Overview
A free programme made in collaboration between Microsoft and Socitm. You do not need to be a Socitm member to attend this programme.
Our aim is to train at least one person in every public sector service to be a catalyst for change, connecting them with others in similar roles to innovative create communities of practice.
The Change Agent programme is designed to work alongside existing change efforts, with some authorities planning to use this as their main catalyst for change.
The manager course has been designed to provide an overview of the key skills needed to be an effective change agent, with a strong emphasis on the ability to lead change:
- Managers learn key skills such as learning styles and the importance of a growth mindset, with details of how they can continue their learning.
- The technology day focusses on tech that will truly transform their service, equipping managers with the knowledge they need to drive their service towards true transformation.
- Managers are introduced to their communities of practice, where they, along with their staff, can collaborate at scale with services across the UK.
Duration: Two days
Sectors: All local public service providers
Career level: Managers and team leaders
Structure
The programme will be held virtually on Teams. Tech support is available to anyone that needs it ahead of the session.
Further resources and opportunities to engage in the programme and with other councils will be available beyond the initial training.
Benefits
The programme:
- is designed to work alongside existing change efforts, with some authorities planning to use this as their main catalyst for change
- provides a foundation, even intermediate understanding, of a range of tools that authorities are deploying or already benefiting from, such as SharePoint, Teams, and the Power Platform – including Power BI. The work compliments your implementations, and your facilitators can localise the change
- will add the most value if you have facilitators, managers, and end-users on the programme.
Requirements
We’re looking for people who:
- Are curious and enjoy learning
- Want to help their service be more sustainable
- Enjoy helping others
- Recognise technology as an enabler to change
- Enjoy problem solving
You don’t need to be:
- Particularly technical (a basic level of ability is helpful – or a keenness to learn!)
FAQs
I’m not a Socitm member, can I take part?
You don’t need to be a Socitm member, just have an existing arrangement with Microsoft.
What are the benefits, for my colleagues, of me attending this course?
Great question! We actually cover the science of this on day two. Essentially, you undoubtedly understand your service, and the Change Agent course teaches you about how to change well, with the technology to help enable that change, as when you combine the three (service knowledge, how to change and tech), you can show the art of the possible in a way that is truly relevant to your colleagues and service. That is the key.
How many Change Agents can we send on the course?
As many as you want! But please note, it’s best to consider the capacity your ICT, Change or Business Relationship Management (BRM) function have to support your Change Agents, as they’ll likely want to use some of the technology they’ve been shown (such as Shifts in Teams, Lists or Power Automate), so ensuring you land short term wins and keeping up the momentum is important (Kotter’s change model day one of the course!)
If we’ve already attended the course, is it worth doing again?
As much as we’d love to have you back, places are limited and we want to upskill as many staff as possible. It would definitely be worth looking at the recordings though on the technology that’s changed, or to watch the new sessions.
I’m not very ‘techy’, but I would like to learn more, can I attend?
100% yes! In your question you’ve stated you want to learn more, which shows a “Growth Mindset” (covered on day one), so please come along and if you get stuck, just ask, as we can guarantee someone else will be hoping for some help.
Is the course virtual or in person?
Virtual, and we bring together people from across the UK (one of the funniest parts is doing a weather report as we have quite far reaching coverage!) We are planning an experiment to do a day in person on another cohort, and councils might choose to bring you together for part of the course, but it’s provided virtually for everyone.
Do I have to have my camera on?
You don’t have to… but it’s nice to have the camera on for as much of the course as you can cope with. We all have little challenges that mean it’s useful to keep our cameras off, but it’s so much more rewarding for those presenting if they can see the people. Most attendees have their cameras on in breakout rooms (groups of 4-8) and sometimes for the main sessions.
How interactive are the sessions?
To keep things interesting there’s a lot of questions, discussions, breakout rooms and use of Teams tools such as polls and quizzes. Please know, if people would prefer not to be asked questions that’s absolutely fine and you can simply let us know before or as the course starts as we want to make the sessions as welcoming and accessible as possible.
If I have an urgent meeting or call during the course is that a problem?
Things happen, life happens, work happens, it’s fine. We ask that you have your managers blessing to attend, and hopefully that gives you the time to commit to the course, but we understand life is a juggling act.
What technology do you cover on the course that require a license beyond those included with E3 or E5, or that incur a cost for using cloud services?
We show the Power Platform with a focus on what you can achieve with the functionality everyone has with E3/E5, but we do detail all the functionality else we’d only be telling a fraction of the story. With the data and AI sessions, there are references to cloud services, but not specifically aligned to products as those sessions are about the art of the possible. The vast majority of the course demonstrates technology you have, and how to approach a transformation programme
We have an existing Change Programme, should we send staff?
One of the key benefits of the Change Agent course that has been noted time and time again is the opportunity to collaborate with other councils, and we tend to have 35+ councils on each course. For that reason alone, it’s worth sending people, and we’re sure they’ll learn something new.
Can we have a list of our council staff that have signed up?
Yes, if you contact the Socitm team they can help with a list for your local authority, please contact: Dominika Szulim Wronek.