Operational Guidance Increasing staff engagement during times of change‌
Implementation Staff Engagement Communication Consultation Business Planning
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Introduction This paper has been developed as practical guidance to support Managers during times of change. It is in the College’s interest to manage organisational change effectively to ensure that employees feel involved in the changes that affect them. Research has shown that a lack of engagement/involvement can result in demotivation, poor conduct, and stress. Reference to redundancy consultation is made within this guidance and the Gloucester College Redundancy Policy will apply in these instances. The principles in this guidance can be used to make all contractual changes including those that do not result in redundancies. Examples of change that impact staff and do not result in redundancies are:
Job Duties/Responsibilities (Significantly different, not an increase of workload) Hours of Work Location – if not covered in employment contract Restructures Change of line management that has a significant impact on the way staff currently work
Although the College is not legally obliged to consult over a set period of time with staff over changes that do not result in redundancies, it is strongly advisable to do so. If it is clear that your organisational change programme will result in redundancies, then the consultation will become redundancy consultation. For example if your proposed structure has significantly less roles within it, compared to your current structure. The principals of the process will remain the same. The vital difference is the status of the employee. For example:
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If it is clear that your restructure will result in redundancies, then the employee’s status is “at risk” of redundancy and must be notified of this right at the start of consultation. If it is not clear that your restructure will result in redundancies then the employee’s status is “at risk of their job role/contract being significantly changed” as a result of restructuring.
Planning Business Planning Identify the broad changes (or options) believed to be required to meet the business objectives, including any that may bring the prospect of redundancy, and the reasons for these. Compare your new structure with your current structure and decide whether staff are able to slot into new roles by using the following criteria: A person can only slot into a post in the new structure if the following applies: •
The new job description and the post holder’s substantive job description are substantially similar – at least 75% and
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The post holder matches the essential criteria in the person specification of the new post and
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They are the only post holder/s eligible and
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The post is not considered a promotion
Complete the Change Proposal (available on Share Point) to allow the Executive to consider in detail the changes necessary including any implications for the delivery of services, impact on wider departments, costs/savings or the staffing profile. Preparation When the changes have been agreed, let your HR representative know so that a timeline can be developed and support can be put into place as early as possible. The more you prepare, the more smoothly your consultation process will be. Items to be completed during this period are: Staff briefing paper– this paper will be given to all staff affected by the changes Consultation Presentation – you and your HR representative will use this presentation during the first consultation meeting. Invite to consultation (Share Point) – All correspondence will be completed by your HR representative in accordance with the agreed timeline. Assessment – please discuss how you are going to assess staff against posts in the new structure prior to consultation. Examples of measurable assessments are: o o o o
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Interview Competency Testing Psychometric Testing Presentation
Communication Strategy Phase 1: Open Consultation Meeting At the consultation meeting you will present the proposed changes to all affected staff (Slide 1 to 9). Your HR representative will present the selection process (Slide 9 onwards). It is important to take your time and answer as many queries as possible. It is more efficient and transparent to create a discussion during this meeting, to avoid a wave of questions when the meeting has closed. All staff will be given the staff briefing paper so that details of the changes and the process can be taken away. This will ensure that your staff can refer to the changes quickly and easily, rather than seeking clarification when the meeting has closed. It is unlikely that all of the information you provide during this discussion will be retained, therefore it is suggested the presentation be emailed out directly after the meeting. The most important thing is to be clear about the rationale for the changes and back up this information. Transparency is the key and will help to build trust. Employees are more likely to accept change if they understand why and can see that there is no alternative. The emphasis here is to work together with your staff to bring about change. If you are restructuring, this is a good opportunity for staff to be able to view copies of job descriptions and person specifications for any posts that are available to apply for
in the new structure. Create a discussion about the new roles and ask for the staff input. No one understands how your department operates, more than the staff in the current structure. Valuable insight and ideas can be gained during these discussions. Phase 2: Consultation period During the consultation period staff will be entitled to a 1:1 meeting with their Line Manager or/and a representative from HR. This is a good opportunity for staff to raise concerns that they wouldn’t discuss in an open meeting. Staff will be entitled to be accompanied by a Trade Union Representative or a colleague who is not affected by the change, at 1:1 meetings. As questions are raised, it is useful to make a note of these and develop a FAQ for the staff involved. This could be updated and circulated weekly by email by your HR Manager or uploaded onto Share Point. A meeting could also be called by the staff during the consultation period within which suggestions may be made or concerns raised. It is very important to consider what is said during this two way communication. You may wish to implement some of the suggestions and your staff could be experiencing high levels of uncertainty. The sensitive handling of questions raised will assist the implementation process. If you are restructuring, your selection process will commence. Staff will be given an expression of interest form (available from HR) which will be the first step in your assessment of suitability. Phase 3: Close of Consultation Where possible, the date of this meeting will normally be included in the initial letter. Not all of the staff will attend this meeting as many of their questions will have already been answered. During this meeting, the implementation process is outlined. Any other changes that had occurred during the consultation period are also confirmed. Phase 4: Wider Communication It can sometimes be beneficial to share information with the wider department, particularly when a restructure is involved. This can reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation. Careful consideration needs to be taken as to how and when it would be most appropriate to do this. It is also important to consider how the changes will be shared with the wider College. For example, if a role is changing and the interdepartmental links need to be aware.
