Leading digital transformation in elderly care – experiences of front-line managers

The purpose of this study is to describe and understand the experiences of front-line managers in elderly care as regards digital change processes and the leadership skills required of them, as well as the perceived need for leadership support. The study is positioned at the interface between scientific discussions on human resource management and change process management. It focuses on the discussion related to the increasing digitalisation practices of healthcare work communities from the perspective of front-line managers in elderly care. The context of the study is leadership in change processes according to Weicks’ Critical Sensemaking Model. The data for this qualitative study were collected through thematic interviews with front-line managers in elderly care (N = 14) in healthcare and social welfare organisations and were analysed using theory-bound content analysis. In leading the collaborative digital change process, the features of the Critical Sensemaking Model are combined with the interactional, cultural, environmental, change and human resource management and digital competence development factors of the front-line manager’s work community. The implementation of the digital change process requires knowledge of a sense of community on the part of the front-line manager's leadership, which manifests itself in different ways as communal learning, competence, leadership support, implementation of cultural change needs, dynamics of digital change, responding to the requirements of the operating environment and maintaining readiness for change. The dynamics of the digital change process include the management of the functional aspects of change management, emotions and attitudes in human resource management, and the development of change expertise over time. In the social learning of the work community, interaction between front-line managers and employees is emphasized. The Critical Sensemaking Model can promote the development of cultural change in leadership and work communities. It helps to form a mutual understanding of the needs of the organisation's management and work communities for positive change, learning and sharing of competence, as well as following the clues and development trends of internal and external working environment. Therefore, maintaining the readiness for changes of the digital working methods requires identifying and managing sensible events in past, present, and future.