Karen Pilarski Mia College 2010

Support Staff is a sub-department within the Admissions Office of Mia College. Support Staff is

responsible for processing transcripts, applications, letters, reports and various other data entry. It is a fast

paced environment and the work load is usually heavy. Support Staff works and communicates with the

undergrad and graduate counselors. The group processes letters to potential students such as missing

credentials, acceptance, refusal, etc. In addition, they cancel and delay files and push files to be

registered. Support Staff also runs reports to help analysis where the Admissions Office is in terms of

accepted students, cancels, registrations numbers etc. Support Staff main purpose is to keep files moving

in order for the counselors to spend more time recruiting potential students.

For my project I will be focusing on implementing a new method to speed up the application process.

Currently Support Staff retrieves Mia College applications from a database. Support Staff has to key in

data from applications such as name, address, emergency contact, etc.

Recently a change was implemented for Support Staff to key in more information from applications. For

example parent information, addresses, reasons why the student is applying to Mia College, etc. This

extra data entry causes staff to take longer to process applications. This holds up counselors from

contacting applicants to discuss the next step in the admission process. Furthermore it backs up Support

Staff from other duties such as processing transcripts, processing accepts and completing letters.

Information Systems department at Mia recently approved setting up the online application import. This

is a bridge between the online application and the Admission’s database that allows the data to be

imported automatically. By implementing this change there is a possibility that the new process will do

the following:

It will save approximately 350 hours of manual data entry.

Improved data accuracy.

Cut down on paper and printing costs (we will no longer need to print the online application)

Allowing counselors to receive applications in a timely manner (perhaps even contact students

sooner).

Extra time could allow for cross training and projects such as matriculation and file purging.

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Organizational Diagnosis and Assessment Phase

I conducted a needs assessment by interviewing the Director of Training and Technology and Information

(TTI) and sending an online survey to counselors, Support Staff and by observing staff meetings.

During transition of change it is important to clarify the purpose of the change. This means to answer

these questions (Bridges, 2003, p 61)

What is the problem? Situation that requires this change to solve it?

Who says so and give proof?

What would happen if no one acted?

What would happen to us if this occurred?

There are signs indicating there is a need to change how applications are processed. The biggest sign is

time constraints. There are two document secretaries in Support Staff. One handles undergraduate

applications and the other one handles graduate applications. In the morning the secretaries prints

applications that are completed and not processed and in-progress and not processed. Depending on time

of year an application has to be at a certain percentage completed in order to be processed.

Undergraduate population generates majority of the applications. Support Staff was asked to time

themselves to see how long it takes to enter an application (not including printing missing credential

letters). If an applicant isn’t in Datatel (student database) it takes up about 7 minutes. If an applicant has

some information already entered it takes about 4-5 minutes per application. Graduate applications have

more information to enter but there isn’t as many to process in a day.

Recently the Director of Admissions has asked for more data to be entered from applications. The use of

information is to help create reports to better recruitment focus/targets.

Monday morning is the busiest day since applications accumulate over the weekend. Depending on the

number of applications printed it could take several hours to enter all information and print up letters.

Support Staff is expected to process missing credential letters by 10am and enter transcripts by noon for

counselors to review them. Support Staff has to stop processing applications in order to meet this

deadline. If they become bogged down by other tasks (transcripts, accept files, refuse, cancels) there is

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always the risk of not processing all applications in a day. If one of the document secretaries is out it is up

to other Support Staff to process applications. At times another member may not get to processing

applications if they are busy with their own job responsibilities.

This brings up another issue lack of time causes. The online survey I conducted asked the following

questions: what is going great in Support Staff and what could be improved? 100% responded that people

work together efficiently and collaboratively. 40% responded that cross training is needed in the office.

Cross training means to have other members of the group be trained in different duties. This helps with

productivity and if someone is on vacation or out sick. In addition, if the work volume is very heavy and a

group member needed help. Due to heavy work volume (applications and other data entering) cross

training has been impossible to complete.

