It’s All About Managing Change

Much has been said and written about change management in the past few years,
yet the horror stories in systems implementation that have their origin in
inadequate planning and implementation of change management strategies have not
ceased to grow. Change management consists in the recognition that a migration
from one state to another requires thoughtful consideration and attention to its
technical, organizational and behavioral aspects.

Phases in transition

Employees typically pass through three phases in any major transition–preparation,
acceptance and commitment. These phases manifest themselves in varying responses
as shown in the chart below. Broadly, change management consists of the
following components:

• Assessing the organization’s readiness to change along the lines
  required;
• Creating a business case for change;
• Communicating the need to change; and
• Developing and implementing change management strategies.

Change readiness assessment

At the start of a major implementation, it is necessary to assess the
organization’s readiness to change. Administering questionnaires and talking
to employees individually and in-groups usually does this. A well-conducted
change readiness assessment provides definitive indicators on the type of
roadblocks we might encounter during implementation. What proportion of the
employees are willing to embrace change wholeheartedly? What proportion are
lukewarm? And how many are not enthusiastic at all?

If answers to these questions are supplemented by a departmental and
grade-wise breakdown of the responses, the information will serve as a very
valuable basis on which to construct change management strategies. It is
important during change readiness assessment to understand the reasons for the
lack of enthusiasm among employees.

Creating and communicating

The need for the change has first to be established. Creating a burning
platform drives home the message quicker and more effectively than any other
means. The business case must answer this:

• What will happen to the organization and therefore to all
  of us if we do not make this change happen?

• What will be in it for all of us, if we do change?

Using external consultants to talk about the experiences of
other organizations that have transitioned successfully and those that have
failed to change could produce dramatic results. All too often, change
management strategies are aimed at persuading the non-committed than at swelling
the ranks of the committed. However, companies sometimes press the panic button
in their attempts to create a burning platform. Far from reducing anxiety and
building support, this serves to exacerbate the tensions and fears and plunge
the organization in an ocean of gloom. We must remember that no one ever
supports a cause unless convinced that the future is bright. Building a vision
of a bright and glorious future is fundamental to effective change management.

The need for change must be communicated throughout the
organization. This must start at the top. Visible leadership and top management
commitment is easily the most important ingredients of successful change
management. We must remember though that leadership exists at all levels within
an organization. Project champions and team leaders have a major role in
communicating the need for change.

It is also useful to adopt a variety of means to communicate–presentations,
newsletters, memos, skits and plays, etc, in both English and the local language
where necessary. In fact, it is necessary at the project planning stage to
develop a communications strategy as part of overall change management strategy.

In one of our major assignments involving radical
organizational change, we organized no fewer than 100 change management sessions
across the country in English, Hindi, and the appropriate local language.
Participants were drawn from various levels and functions. A member of the
client’s senior management team chaired every one of these sessions and the
interactions were in all cases frank, transparent, and honest.

Development and implementation

This consists in crafting differential strategies to address change
management issues identified at the readiness assessment stage. Such strategies
should be aimed at target groups of employees and address the specific issues
identified. These may be technical, organizational, or behavioral. Examples of
change management strategies include:

• Additional training for employees whose skills need
  upgradation;

• Awareness sessions aimed at explaining the objectives and
  rationale behind the change;

• Presentations to different employee groups demonstrating
  what is in it for them and how they can make a difference

• Visits to other organizations that faced a similar
  challenge and made successful transitions

• Recognizing that the implementation period would be one
  of stress and strain and developing short-term measures to mitigate some of
  the hardship

In one major project in corporate transformation, a senior
person who the consultants found had voiced opposition to the project from its
inception headed the client project team! This person ensured that reports never
left his office, and was instrumental in creating the perception within the
organization that the project was a failure. It was only after his retirement,
and a successor stepping in, that the project got a new lease on life.

The author is associate director, PriceWaterhouse Coopers