The Continuous Challenge of Change

Study after study reports that organisations blame change project failure on resistance and lack of commitment by employees.
While many acknowledge the fact that employee engagement is critical to the success of any change project, surprisingly few organisations are actually taking the steps to ensure that employees are genuinely behind the initiatives.

For large scale change to be successful, it invariable means changing mindsets and behaviours, not merely changing processes and systems. Yet, this can only happen when employees feel engaged and have a true sense of ownership.

There are no silver bullets for successful change management, but here are a few points to guide you:

> Employee engagement is more than mere ‘buy-in’, where staff are on the receiving end of a persuasive sales pitch. It represents a fundamental change in philosophy from the conventional approach to change to one that seeks to develop true ownership and commitment from the outset.

> Change management should be a sustained process rather than just a line item within a project plan to be successful. When possible, employees should be engaged at each stage of the process – context, design and delivery – to ensure that feelings of frustration, resentment and exclusion do not arise and cannot degenerate into conflict, disruptive behaviour or resignations – all of which would undermine the efficiency and effectiveness of the change process.

> Employee engagement means involving employees in the decisions that affect them by asking for their input and enabling them to contribute their ideas. This could be through insightful surveys, interactive workshops, or proactive one-to-one meetings. Appointing suitable change agents at every level of the organisation is also a great way to cascade the benefits and implications of the change to others and support individuals in the transformation process.

How do you manage change in your organisation?