Organisations operate within
an ever-changing environment and must constantly adapt and evolve to meet these
changes. Low-performing organisations will react to change least effectively,
as they prefer to hire extra staff. In contrast, high-performing organisations look
at how they operate to improve their efficiency to negate the need to hire
additional staff.
Hiring staff is expensive
and can lead to further inefficiencies if hired full-time to fulfil a part-time
need. Inexperienced staff new to the organisation often fill their spare time
by undertaking unproductive menial tasks that add little value to the
organisation's efficiency and profitability.
The type of organisational
change varies according to the size, sector, and volatility of the
organisation’s environment. Some of these changes may evolve due to:
- Economic turbulence.
- Technological shifts.
- Environmental regulations.
- Legislative changes.
- Competitors.
- Economic market trends.
Failure to proactively
manage change as a constantly evolving process rather than a one-off change
project could lead to the organisation's stagnation or, worse, failure. More
than 87% of all change projects fail because they need the support of the
stakeholders affected by the change, as well as those who must enact it and
those whose consent is required for the successful and sustainable
implementation of the change project.
Change, no matter how large
or small, must have the permission of those involved within the areas affected
by the change and the strategic sanction of the Board of Directors.
Organisational change refers to the actions that an organisation needs to undertake
to modify a strategic part of the organisation in the way that it operates;
this may include:
- Relocation.
- Outsourcing Functions.
- Internal Operating Processes.
- Culture.
- Corporate Hierarchy.
- Management Structure.
- Technology or Infrastructure.
Change management is a
logical, systems-driven approach that deals with change through the
transformation and transition of an organisation's change project. The purpose
is to implement the strategies for effecting and controlling the change process
as well as helping people to adapt to the change, which can be either:
- Transformational: These changes are significant in
scope and scale and often signify a dramatic departure from the current
operating status quo.
- Adaptive: This type of change involves
gradual, small, iterative changes undertaken when products, processes,
workflows, or strategies evolve.
- Organisational-Wide: A large-scale transformation that
affects the whole organisation and how it operates, such as withdrawing
from a market.
- Personnel Change: This occurs when an organisation
experiences hyper-growth or market contraction, necessitating a
significant shift in employee engagement or retention.
- Unplanned: Typically defined as a necessary
action following an unexpected event that could not be predicted, such as
a pandemic closing an entire market.
- Remedial: Implemented when changes are
identified to address a deficiency or poor organisational performance,
whether operational, quality, or financial.
The critical factor
affecting the success of any change initiative is that it must have the full
support of the organisation that is the subject of the change. The change must
be seen as being needed, relevant and sustainable. In other words, change must
be seen as necessary and achievable to be implemented successfully. Critical
change management success factors include:
- Nature: The change process must be viewed
from a holistic perspective instead of its constituents, as any change
process will fail to meet an organisation's goals if it is not implemented
in an integrated manner.
- Strategic Support: Director and Senior Management
support is essential for achieving sustainable outcomes from a change
management project. With vision and direction being driven from the
organisation's top, sustainable change will occur and will succeed.
- Multidisciplinary: Change involves project teams
from all parts of the organisation, which are required to ensure the
success of a change management project. These teams must be coordinated
with a collaborative approach from the various change management
stakeholders, who are change agents responsible for facilitating change
throughout the project.
- People: The crucial success factor of any
change project is its people; hence, involving people at each stage in the
change management process is vital, as their involvement will increase
their level of commitment. They will function as the drivers of change
instead of reacting to it.
- Continuous Improvement: Change is a mission, and efforts
must be driven and directed to fulfil any change management initiative's
goals. Flexible organisations and an open culture receptive to change will
improve their overall efficiency and effectiveness in achieving success in
any change endeavour.
Effective change management
requires the involvement of skilled change agents responsible for ensuring
change initiatives' success by demonstrating the required competencies. Change
agents must be capable of connecting quickly with people, communicating, and
convincing stakeholders to support the change, as well as dealing with the
emotional upsurges that may arise because of evolution.
They should be comfortable
managing conflicts and dealing with ambiguity, as a singular approach can never
affect the desired results for effective change management. What bodes well for
one organisation might not be suitable for another, as the circumstances that
govern it may differ.
Change management involves
collective ownership from all stakeholders, including Directors and Senior
Managers, change agents, problem owners, and the people affected by the change.
If they are all involved in the change management process, they will be more
likely to be committed and contribute actively to realising the change's end
goals.
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