#5waysto With all of the challenges the pandemic has thrown up, pivoting to move with the times is a key way your business can not just survive but actually thrive. Implementing that change for the benefit of your business and everyone involved is a challenging concept, but when executed properly it can the beginning of something incredible...
1. Don't rush it, manage it
Good change management involves psychology, systems analysis and behavioural science. Take time to consider these. In a nutshell what you are trying to work out is how the proposed change will affect your team for better and worse and how you can manage it. With good change management, you can encourage everyone to adapt to and embrace your new way of working rather than feeling blindsided or uncertain.
2. Take a step back
To successfully promote the benefits of the change, first you need to take a step back so that you can understand it from the perspective of everyone who will be affected. The following questions would help:
Why are we changing? - Is it just change for changes sake or is there a specific vision backed by specific information that is behind the idea?
What will be the benefits?
What will be the drawbacks?
How will it affect the way that people work?
What will people need to do to successfully achieve the change?
What will happen if we don't make this change?
This process needs to be done thoroughly and well before the decision to implement is finalised.
3. Planning
There are four key ways to achieve effective change within an organisation:
Resources - how will you make sure that everyone has the resources, tools and support to make the change happen?
Involvement - who are the best people to help you to design and implement the change so that you have the greatest chance of traction?
Buy-in - how can you design and present the change in way that will have the support of those who will be needed to implement it?
Impact - finally, think about what success should look like. How will you predict and assess the impact of the change that you need to make? What goals do you need to achieve?
4. Implementation
Now comes the fun part - how exactly are you going to make change happen?
The following steps can help you to implement change in a positive way:
Help everyone involved to understand what needs to happen and what it means for them.
Come to an agreement on what a successful change will look like and make sure that this is regularly measured and reported on.
Map and identify all of the key stakeholders that will be involved in the change and define their level of involvement.
Identify any training needs that must be addressed in order to implement the change.
Appoint 'change agents', who'll help to put the new practices into place – and who can act as role models for the new approach.
Make sure that everyone is supported throughout the change process.
5. Communication
Most of us have been in an organisation which sends an email out informing that there will be a change. What is usually the response? Not good. Such an impersonal communication of change can cause people to feel alienated and that the power that be don't really care about them. Communication can be a make-or-break component of change management. The change that you want to implement has to be clear and relevant, so people understand what you want them to do and why they need to do it. But you also have to set the right tone, so that you get the emotional reaction you're hoping for.
Here are five things you need to include when you communicate a change:
Why the change needs to happen.
How it will benefit everyone.
What will be needed to accomplish this change.
Why it will be possible to make the change.
A vision of how much better things will be after the change has been implemented.
In conclusion
Even the best-laid plans can suffer setbacks, so be ready for problems when they arise. Some people may be pessimistic about your plans, so you'll need to acknowledge, understand and address any resistance to change.
You may even come up against cultural barriers to change. If your organizational culture doesn't embrace change – or even pushes against it – you'll have to find ways to reward flexibility, create role models for change, and repeat your key messages until the mood starts to improve.
There are pitfalls to making changes however, consult with an HR professional before making any changes that will impact a persons role significantly.
We have tools available that can help to facilitate change is a lawful and ethical manner. https://www.employer-direct.com