Facing into change: Culture Call at Immigration Enforcement

Network News Issue 11

IES has published the third report in the series ‘Facing into Change’. While all three reports have been set in a public sector context, they deal with the common human challenges of delivering change in a turbulent environment, restructuring and transformation, and deep-rooted cynicism about change management itself. This third report examines a culture change initiative at Immigration Enforcement (IE) known as ‘Culture Call’.

Following the break-up of the Border Agency in 2012, Immigration Enforcement (IE) became a purely functional department with a law enforcement remit to target criminal activity and increase compliance. Its 4,500 employees work in the UK and overseas at air and sea ports.

Appreciative inquiry (AI) and large scale change

Culture Call is a form of social movement, mobilising people to make IE a workplace in which they can be at their best. Its core methodology is AI combined with large-scale events. With an initial seventy volunteers, four Community Groups were organised around the country and a series of events held where people could explore the culture they wanted to see and learn something about AI methodology. Through ‘appreciative’ conversations the groups gathered stories about people at their best, from which they identified six ‘foundation statements’. I am at my best when:

• I trust people and they trust me back
• I am brave enough to speak out and hear back
• I seek out and acknowledge the best in everyone
• We join up and join together to make a difference
• I take the lead and I can make change happen
• I am honest and courageous enough to show when I am vulnerable

The Culture Call movement has rapidly built momentum, establishing a network of support and increasing its volunteers tenfold. ‘Culture callers’ have held twenty four ‘Outreach’ events over the past year, ranging from ‘lunch and learns’ and face-to-face discussions to the large-scale change conferences. The demand for talks about Culture Call at awaydays is growing with new presenters getting involved and building their own skills and confidence.

Early impact

Culture Call is already having an impact at individual, team and organisational levels:

• Leaders report actively developing a coaching leadership style and staff feel they are more visible.
• Team dynamics are changing by using more ‘appreciative’ language and teams are connecting in order to appreciate their role in the wider business.
• There is greater staff involvement as people see opportunities to influence decisions, leading to a more collaborative approach to designing organisational change. For example, people are working together on the People Survey results to implement the change they want to see.

Through Culture Call people are starting to see signs of a more appreciative environment at IE, edging the culture into more positive territory and more willing to celebrate its successes. Its rapid and continued growth indicates the resonance the initiative has had throughout the organisation and Culture Callers will be on hand to support change in all parts of the business.

Download the report