What is organisational change?

Organisational change occurs when a business transitions core elements of its strategy or operations. There are usually two types of change:

• Adaptive change: This type of change is often small and part of the business evolving with its time. It includes incremental alterations, adaptations and fine-tuning of the organisation’s technologies, strategy or processes.
• Transformational change: Transformational changes are more significant and have a larger impact on the business. They represent a change in direction that can be implemented to address external pressures the business may face.

Organisational change is a journey the business undertakes to alter what it believes it needs to evolve to survive and thrive. As such, organisational change may result in a culture shift, the implementation of technology solutions, changes in internal organisational structure or even the business’s values. The type of change will define the effort required and the associated change management process.

Why is resistance to change so common?

Rare are the people who enjoy change. The process of changing, even for the better, requires effort, new skills and new habits. Employees are often caught up in their day-to-day jobs. Any change implemented by the business will add to their workload and might lead to frustration. Resistance to change is natural and should be anticipated by those implementing the change.

Managers implementing even small changes should understand the impact that the change will have on employees and should familiarise themselves with organisational change management processes. Indeed, in order to be effective, managing organisational change needs to follow specific steps that aim at tackling resistance and promote the change to lead to its adoption by all. People are accustomed to their routines, so to change their habits, behaviours or ways of working, managers need to ensure that their plan involves sufficient communication, reassurance and opportunities for employees to express themselves.

To manage resistance, some businesses use negotiation or even rewards. There are many techniques, tools and strategies to lead to successful change. When it comes to change management, it may help to remember that change is difficult, but resisting change is even harder.

Tips on managing organisational change

There are some dos and don’ts when it comes to change management. Below are some tips for leaders looking to implement large or small changes within their business.

Grasp the impact of the change and understand the process of change

All change initiatives are different and have a variety of impacts on the workforce. To ensure businesses are successful when implementing change, it may help to fully understand what they want the starting point and the end point to be. This involves having a clear view of the desired outcome and the gap between the end goal and the current state of affairs. By doing so, they should be able to measure the size of the change.

Study change and understand its forces

Something that might seem like a simple update to some might be a drastic change for others. Everyone does not perceive change in the same way. Understanding this may help the change manager to ensure they do not minimise the impact of the change. Understanding why the change is necessary may be a helpful factor. It could give a better understanding of what is driving the change and the internal pressures around it. For the change manager in charge, having in-depth knowledge of change management methodologies, basics of behavioural science and empathy go a long way.

Make people the focus

Putting employees at the centre of the change often helps with successful change management. People need to feel empowered by the change so that they embrace it rather than resist it. By involving employees, getting senior sponsor buy-in or generally making it about the people, the change leader could sustain the momentum necessary throughout the process.

Have a thorough change management plan

Having a thorough, documented plan may help with the overall project management of the change. This is what is called change management planning. Its content includes the tasks that need to be performed, the timeline and the owners of each task. The project lead may review this document on a regular basis to go through the actions that have taken place or need to take place. Through this process, it may be helpful to understand and highlight dependencies between actions. The change management plan serves as a roadmap for successful change.

Connect your change management planning with a communication strategy

Successful change management requires a wealth of communication. When leading significant change, emphasise communication to employees and utilise different channels to do so. As such, a good practice may be to connect a communication plan with the change management plan. A communication plan focuses solely on the communications, the channels used, the content of the communication, the style, the audience and the timing of delivery. Cascaded communications are often used, starting with senior leaders who endorse the project, and cascading through all levels of management of the business to emphasise the message and demonstrate unity.

Anticipate potential obstacles

We have already highlighted that resistance to change is natural. No matter how good the change management plan is, the project team may experience some resistance from the workforce. This reluctance to change can addressed with transparency and honesty. In addition to resistance, there might be other types of challenges such as system errors or technology implementation delays. Some buffer could be incorporated in the plan to absorb the time lost on these obstacles. Having some flexibility may make for a smoother implementation.

Empower employees and give them a voice

Employees are often at the heart of change. They are the ones affected by it and expected to adopt it. Empowering them by involving them throughout the process helps them feel their voices are heard. Additionally, doing so could give you valuable insight into the project team and might result in some adjustments to the plan. To involve employees, you can create surveys and seek feedback or identify representatives of different departments who can be the voice for their colleagues. To drive meaningful change, the objective and the importance of the change should be conveyed. This means that there is a fine balance between empowering employees while mobilising the workforce with a sense of urgency.

For more on communication and employee voice, take a look at our content below:

• The ultimate guide to employee communication
• How to develop employee engagement and motivation in the workplace
• 11 employee engagement ideas

Ensure senior sponsor buy-in

Leaders should set the example and adopt the change without resistance. In fact, their involvement could go beyond simple acceptance. Successful changes are driven by active, visible leadership teams who position themselves as senior sponsors of the project. Involving leadership teams and educating them on the value of the change may enable the change lead to drive the change effectively. For this, senior sponsors of the change could be involved right from the beginning so they may be fully visible to the workforce and promote the value of the change.

Promote the change and make it exciting

To be adopted by all, the change should have an undeniable purpose. Make the reason of the change clear to employees and match it with the organisation’s values. When presenting the change, you could make it exciting and demonstrate that it is an essential step forward. Enthusiasm may be contagious and result in stronger employee engagement.

Keep the momentum going

Some change processes can take a long time to deliver. When this is the case, it is often difficult to keep the momentum going. Change managers understand that there are highs and lows in the process. To tackle them, they celebrate the successes when they occur and utilise them to fuel momentum. During lows, they evaluate their communication strategies, collect employee feedback and build trust.

Managing organisational change is a process that can be challenging. Successful changes are often structured and empower employees. However, change is inevitable for organisations to stay current and evolve with the times. Those that are able to implement smooth changes may be in a better position to succeed.