Ways of Working Change and Communications

Ways of working - change management and internal comms package

Ofqual has established a Ways of Working project to manage our transition to new and different ways of working following the pandemic, and in the wake of the effect of cancelled exams and assessments on Ofqual as an organisation. In addition to wanting to work differently, we now need to embrace a hybrid-working model as we no longer have enough desks given the amount of organisational growth that's happened over the last 18 months. Ofqual is also due to be assessed, in Spring 2022, against the Government Property Agency's (GPA) Smarter Working Maturity Matrix which has been designed to support and enable other government programmes and initiatives such as Places for Growth and Beyond Whitehall strategies. Those strategies ultimately aim to achieve a goal of making the Civil Service a great place to work that attracts and retains great talent within government.

The Ways of Working project is large and important, and will have an impact on every member of staff, and in turn on those we regulate, and on those we regulate on behalf of. It's proving to be a challenging piece of work in that we know there is not a consensus view on what the future should look like. It's also a sensitive time, given the enduring nature of the pandemic. While we work through the detail of our approach, clear and constant communication is critical to ensuring colleagues feel engaged and that they understand what's happening and why it's happening, so they can play their part at the right time. This particular project - the communications and change management in support of the wider project - will provide:

the final draft of Ofqual's Working Practices Policy ready for internal sign off

a defined implementation approach for the policy - 'how' the change will be implemented successfully

an implementation plan - 'what' needs to be done to implement the change successfully

a full assessment of the impact on staff at team level, including any skills and knowledge gaps

training plans as required

change readiness assessments and plans communications and engagement plan including both internal and external.

These deliverables add up to a comprehensive change management and communications package to support and guide the implementation of Ofqual's new ways of working.