Achieving Change

Are you trying to engineer change, yet find the passion and enthusiasm for change is going no further than the Management Team?

To achieve sustainable change, everyone needs to be involved.  Staff need to hear the message, understand the message and own the message.

Easy to say.  To put this into practice:

• Develop a Change Management Team

• Communicate frequently, in different ways and different forums throughout the period of change.

As your Change Management Team actively plan, progress and monitor the change, it is important that they set a vision for the change, and communicate the Change Plan in ways that are meaningful for the people affected.

• Define a purpose that outlines the eventual outcome. “Creating a customer-focused business” or “Back to Basics” or “Aligning our Organisation”. Communicate it often. It will be the catch cry of the organisation for the duration of the change – and beyond.

• Divide the implementation into a manageable number of strategic themes, perhaps 3-5 themes, such as – “Partner with customers”, “Skilled staff”, “Cutting edge processes”, “Data-driven decision making”.

• Keep your finger on the pulse. Gather feedback. Share success stories. Ask staff at the coalface, survey key staff.

• Make sure that staff have the skills to implement new behaviours and processes. Use varying types of training mechanisms – courses, internet sites, videos, mentoring and coaching.

• Project manage the change, measure progress and outcomes. Review the change strategy and expected results. Adapt and be flexible when required, while maintaining a single-pointed focus on the eventual goal.

Good luck – change is not easy.  Our brains are hardwired to resist change.  Don’t rush, allow people adequate time to settle in to new expectations, new ways of operating.  If we can help you plan or manage a change effort, please call us and we will be pleased to talk to you over a coffee.