Organizations must stay ahead of the curve in order to remain competitive in today's ever-evolving technological and economic landscape. According to Gartner, the average company has gone through five major organizational changes in the past three years, and 75 percent of those companies anticipate implementing additional change initiatives in the next three years. However, if change is not managed properly, it can become a double-edged sword, leading to a loss of productivity and poor employee performance. Gartner indicates that only 34 percent of all organizational change initiatives are considered “obvious successes”, while 50 percent are considered “obvious failures”. Another 16 percent showed “mixed results”.
To ensure successful organizational change, it is essential to create a plan that outlines the reasons for the change, defines its scope, identifies key stakeholders, establishes a team, and provides a detailed roadmap of the steps that will be required to complete the project. Having a defined strategy makes it easier to communicate the change to team members and to monitor progress towards key milestones and objectives. To guarantee successful implementation of the change, it is important to have a change management plan in place. Research shows that approximately 70 percent of change initiatives fail due to negative employee attitudes and unproductive management behavior. Therefore, it is beneficial to enlist the services of a professional change management consultant. Leaders must maintain a high level of enthusiasm for the changes that lie ahead.
They should model the behavior they want to see from team members. Organizations that excel in implementation encourage a leadership style that establishes bold aspirations with clear responsibility, emphasizing the challenging and supportive dimensions of leadership over the authoritative and consultative qualities that can be effective in other situations. Successful leaders are tireless in promoting and encouraging their reports, while helping to make difficult decisions. If you are the person proposing a change, it is important to empower your employees to modify their behavior by eliminating obstacles that prevent them from working to achieve change. This is where leaders unfreeze the current status quo, allowing for the establishment of a new status quo.
Throughout the change management process, a structure must be established to measure the business impact of changes and ensure that there are opportunities for continuous reinforcement to develop competencies. To help employees adapt to changes in the way a role is performed, mentoring or an open door policy could be established in which management asks questions as they arise. Listening to the ideas and opinions of leaders in other departments will expand your reach to the entire company, allowing you to see the real urgency behind the need for change and the possible effects of transformation. Once you know exactly what you want to achieve and why, you must determine the impacts of the change at different organizational levels. Change leaders must be comprehensive, inclusive and absolutely meticulous in their strategy to mitigate business disruption and ensure a successful process. It is also important for employees to know that they will receive training, structured or informal, to teach them the skills and knowledge needed to operate efficiently as the change is implemented.
