Using change management to support, manage, and sustain continuity
With the evolving situation that is affecting everyone around the world, organizations have made drastic changes. One of the biggest challenges we’ve seen is setting up and supporting a remote workforce while continuing efficient operations.
To help, we’re going to offer some guidance and insight you need to successfully manage change while supporting an increasingly remote workforce. Because embracing change during a major disruption is the first step to continuing operations.
Human behavior flows from three main sources: Desire, emotion, and knowledge.
– Plato
Change management is an important practice to weave into the culture of any organization, including a basic understanding of human behaviors and how people react to changing business conditions.
After all, change management is all about utilizing processes, tools, and techniques to help employees make successful transitions to organizational changes that will ultimately make their work lives easier.
The change management curve
Before we go any further, it’s important to understand human behavior and how emotional reactions to change adjust over time. As you can see, there’s a bit of an up-down-aspect of the curve. If you don’t manage shock, denial, and anger correctly, your employees could end up in “the valley of despair.”
The trick is to be proactive. You need to create alignment and communicate constantly. Employees need to know that you’re listening to them, you have a plan, and that your plan will result in their lives becoming easier.
After all, the longer you’re at the bottom of the graph, the longer it takes to get to the top.
But how do you measure success?
6 pillars of successful change management
At Hyland Global Services, we’ve identified six pillars of change management along with some guiding questions to help you gauge your success. They are:
1. Leadership
Who will establish the vision? Who is going to lead the effort? How will it align with your overall goals?
2. Stakeholders
Who will be affected by the change? Identifying these individuals and roles will help you plan ahead.
3. Communication
What is the messaging playbook? Does one even exist? Who will handle the communication? What are the approaches and tools you will use to ensure both employees and external stakeholders receive the appropriate messaging?
4. Skills
What skills will users need to adapt to the changes? Do you have resources to help manage the process?
5. Alignment
This is all about ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Are business units using best practices and maintaining consistency or is everyone scrambling to do their own thing? How do you enforce governance and communicate policies and procedures across the enterprise?
6. Metrics
How will you know if your plan is successful? Are users adopting?
Successful change
The status quo is behind us. What lies ahead is up to us.
To successfully embrace that future, the first thing we need to do is manage change. Especially when we’re increasingly asking employees to adapt to new environments.
And don’t forget, the people you’re asking to change are your organization’s most valuable asset. So make sure to have a plan, confirm your goals and priorities often, and lead with empathy.
And if you feel like you’re over-communicating, that means you’re doing a great job.
To take a deeper dive and view the webinar in its entirety, click here.
