Change Management
What is Change Management?
Change Management is the art and science of managing change so that stakeholders (all people affected by the change) understand, accept and are prepared for the changes ahead.
Changes come in many shapes and forms like: new IT systems and processes, mergers & acquisitions, workforce rightsizing, new business and leadership, working across cultures, etc.
It draws from many different disciplines including business, project management, psychology. It requires the ability to empathize with people as well as helping to simplify the key messages in a way that is relevant to them so they can develop a sense of ownership of the change.
It is also about coaching people through the ups and downs of any change curve. Change Management is not rocket science but it's easy to get it wrong.
To get it right you need to strike the right balance between selling and being direct. If not planned in a very careful and structured way it can have little impact or even back-fire.
This said there is no need to over-engineer it. The principles are quite simple but the trick is being able to get people on your side and make them feel you are genuinely on theirs without losing track of the end goal: change itself.
Changes come in many shapes and forms like: new IT systems and processes, mergers & acquisitions, workforce rightsizing, new business and leadership, working across cultures, etc.
It draws from many different disciplines including business, project management, psychology. It requires the ability to empathize with people as well as helping to simplify the key messages in a way that is relevant to them so they can develop a sense of ownership of the change.
It is also about coaching people through the ups and downs of any change curve. Change Management is not rocket science but it's easy to get it wrong.
To get it right you need to strike the right balance between selling and being direct. If not planned in a very careful and structured way it can have little impact or even back-fire.
This said there is no need to over-engineer it. The principles are quite simple but the trick is being able to get people on your side and make them feel you are genuinely on theirs without losing track of the end goal: change itself.
Why does it matter?
People find habits and routines comforting. Whether you like or not how things are over time you will get used to them and will naturally resist change as it can cause pain - like learning to do things in a different way or having to work with different people. Change alters the balance that we strive to carve out for ourselves.
Unless change is managed professionally chances are that the transition to the To-Be state will not be fully realized. Stakeholders will not understand what is going on and why. At best they will be concerned about what this means for them without developing a sense of ownership of the change initiative. At worst they will actively resist or sabotage the change. The transition will not run smoothly and the benefits not fully realized.
The single most important cause of project failure is lack of effective change management.
Unless change is managed professionally chances are that the transition to the To-Be state will not be fully realized. Stakeholders will not understand what is going on and why. At best they will be concerned about what this means for them without developing a sense of ownership of the change initiative. At worst they will actively resist or sabotage the change. The transition will not run smoothly and the benefits not fully realized.
The single most important cause of project failure is lack of effective change management.
How is change managed?
Putting in place effective change management is more easily said than done. Most organizations will claim that they are doing whatever they can to ensure that people are fully informed and onboard with the change. Truth is that in most cases only a few people beyond those leading the change are in a position to develop a sense of ownership. A few high-level communications based on a confusing summary of the original business case presentation will be circulated hoping that will get people excited and ready. Sounds familiar?
Getting there is no easy task as most people will not want to start the journey that will see them go through the Change Curve: from awareness to understanding to experimenting and finally to buy-in.
First of all, stakeholders at all levels need to understand what's going on in simple terms and in a way that clearly spells out what's in it for them. The more they exposed to the change and are given a chance to ask questions and raise their concerns in a friendly, open and responsive environment they will start the process of wanting to know more, to try out, to willingly suspend their negative feelings.
The exact process to accomplish this is too long to be explained here as it involves the ability to associate massive pain with not changing and tangible benefits felt by all from moving forward, but it is by no means too difficult to set aside. All that is required is the commitment by leaders to engage all stakeholders, a proven methodology, persistence and willingness to listen and respond to what people are saying.
The above needs not slow down or alter the course of the change journey. Quite the opposite proper change management will actually speed things up by clarifying matters even to the project team. The best insights and ideas are likely to come from the people out there who will know the As-Is and will be confronted daily with the To-Be once it is realized.
Years of experience and research demonstrate that the most effective approach to change management in organizations is to have an expert change manager join forces with someone who knows the organization and the content of the change well. This approach is documented in the 'Bridge that Gap' methodology.
No specific skills are required of the client other than a robust knowledge of the organization, the predisposition to influence others and the willingness to learn a much demanded set of skills required to manage change.
After just a few days dedicated to get to know the organisation and the project and some more days to start putting the plans in place, the process can continue with the local resource(s) being trained on the job and then coached on an ongoing basis so that expertise of change management and experience of the company and the specific change can go hand in hand.
This approach results in significant savings of up to 80% on consulting hours, a truly educational experience for the local resource and above all better and quicker results. Most importantly the change can be maintained over time or new change launched by the organization's own change manager.
To get started just get in touch with an overview of your change needs and we will take it from there.
Getting there is no easy task as most people will not want to start the journey that will see them go through the Change Curve: from awareness to understanding to experimenting and finally to buy-in.
First of all, stakeholders at all levels need to understand what's going on in simple terms and in a way that clearly spells out what's in it for them. The more they exposed to the change and are given a chance to ask questions and raise their concerns in a friendly, open and responsive environment they will start the process of wanting to know more, to try out, to willingly suspend their negative feelings.
The exact process to accomplish this is too long to be explained here as it involves the ability to associate massive pain with not changing and tangible benefits felt by all from moving forward, but it is by no means too difficult to set aside. All that is required is the commitment by leaders to engage all stakeholders, a proven methodology, persistence and willingness to listen and respond to what people are saying.
The above needs not slow down or alter the course of the change journey. Quite the opposite proper change management will actually speed things up by clarifying matters even to the project team. The best insights and ideas are likely to come from the people out there who will know the As-Is and will be confronted daily with the To-Be once it is realized.
Years of experience and research demonstrate that the most effective approach to change management in organizations is to have an expert change manager join forces with someone who knows the organization and the content of the change well. This approach is documented in the 'Bridge that Gap' methodology.
No specific skills are required of the client other than a robust knowledge of the organization, the predisposition to influence others and the willingness to learn a much demanded set of skills required to manage change.
After just a few days dedicated to get to know the organisation and the project and some more days to start putting the plans in place, the process can continue with the local resource(s) being trained on the job and then coached on an ongoing basis so that expertise of change management and experience of the company and the specific change can go hand in hand.
This approach results in significant savings of up to 80% on consulting hours, a truly educational experience for the local resource and above all better and quicker results. Most importantly the change can be maintained over time or new change launched by the organization's own change manager.
To get started just get in touch with an overview of your change needs and we will take it from there.