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Implementation Period – For Restructures Only Following the consultation period, each member of staff will receive a letter officially closing the consultation. All those affected by the changes will also receive formal notification in writing outlining the start of the implementation period and the timescales.
This part of the change programme is likely to involve interviews for staff that have been successfully short listed against a new post in the structure. This will depend on what criteria you are using to establish suitability of staff to posts. Any employees that do not meet the short listing criteria for new roles in the structure would now be considered under notice of redundancy. An outcome meeting will take place between you and the member of staff and your HR representative will discuss notice period, redundancy pay and redeployment.
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Ring-Fenced Competition – For Restructures Only Where a person slots in to the new structure he/she will not be eligible for ring-fenced competition for any other posts in the new structure. However, he/she may apply for posts advertised in open competition after the ring-fencing stage. Ring fenced competition takes place where there is more than one staff member eligible to be considered for one post. A selection process will take place during ringfenced competition. Interviews will be competency based and scored against set criteria established by the Manager/Director and HR. The candidate with the highest score will be offered the post. If there is more than one of the same post, the candidate with the second highest score will be offered the second post etc. If appraisal scores are also being considered then these scores will be added to the interview score. The Manager/Director and HR representative will record the findings of the selection process and the reasons for the decisions reached for each candidate. All offers of employment will be confirmed in writing. Temporary pay protection may apply for posts that attract a lower salary. This is considered on a case by case basis and only be agreed by the HR Director. A probationary period will be applicable as with all internal moves. Following this process, remaining unfilled posts will be considered under redeployment and then re-advertised under the usual Gloucestershire College recruitment process.
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Redeployment – For Restructures Only (HR Department) If any staff are not matched to posts by either slotting in or through ring fenced competition in the new structure, they will be formally under redundancy notice. Under redeployment employees on redundancy notice receive priority consideration for interviews for all suitable alternative posts within Gloucestershire College. This includes posts that have not yet gone out to advert. Under the redeployment policy a suitable, alternative post is defined as a post which should normally carry broadly similar levels of responsibility and at the same pay scale. The individual will be consulted with to identify scope for matching to suitable alternative employment (Redeployment Interview). This is subject to the individual meeting the requirements of the job description and person specification. If a member of staff does not accept suitable alternative employment then they may relinquish their rights to a redundancy payment. Staff will be eligible for redeployment for the period of their contractual notice. Failure to find suitable alternative employment for staff during this period will lead to a
redundancy situation, in accordance with the Gloucestershire College Redundancy and Redeployment Policy.
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Post Changes Please consider a review meeting of the new structure and take a temperature check to ensure the new structure has settled. Please continue to share updates on the changes with other College staff (and students if applicable). Evaluation and feedback is crucial to enable us to continually improve the College’s processes. It would be beneficial to obtain feedback from your department following the restructure to establish whether anything could have been done differently. It will also provide some insight into how the team is feeling, post restructure.
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Contacts and Support The organisational change programme is likely to take around three months (depending on the consultation period). This includes the completion and submission of the restructure proposal, planning the programme with your HR representative and carrying out the Consultation and Implementation period. It is also likely to take your team some time to settle down into the new structure/roles so on-going support is essential. Please find a list of relevant contacts for you to use during your restructure. HR Manager
Extensio n
Director of Centre
Extensio n
Carly Rosser-Mayo
Head of HR
Ext 8402
Carly.rosser-mayo@gloscol.ac.uk
Sharon Parkin
HR Director
Ext 2079
Sharon.parkin@gloscol.ac.uk