When applications aren’t processed in a timely manner it causes issues for counselors. After a counselor

receives an application file she reviews the application and reads over the letter to make sure it is correct.

The counselor then calls the potential student to give the next steps in the application process. When they

receive application files late in the day there may be a risk of not being able to get hold of the applicant.

Also it backs the counselors up in terms of their own job duties.

Another sign there needs to be a change is the issue with errors. It is expected that Support Staff process

all documents in an accurate and timely manner. Due to more demand for additional information to be

entered errors have increased. Typically when there is an error a counselor will give the file back to

Support Staff to fix. Errors can range from simple typos to errors in processing a file. Lately the Director

of TTI has been informed from the Director of Admissions of continuing issues. The Director of TTI has

shared this with Support Staff during staff meetings and face to face with staff members. If Support Staff

has to stop to fix errors it takes away from processing other files. This is especially important at the end of

month when application/accept/ cancel number reports are created. Counselors become upset if their

numbers are not correct due errors.

Lastly, another issue is the amount of paper used to print applications. According to the Office

Coordinator, Support Staff goes through four cases of copy paper a month. This is 40 reams of copy paper

at a cost of $139.80 per month. Not only is this a waste of money but not a ‘green’ way to conduct

business. Other departments such as Business Office have stopped printing paper by having documents

online instead of mailing them out to students. Last year we printed 543 on-line applications.  Two pages

per apps so 1,086 pieces of paper were used.  There are 500 pages per ream which means we used 2

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reams of paper last year for printing on-line applications. Although this doesn’t seem like much, it is still

a waste of resources.

I used Lewin’s Force Field Analysis to determine the forces for change and resistance factors. He notes

that changes in performance “could be achieved by either a strengthening a ‘driving’ force or weakening

a ‘restraining’ force. (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010 p 77).This means to look at the

reasons for and against the decision. What using this tool does is increase supporting evidence why a

change should take place.

Although the work load is usually heavy there are days when there is a low amount of applications to

process. Support Staff may feel a decrease in job security. However a strong reason for this change is that

excess time could be spent doing training or helping a colleague out with other tasks. By increasing skills

of Support Staff this actually adds more value to them as employees. This helps keep the office

productive and moving which is the biggest reason to implement the new application process.

Secondly, another force for the change is reducing errors by using new technology tool. A reason why

people may resist is the fear of technology. Support Staff has been processing applications online for

several years. Although Datatel is not new to them, a new way of using it is. This may cause anxiety and

apprehension. However, there have been changes in the past that Support Staff has adapted to. For

example the new Datatel format, new Outlook, and the new application back office system.

Thirdly, a reason for the change is to improve accuracy. The potential resistance is for Support Staff and

Counselors to depend on Datatel to upload application information correctly. There could be glitches with

Datatel such as uploading information incorrectly. However, Datatel issues are usually detected fairly

quickly. Most issues relate to rule issues in Datatel. The Director of TTI can fix issues quickly. Also,

counselors are supposed to call students and double check information before they get too far in the

application process.

The desired state for Support Staff is to accurately and quickly provide information to counselors. By

implementing a new application process it makes the day more productive and efficient.

One of the principles of organizational development is that it works “best when it is supported by top

managers.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010, p 14). The stakeholders are Director of TTI,

Directors of undergrad& graduate Admission, and Support Staff, and counselors. Due to continuing

issues with accuracy and time management this change is anticipated by all who are involved. The higher

level managers are willing to go along with a change if it benefits the department in the long run. By

changing the way applications are processed counselors will have more time to focus their efforts on

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potential students. The long term benefit is it could possibly help increase numbers (accepted, registered

students).

