12 February 2020 
Martin Higgs, Communications Officer
Back in the last decade (well, 5th-6th December 2019) HR practitioners joined the UHR Scotland Annual Conference to discuss a lively Change, Improvement and Growth agenda (write Oliver Davidson PhD, Head of Consulting and Jane Tidswell, HE Sector Lead at People Insight.)
People Insight were delighted to be invited to speak, discussing the changing environment in higher education, and how we can embrace, rather than dread yet more changes. Bringing insights from both the audience and research carried out in the Financial Services sector, we discussed the tools needed and solutions we can employ to help make change a positive experience.
Change is imperative
It’s an understatement to say that universities are experiencing significant pressures to adapt to new circumstances. Many Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are feeling squeezed by challenging employee relations, regulatory and political requirements, growing international competition and an intensifying debate about the value and purpose of HE. All alongside the uncertainty of Brexit and the Augar review due imminently on the future of post-18 education.
The National Student Survey (NSS) and the Sunday Times league tables amongst others, add additional pressure for staff, leaving universities perpetually needing to prove their worth in an increasingly competitive marketplace. It can be difficult for university leaders to implement change, be agile and challenge the status quo. Changing fast risks us not bringing employees along with us. But failure to change is not an option.
Some key questions were asked of the audience including:
What are the barriers to change we encounter as Universities?
In discussion, many felt that the requirement for universities to adapt and evolve quickly hadn’t yet been fully recognised by large sections of the HE employee population. There is a need to change, but not yet an accompanying sense of urgency.
What skills and capabilities do we, as HR leaders, need to enable change?
What models / approaches to change are predominant in the sector and what should we be moving towards?
Another barrier to constructive change that was mentioned by several participants was the frequent absence of an over-arching plan, strategy or capability to implement change effectively. The approach is typically reactive rather than proactive and changes often seem to come about through a process of ‘management by crisis’, rather than a planned, well thought through approach.
What learnings are there from the Financial Services Sector?
The research that we carried out in the Financial Services sector certainly rang true for the audience.
1. Change is about people
Switching on new technology and defining a new structure are the easy parts; real, positive transformational change that works, is about people. Leadership is key, with high-level buy in from leaders from the start, as a necessary but not sufficient component. Persuasive communication is essential. In financial services, HR leaders are investing time in coaching managers so that they can reinforce key messages confidently, and engaging networks of change champions – both strategies have been found to have enormous value.
2. We can handle VUCA
In this time of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity there are different approaches that you can put in place:
3. Agile working is the way forward
Probably the most frequently cited way of working in the changing Financial Services environment is ‘Agile’ This is characterised by a rapid pace of successive changes - pilots, tests or experiments, followed by quick feedback and decisions made as a result, followed by action. The benefits of working this way were as follows:
“Such an iterative or agile approach cannot survive if there is a 'blaming culture' in place. When pilot projects or experiments are not successful, the learnings from this should be celebrated and acted on.” Susanne Chishti FINTECH Circle
“It may seem counter-intuitive but this model has supported our commitment to risk management as innovation and change is co-created, allowing problems to be uncovered together, quicker, and therefore resolved prior to implementation.” Cheryl Bosi, Lloyds.
This kind of approach has gained a great deal of traction among FS companies.
Discussion among those in the HE sector suggested that it’s an approach that could serve the sector well. The focus on creativity, experimentation and the inherently ‘democratic’ notion of empowering people to try new ideas would appeal to many HE staff. However, potential barriers to overcome would include a traditional ‘consensus’ approach, where new ideas are typically scrutinised by committee before being put into practice and a tendency to require a higher standard of experimental rigour than is allowed for in truly agile environments.
Listening through change helps bring people along
Developing a regular listening routine helps employees feel involved and valued, whilst also allowing the organisation to demonstrate what’s important and gather actionable insight.
Sarah McPake at TSB, “At TSB we have listening mechanisms built into our culture which means we always know what’s important to our people, and what they think about our current priorities.”
For more ideas on how to embrace change as the new normal, ensuring you bring your people with you, find out more from People Insight’s reports here:
Oliver Davidson PhD, Head of Consulting and Jane Tidswell, HE Sector Lead at People Insight
