Successful change implementation enables a business move quickly toward the desired future state. For most projects, change management kicks into action close to the rollout date. Common approaches include training and coaching.
As change varies in scope and impact, rapid adoption of new tools, processes and job roles hinges on how effective the overall transition takes place. Leaders need to take a more strategic change approach. A sound change strategy takes into consideration four elements of change.
- Need and impacts communication
At the initiation of a project, leaders communicate the need and impacts usually at a fairly high level. The lack of specificity, especially around impacts, leads to unease and concerns.
Employees care about the scope of change and impacts. They want to know how their jobs are affected. Paying attention to their sensitivity and addressing their questions in a timely manner matter.
Messaging at the initiation, during, and post implementation of the project requires appropriate details.
At project initiation, emphases on need and target outcomes position the change as a mission critical necessity to the business. Include as much information as possible on the plan and approach to show confidence on the investment.
During the project, regular sharing of progress, hurdles, and involvement of teams encourages engagement. The updates keep employees abreast of pending changes and potential effects on their work. Be specific with content and context. Illustrate with examples for better apprehension of the work underway.
Post implementation communication is important to continue the momentum for change adoption. Highlight successes and reinforce the importance of adoption. Leaders need to continue to stay in the loop to sustain support.
Depending on the scope of the project, tailor the content and communication frequency to emphasize need and impacts to suit the audience.
- Leverage from change influencers
Change implementation is more than introducing process and technology changes. Expedient incorporation of changes in work tasks, use of tools, and adjustment to role changes involve employees’ readiness to adapt.
Change influencers take the lead in building buy-in. The organization structure affects the change strategy.
A hierarchical organization might find the cascading approach effective in change implementation. Leaders at different levels of the organization are the change influencers.
Leaders at the top get their direct reports on board. Then, the direct reports convey the same message to their respective teams. The cascading effects from one level to the next perpetuate across the organization.
For an organization with a flat structure, they have tight collegial social networks where employees share knowledge and collaborate. The key connectors for these social networks are the change influencers.
Getting the key connectors for the social networks on board helps to spread the sense of urgency which influences adoption. This approach requires sound demonstration of benefits so the key connectors are able to convince others to get on board.
Depending on the organization, a combination of top-down and network connectors approaches could be effective.
- Direct and indirect benefits differentiation
Clarity on who would benefit from a project affects motivation to change adoption. Employees care about how the change affects their workload and responsibilities, as well as their position power.
Articulation of direct and indirect benefits is necessary to communicate specifics about how roles and responsibilities are impacted.
Direct benefits such as elimination of onerous tasks and time savings make employees’ work easier. Employees welcome the change. Direct benefits require less effort to convince employees to get on board.
Indirect benefits such as customer satisfaction and vendor support efficiency might lead to more data input and shifts in responsibilities. These indirect benefits don’t necessarily help those doing the work. To motivate adoption, leaders would need to communicate clearly the causality linkages to how individuals contribute to the overall success of the mandate. Offering incentives might also help.
Change adoption rate varies with how employees perceive the benefits. Special attention to incentivize adoption might be useful when indirect benefits are not well understood.
- Collaborative alignment and reinforcement
Change resistance is inevitable. Leaders need to incorporate an effective approach to shift mindsets and overcome resistance.
Both leadership alignment on the approach and persistent reinforcement are critical to success.
Right off the bat, it is essential for leaders to gain alignment among themselves on the project, including the project scope, approach, support during the project and post implementation. This helps to communicate coherent messages on project objectives and need for the improvement.
As the project is underway, middle managers and those directly involved need to engage the appropriate teams to collaborate for the best outcomes. Being heard and having an opportunity to contribute at the table are important particularly for teams who are directly impacted.
Post implementation, reinforcement is paramount to accelerate change adoption. By continuing to reinforce the importance of migrating to the new behaviors, employees see the need to step up.
The persistent and disciplined approach would sustain the momentum. Further, visibility makes it difficult to ignore the will to succeed.
An effective change strategy requires adaptation to the project on hand. Beyond the technical changes, paying attention to shifting mindsets is critical to employee adoption and the ability to solidify the improved future state.
Don’t forget to check out What You Need to Build Trust for Transformational Change!
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