Managing Change
For many of us change is a threat, perhaps because we expend so much energy trying to contain it and limits its effect on us. Change comes in two forms; incremental change and major change. Even incremental change, which takes place in a set of small steps, will require us to learn new skills and invest in new plant or equipment as well as making adjustments to our attitudes and perceptions. Examples of such changes are the introduction of an appraisal scheme or the decision to cut costs by not re-hiring.
Major changes in organisations includes such things as take-overs, major job redesigns and the scrapping of product ranges involving major lay-offs.
Change is driven by many factors particularly increased price competition, changes in technology, changes in regulation, changing markets, changes in shareholder expectations and new competitors.
Successful Change
For change to be successful there are a number of factors that need to be in place;
- There must be a well understood and articulated reason.
- There must be a vision about where the change will lead to.
- Those who are to make the changes need to understand how they will fare with or without the change. There must be a credible "What's in it for me" plan.
- There must be confidence in the leader of the change.
- There must be a well understood set of beliefs/culture that supports the need for change.
- While the change may have to go though a number of phases, the attention of those who have to change should be focused on the first steps they will need to take. Remember the saying about how to eat an elephant ("One mouthful at a time").
- Throughout the change process there needs to be regular and effective communication.
Preparing for Change
Preparing for change involves considering how the factors for success are going to be implemented as well as consideration of how the barriers to change will be handled. The main barriers, as indicated above, are people and the company culture but poor communication and planning and lack of top management agreement and commitment are also to blame for a lack of success.
Often a company does not explicitly understand its culture and the levers that need to be used for change. If the company is large there may well be different cultures in different parts of the organisation (think about the difference between accounting and sales). Charles Handy's Task Culture requires a different approach to that of his Role cilture (Handy, "Gods of Management: The Changing Work of Organisations" gives a detailed account of his categorisation of cultures and their levers).
Even when people react positively to change there is still a level of pessimism. When they are negative about the change there will often be a great deal of anger and attempts to bargain away the change.
Therefore a plan for change of any significance should include
- the creation of a change management team
- some measurement of how ready the organisation and people are to change
- the creation of a believable vision
- the creation of a communication plan
- the changes that will be made to remuneration and other rewards
- the testing of these with key managers and stakeholders so that support and commitment are available
- the planning and resourcing of the change elements such as seminars, training, capital purchases and so on.
- a timetable with goals and measurement systems.
- a recognition that the preparation stage will take time, even if only for the change team to settle down to working with each other.
Carrying out the Change
While the change is ongoing the team should seek regular feedback from participants on how they view the change process as well as how well it is doing. This will enable the team to plan and implement any required changes in advance of a crisis forming so maintaining their credibility. Interpersonal skills are key here especially the ability to listen and empathise with participants. Their fears must be addressed and, particularly where their is resistance, the "What's in it for me" factors need to be underlined and their ideas examined against company objectives. After all, they may have a crucial point.
An effective programme of employee seminars which explains the reasons for the change, allow staff to develop their shared vision for the change and, in the light of the company's objectives and the shared vision, discuss and build buy-in for the plan will help by starting to assure staff that management knows what it is doing, that the reasons for the change are substantive and that the outcomes will be positive.
Communication needs to be kept going and this should highlight successes and the rewards of success. If the type of change allows, it it pays to schedule at the start some tasks that can be completed quickly with a high degree of success. The progress along the change path should also be fed back to participants.
The communication plan should bear in mind Rudyard Kipling's "Five Jolly Serving Men". Who should be told, what should they be told, by whom should they be told it, when should they be told it and where should they be told it.
An Admonition
Avoid confrontation, strive for consensus and deal with staff whose jobs are going in a sympathetic and dignified manner.
Checklist
- Is there a sound reason and a credible vision?
- Is the change team in place and does it have the full and active commitment of management?
- Has the change plan looked at the barriers to change and developed the correct drivers of change including compensation and reward and designed processes to build consensus?
- Is there a well thought through communication plan with the staffing and budget to keep it going right through the change period?
- Is the change team prepared to listen and be flexible if the situation changes?
- Has the overall change plan been properly budgeted and approved? For example, will it add to shareholder value and increase competitive advantage, have the funds been committed, are there sufficient resources and have the risks been properly analysed?
- Is there a detailed project plan with tasks, timings and outcomes?
- Is there a fair, sympathetic and dignified plan for those who will be loosing their jobs?
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