Achieving change in organisations is not really about ‘managing’, as that is a process which assumes that managers know where to go and how to get there, and that they can persuade others to come along. Rather, achieving change is more about guiding and steering.
Organisations are changing faster and in more fundamental ways than ever before. Many executives share the view that change has become both pervasive and persistent and for many organisations is the norm.
Change comes in many shapes and sizes, sometimes change is incremental and hardly noticed; a new piece of equipment or software is introduced or a person leaves and somebody new joins the organisation. Sometimes change is large and dramatic; a complete re-organisation, a merger or a take-over, and no one and nothing in the organisation is unaffected.
As Charles Handy alludes to, most executives believe that change is something you can ‘manage’ in the same way as a capital project or a market launch. In our experience implementing change is often a messy, unruly and unpredictable process that requires a practical and iterative plan to achieve the best outcome.
We have found that successful change requires:
- Clear direction, integration and detailed plans
- Risk assessment and mitigation
- Active stakeholder management
- Constant communication by leaders
- Helping employees overcome resistance to change
- Right skills, knowledge, attitude and capacity
- Realising and maintaining the benefits
In addition, we often find that some level of up-skilling of those managers directly involved in planning and implementing change is needed. Our Navigating Change program is a flexible action-oriented solution that draws on our research and practical experience in planning and implementing large-scale change.
Case Study: Towards a flexible workforce