It is possible and important to search for opportunities even in threatening change situations and to communicate these to the team members who are affected by these alterations. One example may be encouraging staff to work from home during major construction work at the library.¹

 The top management as well as the middle management should ask the staff for their opinions and ideas about the expected changes so that they have the opportunity to use their knowledge as experts in their jobs.

 If team members are really unhappy about a situation or a step in the change process and think that it isn’t possible to fulfil this task then – assuming a good leadership style – they will articulate their reservations. This gives a good opportunity for reactions.

 Resistance to new methods of leadership can be reduced through pilot projects with leaders and team members.

 Discussions with working groups can be used to find out if some of the members of the staff affected by a major change can be appointed as change agents.

 Why not try out mixed working groups with members from each hierarchical level and different teams and departments?

 A lot of official opening hours in libraries are nowadays carried out by student assistants. It might therefore be important to integrate them into the change process so that problems that arise during these hours and any new needs of users which might then be articulated can be accounted for.

 By means such as a ceremony to bury an old culture where all team members write down something on a piece of paper and put this into a treasure chest to be shut away it is possible to get rid of aspects of the old culture that are not needed or wanted any more.

 Another possibility is to hold a mourning session with the aid of an expert in psychology. During such a session all members of staff write down their feelings about the changes and what they think they are losing as well as ideas for the future of their library, their own tasks and their career.

 New names can be helpful in creating a new identity. For example, a major change project can be accompanied by the change of old job titles and departmental names and teams to modern names and titles.

 The first step after a major change which has affected users enormously can be an opinion card to ask them about their satisfaction with the change and the alterations in their library.

 This should be followed by a survey which includes the users that are no longer coming to the library.

 It is helpful to plan beforehand what needs to be said, to whom and when.

 The communication plan should include part-time members of staff. If they cannot attend official meetings they should get several opportunities to meet with their superior at a time which is convenient to them.

 Throughout the entire change process it should be clear for everybody why it needs to be done. The purpose of the major change as well as the long-term benefits need to be explained.

 If no one needs to be dismissed because of the change it is important to make this clear to everybody at an early stage.

 If there are constraints that no one can change, it is best to say so.

 Alternatives to the change project should be outlined, especially if these indicate that a less desirable future might be the result or that there might be more work during the change process as well as afterwards.

 If there are concerns throughout the change process the leader or the top management should not hide them. It can sometimes be of help for the team members to see that their leader or even the top management do not look at everything through ‘rose-tinted spectacles’ but question things.

 If a project group is set up for the entire duration of a change process the minutes of the meetings should made public for everyone through email or intranet, or a notice board if not everyone in the library has access to the intranet.

 The communication process should include the users of the library as well as the parent institution or the government. These should not be forgotten in times of change.

 It should be clear and never forgotten that it is not possible to change something in the organisation reasonably without the consent of the people working in that organisation.

 If possible, promises should never be broken, because this will be remembered in the organisation for a very long time.

 People are usually capable of working under pressure longer than one would think, but nevertheless during a change process they need breaks. It is helpful in a change project to give team members the time to do their routine jobs and the chance to recover from everything concerning the change process. Furthermore, everybody needs time for recreation.

 Usually it is not just the leader’s own team members involved in a change process. Other departments should never be forgotten or – worse – ignored by those leaders.

 The top management should also never be forgotten. A leader has to include his or her superior in the decisions, or at least inform the superior of new ideas and aspects of the change project.

 Team members should be rewarded for helping the leader through the change process. This should be done throughout the process and after bringing the change project to a good ending. The reward does not need to be something big.

 Successful changes should always be celebrated by those team members and leaders that took an interest in the change project and those that were affected by it. It doesn’t have to be something expensive or out of the ordinary. An invitation from the leader to a joint breakfast with the staff affected by the change process shows the leader’s appreciation. In addition a party to celebrate the success sponsored by the top management can be a good ending to a major change project. To celebrate it is even possible to ask team members if they would like to make donations such as cakes or ice cream, as in the change project described in section 6.2.1.

 The managers at all levels who are the ‘true change managers’⁴ with responsibility in the end for the final decision should have competences in the various methods of change management.

 It helps to give the change a project motto, as for example was done in the change process described in section 8.2 ‘Under Full Sails’. To bring everybody together at the beginning of a change project, a competition for the best idea for a motto can be announced.

 To prioritise and organise change projects, project management needs to be established as a management method.

 Project management means to implement project groups in every change project where team leaders that are involved in the change process are represented. The top management should be represented in the steering committee.

 It might be helpful if the project group continued after the change process and met on a regular basis with a defined purpose.⁵ This group should be put together using voluntary members of the staff of the library and it might be useful if the membership rotated.

 If the library has a mission statement, the change process should be based on its contents. This is especially important for aspects such as how to communicate and everything concerning the relationship between leaders and their team members, such as information transfer or delegation of tasks.

