Background:

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My innovation plan is to implement ePortfolios for the organization's adult educators. As we are moving to a global platform, we are in transition with most work being put on hold. My goal is to take this time to transform our workshops, and limited teacher profiles into ePortfolios, so that when the new platform is up and running educators will have a professional identity in place and the organization can benefit by using the newly created ePortfolios to fill open positions. In return, parents will be more pleased with teachers that have been hand-selected for their skills and will provide more positive feedback, recommend other parents to the platform, and teachers will feel properly placed, more successful, and in control of their career path. Below you will find my plan to create influence and implement change in our organization. 

 

In developing the vital behaviors that I wish to influence to change in our organization, I used the following four key strategies:

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1. Notice the Obvious:

When creating the vital behaviors, I looked for obvious, but underutilized, behaviors to capitalize on to create change. I did not note everything that came to mind. Instead, I focused on the most useful. I took to heart what Joseph Grenny (2008) describes as looking for a few actions that will create an outpouring of change. In our organization, we already have a viable workshop system in place. This is a system that educators are familiar with and use frequently to improve skills and further learning. Educators sign up for preferred topics and times that work with their schedule. This flexible system has workshops that can be easily repurposed to train and implement ePortfolios. Another obvious observation is all of our educators are online, which means that most, if not all, are comfortable with technology. This is a huge benefit we can use to our advantage to implement this plan. I identified a need of the administration to know more about educators’ skills to properly staff new openings after the transition to the global platform. Likewise, educators are voicing concerns that they are unhappy with the current placement process. There has been nervous chatter about future opportunities, or lack thereof. These are the most obvious areas I feel we can focus on to benefit the change we want to make with the implementation of ePortfolios.  

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2. Look for Crucial Moments:

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In any project or implementation plan, there is a need to look for the moments that require a decision to be made. These are crucial moments that depending on what choice we go with, could have a positive or negative effect on the outcome of what we want to achieve. There are many areas where I see crucial moments for my plan. We are currently in the state of transition which creates a pivotal moment for the organization as a whole. What we do in this interim from one platform to another is crucial. The gap in work where teachers are not actively teaching, and some are looking for side jobs, is a moment that we need to capitalize on and create a safe place. Simon Sinek (2009) speaks of the importance of giving people something to believe in, to motivate them, or they will be motivated to find a new job. Our educators need to feel hopeful and connected to the organization. This transition gives us an area to reach them. With ePortfolio creation during this time, educators will feel more in control of the future of their career. It will give them an outlet to create and a connection to colleagues and the organization.  

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3. Learn from positive deviants:

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Since the organization is an online education company, the majority of our educators are comfortable with the technology we use. While they get used to our system and necessary programs and tech skills, some educators are still nervous about new changes or technology. I believe that identifying our strongest technically skilled educators and how they approach changes can help everyone to feel confident in ePortfolio creation. Giving these technically skilled users the platform and ability to form discussion boards, workshops, or chats for collaboration and discussion will be a wonderful way to set educators up for success in the plan. The key to successful change is not only in the implementation of the plan, but in finding a way to make people hold each other accountable (Patterson et al., 2011). Looking for those that do well in a challenging situation and identifying what we can learn from them is important. Providing the opportunity to encourage others and give the opportunity to learn from them and their experiences will give the support needed.

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4. Spot culture busters:

Paying attention to the culture in an organization is necessary to ensure successful implementation of any plan. Looking for areas that the culture may challenge or destroy initiatives is paving the road to success. Identifying and preparing a plan to counteract culture busters is wise before you begin implementation. Educators in our organization currently have a feeling of apprehension when any additional work is added onto their role. It is necessary that we are sure they do not feel like the ePortfolio is just more work without a positive personal result. Educators that are not as comfortable with technology could become frustrated with the introduction of a new program. In addition, after ePortfolio creation, educators that are not staffed expediently may feel like it was not worth their effort. Providing a supportive environment for our educators will be essential. Beginning with administration creating their own ePortfolios and sharing them and providing consistent and frequent communication throughout the process is a way to combat these culture busters. People are drawn to leaders and organizations that know how to communicate and provide a sense of belonging, make employees feel special, safe, and not alone (Sinek, 2009). 

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Organizational Influencers:

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• Myself 

• CEO

• Community Engagement Lead

• Workshop Lead Trainers

• Teacher Success Team

 

Vital Behaviors:

1. Model - 

Administrators and workshop trainers model the use of ePortfolios by creating their own to share with educators

2. Train - 

Train educators on the creation and use of ePortfolios through workshop training and development classes providing guidelines on using COVA to create a professional identity

3. Collaborate - 

Establish set times for discussion, sharing, and collaboration during ePortfolio development

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Results:

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All educators on the global platform replace their current teacher profile with a professional identity through ePortfolio creation over the next year resulting in an increase in total class enrollment, teacher placement success, and positive parent feedback

 

Measures:

• Educator satisfaction survey - (currently 75% or more positive response) expected increase to 85% or more at 3 months after ePortfolio creation

• Teacher 5 apple rating - (currently 20% or more response from parents) expected increase to 30% or more at 3 months after ePortfolio creation

• Total student enrollment - expected increase of 5% at 3 months after ePortfolio creation