Surrey Libraries and Light Trail’s Change Management Expertise

by | Apr 13, 2021

Situation

Light Trail was engaged by Surrey Libraries to provide change management expertise in support of the implementation of a new service model and help build capability with their leadership team.

Outcome

Through helping staff understand why individuals react to changes in a specific way and by using a structured change management approach, Surrey Libraries staff were able to connect their own experiences to the purpose and strategy, reduce resistance and increase organizational resilience.

Surrey Libraries

The Surrey Public Library, operating as Surrey Libraries and is the municipal public library system of Surrey, British Columbia. With nine branches Serving a population of approximately 516,000 citizens, they have a collection of more than 790,000 items and 188,691 active cardholders. Their vision is one of a literate, inclusive, thriving city, and they are focused on their mission of connecting people, sparking curiosity, and inspiring learning.
Change is occurring at an exponential rate and libraries like many other industries are having to adapt and renew to maintain relevance with their communities and stakeholders. Developing change leaders within an organization who engage and align staff around the purpose is a key factor in delivering enhanced service levels and ensuring community connection. Light Trail partnered with the leadership team at Surrey Libraries throughout the planning, preparation and implementation of their new service model, a key strategic initiative. Understanding of the culture, job changes and community impact provided Light Trail with the foundation to redesign the organizational structure and staff roles. Involving, engaging and communicating with staff throughout the journey built commitment, and training secured new skills to meet the revised expectations. Light Trail acted as a guide throughout each stage of the changes, balancing teaching and doing with both the leadership team and staff to increase capabilities and effectiveness.

“We saw Surrey Libraries as a really important community organization. Their purpose and services provide the heart of the community as a welcoming and inclusive space for people to meet, engage and learn. It was important to us their positive impact.”

Steve Doherty

Light Trail

Light Trail’s Solutions

Organizational and Service Model Review

Throughout the initial planning stages, Light Trail was able to advise and guide the Surrey Libraries leadership team to translate the operational change with the people impact to create an implementation plan that balanced the business need with the organization’s capacity for change.

Organizational and Team Effectiveness

Light Trail worked with the pilot locations to build capability and commitment within each team to help staff adapt, adopt and accept the new work practices. Team building sessions with follow-up coaching and assessments helped establish new work patterns and service behaviours.

Change Management

Using a series of workshops and assessments enabled Surrey Libraries staff to gain a deeper understanding of the difference between change management and individual change. Staff were able to connect their work to the overall purpose, vision and mission of Surrey Libraries and apply practical techniques to manage changes in their workplace.

Leadership Support

During the engagement, Light Trail helped operational leaders to build their management, change and communications capabilities as the implementation unfolded through small group and individual coaching to ensure the team was better positioned to deliver.

Light Trail & Surrey Libraries

“Surrey Libraries engaged Light Trail to support the launch of a new service delivery model. Undergoing this transformational organizational initiative is exciting and overwhelming. Greg and Steve have helped us with this initiative over two years, providing strong support to our team. They’ve guided us to focus on connecting the initiative to strategy, linking to our purpose and values. They’ve helped draft communications and implementation plans and conducted assessments of progress. They’ve coached our team leaders, providing tactical tools and templates to build organizational capability and capacity. They listen, observe, and adapt their approach to our needs. Implementation was complicated further by the pandemic, and the initiative was paused for several months. Light Trail was there for us immediately when we resumed. I’ve appreciated the professionalism and high-quality service we’ve received from Light Trail.”
Surinder Bhogal

Chief Librarian, Surrey Libraries

Light Trail Consulting Services

Light Trail focuses on positive change with purpose. If you’re interested in the work that we have done and would like to discuss how we can empower your team to unlock the potential of your organization, book a meeting today.