Excerpt from HLG Strategy
Prerequisites for change
20. To manage effectively the changes required, it is vital to consider four main issues:
(a) Willingness to change – This is determined by trust and support for the leadership and/or governance structure of the change. There must be enough trust and support for the strategy, vision and the leadership. This will require clear communication and leadership as it is really about “selling the vision” to encourage staff and stakeholders to embark on a transformation journey;
(b) Ability to change - This is about the capacity to change, which is determined by many factors but people and their skills are of the utmost importance. Are enough people “on board” to really make it happen? Leadership is again a critical factor as it is needed to change, often long lasting, structures and ideas within organizations;
(c) Readiness for change - As transformation requires many changes to the organization, its people, stakeholders etc., change readiness is essential. An effective transformation must be well timed, because timing affects the level of support from the people that are involved;
(d) Speed of change - One of the choices to be made is between evolution and revolution. Although the speed of change is to some extent driven by the increasing rate of change in the outside world, current advantages such as quality and trust should be preserved. Effective leaders regularly re-check the willingness, ability and readiness to change, and adjust the speed of change on the basis of that.
21. It is not realistic to suppose that all members of the official statistics industry will have the same levels of willingness, ability and readiness to change at the start. Change will therefore be pioneered by a few organisations before being implemented by all. The ability to change can differ as NSO’s face different challenges in particular, differences in national legislation, priorities and requirements.