Are you ready for change?
Key questions as you consider transforming your child welfare organization to better meet the needs of your workforce
Recognizing that your agency needs to change is the first step in transformation. The fact that you are considering taking on this work speaks volumes. But how do you know if your agency is ready to engage in significant change?
CWEL is here to help you strengthen your child welfare organization to one where all staff are psychologically safe and supported. As you consider partnering with CWEL for technical assistance, use the prompts below to assess if your organization is ready for a big change.
Lessons learned
Reflecting on how change actions went in the past will help you determine what went well and how to do better next time.
- Has your agency attempted an organizational and/or diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) change action in the last 10 years? Was it successful?
- What prompted the organization to start that change action(s)?
- How did leadership respond to the action(s)? How did your staff respond?
- If responses between leadership and staff were different, what impacted that difference?
- How do you think this experience will affect response to future change?
Anticipating challenges
Change is messy and hard. Predicting barriers can help your agency plan to overcome them.
- What are three key barriers your agency may face when trying to apply organizational and/or DEIB change?
- How has your agency overcome similar barriers in the past?
- How could you get ahead of those barriers? Remember, doing things differently will likely require you to think differently, too.
Communication is key
Messaging matters, and how leadership communicates with employees is important for team commitment.
- How has leadership communicated organizational and/or DEIB change to teams in the past? Did it go well?
- What could have been done differently to make it more successful?
Confronting assumptions
Knowing what challenges your agency is facing can guide you to the right services to address those challenges.
- What do you believe are the key drivers in the need for organizational and/or DEIB change?
- What is your agency most concerned about when it comes to recruitment and retention?
Think your agency is ready for change?
Learn more about how CWEL can help or reach out to us with questions at info@cwel.org.
