Properly managed changes are what keep companies moving forward, but embracing it can be an intimidating experience.
People naturally resist change in many situations. It may feel natural to uphold old norms, but it is not adaptive and unsustainable. A company full of individuals that resist both proactive and responsive change is unlikely to survive.
An individual’s attitude towards change is personal. Despite resistance is a natural response, some individuals have learned to embrace change as a positive challenge. Businesses that are constantly implementing changes tend to attract and seek out these individuals, creating a flexible workplace focused on growth. Every well-developed evolving business started somewhere, and chances are they had a professionally designed change management plan.
Change management is not just something to be preached, it is meant to be specified, planned, acted upon, and sustained. These four stages ensure a path towards permanent change when they are correctly executed. Leaders who hope to grow teams and businesses in this constantly changing world must understand these stages clearly.
Each plan for change is unique so insider understanding of the change is helpful, but a professional understanding of change management through executive consulting or mentorship is fundamental.
Stage 1: Specify
Identifying specifics should be the first step in any goal-oriented process, including change management. Creating lasting change within a business can feel complicated especially in the beginning. By exploring the major defining factors of a change the process of achieving it can be simplified.
– What?
Change that is broadly defined is rarely impactful. To specify the change that is being considered find a name to define it with.
Saying “Change is needed in the recordkeeping department” would be a broad statement and it could be considered a starting point, but the further specification is necessary.
A more appropriate definition of that change would be “Record keeping needs to change from physical records to digital records.” With this definition, further details about the change can be deduced.
– Why?
Either change requires reason or change is the reason.
Change requires reason because change is difficult and it consumes resources. Without an expected beneficial result from enacting change, all efforts would be useless. A lack of reason would also lead to a scarcity of the motivation needed to overcome challenges that come with change.
There should be data available that strongly backs the positive effects that would result from embracing a change. This could range from increased productivity and higher sales to a reduction of business expenses. Explore all avenues in which this change will be impactful, including any negative effects.
Change becomes the reason when inevitable experiences of adversity face a business. The most effective response to a changing environment or circumstances is to enact internal change in a way that reclaims balance. In these cases, the “Why?” for specifying a change comes before the “What?”.
Tip: It is best to start data collection in the areas where the impact of change is expected before the change takes place. This will allow for comparisons of before and after to determine the change’s value.
– Where?
Changes can be business-wide or pertain to a specific sector within a business. Consider how widespread a change is expected to be, as well as its starting points.
Change commonly begins with a discussion between the leaders of a business as these very questions are examined. From there the news and enactment of such a change must move out into the business.
Widespread news may trigger unsupportive responses, so it is important to plan where the news will be planted for the best results. It could be human resources, an area manager, or any other area where the change can be best supervised as it is initiated.
– When?
Determining and enforcing a strict timeline constantly progresses the integration of a change. Change can be an ongoing process, but due dates serve to motivate and unify the understanding of individuals incorporated in creating change.
Stage 2: Plan
Well-defined plans lead to well-executed changes.
– Identify Key Individuals
Any individual within a business can be affected by the change, but it is important to single out those who will have the best effect on implementing change. In many cases, these are managers or leaders within the business. It may be that specific sectors of a business are more influential when it comes to change than others.
The best people to look for are those who are some combination of charismatic, flexible, and focused. These characteristics will display an acceptance of change that can positively influence others within a workspace.
Tip: Managers are not always the best to choose as key individuals. If a manager is a good leader but resists change, then there can be a negative impact on accomplishing change.
– Assess New Needs
A change in function often comes with a change in needs. By assessing needs that will arise before a change is enacted the process will run smoother.
If a company is changing from physical to digital records they will need new technology. Discussing the cost of that technology as well as the best type to purchase needs to be accomplished before the change is announced. This saves time and stress during the transition stage.
– Balance Resources
Resources can be anything from available workspace to available workers. When change takes place certain resources will be pulled from other parts of the business to ensure the change has everything it needs to be successful for its launch.
For example, a company pulls top workers from certain areas to support developing a change. Once this happens, a drop in productivity is noticed in each of the areas that have lost a worker to change development. If this effect is planned, the company would know to hire experienced employees for each area that may suffer.
Tip: To assess what resources will be needed, focus on complications that could arise. The solutions to those complications are often the resources that must be replenished or balanced.
– Expect Complications
Complications are inevitable for both large and small-scale change management. Trying to predict complications during the planning stage affords safety nets in case any of them arise.
There is no way to predict every single challenge that can arise, so focus on the ones that would be the most impactful or most likely. Complications are easiest to discover when they are examined through multiple points of view, so be sure to include a variety of individuals. Once a list of possible obstacles has been made begin finding a solution for each one. Document these somewhere to ensure they are available if any of these problems arise.
Stage 3: Take Action
– Monitor Feedback
Once a change is enacted there will be feedback from the individuals included. Monitoring this feedback offers insight into the mindset about the change as well as impacts that may have been noticed by only a few individuals.
Both positive and negative feedback are important for making alterations to the plan for change management. Ensure all feedback has a way of being heard so alterations can be made where needed.
– Unify Understanding
Change is a team effort and teams best achieve their goals when there is a mutual understanding. If the concept or plan for any change varies between individuals they will all be working towards different goals and the change won’t be accomplished.
Checking in with groups, reiterating the plan, or even printing out hard copies of it are great ways to maintain common comprehension.
Stage 4: Sustain
Change itself is subject to change.
– Reinforcement
If a goal is reached it must be sustained to avoid any regression or progression into something unintended. Open discussions about the impact of a change as well as praise for the completion of a change are a helpful form of reinforcement.
Analyzing data for pre and post-change will confirm positive effects and offer opportunities to discover any negative effects that require action.
Changes that are properly managed become lasting changes and an understanding of change management is the first step. If questions or concerns arise then seeking executive consultation can make for an even smoother transition to change.
Citations:
- Shrm. (2020, July 30). Managing Organizational Change. Retrieved October 16, 2020, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managingorganizationalchange.aspx
- Harold L. Sirkin, . (2015, July 13). The Hard Side of Change Management. Retrieved October 16, 2020, from https://hbr.org/2005/10/the-hard-side-of-change-management