Southcentral Foundation’s READI Approach to Change Management

Change management is important for any organization that wants to make significant changes to the way they operate. Implementing changes can be difficult, especially at larger organizations, and these changes can sometimes face institutional resistance. Southcentral Foundation has a great deal of experience with organizational change, having transformed our health care system to better serve customer-owners, and continues to implement organizational changes and improvements today as they are needed.

To help with this process, SCF has developed the READI approach, detailed below:

Phase 1: Reach Understanding

During phase 1, the improvement specialist/advisor engages in initial conversation with relevant stakeholder(s). This might be with department/division employees after a need for improvement (redesign or design) has been identified, or it might be with their department/division leadership to get an idea of their high-level needs and/or goals.

Phase 2: Establish Relationships

During phase 2, the improvement specialist/advisor builds relationships with the work team and other relevant stakeholders, and establishes or reinforces (using relational tools) the ground work for effectively moving improvements and initiatives forward. The relationships built during this phase enable the improvement work to proceed more efficiently as the project develops.

Phase 3: Assess Gaps/Possibilities

The improvement specialists/advisors utilize their quality improvement toolbox and work with relevant stakeholders and teams to identify gaps between current state and future state, while considering what is currently working well.

Phase 4: Develop and Implement Action Plan

The improvement specialists/advisors utilize their quality improvement toolbox and work with relevant stakeholders and teams to identify, test and implement changes that result in improvement. Once the action plan is agreed to by the team, it is implemented and results are monitored.

Phase 5: Integrate Solutions and Evaluate Results

At this phase, the improvement specialists/advisors will see the project to conclusion and work with stakeholders and teams to evaluate results and sustain improvements.

The READI approach helps SCF manage change and improvement across the organization, and ensures that improvement projects proceed efficiently and engage employees to make positive change. READI is also the approach that SCF uses to consult with outside organizations looking to make changes to their health care systems. For more information on SCF’s improvement practices, attend our Improvement and Innovation: READI, Set, Go! training, and for more information on consulting opportunities, contact the SCF Learning Institute today!