On-Line
|
On-Line |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Change Management
~ Time to Change With Change Management ~ Sunny Sabharwal
What is a Change? Ask Oxford says change means make or become different; move from one to (another). It is clear that when one leaves one position, situation or any characteristic for another, a change occurs. Changes can be (a) from black formals to khakis for an individual or (b) summer to winter for weather or (c) restricted/controlled markets to free markets for an economy. Any change essentially involves two aspects - one current and second future. So for any change to e made one should thoroughly analyze the two to achieve desired outcome. Any change to be brought in an organization can be measured in terms of following four dimensions: 1. Scale - This means whether a change affects a particular employee or group of people or the whole organization. E.g. change in procedure of reimbursement of expenses has a widespread effect than any change in procedure of issue of books from library of an organization. 2. Magnitude - Whether a change involves significant modifications/alterations. E.g. more modifications are required in changing reporting structure for employees as against change in recruitment process. 3. Duration - How long would the change will be in effect? E.g. 4. Importance - The level of importance does a change has vis-a-vis systems and procedures already in place.
The aim of change management is to more effectively implement new methods and systems. The changes to be managed lie within and are controlled by the organization. Principles of Change Management 1. The Human Side - Any significant transformation creates "people issues." This can be restructuring within an organization or post-merger scenario. As far as possible, people who shall bear the change should be included in planning. The change-management approach should be fully and clearly communicated to all employees. What is the feedback of the people should also be carefully analyzed for any changes that should be made to the first change so it is acceptable to people. It should be based on a realistic assessment of the organization's history, readiness, and capacity to change. 2. Finding leaders- As transformation programs progress from defining strategy and setting targets to design and implementation, they affect different levels of the organization. Change efforts must include plans for identifying leaders throughout the company. At each level of the organization, the leaders who are identified and trained must be aligned to the company's vision, equipped to execute their specific mission, and motivated to make change happen. 3. Written Vision Statement - Individuals are inherently rational and will question to what extent change is needed, whether the company is headed in the right direction, and whether they want to commit personally to making change happen. A written vision statement will be required to settle any doubts and to have transparency within the system.
5. Communicate the message - An organization may make the mistake of believing that others understand the issues, feel the need to change, and see the new direction as clearly as they do. The best change programs should lay emphasis on clear messages to people. Communications flow in from the bottom and out from the top, and are targeted to provide employees the right information at the right time and to solicit their input and feedback. 6. Prepare for the unexpected - No change program goes completely according to plan. People react in unexpected ways. They may resist changes. Effectively managing change requires continual reassessment of its impact and the organization's willingness and ability to adopt the next wave of transformation.
How to implement changes? - Different Theories
1. The ADKAR model for individual change
management was developed by Prosci with input from more than 1000
organizations from 59 countries. This model describes five required building
blocks for change to be realized successfully on an individual level. The
building blocks of the ADKAR Model include:
a. Awareness - of why the change is needed 2. Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze - An early model of change developed by Kurt Lewin described change as a three-stage process:
a. Unfreezing - The first stage he called
"unfreezing". It involved overcoming inertia and dismantling the existing
"mindset". Defense mechanisms have to be bypassed. What to keep in mind while making changes? * Whenever an organization imposes new things on people there will be difficulties. Participation, involvement and open, early, full communication are the important factors. * Change needs to be understood and managed in a way that people can cope effectively with it. Change can be unsettling, so the manager logically needs to be a settling influence.
* Changes should be implemented from top-to-down i.e. from top management to staff. This is because the people at the lower hierarchy level would have people at the top as example before raising any resistance. Also many of their doubts/problems can be solved by change leaders once they themselves undergo the changes. |
So what is exactly Change Management? 
4. Create ownership - Any major change demands
ownership by leaders for making change happen in all of the areas they
influence or control. A change can be reinforced by incentives and rewards.
These can be tangible (for example, financial compensation) or psychological
(for example, a sense of shared destiny).
* Check that people affected by the change agree
with, or at least understand, the need for change, and have a chance to
decide how the change will be managed, and to be involved in the planning
and implementation of the change. Use face-to-face communications to handle
sensitive aspects of organizational change management. Email and written
notices are extremely weak at conveying and developing understanding.