Change management: does a new procedure change the work?
A change can be officially rolled out while everyday work remains largely unchanged. The management question is specific: how can we check whether a new procedure actually changes coordination, rather than merely its description?
What the literature establishes
Martha S. Feldman and Brian T. Pentland (2003, Administrative Science Quarterly) distinguish the general understanding of a routine from its concrete performances by particular people in particular situations. Their theoretical analysis shows that routines are not simply sources of stability: they can also generate change. A written procedure should therefore not be confused with the routine as it is actually performed.
Making deviations discussable
Amy Edmondson (1999, Administrative Science Quarterly) observes an association between team psychological safety and learning behaviour. Psychological safety here means a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking, such as reporting an error or asking for help. For a new procedure, this suggests examining not only its application, but also whether people can report the difficulties they encounter.
The premature conclusion
It would be tempting to conclude that every deviation from a procedure constitutes useful innovation. These studies do not justify that interpretation: a variation may support learning, but it can also undermine coordination or a quality requirement. In a regulated pharmaceutical environment, discussing a deviation does not mean authorising people to bypass a rule. (our executive and employee training programmes)
What the evidence and dashboards do not tell us
The first article offers a theoretical reconceptualisation; the second is a field study that does not, on its own, establish causality transferable to every transformation. Neither validates a universal indicator of successful change. A training completion rate or a signed procedure documents a stage in the rollout, not an actual transformation of work.
A practical check in Bâle
In Basel, an exercise for SHR's « Conduite du changement » programme, applicable to interfaces between pharmaceuticals, life sciences, Rhine logistics and international R&D, is to monitor a new sample or data transfer procedure. For two weeks, record every transfer covered by the procedure and calculate the proportion for which the recipient, applicable version and acknowledgement of receipt are all traceable. Then review incomplete cases with the teams, distinguishing documentation shortcomings, operational difficulties and deviations requiring quality management action. This proposed protocol, which is not a threshold validated by the cited studies, allows comparison between two periods without equating traceability with the overall success of the change. To go further: explore the Change Leadership training in Basel, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
In pictures: Change Leadership in Basel
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