Background

A division of the British Armed Forces was keen to build on its strong reputation for professional development among its employees. Internally, it was recognised that it could leverage a bi-annual Continuous Professional Development (CPD) event, which brings together officers of all ranks, to provide additional development opportunities. This event, which historically provided an update on the direction of this division, would be used to deliver learning on core topics that could be applied across the organisation, by all officers, regardless of seniority. Following feedback from a previous session on mentoring, along with awareness of constant change within the unit, it was decided that a session looking at change management and transformation would be of benefit to this audience. It was also decided that bringing in an external partner would help present a different perspective to officers and develop critical thinking on how to apply corporate learning in the military environment.

Solution

Working collaboratively with Underscore, the head of the initiative shared guidance on what the intended outcomes should be. These included an overview of change management theories, and tools and techniques to help manage change. With the overall objectives established, Underscore were trusted to provide a framework for the day, that would help achieve these. Based on feedback from the team, the final solution saw the day divided up into four segments. Each segment covered a different element of change management: overview, toolset, skillset, and mindset. The sessions included a quick overview of theories, followed up with a practical group workshop, where officers explored the topic in more depth with the support of trained facilitators. Within these sessions, various resources were utilised, including well-respected change management process, Underscore’s own transformation process map, as well as the Lumina Splash psychometric and app which helped officers understand how different people respond to, and manage change.

Challenges

As the audience was diverse in terms of age, experience, seniority and knowledge of change management, it was important to create an event that could cater to all. Underscore worked with the head of the initiative to develop an appropriate syllabus that would provide a suitable overview for those new to the topic, while also providing more specific, actionable advice for those looking for a deeper understanding. The head of the initiative also spoke before each of the workshops, to help make the link between the theories, and the team’s specific context, clear.

Feedback and Outcomes

Speaking to the Lt Colonel who oversaw the event, he provided some positive feedback on the day:

“It was collaborative. We’re not the expert in change so it had to be collaborative. Speaking to Lucy to get her thoughts, allowed us to develop that process and create a programme that would suit the day. Having Lucy [ex-Army] onboard as someone who understands our language was very beneficial.”

“My aim is always to make sure people leave having learned something, that whatever they learned, they could take it away and use it. But we were relying on the Underscore knowledge and expertise to know what should be covered. Underscore had to interpret what would work, and what would fit our needs, based on our discussions. That was very a useful process, and it really felt there was lots of engagement in the design process.”

“What I really wanted to do was spur on some thought after the event, and you want to give people the toolset that might aid their working lives. From my perspective the session achieved what I wanted. The verbal feedback I got via emails, calls or general chatting was positive and people felt like it was a success.”

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