Pushing Through Organizational Change … Even When It’s Hard

Organizational change is hard, especially when the stakes are high. But it is possible, and whether we like it or not, change is necessary. The world is changing around us and success requires mental health and substance use providers to change with it.

Failure to change has real consequences and staff burnout and turnover is one of the big ones. Folks get tired of trying to operate in a system that does not work well. And when an organization loses a key staff member, the ripple effects are significant – it takes time to train and ramp up a new employee and that has a financial impact on the entire organization. For an agency with 100 clinical staff, turnover losses translate into $500,000 a year in lost revenue. That’s just one reason why change is essential. Turnover also requires consumers to build new relationships, which can be very disruptive.

Scott Lloyd, President of MTM Services, has helped over a thousand organizations push through roadblocks in order to implement real, meaningful and long-term change. He knows how to identify the common pitfalls of change efforts and, more importantly, how to bring teams together in order to overcome them.

He was joined by Topher Hansen, JD who serves as president and CEO of CenterPointe, a CCBHC operating in southeastern Nebraska. Scott and Topher have worked together to implement several change initiatives at CenterPointe, including Same Day Access.