Have you been thinking about improving your business through organizational change? Well, you’re no different than many others.
Every leader dreams of enacting positive change to adapt to the never-ending modifications and developments in the market and industry. But what’s intriguing is that most are unaware of, and thus unable to undertake all the necessary steps to ensure the effective implementation of that particular organizational change. A change management strategy helps companies prepare and execute organizational changes and shifts in a company. Changing structure and alignment creates challenging cultural risks which demand executive leadership to implement and reinforce. Below are the steps most integral to effective organizational change:
1. Understand the organizational change and its effects
It is very crucial to your business that you evaluate and calculate the change model and the effects it would create in your organization. Are your employees aware of the need for change and the factors that led to the necessary changes being made? Are they aware of the costs for making these changes and the benefits of the final outcomes? The adoptions and their costs must be fully understood, and it must be ensured that the planned alterations carry the business in the right direction.
Any side effects and negative consequences should be predicted and considered, and a plan of action regarding them should be drafted beforehand. Comprehension before implementation is the key to the effectiveness and efficiency of the change in question.
2. Make sure its in accordance with your business objectives
The plan of action devised should not only be in the best interests of your business future, but it should also align with your business goals. If a process or solution doesn’t make sense for your business, your employees or your resources, then it will not be sustainable. Each business’s structure, values, and people are unique, and changes must take this into consideration.
Most leaders will work towards a certain development to keep up with the fast-paced changes in the industry whilst completely overlooking the possible adverse effects it can have on their organization. Implementing complicated processes might seem like a good idea, but if decisions are made in a vacuum without consideration of overall business objectives, it could severely backfire, landing you in a worse place than you started.
3. Communicate, train, and encourage
First, one should do the planning and evaluate the various consequences that may arise. If the change is in favor of the overall goals of the business, then it must be implemented in the best possible way.
The plan of action, and the vision for change should be communicated effectively to the team members, and its duties should be distributed throughout the organizational structure according to roles, responsibilities, and qualifications. Explicitly defining roles and responsibilities will ensure each task has a person accountable for it. When in doubt, err on the side of over-communication to eliminate the possibility of misinterpretation, roadblocks and gaps in expectations.
But most importantly, encouragement and motivation through a role model, or senior management is critical. Employees should be empowered by leadership to act on the vision for change. Without the senior management diligently leading by example, the employees will not follow through with the plan, and the company will revert back to old processes.
4. Reinforce its execution
To execute this change effectively and sustainably, the change should be embedded into corporate culture. When actions become habit, and part of an everyday routine, there is less likelihood of reverting back to old ways. The organizational change that you want can only become a reality if you closely monitor the process, and the employee and customer experience under the new changes. Leadership should remain interactive throughout the change across all levels of the organization. With determination and excellent management skills, there is no mountain that cannot be summited!
Organizational change might seem like a big feat to accomplish, but with the right amount of leadership, communication, and evaluation, it can be achieved in an effective and efficient manner.
So what are you waiting for? Get in touch with The Poirier Group who has expertise in helping prepare and execute organizational modifications and shifts in your organization.