How Businesses Can Better Embrace Change
The importance of change management in our dynamic economy
Most people don’t like change.
We like to remain in our comfort zone. We prefer to stay with what’s familiar instead of venturing into the unknown.
But we can’t escape the fact that life keeps changing.
This is especially so in the business world, where there is constantly a fast-changing environment, especially with globalization and advancements in technology.
Organizations go through change very often. This can happen when they optimize previous processes, find new solutions, shift in a different direction, or even during times of crisis. In order to stay competitive, companies need to adopt dynamic processes and seize timely opportunities.
Successful businesses are businesses that manage change well.
While everyone reacts to change in a different way, there are certain ways that can influence people’s mindset and help them transition through change.
When people and organizations are able to adapt to change smoothly, beneficial changes can be implemented quickly, saving time, resources, and other costs. This increases productivity and efficiency, helping companies meet objectives up to 6 times more.
It’s not always easy to deal with change. That’s where change management comes into play.
What is change management
Change management is basically the process of helping people adapt to change by equipping them with the relevant tools and resources. It helps them move from their old way of thinking and methodology to a new way of doing so that benefits the organization.
There are various scales that change can occur at — individual, departmental, organizational. The larger the scale of change, the greater the number of resources that need to be invested to adapt to the change. At a departmental and organizational level, an emphasis on good leadership is also needed to ensure a smooth transition.
Change management is all about people.
The success of every organization is highly dependent on its human capital. Even with increased reliance on machines and automation, people are still at the core of initiatives and strategic decisions.
Change management ensures that these people are comfortable and ready with embracing change. It requires analyzing how various people experience change differently having a good understanding of the organization’s culture and objectives.
While it may seem disorganized, change management is actually a very systematic and structured process. It’s not just about soft skills such as communication and teamwork (though those are important). Change management produces solid, measurable results that can be documented and evaluated.
In order to be effective, change management must take into account the cause and effects, as well as how the change will impact different aspects of the organization such as its systems and processes. Effective change management is sustainable and lasts in the long run.
Change management models
With various methodologies of change management that are tried and proven, there is no one-size-fits-all model.
Each organization has unique circumstances, and require a different change management strategy. Ideally, you should adopt these models to suit the needs of your organization.
ADKAR model
The ADKAR model is developed by Prosci and serves to help understand how each individual experiences change.
ADKAR stands for:
Awareness
Desire
Knowledge
Ability
Reinforcement
Firstly, individuals must be aware of the need for change. Change cannot happen if people are complacent.
Next, they must have the desire to take part in change. To create larger-scale change, active participation and support of multiple individuals are required.
Individuals also need to have knowledge about how to bring about this change. They must possess or be provided with the relevant information to enact change.
In addition, individuals should have the ability to implement change, learning new skills, and incorporating new behaviours into their workflow regularly.
Lastly, individuals must help to reinforce change. This ensures that the change is sustained over a longer period of time.
If any of these 5 aspects are missing, the change would not be successful.
The ADKAR model is goal-oriented, allowing change managers to implement activities that are in line with goals the company is trying to achieve. Change managers can also use this model to analyze the various challenges that people face so that effective training can be employed to help them.
John P Kotter‘s 8 Steps to Successful Change
In these 8 steps, each step focuses on a key principle of people’s approach to change.
The 8 steps are:
- Increase urgency
People need to be motivated to take action. To do this, they must understand why the objectives are relevant important.
2. Build a guiding team
To initiate change, the leaders of change must possess the right skills as well as be highly committed.
3. Get the vision right
Everyone must have a common vision. This should align with the organization’s values and direction that it intends to move in.
4. Communicate
After determining a common vision, this must be communicated in a clear many to the relevant stakeholders involved.
5. Take action
Start gaining support for your vision and remove the obstacles in your way. Collect constructive feedback and allow it to guide your future actions.
6. Have short term goals
Break down the larger vision into smaller goals and make sure your goals are measurable and achievable.
7. Be resilient
Don’t give up easily. One should persist through initial difficulties and encourage a determined mindset among others as well.
8. Incorporate change into the culture
Reinforce the change and make it permanent by weaving the skills and values into the company culture.
Challenges
Time frame
It takes a long time to change mindsets. People don’t just learn new skills and adopt new behaviours overnight.
Unpredictable
Everyone responds to change differently. At times, people may be illogical and resist change due to fear of the unknown. While this is understandable, in this case, it will be difficult to enact change until people change their mindset.
Poor engagement
Change management must target each and every individual, encouraging them to take ownership. Mass communication simply doesn’t cut it. People need to feel involved. They will be more committed and have a more positive response when they believe in the common vision.
Poor leadership
If the leaders in an organization do not understand the importance of change and actively promote it, it would be hard for employees to be convinced of its benefits as well.
For the organization to adapt well to change, first and foremost, the leaders must embrace this change. The leaders should then motivate the organization and be the ones who champion the common vision. To lead the company well, they should be persistent and persuasive.
Poor communication
Communication is an essential part of effective change management. The opinions and concerns of each and every individual must always be taken into consideration as they will be more inclined to accept change if their viewpoints are valued.
To implement effective change, everyone needs to be on the same page. The common vision and objectives should be clearly and concisely communicated to all relevant parties.
Good communication channels also produce constructive feedback which can be used to improve the change management strategy. This can be achieved from forums, workshops, or other feedback channels.
Takeaways
- When people and organizations are able to adapt to change smoothly, beneficial changes can be implemented quickly, saving time, resources, and other costs.
- Change management is all about people.
- Each organization has unique circumstances, and require a different change management strategy.
- Good engagement, leadership, and communication are important.
As our economy constantly advances and evolves, change management is likely to become even more prominent in the future.
If you want to pursue change management professionally or just in greater detail, why not enrol in a change management course? Change managers can attain certificates that increase their credibility and prove their ability to guide an organization through change.
Otherwise, it’s always a good idea just to keep an open mind about change and embrace change whenever it comes into our lives.
Remember, change is the only constant.