Design Phase

In order for a project to succeed it is important to know where the project is going. A successful change

agent needs to create a ‘road map’ to move the change and organization forward. Using the first four steps

of Kotter’s Eight Step Change model (personal communication, OD 657 handout) will help me create my

own roadmap. I will use the last four steps in the next phase.

Establishing a sense of urgency

It is crucial for the whole Admissions Office to want the change to the application process. A strategy to

gain buy in is to create a sense of urgency and appeal to the values of the department. I will first address

to Support Staff that the current state is causing issues. An activity I plan on doing is to hold a Support

Staff meeting. The culture of Admissions is to have a department meeting but each group within the

Admissions Office holds their own weekly meetings. During the meeting I would discuss how

applications numbers are down since last semester. Lowered applications means a decrease in potential

accepted and registered students. This promotes a sense of crisis (urgency) with the current state.

In terms of Support Staff, to get buy-in I will again appeal to the value of time. Entering data from

applications takes a few hours to complete. Then it takes awhile to run letters and routing forms. The new

process will cut down the amount of time for applications. In addition, errors have been an issue. The

change will decrease the amount errors from occurring since the information is being entered directly

from the applicant. In terms of Support Staff, to create buy in I will again appeal to the value of time.

Entering data from applications takes a few hours to complete. Then it takes awhile to run letters and

routing forms. The new process will cut down the amount of time for applications. In addition, errors

have been an issue. The change will decrease the amount errors from occurring since the information is

being entered directly from the applicant. This means Support staff will not have to rerun letters to

applicants due to staff errors. The excess time can be spent processing applications and working on

various other projects.

In addition I will hold a separate meeting with the counselors and appeal to them the urgency. One way is

to discuss how not changing the application process will have negative results. Spring is the busiest travel

time for counselors to recruit potential students. By focusing and clarifying this, people in the department

can understand changing the way applications are processed needs to happen right away. During the staff

meeting I will discuss the possible outcomes if the change isn’t completed in the near future. The

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counselors work load will be very heavy when they are away during travel season. This means applicants

aren’t getting letters and phone calls in a timely manner. This could make a potential student lose interest

in Mia and apply elsewhere.

To create buy-in I will appeal to the value of time. One of main reasons for the change is to decrease

errors. When counselors have to proof read every communication to potential students, they are losing

time. By implementing the new application process, it will help to streamline applications. The potential

student will be keying in their own information when applying. The new process will upload the data

directly to Datatel. This takes out manual errors done by Support Staff. The change will be helpful to

counselors during travel season. It would be less work for them when they come back into the office.

They won’t have to spend as much time proofing letters. In addition more time can be spent

communication with potential college students.

To gain buy-in with the directors I will appeal to the value of time. When there are errors it not only

shows up in letters but in the data reports that are processed. The directors rely heavily on spreadsheets to

predict number forecasts. When errors happen this means the directors has to have Support Staff fix the

errors and then re run the reports. This decreases time. The new change will get rid of manual errors and

help the directors to run more accurate reports.

By creating a sense of crisis and explaining consequences of not supporting the change it helps to get buy

in with the department. Also tying in the urgency with department and individual values assists with

making the change happen.

Forming a potential coalition

In addition to needing buy in, there needs a group of people who get help cheer/rally for the change. “The

leader is the central cheerleader for the vision. The leader must also work diligently to ensure that the

stakeholders know where this vision is going and how it affects them (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and

Sullivan, 2010 p.149). For this change I need support from the Director of Admissions as well as

Directors of Graduate and Undergraduate Admissions. The directors have the most power and influence

in Admissions Office. “It is important to identify potential leverage points for change by understanding

the organization’s power system (the people who have influence or authority over key systems and

processes, rewards and incentives and people. “(p. 219). The directors make the decisions about what

changes or what policies should remain in place. They have the authority to lead the group. If I ask them

to support this change I will have the internal support I need to help push the change. An activity planned

is to have the Director of Admissions email the department about the upcoming staff meeting to introduce

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and discussing the change. What this does is keep the department in the loop of what is going on and

preparing them for the change. In addition, because directors hold more power and authority the email

will encourage everyone to support the new process. During the staff meeting the Directors will ask the

department for feedback of the changing the application process. In this department Directors usually

don’t usually include the whole department to discuss potential changes to policies and procedures. The

Directors usually just announce a change. If the whole department is included they will feel like they

contributed and support the proposed change.

