Readiness-for-Change Survey

A unique aspect of the BTSE project was its investigation of the attributes of individual and collective readiness-for-change. Scholars within and beyond academia recognize the importance of considering change both at the individual-level and the collective-level (Bouckenooghe, 2010). Scholars indicate some agreement that collective "readiness -for-change" occurs when a tipping point of individuals have shared agreement that change is needed, there is perceived institutional support for the change, individuals perceive that they have the resources (e.g., time and training) to enact change, and that the change will be personally beneficial to them (Rafferty, Jimmieson, & Armenakis, 2013; Holt et al., 2007; Armenkais, 2000).

BTSE adopted the scholarly definition that readiness-for-change is "the extent to which an individual or individuals are cognitively and emotionally inclined to accept, embrace, and adopt a particular plan to purposefully alter the status quo" (Holt, Armenakis, Feild, & Harris, 2007). At early stages, readiness-for- change has been described as a process of "unfreezing," where individuals come to acknowledge that change is necessary, and they begin to believe that efforts to enact change are likely to be successful in achieving some desired outcome. This early period sets the stage for the BTSE consultancy model. An essential element to success for BTSE consultancies is for the institutional partner to acknowledge their own readiness-for-change.

Instrument Development

BTSE's readiness-for-change survey was modeled on an existing measure developed for use in business settings (see Holt et al., 2007). Items were adapted based on structured feedback provided by BTSE project leaders, institutional leaders, and consortium consultants to better fit the higher education context but also to retain the four-factor structure proposed by Holt et al. wherein readiness-for-change is proposed to be governed by four factors:

1. Appropriateness- the degree to which individuals feel that a change is needed, "legitimate," and likely to benefit the institution
2. Institutional support- the degree to which individuals feel that institutional leaders support the change
3. Change efficacy- the degree to which individuals feel that they have the resources (e.g., time and training) and information necessary to successfully enact the change
4. Personal valence- the degree to which the change is perceived to be personally beneficial 

Respondents to the survey were asked to answer each of the 19 items in relation to the particular challenge identified by their institution on an agreement scale where 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree. In calculating scale scores, items that are reverse coded as a validation technique (e.g., The time we are spending on making changes to address this challenge should be spent on something else) are re-computed. As a measure of internal reliability, alpha values were calculated (using Cronbach's alpha) from the data collected through BTSE activities. All four factors met the internally reliability standard of alpha above 0.7.

Instrument Implementation

The Readiness-For-Change survey was distributed to the institution before their initial consultancy visit. Institutional Coordinators were responsible for sharing the survey with relevant stakeholders, faculty, staff, and/or administration at least two weeks before the visit. The survey results were collected and shared with the institution after the consultancy and professional development event.

See the Consultancy Playbook for more information.

References

Armenakis Achilles, A. (2000). Making change permanent A model for institutionalizing change interventions. In G. Harris Stanley (Ed.), Research in Organizational Change and Development (Vol. 12, pp. 97-128): Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Bouckenooghe, D. (2010). Positioning Change Recipients' Attitudes Toward Change in Organizational Change Literature. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 46(4), 500-531.

Holt, D., Armenakis, A., Feild, H., & Harris, S. (2007). Readiness for organizational change: The systematic development of a scale. the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43(2), 232-255.

Rafferty, A. E., Jimmieson, N. L., & Armenakis, A. A. (2013). Change readiness: A multilevel review. Journal of Management, 39(1), 110-135.