How Wesley went through a transformational change with staff and partners as advocates
Summary: Wesley, a non-profit in Hamilton was undergoing a big organizational change. It impacted staff jobs and how they delivered services. After consultations led by Sarah Nicole at Optimal Affect, team members and community partners went from feeling uncertainty to being motivated about the future of the organization they were building together.
Wesley, a non-profit in Hamilton that supports people experiencing poverty and homelessness, was undergoing a big transformational change. They were transitioning their services to address the root causes of homelessness, which meant transitioning an existing program to a new service delivery model.
This impacted staff jobs, the community they served, and other service partners. The Wesley leaders wanted to communicate this news in a way that stakeholders felt respected and heard, and invite them to help redesign what Wesley’s future could look like.
“I remember everything about the day that I had lunch with our CEO—the weather in Hamilton, where we were sitting at the restaurant—when he said we need to try something new, we need to address the root causes of homelessness in Hamilton. It was scary and exciting at the same time,” said Josey Kitson, Chief Operating Officer at Wesley, about when she heard the news about the change.
“From that moment on it was a journey and this project was even bigger than I imagined. There were so many different elements to this program and people affected we wanted to include.”
The big, hard questions:
How do we deliver this news while respecting the impact on the community and our service users?
How do we approach it in a way that our staff and service providers feel heard and valued?
How do we invite discussion and input for redesigning our new service delivery model?
“With her lens, Sarah Nicole suggested adding other consultations to ensure we weren’t leaving people out or missing any steps. The best part was having a completely different set of eyes. Sarah Nicole has a social services background and has led similar facilitations before, so she understood what to expect,” said Josey.
A human-centered, trauma-informed approach
Wesley partnered with Optimal Affect to create customized meeting designs and facilitations to help the team build alignment, make effective decisions, and take action.
Sarah Nicole and Optimal Affect have a human-centered approach that’s about generating new ideas informed by the needs and experiences of the people you’re serving.
It guides people to rally around their common purpose, instead of being separated by differences in opinion. In the absence of clear, intentional processes and information, people create their own stories. That’s why being aligned, open, and transparent throughout the process is so important.
With this approach, Sarah Nicole broke it down into three main stages:
Designing an intentional space where people feel seen and heard
Asking for input from those impacted, with the right questions
Collecting data and sharing the process openly
Here’s what they looked like in action with Josey and the Wesley team.
1. Designing an intentional space where people feel seen and heard
When delivering news that’s going to impact staff and community service providers, it’s important to give people the time and space for the thoughts, feelings and questions that are surfacing for them. They also needed to clearly separate what they were looking for input on, and what they weren’t.
During the staff consultation where they delivered the news about the program closure, Sarah Nicole asked questions like:
What did you hear us say?
How do you feel about it?
What questions do you have?
They had a panel with leaders and a live Q&A where they invited the questions and concerns on people’s minds. They emphasized that all feelings are valid. “Telling staff was difficult. They were surprised and upset at first. We explained our process and set lots of time to hear their reactions and concerns. The meeting was about two hours and by the end of that meeting, several staff became advocates for this approach,” said Josey.
2. Asking for input from the right people, with the right questions
Next was facilitating consultation sessions with staff, and community stakeholders to reimagine Wesley’s new service model. They started by adding individual ideas about how Wesley might help to address the main gaps in service, and then split into small breakout groups.
They asked questions like:
What does your organization need from the Wesley team?
How does this change impact your services?
What do you think Wesley is positioned to do to support housing and homelessness in Hamilton?
The results of this work surfaced five major principles for a new service design. “If I had to pick one thing that made this project successful, it was our meetings with community partners, because we gathered critical ideas and suggestions and they felt very heard,” said Josey. She said these were not the kind of meetings the community was used to.
“This is collaborative, we’re asking for people’s ideas and input. We’re not talking at people. Active participation is what made the outcomes and co-creation successful,” said Josey.
They heard this from the positive feedback after the consultations:
“I’m honoured to be part of the bright steps ahead of Wesley.”
“Collaboration is key and I am thankful to have been part of this conversation.”
3. Collecting data and sharing the process openly
“Sarah Nicole and I were determined to ensure all of the data and feedback that was collected in this process was recorded and used. We took the time to close the loop with staff and community partners after consultations to show we heard them and are working on it,” said Josey. This meant following up with all participants to share reports and materials discussed and keeping the team informed on how they were incorporating input into their new services model.
The impact
The signs of success looked like:
Staff and community service providers engaged in the process and felt comfortable voicing their concerns and feedback.
Mitigating risks to staff, community and people we serve
Staff shifting to become advocates for the new approach and excited to be part of building the new service delivery model.
Now, Josey and the Wesley team are in the process of finalizing the new service delivery model. Thanks to working with Optimal Affect, they will have services that staff and partners were part of creating and an engaged, passionate team motivated to move it forward.
“Sarah Nicole’s skills and expertise in cultural change, organizational development and the really human-systems approach is priceless,” said Josey.
“If you’re approaching a significant organizational change, you need someone with experienced facilitation skills. I think the best way to get that kind of support is through working with someone like Sarah Nicole. Being able to bring in a consultant that can help you with all those complex pieces is a game changer for any charitable operations.”
You’re not alone if you’re heading into a big transformational change at your organization and feeling overwhelmed.
Let’s start with a conversation! Schedule a call to chat about what your customized meeting design and facilitation could look like.
