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Three considerations for successful change management projects
The current climate has caused many organisations to re-examine their priorities and think about the ideal way to ensure success in the next quarter of this year. In many scenarios this has led to staffing restructurings and furlough schemes. For some, however, the Coronavirus pandemic has triggered a positive chain reaction to implement organisational changes to improve future processes and systems. To achieve this successfully, the theoretical principles of change management will have to be implemented strategically in order to have positive short and long-term effects.
There are many things to consider when putting together an organisational change project; we have drawn together three considerations a business leader should be aware of before undertaking or implementing change.
The importance of change management:
Change is an inevitable product of the incredible advancements that happen every day. For businesses, the most useful changes and developments include strategic, economic or technological. However, when integrating these changes into an organisation it can be met with resistance from employees or even senior management. This largely has its root in fear; fear that if technological change is allowed to develop or automate systems and functions in an organisation then someone’s job will eventually become redundant. This is usually not the case, as implementing new systems to automate particular parts of a role, function or department can free up an employee to undertake different tasks or analysis AI cannot achieve.
Successful and mindful change management is a way of communicating strategic developments. Change management should educate its employees whilst smoothing the transition into new methods, systems or processes, ultimately saving the business time. By helping employees understand the change and accept it, you create a forward-thinking work culture that will be more open to change and development in the future.
3 key challenges in change management
- Balancing multiple or simultaneous changes
Often implementing one change can unearth the need for several -- sometimes this can come in the form of a helpful suggestion or a complaint identifying an issue with a current system. This can lead to a domino effect gathering more and more changes and amendments as time goes on.
One way to tackle multiple changes like this is to have a well-organised process of tracking and documentation. There are software platforms available that are customisable to handle growing or developing change management procedures.
- Ineffective communication of your change processes
One of the most difficult parts of implementing change can be consistently communicating updates to stakeholders of various levels throughout the organisation. Email alerts, company memos and internal newsletters can help disparate teams or departments stay abreast of the change process. This will also help reduce setbacks from misunderstandings.
- Getting timely sign offs
Many change management projects require incremental sign off at varying stages of the process. This can mean projects are halted when conflicting timelines and workloads impede the sign off and approval process. Having a clear schedule for the implementation of the change process will help all parties involved keep the project on its allotted time frame. Deadlines for submission and for approval should be outlined in the initial strategy and ideation phase of the project.
How to ensure successful and timely change management: Interim Management
Hiring an interim manager can be a sound business decision in order to ensure the success of an organisational change project. An interim manager is able to draw on their wealth of expertise and take responsibility for the project or changing strategy and deliver value-added solutions for their clients very quickly. They typically have exceptional experience in communicating with a wide range of stakeholders and can keep an organisation in the loop in the process of change, thus minimising setbacks and resistance.
Oakwood Resources is able to provide businesses with interim managers who are assessed based on their experience in the market delivering change in a variety of business scenarios, allowing businesses to find the right interim that will fit in with their unique culture and skills requirements.
If you are looking for a results-focused and transformational interim manager, get in touch today to discuss your project requirements.
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