Change Initiative Paper
Nisha Mani
Grand Canyon University: LDR 615
01/25/15

One of the organizations that I’m familiar with and I think would benefit from a change is Season’s hospice. I used to work there part-time. Individuals become eligible for hospice upon reaching a 6 month or less terminal diagnosis. Individuals have the choice of dying comfortably in a hospital, nursing facility, or their home after electing hospice. Hospice care delivers palliative care to terminally ill patients. Patients with an identifiable short prognosis receive comprehensive interdisciplinary team-based palliative care through hospice in a place where they chose. There are various problems with the the design, delivery and maintenance of hospice care standards throughout the country. There are a lot of challenges facing hospice that destabilize the repute which hinders optimal care delivery. Education is the key to these issues. The potential issues in the care delivery is due to the lack of education and awareness.
The Need for Change

The change that is to be delivered is a broad change to improve the efficiency and thereby maximizing profits and to maintain the core values. Hospice care has a bad reputation of keeping patients too long even after their prognoses improve. There were a few cases of fraud and hospices filing bankruptcy and closing due to medicare audits investigating patient eligibility. This brought a negative light upon hospices including Seasons hospice. Even though change is difficult, there need to be steps taken to regain and reshape the trust of the public so that they will put their loved ones to the care of Seasons hospice. Additionally, lack of efficiency is costing the company. My responsibility was to maintain the smooth flow of calls by not having the customers wait for a long time to get their questions answered. The biggest problem was the high call volume and not having enough staff to answer all the calls. The primary issue was lack of communication or miscommunication and employees being out for lunch at the same time. There was a heavy back up of calls during lunch time and one or two employees could not answer all the calls. So Season’s hospice introduced Workforce Management, a management system to manage break times and to monitor peak and down call flow and adjust accordingly to maximize efficiency. But the employees did not have the discipline to follow the implemented break times. There should be changes in customer service, following of Workforce Management and continued efforts to prepare for the future.
The Change Model
John Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Model is one of the most effective ways to implement a change within an organization. The eight steps in order is as follows: create urgency, form a powerful coalition, create a vision for change, communicate the vision, remove obstacles, create short-term wins, build on the change, and anchor the changes in corporate culture. Kotter believed that it is important to follow these steps in the correct sequence in order to create successful long lasting change in any business if done correctly. In order for organizations to develop organizational change strategy, Kotter’s model is a great starting point. After considering several factors like success rate, ability to build upon existing success and concrete order of directions, Kotter’s eight step model was selected.
The Role of the Leader in the Change Initiative
The most important roles of a leader in the change initiative are achieving objectives through quality, seeking performance excellence, aligning organization’s strategy Initiatives, placing emphasis on sustainable quality, getting everyone involved and creating a culture of accountability (Pexton, 2014). Everyone in the organization plays a part and the leaders should be involved at all times and lead by example. It is important to assure the employees time to time that everyone is included regardless of their position and measures should be taken that no one feels left out. A sense of belonging should be established. The patient care administrator (PCA), the senior triage Registered nurse, senior Patient Care Secretary (PCS) supervisors under the PCA are all part of the change initiative. Supervisor makes frequent rounds to ensure lunch and break times are strictly followed .They also talk to employees during their rounds to address concerns that the employees might have and are readily available if an employee needs her. A pre-shift meeting is held before each shift prior to attending the calls and to go over do’s and don’ts of the job. PCA’s assist the supervisors and are also available for any additional help. Monthly meetings led by PCAs address progress and each month and employee is recognized and awarded ‘employee of the month’. Process of Change In order to obtain long term success, it is important to strictly follow Kotter’s Eight Step Change Model in the correct order. The first step is to create a sense of urgency among the staff. The PCA called in a meeting and introduced the concept of the change and reason for the change. It was a mandatory meeting and snacks and beverages were served. Several concerns and threats affecting the financial aspects of the company and how to maintain job security were addressed. Employees were asked one by one how they like what they are doing, why or why not they like it, what is important to them and what do they think can be done to improve it. Creating a guiding coalition and directing others in the right direction of change is the next step. Change when directed efficiently is easy to follow even though it can be chaotic at times. As stated earlier, there is just a string of leaders who drives and leads through example, not a hierarchy of bosses.
It is vital that employees feel a sense of belonging and realize that supervisors and bosses are encouraging and helpful and are available to address any concerns they might have during phone calls with clients.

References
Kotelnikov . V.(2013). Effective Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/leadership_main.html
Coach K: A Matter of Heart. Harvard Business School. Retrieved from https://lc.edu/learningPlatform/content/content.html? Zegers, C. (n.d.). Mike Krzyzewski. Retrieved from About.com: http://basketball.about.com/od/coaches/p/krzyzewski.htm Silverthorne, S. (2006, August 14). On Managing with Bobby Knight and "Coach K". Retrieved from Harvard Business School: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5464.html
Pexton. C. (2014). Healthcare Quality Initiatives: The Role of Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.isixsigma.com/implementation/change-management-implementation/healthcare-quality-initiatives-role-leadership/