Some time ago, I recommended a rejection of the term “change fatigue” and a colleague agreed, saying he wanted to abolish the term “change management” in its entirety.
The reality is no organisation needs a change management plan – what’s needed is an effective, measurable and ongoing employee engagement strategy permanently in place.
There are a number of reasons why change processes don’t work but they all lead back to one core failure – employees are not engaged in the organisation and its objectives.
There is any number of change models, but you will only ever need them if you have failed as a leader to bring your team along on the journey. This is an everyday commitment, not a once-off. The principles of successful change come simply from those which apply to successful employee engagement:
- You must understand the workforce in its entirety as well as the individuals who make it up. You have to know who the influencers are, who the followers are and develop your approach accordingly.
- You must present the justification for alterations in the business in a manner which aligns with the core beliefs of the workforce – not just what is good for the organisation, but how any change will be good for them, addressing their concerns and providing access to opportunities for them.
- You must travel in a timeframe which works for employees, not which works for you.
- You must involve them in the development and implementation of the change, and be with them to celebrate success.
Given the pace of change and the increasing number of variables to manage, organisations now need to be more agile, more light-footed and more responsive than ever before – this is the real issue to be faced.
Teams need to look for ways of becoming more adaptable, more resilient and more responsive – and that search is an ongoing journey, rather than a distinct destination.
Micomm Consulting 