“The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” ~ Charles Kettering
It is 2023. Businesses — of all sizes — around the globe, face heightened global competition, different challenges, new constraints, and higher costs. The collective focus has had to shift to an unfamiliar challenge: change.
Organisations are expected to prioritise digital transformation and enhance customer experiences to remain competitive. In major transformation programmes, senior executives tend to focus their attention on devising the best strategic and tactical action plans.
To succeed, however, organisations must understand the ‘human’ side of change. It is also about inspiring and motivating the humans. No transformation will succeed if you don’t bring your people along.
SO NOW WHAT?
The bad news is, there is no one-size-fits-all method to effectively manage change. The good news is, there are many guiding principles, practices, tools, and techniques that can be applied and adapted to suit a variety of situations.
Let us have a quick look at the Prosci® 5 Tenets for Change Management[1] established by Jeffrey M. Hiatt and Tim J. Creasey in their book Change Management – The People Side of Change.
- We change for a reason — we change to achieve a future state and the desired outcome. The need for change is always driven by an opportunity or a problem to solve.
- Organizational change requires individual change — new tools or processes are not enough to achieve change, you need individuals to adopt the change and begin working in new ways.
- Organizational outcomes are the collective result of individual change — change is an individual event, so there are human factors to consider. The more adoption an organization gets from employees, the closer it is to achieving the desired outcomes.
- Change Management is an enabling framework for managing the people side of change — resistance to change is the norm. Managing the people side of change drives a higher speed of adoption and improved proficiency.
- We apply Change Management to realize the benefits and desired outcomes of change — Change Management’s primary objective is to drive and support the realization of the desired future state and the achievement of the expected outcomes.
THAT’S ALL GOOD, BUT HOW DO WE DO THIS?
A Change Management approach must be embedded into programme structure, design, and into all levels of decision-making.
In times of uncertainty, all eyes will naturally turn to the leadership team for guidance, support, and direction. It is imperative that leaders speak with one voice and lead by example. This means taking full ownership of the change in the areas that you influence.
When preparing the business for change, articulating the ‘case for change’ is an invaluable opportunity to create alignment. Steps include:
- Expand on why changes are needed now.
- Articulate what will change and who will be impacted.
- Explain how the change is implemented.
Individuals will need to know how their work will change, what will be expected of them during and after the change, how they will be measured, and what success or failure will mean for them.
A thorough assessment of organizational readiness for change will surface any major issues, conflicts and knowing your stakeholder landscape, will help you recognize important sources of influence and resistance.
When managing the change, over-communication is king! Targeted core messaging should be reinforced throughout the programme. Internal and external audiences will need the right level of information, at the right time. And you will need feedback channels. People will have questions and suggestions. You may even find your biggest agent for change in the most unexpected place!
Nothing is ever certain to go according to plan. People may react in unexpected ways. You will need to continually re-assess your landscape to identify areas of unanticipated resistance, or environmental changes. Keep an eye on the organization’s ability to adapt. Be mindful of too much change!
Change is a journey, both for the organisation and for the individual. People will react to what they see and hear around them. It’s personal. Most leaders understand that people matter, but project plans and process diagrams do not talk back or respond emotionally. Human issues are far more difficult to deal with.
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[1] Source: “Change Management – The People Side of Change” by Jeffrey M. Hiatt and Timothy J. Creasey