Gaining buy-in for reform: How do you gain buy-in and why is this an important aspect of effecting change?

Policing is ever evolving – as it should, innovating to improve public and officer safety. Whether the impetus for this is the changing needs of the agency or the community it serves, outcries from the community, findings from the latest assessment or review of data, lessons learned from a critical incident or investigation, continual change and improvement is beneficial to the ensuring equitable and safe policing.

Once agreed that policies, procedures, training, need to be revised or a new technology or system should be procured, leaders are often presented with a tough question - how to best implement this change while balancing morale and successful implementation?

Gaining buy-in for reform prior to the implementation of changed policies and procedures is often the most overlooked step in organizational change. At times leaders and executives act swiftly and effect changes with little consideration for objectives or strategy in response to police critical incidents at the local or even national level. This knee-jerk reaction often results in short lived successes and often negatively impacts officer morale.

Changes to policy, operations, technology should not be made in a vacuum.

When successful, gathering buy-in for changes prior to their implementation involves substantively engaging officers at all levels of the department, most importantly first line supervisors or middle managers. First line supervisors steer the ship of an organization; they are the lynchpin to effecting successful and sustainable reform. Without their support, the changes made at the top level will not ripple down into the field. Further, when seeking input and buy-in, leaders must target the right personnel. Agencies seeking to make changes to operations, policies, procedures, acquire new technology systems should gather feedback and input from those most impacted by these changes and users of these systems (i.e., patrol officers, analysts, investigators).

How do agencies do this successfully?

Establishing working groups or advisory groups comprised of personnel most affected by the changes to be made is one avenue agencies take. These groups are often comprised of various ranks of personnel and inclusive of both formal and informal leaders within the department. Not only do these groups provide operational experience and input into said changes they also serve as advocates for the change and a voice for their fellow colleagues, and further assist in educating others on the upcoming changes. More broadly, agencies can gather feedback and gain buy-in through department-wide surveys, focus groups, informative sessions at roll calls and/or training, informative flyers, emails, and posting information at the various districts/precincts. When the changes are expansive and inclusive of many different areas within the organization, agencies may also hire external contractors to assist with gathering input and implementing the change.

Finally, buy-in and input on the reforms and changes should be gathered before, during, and after they have been implemented. Not only does this ensure that buy-in is gathered early in the process, but it also provides an avenue for the department to evaluate and measure the impact of these reforms over time. We will delve more into the importance of data and evaluation in implementing reforms in an upcoming article.