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Chapter 8 – Sustain the Change Overview

8.0. Overview

Any change, whether brought on by new processes, a new system or organisational structure is only successful in the long run, if stakeholders adopt and fully buy-in to the change. Sustaining change requires the active involvement and support of the leadership team of each impacted MDA. This chapter focuses on understanding and gaining insights on the following:

8.1. Sustainability and reinforcement plan

Reinforcement is a powerful lever to sustain change(s) brought on by a programme, project, or initiative.  A sustainability and reinforcement plan should include well-designed and strategically placed rewardable moments to help emphasise and strengthen lasting behavioural change.  Important to note is that until a change becomes the norm, reinforcement is necessary to sustain it.

By developing the plan, you will be able to:

  • Drive desired behaviours by establishing the right mechanisms to reinforce them
  • Provide an action plan to support the probability that change will be sustained
  • Monitor the level of adoption of new behaviours and skills.

8.1.1. Sustainability and reinforcement plan – the process

1. Identify desired behaviours and skills, and establish performance criteria
  1. Identify which new ways of working need to be adopted in order to realise the programme or project benefits
  2. Refer to the change impact assessment and change readiness results to build on the targeted behaviours/actions/skills required to sustain the change
  3. Identify which information can be collected to the level of adoption of new ways of working
  4. Establish criteria to assess adoption. Check to be sure this clearly describes:
    • The context (when),
    • The target skill or behaviour to be performed (what)
    • How the team will know when the skill or behaviour is mastered (how).
2. Outline the reinforcement process
  • Consult with the project team to identify ways to reinforce the desired behaviours and ways of working post implementation
  • Determine and design extrinsic and tangible rewards for employees who display specific behaviours that are aligned with the desired future state.
3. Determine the next steps
  • Collect data on the project’s target and actual achievement(s) (outlined in the sustain the change scorecard found in the reinforcement plan template)
  • Consolidate the results to inform next steps
  • Capture insights and actionable next steps, including owners and due dates
  • Based on the analysis, update leadership action plans, inform future engagement and / or communication if needed
  • Create a procedure that is simple and quick to ensure that people participate in reward and recognition.