Principles of change management

10/09/2020

The development of modern technology and new trends in the market force us to constantly adapt to the constantly evolving environment. Change is a positive phenomenon, but it is well known that humans have limited adaptive abilities. In the modern world, therefore, a very important element has become a skillful and professional management of it.

Changes have a continuous character, as a process they occur in every enterprise. Thinking of the company as a "successful organization", managers must weave elements of change management into the management process - the thought of transformation is a constant element of planning activities in the company. When designing improvements, it is always necessary to clearly define objectives, clear milestones and timeframes, and ensure systematic monitoring of the assumptions made.

Principles useful when preparing and implementing changes

  • Disseminate opinions about the necessity of changes in the company, give reasons for their implementation and convincingly demonstrate to employees that without the proposed improvements the company does not have the ability to meet the demands posed by the market and the environment.
  • Create and disseminate a vision for the future development of the enterprise, define the strategic directions and future goals and tasks that the enterprise needs to perform, and propose the future shape of its organization that will enable changes to be better aligned with the chosen strategy and the needs of the market.
  • Show the real benefits for the enterprise and employees resulting from the designed change. Give examples of other companies, especially leaders (benchmarking), that have already implemented such or similar modifications in their company, show employees the advantages of the "new" over the "old" and convince them that any difficulties will be temporary, resulting from the "run-in" of the modified (new) system, and that the effectiveness of the changes depends mainly on their involvement and support.
  • Carefully prepare the assumptions and milestones for the implementation of the change and the tasks considered most important, involve employees in the process of drafting it so that they can raise their objections, concerns and proposals in a timely manner.
  • Enlist the help of external consulting teams to develop a change strategy for the company.
  • Include employees who enjoy authority and trust in promoting the change, as people accept and support changes more easily and are more willing to work for them if they are promoted by people who are trusted and widely respected.
  • Create an incentive system that encourages the implementation of changes and rewards the successes achieved in this regard, this will give personal satisfaction and strengthen the commitment of employees to the implementation and consolidation process.

As a rule, the implementation of modifications causes emotional tension among employees, due to fear of losing cherished values and anxiety and fear of the unknown. The correct managerial person can effectively manage the change so that it not only brings benefits, but also that they are quickly noticed by employees.