As time passes, companies develop and increase their size, sales, or reorganize departments. Managers even decide to adapt their strategies and the way they operate. There is, however, one point in a company’s existence when it has to face a major switch. This is the time when an organizational change management plan is necessary.

Now, managers face the opportunity to make the company grow faster, through different ways. Meanwhile, they also have the duty to make this change as smooth as possible. This is mostly due to the employees, who need to understand the change and its effects and adapt their way of working. Managing organizational changes properly can sometimes be a challenge as employees may not fully understand the reasons at first. They may even just like to work in a particular manner and are hostile to perspectives. In order to ease this change, experts have developed strategies, phases and even good practices for organizational change management. These may be cost-efficient, time-saving, but most of all they need to show the skills of the manager. First, let’s find out more!

What Is Organizational Change Management?

An organizational change is any initiative that comes from the management team and involves a shift that affect more departments or even all of them. This can have any reason and be of any size. Maybe the company is evolving from middle to a large one. You might have purchased new equipment or update to other technologies. Regardless of the change itself, it has effects on your employees.

Organizational change management means making sure that the stage that the company undergoes has positive and little effects upon its employees. The purposes of change leading usually are:

  • The employees agree to the change and no competition appears;
  • They understand the vision and reasons of the change;
  • Also, they apply the change on a daily basis in their work;
  • Staff members wish to contribute to the good results of the change;
  • They might receive rewards for their contribution and adjustment to new responsibilities.

Who Uses Organizational Change Management?

Organizational change management usually involves and first affects administrative teams. The CEOs regularly know the change is due to happen and begin to be concerned of their consequences inside the company. Then, the Human Resources department takes charge of this task and comes up with a plan and strategies.

Project sponsors and other executives also engage in optimizing changes for the company. However, the happening itself usually affects all staff members.

How to Implement Organizational Change Management

People are usually reluctant to change due on a psychological level, especially if this affects their everyday life on long-term. So your change needs to have 3 main phases, as per Prosci platform. These are preparing, managing and reinforcing the change.

The second phase of the process involves developing a plan for communication, sponsorship, coaching, training and resistance management. Also, you need to make sure that the organizational change management has the desired effects on both the company and each individual.

5 Ways in Which Organizational Change Management Can Help Your Business

1. The Development of Your Employees

The change has been announced according to the plan and now is due to happen. Meanwhile, your employees have understood its reasons and targets and have accepted it. From this moment on, your employees will be motivated to develop and be attentive, so that they can adapt to the change successfully.

The training about the new responsibilities is now put in practice; so they demand more from themselves to maintain their work rhythm. This does not even need to be fully accomplished, as long as your employees are motivated to learn and adjust. They will have a vision of the overall change and how it directly affects them also. Knowing what to expect, they try to to ease the change.

2. Existing Resources Improve

If the change from your company involved upgrading to new technologies, then you are one of the lucky cases. You have changed some of the equipment or even all of it and you should save their maintenance or repair costs on short-term. The improvement of resources also means an improvement in speed and data security.

The resources which are already existing integrate into the new ones so they are used at a higher level than before. This way, your daily operations will still partially have a familiar look at will maintain at a certain level.

3. Cost Efficiency & Increased ROI

Since the organizational change management plan is mostly dedicated to the staff members of the company, the return of investment is visible at all times. You cut potential costs due to risks in absence of the plan and your employees have a better understanding of the new way of work.

Also, the change management plan can save you of transition costs and can help you reduce inefficient or irrelevant costs that might have fit into the project. You avoid any additional waste or time inefficiency, while training your team to adjust.

4. Reduce Risks for Employees

When you create a plan for your organization change management, you involve all departments into working together. Therefore, your staff members will be active and working for a common purpose. This way you will also reduce all risks of individuals misunderstanding the change. You will also reduce the amount of time that you need to go through the details of the change with all of them.

If a common effort is involved, you reduce both time and risks connected to the requirements of the new working techniques. Also, this will boost the morale of your employees, knowing that their workplace is safe.

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5. Develop the Organizational Culture

The change is the time when your organizational culture matters the most. Straighten and follow the values of your company’s culture and your employees will contribute to these actions. You will develop the good practices for the following period together, in line with what your company represents.

You employees will also feel that they are treated right, and they will be both proactive and attentive.

Wrapping It Up

Organizational change management mostly focuses on human behavior and social reactions to a fact. By managing this, you will keep your team together and they will continue to be as productive as before.

Did you implement an organizational change management plan so far? Share your experience with us!

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