What is change management?

It is a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of an organisation's goals, processes or technologies. The purpose of change management is to implement strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping people to adapt to change.

What are the reasons for undertaking change management?

• Change is constant.
• Every function of organisation is undergoing transformation.
• To create a consistent way change is managed, so that it is more effective.
• To alleviate resistance to changes from both management and staff.
• To eliminate complexity and waste associated with mis-managing change.

The key steps of change management are:

1. Get all employees to own the change.

Firstly realise that organisations don’t change – individuals do.
Ensure management is on board with driving the change. Successful change starts at the top and is echoed down through middle management.  Ensure that all staff are involved in highlighting areas for change and implementing change.  This way employees will not only understand the value in the change but they will also take ownership for making the change happen.

2. Keep your strategy simple and reinforce it.

Set up a top-level team of experts, reporting directly to the CEO, tasked with developing a focused vision and strategy for change that can be communicated in no more than five minutes and is simple enough for all employees to understand. Reinforce the strategy by communicating with your employees often. Reinforce the reason and method for the change continually so that it becomes ingrained in the company culture. Ensure impacted employees receive the awareness, leadership, coaching, and training they need in order to change successfully.

3. Set you company up with culture for change.

If your organisation is built only for stability then making the change will be harder. A growing number of organizations are starting to move from a project-by-project perspective toward embedding change management and building organisational capabilities and competencies.  As a result, employees will demonstrate higher self-motivation, performance and professional growth.