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Navigating change management in labs

Related: [[./Lab Management MOC|Lab Management MOC]], [[./Leadership & Management MOC|Leadership & Management MOC]]

Summary A fantastic presentation at the LTSS 2023 virtual summer school “Embracing Digital Transformation in the Laboratory” hosted by LabVine. I come back to these notes on the presentation every few months.

[[../../../Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology|Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology]]

[[../../../Reaction to change mimics grief-loss cycle|Reaction to change mimics grief-loss cycle]]

[[./symptoms-and-resistance-to-change-and-why-you-should-not-ignore-them|symptoms of resistance: what to expect, consequences of ignoring them]]

references/links/images

Can users react positively? yes!

  • well-intended debate, criticism, or disagreements
    • can encourage better understanding
    • shows blindspots to management
    • lead to better options that the proposed system

reaction to perceived positive change

![[./Pasted image 20230904152809.png|Pasted image 20230904152809.png]]

  • overall - you need a clear communication plan

Digitization in Lab

examples include

  • sample analysis automation platform
  • LIMS/Inventory Common objections
  • the current system works well/don’t want to change
  • the current system works great, because I helped set it up
  • I don’t have time for change
  • it looks complicated, I don’t have time to learn it
  • how will I benefit from it?
  • I don’t trust the people who are putting it in place

use cases

![[./Pasted image 20230904153459.png|Pasted image 20230904153459.png]] Notes on the use case presented by Jana Erjavec

  • the team didn’t assign a person to head the implementation
  • “we didn’t have time to implement”
  • all digitization projects should clearly say who is going to dedicate the implementation OR how much time the external client will spend time on implementation

![[./Pasted image 20230904153825.png|Pasted image 20230904153825.png]]

  • biggest problem can be to have a vision but no strategy
  • make sure to have both a vision AND strategy
    • strategy with quantifiable goals

preparing for change management

![[./Pasted image 20230904154403.png|Pasted image 20230904154403.png]] ![[./Pasted image 20230904154601.png|Pasted image 20230904154601.png]] Example of communication

  • show problem and reasoning
  • it’s not just one person’s problem, it’s our problem
  • link to numbers or quantifiable issues

*![[./Pasted image 20230904154632.png|Pasted image 20230904154632.png]]

![[./Pasted image 20230904154807.png|Pasted image 20230904154807.png]] 1 -2. identify current situation and figure out where are the gaps? what could be improved? 4. identifying stakeholders throughout the process where necessary 5. use good project management guidelines

![[./Pasted image 20230904154923.png|Pasted image 20230904154923.png]] If you haven’t done process mapping, do that first!

  • example: what happens when we receive a sample? when we receive a sample, does it wait for 3 hours? is there a huge bottle neck that prevents sample processing
  • sometimes the proposed solution isn’t always digitization. sometimes you need to hire someone, buy a new piece of equipment, put in automation, etc.

![[./Pasted image 20230904155114.png|Pasted image 20230904155114.png]]

  • take time to talk to people and see their resistance
  • be more supportive to people who are most resistant: work on moving them from A to B ![[./Pasted image 20230904155353.png|Pasted image 20230904155353.png]] important notes:
  • show timeline and what to expect
  • build out resources if necessary
  • ongoing checking for understanding, training, and put in feedback workflow
  • ongoing integration! - use agile methodology