https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4 St. Luke Lutheran Church en-us 2020-03-25 18:52:28 UTC 2020-03-25 21:52:47 UTC hello@padlet.com lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475276172 St. Luke's Lutheran Church and School is located in Detroit, MI. They employee 8 teachers for Preschool through 8th grade. Leaders include one principal, two pastors, and two secretaries. 

The church has regular members, and has been in operation for several years. Events are hosted by the church such as fellowship, faith instruction, and services to the community. ]]> 2020-03-25 19:22:18 UTC https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475276172 lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475281688 While the church is well-established, operations have become stagnate. The church leaders feel this may lead to dwindled memberships. Also, the school has not seen an increase in enrollment and has in fact enrollment has declined. The issue has been considered to be because of the recession, staff problems, and some feedback received by members. Overall, it is believed that systemic issues are at fault. 

Member feedback included issues with timely notice of church and school events as there was often miscommunication or non-communication causing confusion. 

Staff feels they are constantly putting out fires rather than being able to focus on tasks at hand. Additionally, there is low staff morale. ]]> 2020-03-25 19:26:10 UTC https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475281688 lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475292035 Pastors and the principal met with the consultants and a number of issues were introduced. The consultants suggested narrowing the issues down to one area that would make the most impact on the organization's performance. 

The team decided on improving the church's communications systems and processes and proposed to collect data by looking at documents, policies, memos, newsletters, church bulletins, and church signage, along with the website. 

Surveys were sent out to several of the congregation members including parents, members, and teachers, and interviews were conducted which included everyone, along with the pastors and secretaries. 

A cause analysis was completed to determine gaps. ]]> 2020-03-25 19:32:42 UTC https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475292035 lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475305034 The consultant issued a a recommendation in five areas. 

1.) Create a communication strategic plan
2.) Reliable access to the Internet & email
3.) Update existing policies
4.) Develop a feedback system
5.) Re-establish a monthly newsletter for the congregation]]> 2020-03-25 19:41:25 UTC https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475305034 lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475316320 The intervention provided the church with a understandable blueprint they could easily follow for communications. While the key members, including the principal, weren't on board at first, they eventually could see the immediate value from the analysis and implementation of the key interventions. The church leaders and staff were hopeful and became eager to get started. They felt a sense of direction and and that they had a purpose moving the church forward. The interventions would:
-allow members to be better informed
-create a more active membership
-provide greater productivity
-create better job satisfaction
The consultants realized how important it was to build trust and create relationships in the beginning due to low morale and buy-in and in order to detect important data and information. It also became apparent that the scope of the project would need to be narrowed down from 18 to 5 areas, but those five areas would cut across other areas and ultimately create improvements outside of just communications. It was important to involve all stakeholders for feedback and implementation. ]]> 2020-03-25 19:48:45 UTC https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475316320 lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475329977 I learned that while there may be several issues, causes, and performance gaps, it is sometimes best to narrow down the scope of a project to make it more feasible for understanding of the steps, stakeholder buy-in, and manageability. 

It's important to select key areas that when implementations are selected, would impact other issues at the same time. ]]> 2020-03-25 19:58:01 UTC https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475329977 lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475335571 First, and foremost, my group's HPI project is about improving internal communications. Therefore, this case study was perfect to read and learn about. 

Takeaways for me:

-Create a staff directory
-Provide job aids for communications
-Brand communications
-Create communications policies and procedures
-Select ONE method for staff communications
-Communication during a time of least interruption

Our HPI group used a survey and interviews, but minimal staff participated. I feel if it were an actual HPI initiative at our school, there may have been more input from stakeholders. ]]> 2020-03-25 20:01:52 UTC https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475335571 lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475335999 2020-03-25 20:02:11 UTC https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475335999 lquinta11 https://padlet.com/lquinta11/MEDT8465D4/wish/475468317 Many of the strategies learned so far for collecting data include surveys and interviews. How can consultants be sure to get close to 100% participation? And, for those that do participate, how can we encourage honest feedback? Many times, participants are worried about retaliation for being honest in their responses. Other times, there are just people who don't care and it's difficult to get them on board from the beginning. What happens when change is encouraged, but there is no consultant?

Aha! Moment!

Patience is necessary. Also, a strong passion for creating change is needed. In this particular case study, several individuals weren't on board, including the principal. However, it seemed that once the principal got on board, the rest followed his lead. It's so important for the change being created to be supported by the person who has the most influence for change. The change has to be important and meaningful to the leader in order for it to be important to the stakeholders. Additionally, the interventions must be sustainable. Selecting the right interventions is crucial. I'm not sure how I will become an expert in knowing 15-25 interventions, but having so many available to reference in the text is helpful.

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