Change Management – Why It Matters

We will take a look at what we mean by change management and more importantly, why change management initiatives are so important for modern organisations. So, what is change management?

Change management is the overarching approach taken in an organisation to move from the current to a future desirable state using a coordinated and structured approach in collaboration with stakeholders. (APM, 2023)

Understanding the need for change is crucial as the entire change management initiative is to ensure the continuity of the organisation through the continuity of growth and profitability. In some cases, not implementing effective change can be the downfall of the organisation and this is exactly what we are trying to mitigate. An organisation in this modern business world should always be attempting change to ensure that it remains ahead of the curve.

It is widely accepted that many change management initiatives fail and are never attempted again. Failure could be for many reasons including factors contributed to organisational, technical and process approach. It would be simple if change could be effected just by the management of the organisation, but this is not the case as the entire organisation from bottom to top must be behind such change. Change will never be implemented if all levels of the organisation do not buy in to the changes.

Change is never simple and so must be approached using robust methods, thorough insight, investment and conducted using a project management approach. This approach will assist in the effective implementation of change.

Impact of Change

Any organisation must understand the impact of change management, this being the impact to business as usual operations, the people and the shareholders. Kent Project Consultants can undertake a change impact analysis so that your organisation fully understands the impact of potential change. It is worth noting that impacts are not always negative and can sometimes also be of a positive nature to an organisation.

A change impact assessment will look at all parts of the business and establish how the change management initiative impacts the business as a whole. Clearly, it is important to identify and understand what the change entails before being able to assess the impact. This means that a clear plan of change has been implemented and prior decisions have been made. Assessing the impact of change is in itself a difficult process and this is why it important to be supported by the right consultancy.

Impact can be assessed in a two-step process, firstly identification of impacts and secondly the severity of the impact. This is not to say that this two step process is simple in itself and depends on the size and complexity of the organisation.

Human Impact of Change

Us humans can be complex and we all have different views and motivations. Understanding the differences in people is one the critical elements of implementing change. Just because a manager believes in the change and is fully behind it, doesn’t mean that every person in the organisation will be as willing to accept the change. Without getting too much into people types in this post, we can highlight that there are various different types of people and this will contribute to how effective the change may be accepted.

It is important for any manager or consultant to understand that the human resistance or acceptance to change is dependant on a number of factors, including the type of person, their experiences, their perception and the way they are informed of the potential change. It is worth noting that if there is resistance to change then this can take many forms. It could be one of the workforces representatives being very vocal about the change on behalf of their peers, or the resistance could be in form of a drop in productivity from certain individuals or teams.

Remember, as humans we can be susceptible to stress, and change in some circumstances can promote stress within individuals and organisations. People will be considering the consequences of the proposed change, asking the most basic question ‘How will this affect me?’. As professionals, we must be open to every person’s difference of view and empathetic of their emotions, albeit still keeping the need for change a priority for the benefit of the entire organisation.

Change Should Deliver Value

Whatever the reason for effecting change, it must deliver value to the organisation. Change is about looking forward and realising where the organisation should be in view of being in a better position. Change management involves an investment in time, money and people, so this in itself should highlight the importance of any change adding benefit to the organisation. Not to mention, the benefit must outweigh the previously mentioned investments.

From experience, not all value and benefits are planned and they may arise from the process of change management. This means that as an organisation there would be the expected (planned) benefits and then there could be the not expected (unplanned) benefits. The latter arising from the implementation and process of change management.

Change remains difficult to pull off, and few companies manage the process as well as they would like. Most of their initiatives – installing new technology, downsizing, restructuring, or trying to change corporate culture have had low success rates. The brutal fact is that about 70 per cent of all change initiatives fail. (Beer and Nohria, 2000)

As we can see from the above statement, the change initiative needs to deliver benefits to the organisation or it could be classed as a failure. This is why it is so important to have experienced project consultants by your side ensuring that any change management is discussed, planned and implemented as a project and with specified deliverables. The change management process is one that is ever evolving and an agile approach is required to ensure that the change remains at the forefront of the organisations vision and objectives. As already discussed, many change management initiatives start with the right intention but over time and with below par management, they can veer away from adding any benefit or value to an organisation.

If you feel that you have a need for change management or you are currently implementing change and would just like an external viewpoint, the don’t hesitate contacting one of our team.