Management
Issue No. 33 - February/March 2007
Managing the change internally
by Dr Elizabeth Short
To remain competitive, organisations have to change, whether it is by adopting new technologies, introducing new procedures, installing new systems, reorganising or merging.
How well the change is managed internally determines the success of the implementation.
Change means doing things differently.
Consider for example, that new legislative changes have to be implemented by 30 June. Your organisation has to familiarise all employees with the changes because the legislation impacts on the way you do business. Time is critical, but stopping to plan is essential. Rushing in and trying to train everyone ASAP may not achieve the long-term results required.
Without a clear change and communication strategy in place ad hoc training usually leads to frustration and erratic application of the new knowledge required. But who should manage the change process?
The key players
There are many key players in any change campaign. Each group has a significant part to play in ensuring that the legislation or any change is introduced appropriately and efficiently.
•Senior leaders - Strong executive sponsorship is an essential success factor. The lack of senior management commitment leads to failure in many change campaigns.
•Managers and supervisors - Their role is to communicate and coach their staff and manage any resistance being experienced. If not committed to the change they can adversely affect the successful implementation of the project.
•Employees - Their speed of adoption, ultimate utilisation and proficiency determines the success of the project. If the employees refuse to change the project can be rapidly derailed.
•Change management team selected to facilitate the changes to processes, systems, technologies, job roles and behaviours.
Making one person responsible for the change process is an excellent strategy. One of the difficulties of managing the pro...