Create Vision for the Change-

During the staff meeting I will address the vision for the change.” People need something they can see at

least in their imagination. A picture of the outcome will look like. The picture in everyone’s head is the

reality they live in. During the ending phase it is where this ‘mental picture’ falls apart. “(Bridges, 2003, p

64) it is important to show stakeholders how having a new application system will look like in their

world.

The new application process will:

Save time

Improved data accuracy

Save money

The most valuable thing in the Admissions Office is time and numbers (accepted and registered students).

This is a fast paced environment where time matters. The Admissions Office has to keep up with current

trends in marketing and technology to stay afloat. “Like many people in today’s fast-moving

environment, organizations can go from champ to chump and success to failure in a short time if they

don’t keep improving and adapting. (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010, p. 239). Previously

all applications had to be manually entered from paper applications. As technology improved so did the

application process.

A new online application was created. The online application also offered applicants to apply online for

free. This was a great way to entice potential students to apply. The paper application had a fee attached.

The online application method increased the amount of students who applied. The increase in online

applications has created a heavy work load for the Admissions Office. Support Staff spends most of the

morning keying in applications while counselors spend the afternoon trying to contact potential students.

As applications have decreased over the past year the Directors have asked for more information from

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applications to be entered. This is to target/market to potential students. It now takes Support Staff twice

as long to process a day’s worth of applications. The lack of time has made it impossible for department

to hold cross training which is needed. Cross training would allow other members of Support Staff to

learn each other’s jobs in order to help out in the office. The proposed change will be reinforced by the

increase of processed applications and increase of time for Support Staff to conduct cross training.

Some issues with the past paper application method was errors. In the past errors were made because an

applicant’s handwriting was hard to read. The current state is Support Staff is trying to get all applications

processed quickly that sometimes errors happen. Errors can be simple typos or something more severe

such as creating duplicate records. There is only one person in Support Staff that is trained to merge

duplicate records. This takes time and causes delays in processing applications. A reward or a measure of

success is the decrease of duplicate records. The change will be reinforced by the decrease of errors and

timely processing of information. If the application information is automatically uploaded to Datatel there

will be less probability of errors.

Lastly, the paper applications cost the department money. It was expensive to mail applications and have

them printed. The paper applications used to be sent in inquiry packets. Once the online application

process was implemented there wasn’t a need for paper applications. This cut down the cost of mailing

and printing a formal application. The current state is it costs the department money to keep printing up

applications from the application database. Extra money in the budget could be used for other resources

such as new office equipment, which is needed.

Communicate the Vision

The Admissions Office communicates mainly through emails and staff meetings. Because of the fast pace

environment a new change or initiative can quickly be forgotten. This is especially true if behaviors of

directors (or me) don’t reflect the vision. “A vision is only effective if the actions taken reflect the

vision.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010, p 149) an example of doing this is for the

Directors to keep reminding the department of the change and the progress of the change. This could be

during the next all staff meeting or in sub-department meetings. Another way is to listen to the

department concerns. A common concern people usually have is finding the time to do the actual training

of a new process. As the consultant is it is my as well as the directors responsibility to make the transition

as smooth as possible. During meetings I would discuss time management strategies and ask for input

about when to schedule a training session. This goes along with the most important vision, which is to

save time.

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Implementation Phase

Beginning in July 2012 the change process will start. The new application process will be ready for staff

to use for the spring 2013 semester. July is an appropriate time because it is after graduation and during

the lull of the summer when it is quiet around the department. The office begins to get hectic in the

beginning of August (last minute students applying, last minute recruiting efforts).

During the pre launch of my project the Director of Training & Technology and Information will be

responsible for contacting Information Systems (Datatel) for timelines and Datatel information. She will

also be in charge of relaying information/progress to the Director and Assistant Directors of Admission.

The Director of TTI and I will schedule a face to face meeting with the Directors to discuss project

proposal and gain by-in. This meeting will form my “coalition of supporters”.

Both the Director of TTI and I will also be responsible for arranging and planning a Support Staff and

counselor meeting. During the meetings I will make an announcement about the new application process.

Normal meetings involve staff listening to their supervisor and taking notes. This meeting will be

interactive. During this meeting I will ask everyone to do a round robin response. I will ask them to tell

me what are positive and negatives of implementing the new application process. I will record everyone’s

responses. According Kotter’s Eight Step Change model (personal communication, OD 657 handout)

“Empowering others to act on vision by changing structures, systems, policies and procedures in ways

that will facilitate implementation” is the 5 of 8th step of the change model. By making the staff meeting

interactive it makes staff feel like part of the process. Changing the structure of the meeting also creates a

sense of valuing their opinions. In the past there was never a feedback session asking what others thought

of a change. Changes are usually just implemented by the Directors.

By asking staff to reflect it will give me valuable feedback about potential roadblocks/barriers that could

hinder the change. It is important to have an open and honest relationship with people who are affected by

the change. “Openness is important to the relationship because the client and consultant have to share all

information affecting the change effort. This includes information about the organization and personal

concerns, fears and opinions of key clients, sponsors and consultant.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and

Sullivan, 2010 p.214). As discussed in the design phase I will talk to sub departments about the potential

benefits of changing the application process. This will be achieved by describing the sense of importance

of the change and creating my vision (step one and three of Kotter’s model).

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During the summer the Director of TTI will define parameters of Datatel (using the test version of Datatel

for experimenting). She will report any glitches or concerns to Information Systems. She will also

communicate with IT for final approval and go ahead.

During the testing stages the usual weekly Support Staff and monthly all staff meetings will occur. During

the meetings I will keep the department up to date on the progress of the new application method. During

meetings I will keep talking about potential benefits (communicating the vision). For example if during

the meeting the Director of TTI discusses errors in data entry, I will talk about how the new application

process will remove manual errors. This keeps staff enthusiastic about the change.

It is important to note that in order for Admissions to stay committed and energetic about the change it is

crucial to communicate small successes. Kotter’s 6th step (personal communication, OD 657 handout) is

“Planning for and creating short-term wins by publicizing success.” One of the roadblocks that are stated

frequently is that people are too busy to train. Also there is lack of confidence that Directors won’t get

sidetracked with other initiatives. “Early wins, especially ones that are visible and have tangible benefits,

are very important to target so the change process will have credibility.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and

Sullivan, 2010 p.264) An early win could be an extra hour of calling students that would have been used

waiting for applications. Easy wins build confidence (Bridges, 2003, p.71) Confidence in term builds

creditability and deters negative behaviors “Believers may begin to doubt, and doubters turn into critics.

Quick successes reassure the believers, convince the doubters, and confound the critics.”

In late October of 2012 the Director of TTI will arrange and plan Datatel training sessions for staff.

Training will be scheduled during normally scheduled weekly staff meetings. The duration will be kept at

two hours to avoid staff from being backed up with work. Training will take place in computer labs on

campus to avoid distraction (incoming calls, emails, visitors, etc).

Mia College Admissions Office has a budget in place for the academic year to cover the costs of

purchasing materials, copying, software etc. The most important ‘cost’ of this project is time spent. The

duration of this project will take 6 months to complete.

The following is a list of resources that the department has already purchased or not responsible for costs

incurred.

What Costs Department budget covers costStaff Labor $15 per hour x 1440 hrs=

$21, 600Yes

Sponsor Labor $25 per hour x 1440 hrs= Yes

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$7200Copies for training materials $300 Yes Total cost for 6 month project=$29,100

Costs not included in the budget are:

Maintenance costs- Mia College has an Information Systems department to assist if there is a software

problem or Datatel concern. The college has a help desk as well to address issues that come up.

Room/Facilities-There is no cost to reserve a room for meeting. This is done through Mia’s room

scheduling system or by contacting the Facilities department in the college. No refreshments are served

during meetings unless the Director brings some at her own discretion.

I discussed previously about my road map. It is important when going on any journey to anticipate road

blocks or resistance. One source of resistance is that variables always fluctuate. Reasons for applying

changes from semester to semester. Many things can determine if someone applies, enrolls or changes

his/her mind. For example job stability, income, parental influence, etc. Making the application process

faster doesn’t automatically guarantee success. A way to manage this for the director of IIT to keep up to

date on trends in the application process. This is done through weekly spreadsheets.

Another limitation or source of resistance is time. The Director of TTI (project sponsor) is very busy. She

would be the person in charge of running reports and creating models for meetings. She has many

pressing duties within the office and this may be pushed on the back burner during a heavy work load. A

way manage this is to utilize the collation I created. This means to depend on a back up person to help run

reports or communicate with Information Systems if there are issues with Datatel.

In addition the learning curve could be an issue. The terminology of Datatel is geared towards people

with a higher level of technology experience. The current office is experiencing some turnover (due to

employees leaving the department). This may cause issues with training especially if the new employees

are not familiar with Mia and the Datatel system. A way to manage this is to have training options such as

extending training hours or having the new employee shadow a more skilled Datatel user.

Resistance is a natural part of any change. It is a shock to the system when there is a sudden change.

People often are fearful of the unknown. This is why communication is necessary in dealing with

resistance. “It is not enough to know why people resist change. It is also important to take proactive

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approach to overcoming resistance to change.” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010 p.265)

Keeping staff up to date on the progress and addressing concerns will assist me in my change effort.

Evaluation

A core value/belief of Mia College is assessment. This means the recognition of yourself and each other.

Assessments help students/employees gain insight into their own progress. Assessing gives the

opportunity to take responsibility for one’s learning by monitoring progress. The self-assessments help to

see areas that are strengths and challenges. In addition self-assessments allow everyone to formulate plans

to successfully reach their goals. “When considering the ‘why’ or purpose of an evaluation, it boils down

to two aims. First to prove the intervention worked and to evaluate an intervention in order to improve it

for the future.”(Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010 p.273). The use of data collection and

surveys (self assessment tool) will give me the information I need to see what worked and what part of

the application process could use some further development.

The new application process is scheduled to be fully implemented by January 2013. One outcome of the

proposal is to save time (proving the intervention worked). Based on prior testing/timing it was concluded

that a new application takes about 7 minutes to be entered. Once the project is completed Support Staff

will be asked to record how long daily amount of applications takes to process. The new application

process will upload applicant information to Datatel. Support Staff will only have to enter codes and

make sure there isn’t missing information. Once all codes are entered, letters can be printed and routed to

counselors. This data gathering will be done for two weeks. I will calculate the average time and report

findings/results to the Director of ITT. In addition, The Information Processing Analyst will generate

weekly funnel reports. The funnel reports will show how many applications were processed per week.

The reports will be given to the Director of ITT for review.

Another outcome is to improve data accuracy (proving the intervention worked). Due to accuracy issues

in the past, the Director of Admissions created a “Best of Practices” log. This log was created as a method

for consistently tracing issues and suggestions as they occur or come up, and for recording solutions or

outcomes. The ultimate goal is to have employees reflect on work and focus on how employees can

continuously improve work and processes. The “Best of Practices” log asks employees to document when

an error is made and prompts them to put in a comment. The Director of ITT will review the log weekly

to monitor errors.

