Companies must constantly evolve and adapt their processes to meet current challenges and prepare for future ones. Triggers for organizational change include the external and internal environment including technological advancements, crises, as well as mergers and acquisitions.
While they spur innovation and boost business growth, organizational changes often come with implementation and management challenges. Workers and managers need time to adapt to any type of organizational change.
Change management eases the transition process and ensures that employees receive the support they need. Meticulous planning, communication, and feedback help companies implement changes with minimal resistance and discomfort. Businesses that want to ensure the transition is accomplished in a smooth, efficient, and timely manner should consider hiring a business consulting agency for assistance.
This article will discuss the five critical steps of change management that organizations should oversee:
1. Prepare the Organization for the Transition
To successfully implement changes, companies must be culturally prepared. This will help prevent friction and resistance later on. It is the managers’ responsibility to help employees understand the need for change. They should be transparent about the various challenges that the organization is facing and what they aim to achieve for employees to better grasp the situation. Arranging phone calls with employees to resolve questions and concerns about future changes can help reduce the potential fear that employees may have about the transition.
2. Create a Strategy for Implementing the Change
Once the need for change has been communicated to all concerned parties, managers must design an implementation strategy. It should define goals, key performance indicators, stakeholders and teams, and the project scope. Also, it should include a contingency plan in case of roadblocks in the implementation process.
Provide employees with an outline of the transition plan to ensure that everyone is aligned before implementation begins. The outline should discuss what to expect before and after the transition and how each team member fits into the plan.
3. Begin Implementation
After a strategy has been developed comes the hard part—implementation. During this phase, remember to continuously empower and remind team members why the change is necessary. Managers should also be proactive in identifying potential challenges, addressing problems as they arise.
4. Align Changes with Company Culture
One of the greatest challenges managers face is implementing changes and making them stick, especially organizational changes in workflows, culture, and processes. To ensure lasting change, align your company’s strategy with its culture’s ingrained practices and attitudes. Otherwise, your organization is bound to revert to old practices.
5. Review Progress, Seek Feedback and Analyze Results
Conducting analyses, reviewing results, and requesting employee feedback helps managers identify whether their current strategy is a success or a failure. It offers rich insight on what part of the implementation plan needs adjusting.
Ensure a Smooth Transition for Your Company
From updates to internal processes to a shift in management, an organizational change can alter a company’s workflow and affect its employees. Fortuna BMC recognizes the challenges of change and helps businesses make the transition as seamless as possible. We help organizations create a change management strategy that’s aligned with their business goals and objectives.
Beyond organizational change management, Fortuna BMC offers the following support services: contact center support, staff augmentation, information security, project management, enterprise resource planning, and IT consulting.
Call us at 1-855-201-2995 or fill out our online form for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help your organization.
