As a Change Manager I was
Passionate: assist people and organisations to be the best they can be through successful adoption of new technologies
Business Perspective: minimise disruption; limit opportunity cost of change; successful engagement, benefits realisation
Change Experience: IT change and business transformation, 18 years’ experience
Industry Experience: superannuation, insurance, telecoms, pharmaceuticals, furniture retail, banking and finance, government (human services), and business equipment
Others say: an accomplished change manager who delivers. Extremely calm, very empathetic, a good listener, and action oriented
What I do as a Change Manager
Change Methodologies: People Centred Implementation (PCI) ADKAR/Prosci; People Due Diligence (ODR); eclectic tailored models. Adaption of commonly used methodologies (Kotter, Conner etc) in response to client needs.
Change Capability: coach senior executives and managers; manage/train teams of change agents, trainers, change readiness and change impact assessment; stakeholder engagement
Strategise and Plan: develop strategy and implementation plans; utilise frameworks; change or project tool/template sets, integrate change and project management deliverables;
People Focus: understand impacts, acknowledge and minimise resistance, create readiness, build commitment, support transition, embed behaviours and systems that sustain change
Change Communications: target to and from all levels for different audiences; across time; develop artefacts; repeat and reinforce messaging; use multiple media, forums, and tailored messages for the audience
Survey Design: design readiness or snapshot surveys, implement and analyse results. Produce reports from analysis and results
Align Change, Projects: develop, align change governance with project/programs; integrate change and projects (Prince2®) and programs (MSP®) deliverables, define benefits, mitigate risks, regularly report progress; support capability maturity development; change support for data migrations
Benefits: define measures, metrics attitudes and behaviours needed to achieve benefits; develop benefits dependency networks and profiles; track benefits realisation
Go-Live Management: IT Transition preparation planning and implementation; design and manage intensive go-live support; support business leaders through go-live
Prince2® and MSP®: Utilisation of framework components and undertake change activities as partner to projects and project managers. Understand governance aspects of activities, and support maturity development.
What I am most proud of as a Change Manager
- Change management lead for the implementation of the Integrated Client Management System (ICMS) into Queensland (QLD) Department of Child Safety in a difficult technical and stakeholder environment. Successive releases included a delayed start and a defect ridden release. I maintained a calm demeanour and put an extensive effort into managing highly resistant social work users. I prepared an analysis of usage and provided recommendations for continued support and focus on successful delivery. This included organising a roadshow led by the Executive Director (Sponsor) to all regions, where she persuaded team leaders and senior staff on the corporate imperative of the ICMS and the child safety related benefits it would deliver. I developed the presentation used. The road show was successful and created further momentum which paved the way for better engagement and successful embedding of business changes required over the following 4 years to sustain further development of the system
- The integrated change and project/program framework and its implementation in Queensland Department of Communities were recognised as best practice (Maturity level 4) by Tanner James (2010). I was involved in ‘genericising’ the framework; and presenting it to other (QLD) government departments and also as a case study presentation for a conference.
- Planned a cultural change program involving employee input and engagement for a staff size reduction program, including multiple feedback and idea collection mechanisms, such as open forums with the CEO, online discussion boards, email, and suggestion boxes. The goal was to develop a high level of engagement across the 500+ department despite a reduced headcount, and maintain or increase staff satisfaction with the restructure outcomes. Outcomes were achieved.
- Developed a tool to assess the complexity of change projects, and determine the level of change management support and resources needed for a project. This was used effectively to make judgments about where the project’s effort and resourcing needed to be.
- Introduced a go-live intensive support process combining user support and triaging of technical and other issues arising, managing stakeholder communication and reporting of these for UniSuper. Design pre-briefing materials, mentor support process managers, and fine-tune processes and documentation over a number of implementations. These activities were extremely successful, and I received Employee of the Month Award as a result. The process continues to be used.
- Organised for Daryl R. Conner, author of Managing at the Speed of Change to present to over 30 senior executives of IAG. Conner has a no holds barred approach to revealing the myths and risks of managing change. This was a major achievement which inspired those present and motivated them to be effective change leaders and to build their capability in change leadership skills. Many of these managers sent their staff for further training in change management.
Key qualifications
Bachelor of Arts (ANU)
Bachelor of Social Administration (Flinders)
Other specialisations
- Building Change Management capability
- Project and Program Management
- Management
Key recent work summary
- UniSuper 2014
Portfolio Change Manager
- Queensland Government 2012
Change Manager and Change Management Team Manager
- NRMA/IAG 2003
eCommerce Change Manager
- Workforce Transformations 2001
Senior Consultant
- Computer and software sales/consulting Career 1993
- Social Work Career 1984, specialising in group work and training.
Professional groups
- Inaugural Member, Change Management Institute (CMI), Queensland Chapter. Committee Member and Event Coordinator.
Award: CMI Committee member of the year, 2010
Chapter Lead for the Queensland Chapter CMI, October 2011
Attended CMI National Conferences 2010, 2011 and 2013
- Member, Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP)
Attended the ACMP Global Conference in Las Vegas, USA April 2012 - Member, Women Speakers Association
Main photo courtesy of Images with Carol