My Change Initiative is “OperationLearn”. My goal is to cross train a Department of about 70 employees to learn other areas that they normally do not work in on a day to day basis. OperationLearn will allow the opportunity for an employee to lateral to another team in the Department and learn that subject matter for a period of up to two years. The Environmental Department is made up of subject matter experts that work on certain teams designated by topical area (air quality, water quality etc.). There are a total of six teams. These team members are not given the chance to cross train amongst their own team much less other teams in the Department. My goal with this initiative is to move people around to other teams so they can learn these areas so the loss of one person doesn’t devastate a team or department and it provides the opportunity for staff to develop additional skills. The department does have an older staff which makes cross training that much more important. The cross training will also allow for development of staff that had other expertise when they joined the department but have not been able to use that knowledge since they are on a team that focuses on a different topic.
Dream
Team leaders from the six teams will develop the plan for OperationLearn. We will kick off during our all staff Department meeting. Our Vice President will speak on the importance of this project and I will speak on why we need to do this and how we will do this together. I will tell my own story of cross training and the success it brought me. The symbol that we will use throughout this project will be:
leap
As we jump into this new project, we will explain why it is needed and what each person can do to be successful. We know this will not be easy for some and we will acknowledge that by use of reward stories so those that have some apprehension can see the end result will be worth it. The ceremony piece will need to involve a way to show team members that they need to let go of those fears or concerns to working on a different team. We are in this together will be a key message. We will use the team learning symbol and motivating music as necessary.
fight
As we get further into the initiative, there will be staff who are struggling with the cross training and wonder whether it’s worth it. We will need to motivate those and let them know that they may feel like an underdog in this endeavor but they will be stronger at the end. I will request one of the directors to tell their story about the Power the Future (PTF) project and how there were times he felt the same. We will provide an opportunity to rally spirits to keep all on the path to our goal. They team learning symbol will be used as well as Rachel Platten’s “This is my Fight Song” will be played during the meeting.
climb
As we start to see the end is near, we need to continue to ensure that our team Is climbing toward the goal. Persistence will be a key motivator in the stories that are told to the team. We will renew the commitment to our goal and ensure that all team members are on the path forward. As they are climbing toward this goal, we will play the “Rocky Theme” song as a symbol of pushing your limits and keep climbing to reach your goal. Also use the Team Learning symbol.
arrive
Victory has arrived! The initiative has been a success and our Vice President will speak about where we started and how far we have come. We will share our stories of success and acknowledge that the team was the key driver in this success. The department will celebrate by a having a party to acknowledge those that participated and the great feeling of accomplishment. We will play “We are the Champions” by Queen as a great musical piece of success. Lastly, I like this symbol as way to move from team cross training to a team.