I often get asked by leaders – so what does that mean? Why are these things important to my business? How are the alike and how are they different? And how can they help me create a high performance organization?
Well…let me explain the executive summary (OK well the sort of executive summary)…
“If you want to truly understand something, try to change it.“
– Kurt Lewin
WHAT IS CHANGE MANAGEMENT?
The definition of change management varies. Many exist, some simple, some complex. I’ll refrain from getting overly scholarly (you’re welcome). To synopsize for the busy executive, change management can be defined as a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It can be applied to situations such as downsizing, growing organizations, or even adding new technology. It is an organizational process aimed at helping employees to understand, commit to, and accept and embrace changes in their current business environment. A part of change management is also managing transition – and though related, change and transition is not the same thing. Some definitions go even further to define differences between change management and change leadership. In my experience I see them interrelated – one referring to the tools and technologies and the other referring to those individuals utilizing such tools, technologies and frameworks to lead change efforts.
Why is change management important – how can it help my business?
Minimize resistanceIncrease engagementImprove performanceReduce costsEnhance innovation
What would you add to the list?
So, if changes are occurring in your organization – strategic changes, tactical changes, leadership changes, technology changes – then those changes are going to have impacts and effects on your people, processes and performance. To help minimize those impacts and effects, from having unintended negative outcomes, it is necessary to have “change management” methodologies in place with skilled resources delivering and executing on those methodologies, principles and processes. This helps to minimize possible negative outcomes and increase positive results. Change itself is a process – managing it, leading it, achieving it is also a process and one that should not be viewed and managed with a one size fits all approach. Approaches and actions should be customized to fit your organizational circumstances.
My take – I view change management methodologies as just one of many tools in a toolkit used to help achieve positive organizational improvements.
Their responses fell into seven main themes:
Driving more successful change – Data and experience show that effective change management drives greater benefit realization and achievement of results and outcomes. Building change management capabilities means greater success on critical projects and initiatives.Handling the amount of change occurring – Given the amount of and frequency of change occurring in organizations today, becoming better at implementing change is essential.Addressing the costs of poorly managed change – Many organizations have examples, or even a legacy, of changes that were poorly managed, did not deliver results and created stress and confusion in the organization. Under-delivering on change is not tolerable going forward.Aligning organizational practice with organizational values – This case is particularly relevant for organizations that espouse the importance and value of their people.Preparing the organization for the future – The horizon for many organizations, and even industries, includes significant changes that are necessary to remain competitive and successful.Creating consistency and efficiencies in approach – Change management practices across an organization can be more effective when there is a standard approach in place.Building needed internal capabilities – Change management is viewed as an essential organizational capability and individual competency for employees.
Below are real responses from webinar attendees for each of the themes, along with complimentary data and findings from Prosci's benchmarking research:
1. Driving More Successful Change
"We, as an organization, should work to embed change management and build organizational capabilities and competencies because..."
We need to effectively deliver on the projects we are investing inIt is only through managing change that we will be able to achieve business objectives through peopleTo maximize ROI of the project initiativesWe need a continuous way to realize the value of our investmentsIt will help us achieve our desired organizational goalsIt speeds up the implementation of new initiatives where the benefits lastWe need to ensure success in everything we do; we need to realize the benefits of our intended changeIt will enable adoption faster, more completely, and with less wear and tear on our employeesWe need to achieve results in our change effortsWe need to achieve our business outcomes and ROIThe value of change is maximizedIt will help us deliver projects across the company with lower costs, more efficiency and better overall user adoption
2. Handling the Amount of Change Occurring
"We, as an organization, should work to embed change management and build organizational capabilities and competencies because..."📷
Change is constantWe have so much change happening all the time and we need to manage it more consistentlyWe are engaging in transformational change in every function of organizationThe magnitude of change necessitates the needWe have an unprecedented amount of transformational change and we need those affected by change to know that we know it and are dealing with itThe increasing level of demand for change is beginning to affect our effectiveness as an organizationMajor changes are coming soon and there is a lot of resistance to changingWe are going through tremendous change, and people are confused and fearful
3. Addressing the Costs of Poorly Managed Change
"We, as an organization, should work to embed change management and build organizational capabilities and competencies because..."
📷
We're not getting nearly as much ROI on changes without change managementWe are not achieving the ROI we anticipate due to non-compliance with changes implemented in our businessThe risk of rework is extremely highWe spend so much money on programs and projects to make changes in the enterprise that are not well adopted because the change is not well understood by the staff and clientsWe waste a lot of time fixing problems due to gapsTo eliminate complexity and waste associated with mis-managing changeWe can't afford to waste time or moneyWithout managing change we will be unsuccessful at our various initiativesWe have a history of investing significantly in strategic efforts and NOT realizing the expected ROI for these strategic effortsWe don't do it now and suffer greatly
4. Aligning Organizational Practices with Organizational Values
"We, as an organization, should work to embed change management and build organizational capabilities and competencies because..."
Our people are our greatest asset. Without them, this will not be successfulIt aligns with our core value of doing the right thingBecause it is the right thing for the people affected to be successfulOur people are our most valuable asset - change is about the changes to their work, and we need to make sure those "assets" understand what their new roles areIt addresses the greatest asset, our peopleIt is consistent with our process-driven culture, will help to engage our members, and improve our organizational effectivenessWe care about our people and the people we serveEvery project deserves a focus on people
5. Preparing the Organization for the Future
"We, as an organization, should work to embed change management and build organizational capabilities and competencies because..."
We've developed a future strategy that is going to drastically change our entire industryIt is essential for the success of the organizationOur company's growth and future success depends on our people's ability to adapt to market forces in and out of our controlIt would make us more effective and more profitableIt's clear our industry is changing rapidly and we don't want to be left behind
6. Creating Consistency and Efficiencies in Approach
"We, as an organization, should work to embed change management and build organizational capabilities and competencies because..."
📷We would all speak the same languageIt will optimize the resources and extend the best practices in one project so that whole organization benefitsWe lose too much time and money misunderstanding each other between methodologiesIt is much more efficient to have one standard approach that can be applied throughout the organization and tear down silos that can be built
7. Building Needed Internal Capabilities
"We, as an organization, should work to embed change management and build organizational capabilities and competencies because..."
Change becomes a core capability of the enterpriseManaging change is a competency for all, which empowers everyone and improves output and personal satisfactionWe have seen good results in using a structured approach to change, these results could benefit many departments and divisions if it was enterprise wide
What This Means for You
What would your organization look like if it began a journey toward enterprise change management today? As you “Stand in the Future” and see a vital and successful organization thriving in an ever-changing world, articulate the unique value proposition for ECM that is most compelling to your leaders and resonates best with your organization. Use these seven reasons for change management deployment as the starting place for building the case for enterprise change management.