The ability to effectively plan, manage and measure change is key to continuous improvement. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are an effective way to measure the effectiveness of change management. It is important to select only a few KPI’s to start. Measuring too many outcomes can lead to a lack of focus on the areas of greatest importance. Over time, additional KPI’s should be added to investigate the deeper impact of the changes implemented. Three main categories should be monitored:
Learning: With any change, education and training are typically involved, from training leaders in effective change practices to employees on the details of the change itself. Ensure that your organization tracks the completion rates for education and training. It will be important to know that everyone in your organization received the training needed to be successful.
Adoption: This includes measures that investigate whether there is evidence of intended activity. This area should see an increasing trend.
Value: Once the adoption has reached levels that give the organization confidence in the changes; your focus should shift to benchmarking against other similar healthcare organizations. This can show the value that the change is bringing to the organization through comparison.
Once a change is implemented, change management practices need to continue. According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (2018), “while all change does not lead to improvement, all improvement requires change.” Ownership and a commitment to continuously improving will require an ongoing sense of urgency and attention.
Questions to ask when developing Key Performance Indicators:
How have we used outcomes in the past? What has worked and what has not?
How do we communicate outcomes to the members of our organization?
Are we realistic and aligned when we set outcome goals?
Do have the traits of change KPIs present when setting goals?
Do we have systems or technology in place for tracking and trending our outcomes?
There is nothing full-proof when it comes to making changes. The biggest challenges for any organization is resistance to change and alignment. No matter what approach you take to implement change, there always needs to be a way to measure the success of process or change implementation.