 Lower or middle management leaders need to have a direct contact for questions concerning leadership style, organisational culture and management inside the organisation or help from external coaches.

 If there are district libraries, departments, teams or single persons who are willing to try out something new it is essential to win these over for pilot projects.

 The roll-out of a new management method is easier if members of the staff are trained to support their colleagues in terms of ‘learning on equal terms’.

 Sometimes it can be helpful to ask external consultants for support as good change management means also to know who can help us through our change process and to recognise when such help is needed.

 It’s essential never to ignore or forget to include the works council. For example, in Germany the works council has various participation rights, such as the right to be informed about change activities, the right to consult the management during change processes and co-determination rights.⁶

 It is sometimes helpful to bring the works council in on some decisions, even if it doesn’t need to be agreed on by the works council by law, because some decisions taken by the top management alone might not be carried jointly by all members of the staff.

 Reflection and feedback are important for learning during and after every change process.

 The implementation of a management circle gives leaders at all levels the opportunity to discuss leadership aspects on a regular basis and learn from each other.

 Coaching helps leaders to better undertake changes with their team members.

 Mentoring programmes can also help leaders to fulfil the requirements arising from a deliberate large-scale change.

 Team coaching helps team leaders in critical situations within the team or between teams.

 Informal discussion sessions in which all or just the affected leaders of a library participate can be helpful not only during major changes in the library, but also afterwards. These may be accomplished with the help of someone neutral leading the discussions, for example someone from the parent institution’s personnel management.

 If necessary, a moderated conflict resolution meeting should be offered and organised. It should be ensured that it will be repeated after a while.

 If the change process affects team members directly, they should be supported through specific training.

 Training courses for team leaders should also be offered.

 Before beginning a deliberate large-scale change project it should be ensured that there is at least some budgetary provision to finance training courses for those team members and team leaders affected by the changes.

 It is helpful to ask others what they have done – no leader should be too cautious to adopt good ideas from other libraries. Those who have implemented the same alterations and modifications might be seen as experts and asked for advice. Best practices can help to avoid mistakes in the planning of and during the change process.

 It is helpful to introduce a leadership development programme which includes not only aspects of change management, but which also enhances other skills needed in times of change, such as management by delegation, management by objectives, conflict management, etc.

 It is possible to learn from every change project so that change becomes routine for the leaders. As a result the self-composure of the leaders may increase so that they are able to carry out a more explicit and determined course of action from change project to change project.

 A lot can be learned about a change project once it is accomplished through an employee survey with questions on the change project. In this way every member of staff has the chance to evaluate the change management process in the deliberate large-scale change in the library.

 It is important never to do too much at the same time. There should always be a fair balance between the goals of the organisation and the possibilities of the staff. It is often better to take small steps instead of making big leaps forward that no one can follow.

 On the other hand it is essential that top management and leaders don’t hesitate too long! If something needs to be done they shouldn’t wait too long to get started. Top management as well as leaders should not only talk about the future, but start creating tomorrow today.

 Change projects in libraries are often planned with too narrow a time schedule, particularly if unexpected alterations (mostly from the outside) arise during the change process. In such circumstances the scheduled time for change projects quite often needs to be prolonged. If time is running out leaders should try to keep calm and carry on.

 Not everything works perfectly as planned after the change project is officially completed. It often needs a lot of communication afterwards as well as participation.⁷ This should be considered in the scheduling.

 It is important to realise that some conditions can’t be altered during the change process. In Germany, for example, performance-related pay based on management by objectives with the remuneration of the team members depending on the goals they have reached is still in its infancy. One problem in non-profit organisations is that only marginal rewards and bonuses can be given to the library staff. Another problem is that staff reports in nonprofit organisations and public service do not often go into great individual detail: everyone seems to be as good or as average as everyone else.⁸

 If the alterations have a significant effect on some members of the staff, these alterations should be handled very carefully. One example is the merger of libraries, departments or teams resulting in a reduction in management positions. Generally speaking not every manager is going to retire quite so soon. In this case the advertisement of the post as well as the decision to appoint one of the previous leaders should be handled very carefully. One approach can be seen in section 5.1. In this library the new management position was only advertised in-house and even then was not open to everyone: only those leaders affected by the merger could apply for this position. The advertisement followed common procedure with interviews being conducted, but the committee members interviewed the candidates not just once but twice to be sure of their decision.

 Sometimes more than one change project has to be handled at the same time as a result of external pressure. Handling multiple change projects might raise worries about asking too much of the team members.

 Those who do not want to support the change process – often the team members whose work is generally inefficient – may have a higher rate of sick leave throughout the change process. This can’t be changed, but it can be seen in a positive light in that they do not hold up or hinder the process.

 Sometimes it helps – even if this is not the best possible way – to sit something out. Often team members that are very unhappy about the alterations in their teams or their tasks apply for other jobs or positions and move to another activity area during the change project or a relatively short time after it is completed.