More often than I care to admit, I go into an organization and when the phrase “Change Management” is spoken, everyone cringes and admits quietly “we don’t do change very well around here”. Why is that?
We all know change requires a defined process – we can all follow a process, right? That is not where the problem lies.
Generally, an employer will have a need to make organizational changes relatively quickly (many times related to budget constraints) and decide that they need to restructure. This is then given as a task to someone – “just go and make it happen” – yes, I’ve heard that a lot too. But I’m not sure all employers fully understand is that change is a journey you need to take your team on, not something that you just “do” to them.
This journey doesn’t need to be lengthy, but the key to success is all around preparing people for change. Especially if you are in an environment where you haven’t had a lot of change (is there still an organization in NZ that can say that?!) the little bit of extra time you take up front, preparing the team for change, will certainly make your change process far more successful. There are some relatively quick and easy things you can do to prepare for change, and there are also lots of tips and tricks for those new to managing change, to make the process run smoothly. Give us a call if you want to learn more!