July 2009 Newsletter

Join us as we explore how to manage change and ensure that staff stay future-focused.

It pays to know how your organisation can benefit and grow throughout the transformations it undertakes.

For useful content on change management simply follow the links below:

Managing Organizational Change

With change becoming the new 'business-as-usual'  it’s vital that organisations understand how communication, training plans and recognition can most effectively be used to manage successful change and make it stick.

 The Change Curve Model 

 When confronted with major change, it is quite common for people to experience responses that move through distinct stages with time. 

There are numerous change models around. Here’s one called The Change Curve that can be used to help map your organisation’s response to change, particularly with regard to how change may impact on staff . Here is a breakdown of the stages and what you should be considering in each:

Resisting or Denying Change

When the status quo is first challenged by circumstance, or decision, staff may be strongly inclined to deny or actively resist the change.

For example- staff cutbacks in many organisations have left employees depleted by worry. If a constant fear of job loss has already exacted a toll, it’s easy to see how staff may feel too drained to adapt and roll with changes.

Consider creating space for discussion to speed staff along in their understanding of the change taking place. Use regular open discussions, in and outside of the meeting rooms, to promote transparency and tackle issues /concerns and misunderstandings in their infancy.

Ask yourself what are the top criteria for a good change management team member? Also recognise and reward those who display behaviours that assist in making the change. This creates visible benchmarks for success.

Once you understand how processes and structures will be adapted through the change ask team leaders to help colleagues identify ways to fit their strengths and interests to the new situation.

Getting Emotional

Significant change can leave employees in a rut of despondency, anger, fear, frustration and even increase  the frequency of illness and sick days. You may find that meetings become a turbulent arena where previously contented colleagues now vent their frustrations.

It’s vital for management to resist the temptation to avoid meetings/spaces where conflict or negativity are laid bare. Managers should acknowledge feelings that relate to the changes. It is pivotal to deal with these for people to progress beyond this stage.

Reassurance and open communication channels all the way to the top will help people to start accepting their new circumstances. Leadership setting standards by actively demonstrating how to adapt to change is also key and can be enhanced through well-directed management/leadership training.

Accepting Change

 

Even when the fun fare of new change initiatives have died down and the new way of working seems to be in place people can still fall back on old ways if they seem better or easier.

Courses that provide hard- skills as well as soft-skills to help reach performance targets are an excellent catalyst to help people feel secure and competent.

The more dramatically different the new environment is from the old the harder people will have to work to re-establish the security and confidence that comes with being informed and feeling involved.

Committing to Change for the Long Term

You should notice more future-focused thinking, less complaints about ‘ the way things used to be’ and a greater understanding of roles and responsibilities as you progress. At this point in The Change Curve you may notice that staff begin to display the resources to cope and benefit through the change.

It’s important to remember that people normally have to negotiate all of their major concerns and internalise the benefits of a change before they truly commit to it. Continued staff discussions, trainings and recognition for successful management will help seal the change a and keep staff engaged with an optimistic eye on the future.

you:unlimited have an extensive portfolio of experience in helping clients deliver change.

To find out more give us a ring on 020 7407 00 44 or mail linzi@you-unltd.co.uk to discover  the changes we can help you make. You can also get more information by clicking on Change Management

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An Interview with you:unlimited's Archie Mundegar on Change Management

Can you give us an example of a change process that you have been involved with?

One that sticks out for me was a few years ago when I was a Project Manager seconded to a major rail infrastructure organisation going through a public to private transition. It was a very unsettling time for the staff and management and with every opportunity there seemed to be a significant pitfall to negotiate.

I was delivering a major project with multiple stake-holders around the business. With so many points of contact and a fascination for what was going on I had a good sense of the changes that were taking place in many areas of the organisation.

What were the immediate reactions that you saw as the change began to be implemented?

The first thing of note was that well before there was even a formal transition phase the atmosphere of the place had altered significantly in response to the rumours of what might happen and how it might affect the staff.

Those leading the business transition faced the tangible, but tricky issue, of people simply fearing the unknown and responding negatively towards any related initiative. Positive comms from the Exec team were treated with a big pinch of salt especially as staff were not even sure of the tenure of the Exec team themselves post-transition.

What were the negative consequences?

Productivity in some key business areas went down. Cynicism towards the senior management increased. Silo’s seemed to become strengthened instead of more flexible. There was a greater tendency for people to hide behind paper-work and process. Some avoided proactively solving the challenges that naturally arose from business-as-usual and as a result of the impending transition.

How could you tell when things began to settle again?

I’m not sure that in this case they ever truly settled. Change has been the status quo ever since and the business overall has struggled. Whatever the reasons for this it makes it easy for early cynics to say “I told you so” and become more entrenched against future initiatives.

Bottom line - performance fell to unacceptably low levels and this hurt major stake-holders and ultimately led to the business failing to reach its strategic aims. As a result, a few years on and the organisation is going through another similarly huge transition back into public ownership.

What are the positive things that came out of the change? Any surprises?

I think a large number of people have a more commercial outlook as a result of some time in the private sector. This is hard to measure at the moment as there are so many factors affecting the bottom-line but results over the longer term will be interesting.

Also some of the key business processes and operational work-streams have been reviewed and smartened up to save money and time. These will have a legacy of savings in the future.

I think many people have learned a lot through this process (or at least I hope they have). There were a number of mistakes and I’m sure it would be quite different if it was done again but that chance may not come again too soon.

What advice would you give to someone going through a change process in their business now?

That’s a big question and there are tons of books screaming out to be read on the subject. In general terms, once you have a clearly defined outcome, a way of measuring if you got there, a delivery plan and resources and senior level commitment (not just buy-in) then good change management should seek to do two things as a minimum:

1. Minimise the drop in desired performance before and during the transition

2. Make the change ‘sticky’ and put measures in place to avoid unacceptable fluctuations in performance after the formal change initiative is over and a “new business-as-usual” kicks in.

The trickiest aspect is often the people. It is not uncommon to hear mention of ‘hearts and minds’ but senior stake-holders and change leaders need to dig deep and ask how hard they are willing to work to win those hearts and minds and then do all they can to make sure they do.

Without them the change will fall foul of one of the two risks above. Taking care of the people side of things means:

• Making them aware of what is happening at the right time - early on and throughout. Good quality, honest corporate comms.
• Giving them the knowledge they need at the right time.
• Making sure they have a desire to change (or support the change). This means they each need to be personally aligned with what is happening, not just told about it.
• Individuals need to be trained / coached / mentored in the relevant skills and attributes they need to make sure the new way of working after the change is safe and successful.
• People need to be supported and the new behaviours reinforced long after the formal change project delivery is over.

When the passionate change programme manager turns their back and goes off on a new crusade the last initiative can lose steam. Measures should be put in place to keep up that positive reinforcement.

The last thing I would say is to involve resilient people in the delivery of the change. Most of these programmes take more effort, energy and passion than you may think at the start.

All other things being equal, people who relish a challenge and seek out ever higher mountains to scale are a good bet for your delivery team. Good luck!

To find out more about what you:unlimited offers click on Managing Change,  or email linzi@you-unltd.co.uk

 

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