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16 Essential Change Management Principles You Should Know About

Part 1

What is Change Management?

Change Management is the intersection of change and project management. It represents how business leaders manage processes, systems, organizational structure, job roles, and overall morale during a time of transition within a company.

Changes can be anything from realigning goals to become more efficient for customers or dealing with a mass turnover situation. These can be “make-or-break” times where business leaders decide how they are going to guide departments through the designated shake-up. One of the largest feats associated with change management is getting everyone from senior leadership to employees of all levels to accept and become comfortable with the change. If people cannot see their way clearly, then systems and structures within the business can collapse. This makes it critical for every organization to have someone who is adept at managing all of the processes associated with the change.

One of the most critical aspects of change is conveying the messaging of what exactly is changing. If people are in the dark about what a new project will bring or how the company will fill new roles that have suddenly been left vacant, people can make up their own opinions about what is going to happen.

Change management also requires leaders to identify key stakeholders; these can be department heads, senior management, and influential employees. Then leaders need to create a coalition involving these people to help convey the messaging of the change and how the organization is preparing to address it. This type of management also allows leaders to make a case for why the change is needed and set the expectation for what employees can expect going forward.

Related: Change Management Principles and Concepts

Change Management Communication (Key Strategies)

 

Part 2

Change Management Statistics

Many real-world reasons convey the importance of having a change management plan of action. With the threat of changing consumer tastes and volatile economy leaders always have to prepare their companies for a transition.

  • According to a study by Leadership IQ, only 35 percent of leaders are “actively” or “frequently” sharing the challenges the company is facing with internal teams. Since challenges lead to change, it is problematic that companies are not more transparent about what changes they will take to address these issues. People will not understand the reason for the change if one needs to be made.
  • 70 percent of efforts to create change within an organization fail. These are the behaviors that lead to those failures:

    A.
    Management does not support the change33 percent
    B. Employees are resistant to change39 percent
    C. Inadequate resources or budget 14 percent
    D. Miscellaneous obstacles14 percent
  • A global 2013 Strategy and Katzenbach Center Study revealed that 65 percent of employees were overwhelmed by the number of changes undertaken at one time within their respective companies, and 44 percent did not understand the details of the changes they needed to make. Along with those statistics, 33 percent did not even agree with the changes they were prepared to undertake.
    There are a lot of factors as to why organizational change is difficult for those tasked with leading it. These statistics show two critical issues that change managers need to address: employee perception and adequate communication.

The Challenges of Change Management

To develop a comprehensive change management plan, leaders have to acknowledge the obstacles that could come their way and how to address them.

  1. Employee Resistance

    If a majority of employees are not on board with changes then this can tank a transition quickly. As a result, they may not make implementation a priority which will cause productivity to suffer. This can happen if organizational culture is not acknowledged, communication is not clear, and employees are left out of all decision-making.

  2. Planning

    Planning for a company-wide transition can be overwhelming and stressful. These two factors can cause leaders to leave out vital details and essential stakeholders who need to be involved in conversations about changes. Each aspect of the rollout needs to be addressed, and potential employee and customer responses need to be mapped out.

  3. A Lack of Communication

    The above study conducted by Legendary IQ revealed that organizational leaders are not always transparent about challenges the company is facing. Therefore, when changes are brought to employees, they do not have context for why these transitions need to occur. Organizations can preempt questions ill feelings about changes if they are honest with employees about challenges before a massive change.

  4. Leadership Buy-in

    Nothing can derail a transition quicker than a lack of management commitment. There may be some executives who feel the change is needed, while others do not agree and will use office politics to convey their dislike. This is why it is vital to start from the top and involve all management in initial conversations about the plan and why it is critical to the success of the company.

Part 3

The Principles of Change Management

  1. Diagnosing the Problem

    Before any changes can take place, a problem has to be identified. Pioneer of the Toyota Production system, Taiichi Ohno developed a simple way to locate issues within a company. His method is known as the “Five Whys.” He would take one process and ask why it did not produce the intended result. This would then lead to four more question that would hopefully allow those asking to arrive at the root cause for the problem. Ultimately, it would lead to a conversation about how to fix the root cause. A method such as can be implemented on a wide scale and involve surveys and focus groups to identify problem areas to address.

  2. Lead with the Culture

    It is crucial to take into account a company’s existing culture. The organizational culture informs the way people interact with each other, behave, and work together within the company. Addressing this will help leaders to overcome any resistance that will be attached to an already established culture. It may be informal and “soft,” but leaders cannot ignore the effect this has on an attempt to bring any change.

  3. Start at the Top

    To present any changes effectively to lower level employees, executives need to be united. If those who make up the C-Suite discuss changes and hash out their concerns, then it is easier for executives to answer questions managers may have and continue to work from the same page.

  4. Involve Every Layer

    While planning for a change rollout does need to start at the top, mid-level employees and those on the frontline need to be brought in not too long after. These people will be able to bring any logistical or technical concerns to the forefront that executives may not be privy to because of their positioning. They can also present a perspective of how this might impact customers and how their own teams will take the change. The input of mid-level employees and leaders will smooth out most glitches because if anyone is aware of how this will impact the frontline, it is this group.

  5. Coalition Building

    Change leaders cannot manage the challenging task of getting everyone on board themselves. Leaders need to bring in internal people with stated power (such as executives), as well as informal leaders (influencers, veteran employees, and stakeholders other employees will trust).

     

    Transitioning can be made a lot more comfortable if business leaders find out who these people are and involve them in the plan to help everyone adjust to the new changes.

    These groups can make up a coalition that can help disperse the message about the changes, put people at ease, and get their own teams on board.

  6. Provide Clear Instructions

    Leaders should take their coalition and help them spread the word about the transition. Employees should receive clear and logical reasons for the change as well as easy-to-understand instructions for how to implement it. This will involve a lot of smaller meetings, training managers on how to correctly convey transition details, and surveys to identify questions that may need to be addressed in a broader setting.

    It won’t be easy for employees to immediately adhere to the transition due to learning curves and old habits. This is why it is imperative for leaders to outline immediate behaviors and actions that employees can take within days of the transition to help things move along smoothly.

  7. Transparent Communication

    This is one of the most crucial elements of rolling out a change. From the first rumblings of a company-wide transition to the initial meetings concerning implementation, business leaders need to keep a high-level of transparency with all internal stakeholders. If employees sense that backroom deals and concessions are being made without being informed of the specific decisions, then it is likely that panic and negative feelings will take root. Business leaders should communicate effectively ensuring there is nothing to hide.

  8. Training

    This goes hand-in-hand with communication. Preparing staff for change takes time and patience. Change managers should develop a comprehensive training program that requires all employees to participate that not only teaches them new principles and techniques, but can also serve as a Q&A session to address lingering questions and concerns.

  9. Questions and Concerns

    As stated above in the Katzenbach study, nearly 44 percent of employees were not aware of how they were supposed to implement the indicated changes. Therefore, it is vital for managers and leaders always to leave opportunities for questioning. This can be in the form of online and open-door sessions where individuals can inquire about how this change will directly impact them.

  10. Formal and Informal Solutions

    A. Formal Solutions

     

    Company transitions of any kind may require a change of policies and procedures. Therefore, leaders have to keep track of how changes impact employee handbooks, HR policy, company objectives, or any other formal and official documentation that needs to be handled and conveyed to employees.

     

    B. Informal Solutions

     

    This is where reminders of history, tradition, and company culture come in. When times get rough, it pays to remember the anchors that can hold a team together. Motivational messages, an internal newsletter, open-door policies, and getting company influencers on board are informal but are just as important as formal solutions.

  11. Accountability

    It is vital for business leaders in charge of change management to ensure that all levels of employees are held accountable for how the implement new methods. Leaders have to set clear expectations and rules for how internal stakeholders facilitate a transition project. Holding team members accountable also gives employees a sense of ownership which in turn makes them more invested in the changes taking place.

  12. Appreciation

    Change can be overwhelming and difficult, that is why it is essential for business leaders to acknowledge positive steps all employees are making in transitions. This can be through a company gathering or a simple “thank you,” to let employees know their efforts are acknowledged and appreciated. In turn, this can also be used as a motivator to keep the favorable work effort going.

  13. Ongoing Support

    While ongoing assessment is key, there needs to be a plan for ongoing sustenance. Scenarios where employees can build upon the changes made to bring innovation to the company can only be accomplished if there is ongoing training, education, and a culture of support. Workers need to know that their development in relation to the transition is just as important (or even more so) as the change itself.

  14. Evaluation

    Assessing the development of change is not a one-off task. It should be something that should be a regular part of policies and procedures. Finding out what works and what doesn’t (no matter how large or small) will allow leaders the opportunity to jump on any potential problems before they become larger.

  15. Assessment

    As stated above, a transition might be failing for a number of reasons, but no one will know if there is not any data to support why it is happening. Leaders need to focus on gathering quantitative and qualitative data that assesses the progress of transitions. This will inform them if all is going according to plan or if some tweaks need to be made. This simple step can prevent an overall failure in the future.

  16. Utilize Technology

    We live in a digital world, so it is to the advantage of leadership to use it to aid in communication efforts. Status.net feeds can be used to provide regular updates about transition, gather data from employees (including obstacles they face), and outline ways employees can reach back to ask questions.

Change is never easy, and when a whole company of different individuals with a variety of opinions and attachments to the group are involved, then it becomes even more complicated to implement change. Therefore, it is essential for leaders to develop a comprehensive plan to handle potential problems and communication breakdowns.

 

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