To adapt to the changing business and technological environments, all organizations have to evolve and accept change at one point or another. Companies that want to implement changes successfully have to follow a systematic and proactive approach and be mindful of the following key steps:
1. Overcoming Resistance
Employee resistance of several forms is expected when a firm attempts to implement organizational changes. You can focus on several critical strategies to overcome that resistance, such as:
· Consistent and unambiguous communication about the changes well in advance of their implementation date.
· Help employees understand the reason such changes are needed. When workers know the rationale behind the decisions that are being made they feel more connected to be a part of its process.
· Ensure to include ‘Change Makers’ in your change management team. They are people who help spread positive messages regarding the change and also act as communication modes between the lower level staff and the higher management.
· Provide support to the change makers. This means to adequately train the managers who would oversee the change process and also provide them with necessary information to answer employee questions
2. Engaging Employees
Employees who are made part of the changing environment and can voice their opinion regarding the decisions that are being are much more likely to help in the efforts. They feel positive about the direction their company has taken. You can create high levels of employee engagement during your change process by:
· Make change a team effort by involving employees from several departments and a variety of levels.
· Assign clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
· Including Change Makers in the change process to help overcome push backs from other employees.
· Understand and take into account the different motivational dynamics that affect your employees at different levels of the hierarchy.
3. Communicating Change
Failing to adequately communicate about the organizational changes to employees can increase their misconduct by about 40 percent. An integral part of any successful change management process is the flow of open two-way communication between employees and the employers.
For successful implementation of the change process in your organization, think in terms of the following strategies:
· Pre and post implementation surveys. They help in gathering employee expectations before and then their actual feedback after the change has been implemented.
· Individually address concerns of the employees that resist, preferably in one-on-one sessions prior to the solution’s implementation.
· Be clear and consistent about the entire process, especially with regards to the departmental as well as individual responsibilities.
· Make use of both formal and informal communication channels such as email, intranet, in-person meetings and voice mails.