field.· Analyze, understand, and document the differences between the “As-Is” and “To-Be” environments to form a basis for a clear and comprehensive Workforce Transition Plan and training.· Measure learning results to ensure that users are trained and prepared for FLITE processes and tools prior to deployment.· Develop and execute a comprehensive Communications program to build understanding and commitment to FLITE, as well as to facilitate two-way exchanges throughout the transition.· Address organizational and cultural challenges by understanding and making necessary adjustments to organizational structures, roles, and responsibilities.· Standardize financial and logistics business processes up-front and implement critical changes prior to deploying FLITE tools.· Review, align, and standardize financial and logistics policies, procedures, and regulations.· Plan a pilot, beta, and deployment approach to demonstrate early success, build confidence, and refine transition strategies.These critical success factors will be monitored and tracked, as appropriate, through periodic stakeholder surveys. They also will be included as detailed requirements for implementation contractors.LeadershipCritical to FLITEs success is strong leadership from all VA levels. These leaders must provide strategic direction, key decision-making, and commitment to the FLITE Programs mission. These leaders will play a vital role throughout the program life cycle by promoting, supporting, and influencing the FLITE initiative; ensuring that resources are available; and resolving critical implementation issues.To prepare and enable key leaders, FLITE leadership will identify and engage leaders to build commitment for the FLITE Program, in particular, key individuals who serve on critical VA financial and asset management boards, councils, and other committees. The FLITE OCM Team must prepare and enable leaders at all VA levels by developing leadership action plans that clarify expectations and detail specific tasks leaders must undertake to ensure FLITEs success. The team will work with leadership at affected VA sites and geographic regions to ensure that these plans are tailored to local conditions and implemented effectively.Communications and Stakeholder EngagementThe FLITE C&SE strategy provides an overall framework for managing and coordinating activities that will introduce stakeholders to the FLITE Program and build their commitment to the programs objectives. Key elements of the strategy include stakeholder analysis, message development, communications delivery, and channels for evaluation and feedback to ensure continuous C&SE improvement.Education and TrainingThe education and training of all stakeholders, from VA leaders and managers to end users at affected VA sites, are a significant focus of the organizational change strategy. This section describes critical success factors that must be metthe “who, what, how, and when” of FLITE education and trainingand the methods that will be used to evaluate the FLITE education and training program. A companion document, FLITE Training Strategy, describes in detail the elements required for FLITE education and training to be effective.Enterprise Organizational AlignmentIn aligning the VA organization, the key question that must be answered is “How can we establish capabilities for continuous improvement in the organization to get full benefits of the new FLITE systems and processes?” The term “organizational alignment” covers a broad range of activities to be conducted prior, during, and post deployment, including the following:· Align VAs financial and asset management organizational structure to achieve efficiencies and implement the new approach to asset management and financial management.· Address impacts on the roles and responsibilities of FLITE users and performing units.· Develop new skill sets and behaviors required to support new processes; leverage new technology at the individual and group levels.· Identify and revise relevant VA policies.While alignment activities will begin before a site is deployed, after implementation is complete, and once all affected units and individuals have experience with the new FLITE systems and processes, other opportunities will emerge to redesign the organization to get full benefits from the new systems and processes. Such opportunities will be determined on a site-by-site basis and decisions to proceed will be made locally. Therefore, a critical success factor is to establish capabilities for continuous improvement and the long-term organizational alignment of VAs financial and asset management functional areas.Site-Level Workforce TransitionBecause each deployment site has its own unique processes, issues, constraints, and resources, success of the OCM effort at each site will depend on the degree of local commitment. Therefore, the leadership at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), National Cemetery Administration (NCA), and Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) locations, who will be deploying the new systems, will be responsible and accountable for assisting the VA FLITE Deployment Team in developing a Transition Plan tailored to meet its sites specific needs. Site-level leadership will be supported by program-level OCM specialists, who will provide guidance, templates, tool kits, and other materials, as appropriate.Performance Measurement: Evaluation and FeedbackPerformance measures, both qualitative and quantitative, will be used for the following:· Measure stakeholders level of awareness, understanding, and acceptance of the FLITE Program.