It is expected errors will decrease as a result of application information automatically being uploaded.

The extra time the new process allows will help keep support and buy in. Step six of Kotter’s change

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model states “planning for and creating short-term wins by publicizing success, thereby building

momentum of change.” What this means is by communicating some small positive change (a week with

no errors, or an extra hour a day to complete tasks) will give me credibility and keep interest in my

change.

After each positive or negative result it is important to evaluate the reasons behind it. Step seven of

Kotter’s model states (personal communication, OD 657 handout) “Consolidating improvements and

changing other structures, systems, procedures and policies that aren’t consistent with the vision.” The

Director of ITT will determine if errors were the cause of Datatel glitches or a need for training (improve

intervention for the future). For example, if Support Staff entered a wrong code for a letter or if a

counselor didn’t communicate what was needed to process a file. This is an ongoing evaluation tool with

no determined end date. The Director of ITT will report results to employees in a face to face meeting or

an email depending on severity of the errors.

In addition an online survey will be used to ask stakeholders how the process is going. The questions will

ask stakeholders (Support Staff, counselors and Directors) to rate each question. I decided on an online

survey (surveymonkey.com) because of time and privacy. The Admissions Office is a face paced work

place and there is hardly a down period when face to face interviews can be conducted. Every member of

the group has time sensitive duties to handle.

Another reason for the survey was location. The office is very small and there is no private area unless

down outside of the office or using a director’s office. If face to face meetings were to be conducted in the

office confidentiality would be compromised. I created a short survey because I wanted the participants to

be able to finish it and still give valuable feedback. The following is the survey:

1. The new application process has been beneficial to me

®Agree ® Unsure® Disagree ® Other (please specify)

2. The goals/outcomes were clear and manageable

Agree ®Unsure® Disagree ®Other (please specify)

3. The project manager keeps me informed of results in a timely manner

®Agree ®Unsure® Disagree ®Other (please specify)

4. The project manager provides ongoing communication of training, deadline, etc

®Agree ®Unsure® Disagree ®Other (please specify)

5. The new application process has mostly helped me most with (check all that apply)

®Saving time ®Accuracy® Morale ®Other (please specify)

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Comments?

______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

The survey will be completed during training and again after 6 months after implementation. Results will

be reported to the Director of ITT. The purpose of this tool is for me to get a clear picture of myself as a

change agent and how others feel about the process. “By stopping and reflecting, meaning can be made

that will support future initiatives” (Rothwell, Stavros, Sullivan, and Sullivan, 2010 p.287). I can take the

feedback and use it to help me improve how I design, implement and evaluate another change initiative.

In addition, after 6 months the survey is a useful way to have closure. After the responses are recorded I

will go over the results with the Director of ITT. She will provide a summary of the funnel reports of the

past 6 months, survey results and errors to the Director of Admissions.

Step 8 of Kotter’s change model (personal communication, OD 657 handout) states “institutionalizing the

new approaches by publicizing the connection between the change effort and organizational success. This

means to keep communicating how the change is going and sharing what is successful. For this project

this will be done through emails and all staff meetings. This doesn’t mean just sharing that the new

Datatel process is running smoothly but how it affects the organization. For example I would be sharing

how the new system is allowing for additional cross training or additional time for counselors to call

potential students. These examples keep interest of all stakeholders and give a type of incentive/reward

for supporting the change (saving time, needed training of office responsibilities). The whole idea for the

change came from a desired state, which the bottom line is to save time.

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References

Bridges, W., 2003, Managing Transitions, Da Capo Press, Cambridge MA

Rothwell, W., Stavros, J., Sullivan, R., Sullivan, A. (Eds.) (2010). Practicing organization development: a

guide for leading change. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons.

Whitney, R. & Trosten-Bloom, A. (2010). The power of appreciative inquiry: a practical guide to

positive change. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

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