When it comes to making changes in your workplace, it pays to do it right. Get started on the right foot by ensuring you don't miss out on these three often-overlooked change management techniques.
Free guide: Change management: how to become a truely customer-led business
1. Address the human side of change
Jobs will be changed, new leaders will be formed, developing new skills and capabilities will be a requirement—all of which often results in resistance from employees.
If managers only react to these issues on an ad-hoc basis, they will swiftly find themselves with an inconsistent strategy that offers a different experience to each person—resulting in staff that are confused at best, or upset at worst.
Change is hard; give people the support they need to manage the new skills, structures and leaders they will encounter.
Related content: 3 steps to measure your employee feedback for change management
2. Involve every layer of the workforce
Managing change starts at the top. Executives first, then key stakeholders, filtering down the business so that there is constant support for employees.
Doing this early is key, as late adoption can once again result in an inconsistent experience between those staff which saw change without executive support initially, and those who received it from the start.
A particularly effective method is to identify leaders throughout the company and push responsibility implementation down the chain, almost like a “cascade effect”.
At each layer of the business, these leaders are trained and aligned to the company’s vision, and they must be given the right tools to make things happen—not to mention the motivation.
Creating individual accountability is a common practice to ensure the latter factor is dealt with, giving leaders (and those that report to them) a specific goal to reach for, and a specific part of the business to "win".
Change is driven by leaders. Identify them, give them the tools they need to succeed, and ensure they are filtered through every layer of the business.
Related content: 5 secrets great leaders know to improve employee engagement
3. Assess the cultural landscape
A common mistake is for businesses to assess culture either too late or not at all. Through employee feedback methods such as an online survey, and having access to dynamic and up-to-date feedback, leaders can be sure to capture readiness to change, identify issues and resistance in the business.
Once you understand the culture, it needs to be taken seriously and addressed as thoroughly as any other element in the change management program. If there isn’t an explicit culture (for example in new companies or those built through multiple acquisitions), you may need to “create” one. You might also be faced with the scenario of having to combine cultures or reinforcing your current one.
Even if you might not think so, all companies have a cultural centre of sorts, which is important for business leaders to understand. There is often a breathing ground from where thought, activity, influence, or personal identification emanates, and understanding the core of this is often a great way to kick start a culture change.
Culture is valuable for a business. Maintaining it through a major change should be a primary effort for your business.
Related content: 5 ways for leaders to create a positive culture at work
Check out our ebook on change management to learn effective strategies to implement change in your business.
