Designing for systems-changing frontline workers

After the first Systems Changers programme, where a cohort of frontline workers had the chance to explore systems change within their own roles, we asked our participants how their roles needed to change for this kind of approach to sustain. Especially when many of them were keen to still stay on the frontline and to be able to influence change from that position. We’d always said that the programme would be unsuccessful if all the frontline workers left their jobs to set up social enterprises for example, or went to work outside the system. The changes that the frontline workers came up with fell broadly into two categories: new and deeper ways of working together, and changes to the organisational culture.

Cross-team (including end user) collaboration

The ability to meet with other frontline workers in other services, to compare notes and best practices.

Permission to meet with different leaders, like the leader of council services or lead for homelessness. Making space for frontline workers to do this would create better understanding within the system.

The ability to bridge the gap between service users and policy makers directly ( no need for middlemen) and being a communication channel between end users and the boardroom too.

The visibility of others who show that you can stay working on the frontline *and* influence change.

Managers need to be on board and in agreement because frontline workers having more influence represents a change in structure.

Continue to work with service users but as a collective or Lab where the Systems Changers work on things together that might not feel like the usual type of work for the frontline.

Organisational culture

Ways to incorporate systems thinking into everyday practice, to enable all staff to get on board and help shift the system.

Permission to stand back, and especially to look across at what’s happening and what’s needed.

Time to meet people outside of the day to day delivery. The more we insert the voices of frontline and end users into places where those voices aren’t heard, the more the system will change.

A culture that celebrates achieving small things in difficult situations.

Ways to measure the impact of those small changes.

Awareness of what’s not working — beyond what’s being reported — and the power to change it.

Systems change to be written into job descriptions and roles, so people know from the beginning what’s expected.