Challenges
Creating an evolving organisation
To succeed in the 21st century, businesses will have to develop and nurture the capability to handle continuous change. And that means creating a culture within which change is seen as the norm, and an organisation with the capacity to thrive on change. Having your people work alongside experienced change agents – using each project as an opportunity to develop your staff – will help you create a team that can both do the business and change the business.
Taking a joined-up approach to change
Constructing a change programme isn’t just about planning the design and delivery of new structures, processes and systems. Effective change is a people issue, so the work of creating a practical vision and a climate for change must be planned from the start. The challenge of making the change stick must be addressed at each stage. A narrow focus on delivering tangible things may lead to apparent project success, but the real business benefits won’t be delivered.
Keeping it commercial
Successful change needs a lot of attention from the senior team. The hard-nosed economic case for change must be validated and buy-in achieved. As a programme progresses, it will throw up choices that need your commercial judgement – some financial, some about the treatment of your people, and others relating to changing expectations of benefits. If the project team doesn’t flag these critical decisions for you, you’re not in control.
Knowing where you are starting from
How well do you understand the effectiveness of your current communications? Or the ‘change-readiness’ of your organisation? It is easy to make assumptions about the start-point when planning change. You might succeed with creating the tangible project deliverables if your assessments of issues such as these aren’t objective, but the de-motivation and resistance generated by the change will undermine the benefits.
Bringing your people with you…
Do your employees really understand what their new world will look like, why the change is necessary, and how the transition will happen? New structures and roles must be clearly defined and communicated. Negotiation may be needed with staff bodies or unions – and it must be genuine and engaging. Staff must understand how they will be selected into new roles, and must be happy that the process is fair and transparent.
…and influencing their behaviours in the new world
All organisations develop a culture over time – ‘the way we do things round here’. If that needs to change, you have the biggest challenge there is. How will you help your people to grasp what is now expected? Communicate, for sure – but you may also need to revise remuneration structures, develop new recognition systems, and ensure HR policies reinforce the new world. Fail here, and your people will simply revert to the old ways.