Drive For Change Website
The Drive for Change toolkit has been developed to give organisations practical assistance with engaging the workforce in service improvement and change. It is designed for use by union representatives, managers and HR practitioners to help take forward change with employees' active engagement.
The Drive for Change approach to engaging staff and unions in service improvement has been piloted in four organisations across the public services. These pilot studies are used throughout the toolkit to provide practical examples of how employee engagement has already been used to drive forward improvements in service delivery.
We have identified five main themes or Drivers for Change which are key to the process of employee engagement. These five themes, which emerged from the case studies, are all equally important and interdependent. These Drivers for Change pinpoint the key issues to be considered in driving forward employee involvement.
This section explains the importance of leadership in driving forward employee involvement within the workplace and shows that leadership - from managers and trade unions - is essential in building effective working relationships.
An effective process of employee involvement can help achieve 'buy in' and assist with the effective implementation of change in the workplace. By involving those people delivering and using the service, the organisation gains access to a greater range of information and generates increased support and commitment.
Establishing a framework for staff engagement provides a clear role for employees in helping the organisation move forward. This can only work by managers and trade unions working together to provide the right environment for staff engagement.
Communication is essential to any change process based on employee involvement. Our four case studies are used to show how effective communication systems helped move forward debate within different workplaces and increase support for change.
Employee involvement in the process of change will lead to the more effective implementation of that change within the organisation. A real process of employee involvement will enable organisations to deliver change quicker, more effectively and with the active support of their workforce.