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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 73 to specifically outline the requirements, including a 13-point checklist. e work order organized all the client and investor allowables available, provided the contractor with all the information related to remaining funds, and was specific as to the photo-documentation requirements. Policy documents and job aids are updated: e work order lays the basis for policy, but the two are interrelated. Safeguard wrote an official policy and linked it into both its internal and external document-sharing sites. Create a video to promote and explain the change: Using the information in the work order, Safeguard works with contractors and its quality-control staff in the field to write a simple script and create an explanatory video. is video is available on Safeguard's online learning management system. Videos, in addition to other approaches, allow the company to communicate the change in all learning styles—written, verbal, and interactive—to implement the change. Send a memo and a user guide: Safeguard formally documents the policy change via an official memo to the contractor network. is memo is an enhanced policy document with extra photos showing examples it has gathered from the field. Also, the memo links to the videos and job aids, and it provides a schedule of events for additional learning opportunities. Training sessions are scheduled for internal and external users: Partnering with its training department, Safeguard developed a slide deck and comprehensive assessment test to share with internal and external partners. ese sessions are hosted in a classroom setting when available and by webinar when not. Lesson is created and required on learning management systems for employees, inspectors, and contractors: After the training session is completed, the content is put into an online learning course for future employees and vendors to utilize. Utilize social media to broadcast the change: Safeguard participates in many social media platforms. Trumpeting the information allows the company to inform all users of the change, including actual contractors in the field, their office staff, and other impacted parties. Safeguard seeks to ensure that it provides the information through as many channels as it can. Hold a conference call with internal and external participants: After contractors have been educated on the new policy, Safeguard understands it is not perfect. It hosts a call that is proctored by a third party to review the material shared, observe, and answer questions. Frequently asked questions (FAQs) generated from the call and promotion are sent out as an addendum to the memo: e conference call generates questions, and Safeguard associates also receive many questions via email. e team that created the mold policy reviews all questions and writes out answers. is FAQ addendum is then published to answer the specific questions asked by the contractor network. As an example, there is a common misconception between a stain-blocker (useful for water stains and graffiti) and a fungicidal paint that includes a stain-blocker. is issue and the brands available were directly addressed in the addendum. One month after the initial launch, find champions or subject matter experts: Safeguard calls on these experts on the change to write a case study showing impact, and then it hosts another call. e field services company did this in a slightly different manner for mold, instead utilizing the quality-control personnel throughout the United States to partner with contractors and share practices on assessment, bids, and treatment methods. Hard audit stop in operations for the change: Every order completed by contractors is subjected to multiple audit processes completed by the field services company. Typically, in the first few weeks of a change, there is a learning curve, and contractors are given reminders and additional resources to adjust to the new policy. In doing so, potential issues can be identified up front and mitigated accordingly. For mold, there is the potential issue of contractors taking photo documentation of sources that were not the source of moisture poorly defined at the start. Field services companies can, in the beginning, provide an additional order to take the proper photos. However, after the initial phase, work orders are not accepted until the proper photos are provided to prove the absence of moisture penetration. Have a backend top-down-audit- style review and enforcement of change: Safeguard's quality-assurance team performs many backend audits to line up, in sequence, multiple (50 or more) of the same order for an individual vendor. Its other groups typically are looking at singleton events, which may cause a trend to be missed. For mold assessment, Safeguard looked at many orders where mold and sources were either identified or were documented as not causing an issue. is feedback was provided to the company's contractors, and it goes over the specific opportunities for better performance. ree to five months after the initial change, have an internal after-action review: Following the policy change and implementation of the change-management process, it is important for field services companies to hold an internal action review. e goal of these meetings is to determine what needs to improve, what was done well and can be repeated, and finally, if any clarifications or program changes should be made. For mold, it may be discovered that the number of surfaces with mold varied greatly from home to home and that the expected maximum number of walls with mold occasionally exceeded the previously established maximum. is identified trend can aid in making the policy and work orders encompass a greater number of surfaces with the potential for contracting mold issues. Constant change and innovations in technology have forced businesses to embrace the discipline of change management and focus on how people and teams are affected by an organizational transition. Dr. Kotter's eight-step process for managing change can be personalized by field services companies, as Safeguard has, to address the continuous changes the servicing industry faces every day. "Constant change and innovations in technology have forced businesses to embrace the discipline of change management and focus on how people and teams are affected by an organizational transition."

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