When the idea of a change or transformation first arises it can come from anywhere - external threats in the market, opportunities in technology or a need to update processes. It can meet with a variety of reactions depending on a number of factors, not least of which is the organisation's past experiences with change management.
Organisations make the best out of change when consciously bringing together experienced, knowledgeable change managers and leads with the people who need help through transformations. In taking genuine best efforts to deal with change well, organisations can establish a virtuous circle in which one good implementation leads to positive experiences for employees, and secures their ongoing commitment to change adaptability in future initiatives.
Breaking it Down
When breaking down what change managers and change leaders do when working together to deliver change programs, they essentially look after the people, monitor the timeline and fulfil governance requirements.
Looking after the People
People can find it difficult to experience change and be party to impacts occurring around them at work. Sometimes people need mentoring support to develop insight into the positive opportunities that come from change.
Support for people can also mean coaching the team delivering change to sharpen their change management and change leadership skills.
Employees who need to learn to work differently may need to learn new skills, establish new habits or take on additional responsibilities.
Everyone at work deserves to know what is expected of them, and what good performance looks like. These criteria may change when projects and programs are implemented, and sound change management will ensure the right messages are communicated.
Monitoring the Timeline
There will be some pre-work needed to establish a fundamental understanding of the change and its impacts. Following which, the team needs to work through how each impacted group will operate in the proposed future state, using new solutions, technologies, processes, policies and so on.
After this initial research and discovery work, change activities will be scheduled to complement the broader timeline, working in with key milestones as well as taking into account significant business constraints, such as peak operations periods, planned outage times and so on.
Next, change managers and leaders will monitor the progress of change acceptance to establish the readiness of the business to work in the new ways.
Fulfil Governance Requirements
Maintaining a view of the accountability for change supports overall organisation and program governance. The change manager and change leader will monitor agreed metrics, report on progress towards adoption for each impacted group, report on budget performance such as expenses incurred, and sit on steering groups to provide advice, guidance and update senior leadership on the progress of the change.
The Virtuous Circle of Change
In looking after the people, monitoring timelines and fulfilling governance requirements, change managers and leaders work together to deliver a positive experience for employees who are both impacted by change, as well as those responsible for delivering components of the future state ways of working.
Through positive change management practices such as mentoring and coaching individuals, consulting with leaders, delivery team and stakeholders, and working to accurately diagnose and position the accountability for change outcomes, organisations establish successful transformations.
Where ill-considered approaches to change can result in under-performance and frustration, a well-managed change creates a virtuous circle improving change delivery for the long-term through offering growth in personal development, change leadership, change management delivery skills, change communications planning and advice for steering committees.
An inclusive organisation that supports individuals and professionals to grow their communication, change and leadership skills through change initiatives will enable virtually limitless opportunities to achieve successful transformations.
Agencia Change is a specialist change management company that provides just as much change management as you need. To find out more, book in a free consultation with us.
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