Creating Organizational Change Management Capability

Did you know that only 30% of change efforts actually achieve their business goals and targets? If your organization is like most, the challenge begins when employees are asked to do something different. And when change processes and tools aren’t integrated into the overall project management framework, it’s a recipe for failure. That is why it’s critical for organizations to take necessary steps to help employees take to change as a duck takes to water. Here’s how to improve your organizational change management capability.

How do you prepare to gain business readiness?

For effective change, we need to have some sense of readiness, at least at the 50% plus level before you go forward. Here are some key things to keep in mind as you prepare to gain business readiness for change:

• Resources and funding. Shoot for at least 15% of your budget dedicated to change management.
• Sponsorship. Change management requires visible, highly active, positive and strong sponsorship. Many people will talk a good show so to speak, but never show up.
• Realistic expectations. What is realistic that you can accomplish relative to your resources, timing, and funding?
• Compelling. The case for change ought to be pretty compelling. If we don’t do this, what’s the downside?
• Project management. Project management and team skills are important relative to some training that needs to occur so that people can learn how to collaborate together and how to manage many initiatives that will be under that umbrella.

How do you manage resistance?

Why will people typically resist change?

• Lack of Confidence. People may resist change because they don’t think it’s necessary. They may have never gone through the awareness and understanding cycle to see why it would be necessary.
• Fear. They’re not sure they have the fortitude, the skills and understanding, the ability to deal with the change because they
  don’t know how to predict the future or to manage it with and through other people.
• Surprise. If the changes feels like a surprise, that can lead to some resistance. The interesting thing about surprises is the only time we really like that is when it’s a party. We don’t really like surprises. We don’t like to not understand what’s going on and be called short.
• Support. Do your employees have the support, the tools, the understanding, the training, the active things we need to do to be more confident to increase our results?
• Control. Resistance can come from a feeling of a lack of control: I feel no sense of control over what is occurring here. It’s all being done to me, not with me.

So, what will it take to gain support? Some sense of personal gain and benefit: both what’s in it for me and what’s in it for the company? Getting people to believe it’s the right thing to do now. Respect for the person
leading the change is really critical.

Employees should believe it’s the right time for the change. Things are at a good turning point. It’s a good time for us to do this for a variety of reasons.

And most importantly, define what will not change. Everybody wants to know what will change but let’s not forget the sense of stability and predictability which is really all about what will not change.

Free Webinar

Creating Change Management Capability is different. Unlike most change management presentations that focus on the failure rates of change management efforts, this webinar is centered on action. Subject matter expert and thought leader Mark Hordes will present the critical success factors and “must-do steps” that will enable your change-management initiatives to reach success and sustain the test of time. Register today for an hour of learning that will transform the way you and your organization approach change—and experience success.

Watch Now For Free

Participants Will Learn: