Ch-ch-ch-changes...
By Melanie Franklin - Chief Executive, Maven Training Limited
Change is an unstoppable force that is all around us and is happening all of the time. Organisations need to change in order to respond to changes in their environment, which are driven by customer demand, advances in technology or the requirements of new legislation, to name just a few of the reasons.
Charles Darwin, writing in the 19th century captured the essence of 21st century corporate life when he said “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”.
When we experience changes in our working environment our anxiety levels rise as we inevitably ask ourselves questions such as:
- Who will I be working with?
- Will they like me?
- Where will I be based?
- Will my working hours be different?
- Do I have the skills to do the job?
- Will others be better at the new role than me?
Even if we are in a position of leading the changes that are to be made, the situation will still be complex. In many cases we are responsible for managing our day to day work, and that of our colleagues, as well as scoping, developing and implementing the desired changes. As a result we can find our working hours increasing dramatically, feeling under great stress and having to provide reassurance and a positive attitude when interacting with those whose world we are changing.
The Principles of Change Management course has been designed to address the needs of these two areas of responsibilities:
- those who will experience organisational change, and the upheaval that this will cause to their day to day responsibilities and the role that they perform for the company
- those who will define and implement change within an organisation, either at team level or in a wider sphere across the organisation as a whole
The Principles of Change Management course qualification demonstrates that you have a good understanding of different types of change, the benefits of change and the impact of change on individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole. The change management course will review a wide range of management theories which analyse resistance to change, the steps that individuals and teams go through when adapting to change and the strategies that we can use to ensure change can be implemented in a structured way, taking into account these ‘human’ factors. The course will draw on your own experiences and ask you to put what you are learning into the context of what you are trying to achieve in your own organisation. Therefore, this pre-course work requires you to identify and record information and examples from your work that you will then review during the course.
Getting started with change management
Before the process of change management can begin, it is important to appreciate how staff throughout the organisation feel about the change. Everyone is different, and whilst some might see the change as exciting or interesting and a chance to learn new skills, others might regard it as threatening or annoying.
The reasons for the change will have a significant impact on the level of support that it will receive. Those changes that are imposed by forces outside of the organisation, including government legislation, demands from professional bodies or unwelcome changes within the marketplace such as a price war, will be negatively received. However, an internally driven change, which is agreed and supported by senior management, is more likely to be welcomed and seen as a positive step forward. The consequences of the change are also important. Those changes that have a direct benefit that can be seen by all members of staff are likely to be welcomed.
The past history of the organisation and the individuals impacted by the change is also of importance. If the organisation has failed in its recent past to implement a change successfully, staff will be more wary of becoming involved with the next change. If individuals felt badly supported during the last change implementation, for example, they were not trained in how to use the new IT system, then they will be unwilling to get involved in another change.
Therefore, the first step in change management is to conduct a 'Readiness for Change' audit, which looks at the positive aspects of the proposed change, and also those factors that will encourage people to resist the change.
Set out below is an example of a Readiness for Change audit. The questions are structured across 4 headings which cover all aspects of the likely reaction to change, from the perspective of the organisation and individual members of staff.
Nature of the change
- Has this change been externally imposed?
- Is this change driven by an increase in legislation?
- Is this change prompted by a contraction in the size of the market?
- Is this change prompted by a reduction in the price that the organisation can charge/customers are willing to pay for the product or service?
- Is this change internally driven?
- Is this change driven by a desire to improve something within the organisation that is regarded as weak or failing?
- Does this change fit with the strategic direction of the organisation?
Consequences of the change
Will the change lead to an increase in customer satisfaction?
Will the change lead to an improvement in accuracy or efficiency levels?
Will the change lead to a reduction in costs?
Will the change expand the number of countries/regions/markets that the organisation operates within?
Organisational history
- Does the organisation have a successful track record in implementing change?
- Does the organisation have a progressive culture, which actively encourages the implementation of new ideas and new technology?
- Has the organisation completed a great deal of change in the recent past?
- Are staff suffering from change fatigue?
History of the individual
- Does the change enable staff to develop further skills?
- Does the change enable staff to see an improvement in the efficiency of their area/department/specific role?
- Are changes well supported with additional training and coaching?