· Allow early detection of needed changes to the OCM approach.· Identify additional resources required to achieve the programs goals.· Report results and outcomes to inform decision-makers and improve performance.· Identify issues that inform the FLITE PO when help is needed at the affected sites.Department of Veterans AffairsiiiJuly 24, 2008FLITE Organizational Change Management Strategy Version 4.1Table of ContentsTable of Contents1.Introduction11.1Background11.2Mission11.3FLITE Program Guiding Principles11.4Objectives21.5Purpose and Audience21.6Scope31.7Assumptions32.FLITE Organizational Change Management Approach42.1Why Organizational Change Management?42.2Framework for Change52.3Challenges Managing VA Change52.3.1Lessons Learned from Previous Implementations52.3.2Additional Challenges72.4Guiding Principles for Managing VA Change72.5OCM Framework82.5.1Leadership92.5.2Communications and Stakeholder Engagement92.5.3Education and Training92.5.4Enterprise Organizational Alignment92.5.5Site-Level Workforce Transition93.Organizational Change Management Roles and Responsibilities113.1Program-Level OCM Roles113.1.1Executive Steering Committee113.1.2Program Directors Office123.1.3Project Groups123.1.4OCM Team133.1.5Working Groups or Councils143.2Site-Level OCM Roles153.2.1Site Project Chair153.2.2Site Steering Committees153.2.3Site Transition Teams164.Leadership174.1Overview of FLITE Change Leadership Network184.2Responsibilities of FLITE Change Leaders194.3Strategies for Developing and Enabling Leaders204.3.1Governance204.3.2Engagement with Key VA Boards, Councils, and Committees204.3.3Executive Alignment Sessions204.3.4Leadership Collaboration Sessions204.3.5Leadership Development204.3.6Leadership Action Plans215.Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy225.1Overview225.2Critical Success Factors225.3C & SE Strategy Development235.3.1Stakeholder Analysis255.3.2Message Development255.3.3Communications Framework265.3.4Evaluation and Feedback265.4Implementation266.Education and Training Strategy286.1Overview286.2Critical Success Factors286.2.1Critical Planning Factors286.3Who: Audiences and Responsibilities296.3.1Audiences296.3.2Responsibilities306.4What: Types of Education and Training326.5How: Education and Training Methods and Evaluation326.5.1Media and Methods336.5.2Evaluation336.6When: Planning Approach and Nominal Schedule336.7Resources347.Enterprise Organizational Alignment Strategy357.1Overview357.2Approach367.2.1Analysis Phase: Assess Current FLITE Environment367.2.2Initiation Phase: Prepare for Organizational Alignment Transition387.2.3Transition Phase: Align the Organization387.2.4Continuous Improvement Phase: Sustain and Build Long-Term Change387.3Timing: When to Conduct Alignment Activities397.4Roles and Responsibilities398.Site-Level Workforce Transition Strategy408.1Overview408.1.1Initial Transition Activities408.1.2Repeated Transition Activities418.1.3Assessment of OCM Activities and Continuous Improvement428.2FLITE OCM Team Transition Support Activities428.2.1Metrics438.2.2FLITE Program Change Readiness Assessment438.2.3Site Transition Team Training438.3Change Capabilities at Pilot Sites439.Performance Measurement Evaluation and Feedback449.1Overview449.2Approach449.2.1Types of Metrics459.2.2Criteria for Metrics459.3Data Collection Methods459.4Reporting46Appendix A. Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance and Change47Appendix B. FLITE Communications Plan49Appendix C. FLITE Stakeholders50Acronyms51Glossary53List of References55List of FiguresFigure 2-1. Organizational and Personal Change Process4Figure 2-2. FLITE Organizational Change Management Framework8Figure 3-1. FLITE Governance Framework11Figure 4-1. Enterprise-Level Leadership17Figure 5-1. Enterprise-Level Communication and Stakeholder Engagement22Figure 5-2. Effective Stakeholder Management over Time24Figure 5-3. Key Communication Vehicles for Major Stakeholder Groups26Figure 6-1. Enterprise-Level Education and Training28Figure 7-1. Enterprise-Level Enterprise Organizational Alignment35Figure 8-1. Site-Level Workforce Transition Strategy40Figure A-1. Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance and Change47List of TablesTable 2-1. Organizational Change Management Work Products across Program Life Cycle10Table 4-1. High-Level FLITE Change Leadership Network18Table 4-2. FLITE Change Leader Responsibilities19Table 5-1. Program-Level C&SE Objectives and Activities across Program Phases24Table 7-1. Sample Data Collection Guidelines37Table 8-1. Initial Workforce Transition Phases40Table 8-2. Repeated Workforce Transition Phases41Table 9-1. Sample Quantitative and Qualitative Change Measures45Table A-1. Dimensions of Burke-Litwin Model48Table C-1. FLITE Stakeholders50Department of Veterans AffairsviiJuly 24, 2008FLITE Organizational Change Management Strategy Version 4.1Performance Measurement Evaluation and Feedback1. Introduction1.1 BackgroundIn the late 1990s, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) began an effort to develop an integrated financial and asset management system to support approximately 1,000 financial and asset management locations across VA. The intent of this effort was to address the departments long-standing requirement to eliminate a significant material weaknessthe lack of an integrated financial management systemidentified by the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) in its audit of VAs fiscal year (FY) 1991 financial statements. However, as the project evolved, numerous p