6 Key Steps for an Effective Change Management Process
Businesses must constantly adapt to change to ensure that the whole organization is up to speed with new technology, rising competitors, economic trends, and laws and regulations. To do this, businesses undergo a system called change management.
Change management is fundamentally the process of directing and managing change in an organization. In this blog post, you will get a glimpse of what change management entails and the key steps in the process.
What is the Change Management Process?
The change management process refers broadly to the actions a business takes to change or adjust any significant component of its organization.
This may include company culture, internal processes, underlying technology or infrastructure, corporate hierarchy, or even design changes in the workplace.
The goal of change management is to ensure a smooth organizational transition while staying aligned with strategic goals.
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What makes up and effective change management plan?
Change management is a complicated process that comes with risks.
It’s possible that your employees will become disengaged or even leave the company altogether if they don’t agree with these changes. Employee experience should be a priority as well.
A strategic change management plan should provide a set of guidelines and strategies for how your company will handle various types of change. It should help you go through the process more smoothly and can include instructions on:
- The roles people need to take when implementing the new strategy
- How managers should work with employees who have different perspectives
- Which metrics you’ll use to measure success
- Specific policies or procedures that must be followed during certain events
To successfully implement changes, it is crucial for leaders to know what they want their staff to do differently; how they should behave after the new behavior has been adopted; when they should start making these changes; which individuals need coaching on this topic; who needs more information, and who might resist these adjustments so special attention may have to be given before the implementation.
6 Key Steps for an Effective Change Management Process
The steps in the change management process may differ from company to company. Here are the key steps that can guide you along the way.
Step 1: Begin with the Objective
The change management process begins with the objective.
What are you trying to accomplish? Why does your organization need to change?
These are the primary questions that you need to answer to justify why change needs to happen in your organization.
The objectives of change management must provide a clear goal for the future. For example, in times of unprecedented global crises, you need to perform changes in the organization to cope. That said, your objective is permanently switch from a traditional office setup to a virtual or remote office.
You’ll then use this primary objective and goal to lay out the next steps in the process.
Step 2. Craft a Vision and a Plan
The plans for changes should involve strategies, goals, and KPIs that align with the organization’s objectives.
In addition, it should include building support from leaders and key stakeholders inside and outside of an organization, identifying risks associated with implementing changes, measuring progress against goals to determine if adjustments are needed.
Step 3: Prepare the Organization and Communicate the Vision
Change management may result in various reactions within the organization. Companies need to ensure that all members are able to cope with any organizational changes.
This includes employees, partners, customers, and key players in the organization who may not be directly involved. It’s critical to communicate clear goals and benefits for all concerned parties so that they understand what organizational change means within their own context.
The change manager should focus on helping the members recognize the need and reasons for the change management plans. This is where you can gauge what your employees think and eliminate potential issues that may come up later on.
Once everything is laid out, the next step is to communicate the plans to all members of the organization.
Step 4: Identify and Eliminate Issues
In order for the strategic management process to be successful, everyone involved needs to agree on what changes need to be made and agree to them wholeheartedly.
Organizational change is not easy. There may be stakeholders that have an interest in the new process and a vested stake in how it turns out, from customers to employees to partners.
Step 5. Implement the New Changes
Implement the change management system according to the plan.
Change managers should focus highly on the employees and making sure that they are aligned with the new goals. They also need to prepare for roadblocks and remove them as soon as they come up.
Communication throughout the process, dealing with the challenges head-on, and keeping the employee morale up are keys to the success of these new changes.
Step 6: Assess Progress and Analyze Results
Assess the progress along the way to ensure that any issues are resolved to keep the process running as smooth as possible. Change managers need to keep an eye on all forms of communication during this process in areas such as:
- Company culture
- Internal processes
- Underlying technology or infrastructure
- Corporate hierarchy
The question in this stage is: Are the objectives for the changes met?
If the answer is no, then revisit the plan and identify what needs to be enhanced or removed completely.
If the answer is yes, then that’s perfect! Now you can see if you can replicate the process in other areas of the company that you think are fit for change.
Why Businesses Undergo Change Management
There are many reasons why organizations undergo change management. Some companies may be forced down this path by events outside their control.
The most common reason is external forces that cause the organizations to adjust to a changing environment and maintain its competitive advantage. This includes:
- Regulatory constraints
- Demographic shifts (e.g. aging/retiring workforce political unrest, immigration policy)
- New competitors
- Shift in customer trends
Other times, changes may occur due to internal factors such as reorganizing product lines or departments, updating strategies for growth, or replacing old equipment with newer models.
- New leadership
- Business development or product rebranding
- Reshaping organization culture
- Corporate restructuring
Looking to the future, it’s clear that many organizations are already changing today on their own initiative—whether because of external pressures or simply as a matter of sound management.
Regardless of the reasons behind the change, it will always require an up-front investment from both leadership and employees for it to be successful over time.
Final Thoughts
A strategic change management process is critical to the success of any organizational change.
Change managers are often involved with developing an action plan for implementing changes that will result in improved customer service or increased revenue generation.
Successful implementation of said changes can be achieved through careful planning and a strong commitment from leadership, employees, and other stakeholders in the organization.
At Frontier Consulting, we have a team of experts ready to help you with your change management process. To learn more about our services and how we can help, contact us to know more.
