This article is intended for those who have mapped a change programme for the organisation and are now ready to implement it. It provides pointers to the issues you will need to consider in bringing in change, rather than providing a detailed implementation schedule: this will vary according to the organisation and the nature of the change.

Definition

This fact sheet covers any type of major change programme within an organisation. These range from those driven by external forces - changes in the market; in customer demands; in legislation or regulation - to those which are internally driven, for example, to accompany a total quality management programme.

Change will result as a consequence of the interaction between equipment (technology), processes (working procedures), organisation structure and people; a change to one of these four elements will inevitably cause changes to the others, because the organisation is a living, evolving system.

Managing change involves accomplishing a transition from A to B and handling the problems which arise in getting there.

 

Action steps for implementing an effective change program

 

1. Agree the implementation strategy

The details of the strategy need to be clear before you begin to embark on change. Is implementation going to be top-down or bottom-up or a mix of both? Will the change be made by division, by department or in a 'big bang' approach?

 

2. Agree the time frame

Every change program needs a start date and a finite time span, regardless of whether it is being introduced incrementally or simultaneously across divisions. The timetable must be stretching enough to convey urgency but attainable enough to be motivating.

 

3. Draw up detailed implementation plans

Combine the strategy and timetable to draw up detailed implementation plans with each divisional or departmental head. Use the change team as a source of advice and consultancy, but empower line managers to determine how they will implement the details of change against the overall goals.

The change programme is unlikely to be the only corporate initiative underway. Ensure the strategy and goals behind the others are consistent and point in the same direction. Do employees receive consistent messages about the organisation's core values and beliefs from each of the programmes?

 

4. Set up a team of stakeholders

This does not include top management but will benefit from top management sponsorship. The team will include the key people involved in designing and delivering the service as well as those receiving it. They will also be responsible for defining and disseminating the benefits of the change.

 

5. Establish good project management

Treat change like any project. Set goals and milestones and monitor progress to keep the project on schedule and on budget. Flag up potential problems as early as possible and plan for them with contingencies. Establish the project team ground-rules especially on information sharing, decision-making and reporting.

 

6. Personalise the case for change

People will only take on board the case for change when they can personalise it and relate it to their own job and team. Ensure that your line managers translate the corporate case for change into reality for every individual in the company. Consider what change will mean for each individual in terms of: status (job title, budget responsibility); habits

(changes to working time, new colleagues); beliefs (move to a customer focus); and behaviour (new working practices).

 

 

7. Ensure participation

Individual employees must feel they can take ownership of the change programme as it evolves. Change can be stressful if imposed. Introduce mechanisms to facilitate this. Allow criticism and feedback but ensure the means exist to take corrective action.

 

8. Create a sense of purpose and urgency to tackle real problems, which have prevented progress in the past

Ask what and who is preventing progress and who can really help in unblocking it. Think of breaking the code of silence that engenders organisational protectionism and maintains the status quo.

 

9. Motivate 

Sustained change requires very high levels of people motivation. People need to feel valued, to be developed, to have their achievements recognised, and to be challenged. Recognise that different rewards will motivate different people to change.

 

10. Be prepared for conflict

Change usually brings about conflict of one kind or another, simply because people have different views and reactions. Try to get conflict to surface rather than fester; try to tackle it by dissecting and analysing it with those who are experiencing it. Often enough conflict resolution can be put to positive work through open discussion and clarification.

 

11. Be willing to negotiate

When conflict cannot be resolved through improved explanation and discussion, you will have to negotiate for results and persuade. This means avoiding entrenched positions, and working out how to shift others from theirs. It means getting to an agreed 'yes' without either side winning or losing face.

 

12. Anticipate stress

It is uncertainty rather than change that really worries employees. Provide as much information as possible and quash rumours as soon as they arise.

Any change programme is stressful. Fear of the unknown rather than change itself is the major contributory factor. Reduce its impact by being as open as possible about all the consequences of change. See that employees own the changes.

 

13. Build skills

View the change programme as a learning process and integrate it into the corporate training programme. Build both technical and soft skills at all levels within the organisation. Set an example by updating the skills of top management.

 

14. Build in capability for learning

Creating goals and plans that everyone subscribes to means that everyone can gain. Turn learning into something that people want to buy into - instead of it being perceived as a chore - where they can feel the 'buzz' of discovery and involvement in new developments.

 

15. Remember change is discontinuous

Change is a very long process made up of very small and often invisible modifications to behaviour and attitudes. Seek innovative ways to remind staff of the overall case for change and to reinforce its value to them. Accept that change will be a stop/start process. Plan for this and develop strategies to gear the organisation up for renewed effort if there are setbacks.

 

16. Monitor and evaluate

Monitor and evaluate the results of the change programme against the goals and milestones established in the original plan. Are these goals still appropriate or do they need to be revised in the light of experience? Existing performance measures may transmit the wrong signals and act as a block on change. Design measures which are consistent with the vision and goals.

 

Be honest in your assessment of progress. If there is a real divergence between the plan goals and reality, take corrective action quickly. Be open about failure and involve employees in setting new targets or devising new measures.

 

Dos and don'ts for implementing an effective change program

Do

 

 Plan to deliver early tangible results and publicise successes to build momentum and support

 Select priorities for change rather than attempt to address everything at once

 Involve employees at every stage of designing and implementing change

  Make sure you have top management sponsorship of and commitment to the agreed implementation

 

Don't

 Fail to appreciate the depth of resistance there may be to change. Plan for resistance and cost it in terms of additional training and communications

 Get lost in detail or lose sight of the vision: real change often comes through a simple breakthrough

  Skimp on the resources for training or communications

 

Useful reading

How to be Better at Managing Change

D E Hussey

London: Kogan Page, 1998

Create That Change: Readymade Tools for Change Management

Steve Smith, ed.

London: Kogan Page, 1997

A Real Life Guide to Organizational Change

George Blair and Sandy Meadows

Alders hot: Gower, 1996