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Advice for Executives

Time Management

Chairing Meetings

Motivational Techniques

Managing Organisational Change

Organisational Change Management

Organisational change can be a complex process and can have an impact on all members of staff from management through to the shop/factory floor.  It is, however, often essential in order to enable companies to remain successful in increasingly competitive industry sectors.  Unless it is managed well, organisational change can result in negative and possibly disastrous consequences so it is important to handle such change carefully.

Why is change necessary?

Change may be required for a variety of reasons:

• The implementation of new computer systems or technologies
• A restructure at management level
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Moving the business from one site to another 

Some change is relatively minor and will only have an impact on a small number of people while other circumstances can lead to all staff being affected.  Either way, there are certain ways of making sure that change is handled professionally to ensure its ultimate success.

Five steps to ensuring successful change management

Provide sound reasons for the need for change:

• Tell all your employees exactly why change is necessary
• Provide justification for any job cuts that may be required
• Encourage staff to understand business objectives and to work together towards their fulfilment
• Take steps to obtain support from staff

Encourage open discussion:

• Explain exactly what is going to be involved in the change process
• Obtain feedback from all levels of the business and encourage them to voice their opinions – they may even generate ideas that you haven’t thought of!
• Ensure that staff understand the importance of their individual contribution

Deliver any necessary training to support the change:

• Provide workshops to encourage group involvement
• Tailor the training to staff at all levels thus ensuring full understanding across the business
• Encourage feedback to ensure that all staff understand how the change will impact their daily job roles

Manage the implementation process effectively:

• Set realistic targets for each required change in order to maintain staff motivation
• Oversee individual managers and ensure that they recognise achievements and individual contributions within their teams
• Identify opportunities to improve morale and encourage positive thinking

Consolidate the change process:

• The success of the new systems, processes and procedures is imperative to the ultimate success of the change process
• Review the changes on a regular basis to ensure that they fulfil their original objectives in terms of the achievement of business objectives

Examples of poor change management

• Enforcing change rather than encouraging team involvement – this can be unsettling and result in a loss of trust and support
• Selling change – offering rewards or incentives can lead to short-term support but has often been seen to be unsustainable in the long term

It is clear that in order to implement organisational change successfully you must have an understanding of how it will affect each member of staff within the company.  It should be planned carefully and methodically and should never be implemented too hastily.  It is important to consider the viewpoints of all staff, and never try to simply impose change upon them.