LCO 6100 Module 3 Module Paper: Communicating, Empowering and Winning Early Example

From Plan to Practice: Communicating, Empowering and Winning Early at Raritan Valley Mutual

Student Name

Master of Science in Management, Thomas Edison State University

LCO-6100: Leading Change in Complex Organizations

Mentor Name

Month Day, Year

From Plan to Practice: Communicating, Empowering and Winning Early at Raritan Valley Mutual

Introduction

Module 2 set out urgency, a coalition and a vision for Raritan Valley Mutual's second attempt at its claims platform. Kotter (2012) argues that the later stages are where many efforts stall, because leaders underestimate how much communication, structural change and time are needed. This paper plans those stages.

Communicating the Vision

The first rollout relied on emails and town halls. The new plan uses many channels and puts supervisors at the center, because employees trust their direct supervisor more than executives. Each claims supervisor will receive a short guide and will discuss the vision in weekly team meetings for the first three months, using the team's own cases. Peer coaches will demonstrate the platform on real claims. The chief claims officer will join one team meeting a week. Kotter (2012) stresses that leaders must model the change; claims managers will process some simple claims through the platform themselves and talk about the experience.

Communication must also run upward. A monthly survey of adjusters and an open channel to the coalition will collect problems with the platform. Each month, the coalition will report what it heard and what it changed, which addresses the cynicism left by the first rollout, when problems went unanswered. Communication will also be repeated: the same vision will appear in team meetings, coaching sessions, the monthly report and performance reviews, so that adjusters hear it in many places from people they trust.

Empowering Broad-Based Action

The main obstacle in the first attempt was the performance system. Adjusters will now be measured on cycle time, customer satisfaction and accuracy rather than closed files, with a three-month transition during which no one's evaluation can fall because of platform use. Supervisors will be measured on their teams' adoption. Two procedural obstacles will also be removed: the requirement for a supervisor's signature on every payment under $2,500, which the platform makes unnecessary for simple claims, and the duplicate entry into the old system, which will end when the platform is connected to the payment system.

Generating Short-Term Wins

The first wins must be visible, unambiguous and clearly related to the change. Auto glass claims are the first target, because they are simple and frequent. Within 90 days, the goal is to settle glass claims in one day through the platform. The coalition will publicize the result with customer comments and with the adjusters involved. A second win, within six months, will be minor collision claims settled in two days. Kotter (2012) notes that short-term wins give evidence that sacrifices are worth it and undermine cynics. Each win will be measured against the first rollout's numbers, so adjusters can see the difference, and the coalition will share any shortfall honestly rather than presenting only good news.

Treating Resistance as Information

Some adjusters will resist, especially experienced staff who fear their expertise is being devalued. Ford et al. (2008) argue that resistance is partly a product of how change agents act, including broken agreements and poor communication, and that it can contain useful information about flaws in the change. The coalition will therefore treat complaints about the platform as data, fix problems quickly and involve skeptical adjusters in testing new features. Some adjusters will resist however well the change is run, since Oreg (2003) showed people differ in their built-in disposition to resist; for them, the move to complex property claims offers a role that uses their expertise.

Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change

After the early wins, the coalition will use the credibility gained to expand the platform to simple property claims and to revisit other processes, such as subrogation. Kotter (2012) warns against slowing down after early success; the coalition will continue meeting through the second year. The coalition will also review which obstacles remain after six months, such as manual steps in subrogation, and remove them before expanding further.

Anchoring the Change in the Culture

The change is anchored when new adjusters learn the platform as the normal way of working and when promotions reward the behaviors the change requires. Training for new hires will start with the platform. Promotion criteria for senior adjusters will include coaching others. In two years, success will be measured by whether the old process could be removed without anyone noticing.

Conclusion

Garden State's next steps rely on supervisors and peer coaches to communicate, on changed measures and procedures to empower adjusters, on early wins with glass and minor collision claims, on treating resistance as information and on anchoring the change in hiring and promotion. Together they address each failure of the first attempt and prepare for the full change plan in the final paper.

References

Ford, J. D., Ford, L. W., & D'Amelio, A. (2008). Resistance to change: The rest of the story. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 362-377. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.31193235

Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change. Harvard Business Review Press.

Oreg, S. (2003). Resistance to change: Developing an individual differences measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(4), 680-693. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.4.680