make change that lasts
TRANSCRIPT
Make Change That Lasts
Contributed by Allan Ung on January 15, 2015 in Operations & Supply Chain , Organization, Change, & HR
Change is the only constant. –
Heraclictus, Greek Philosopher
Change is the only constant in
the work environment
Whether you are shifting office to
another location, adopting a new
practice or process, implementing an
IT system, or re-engineering the
business processes for an
organization, change happens to
everyone all the time.
However, many change initiatives have been short-lived as a result of the failure to manage
and sustain the change.
For change to be successful and enduring, do take note of the key factors impacting change
below:
1. Commitment from the top
To manage a change initiative, e.g. Lean transformation, there has to be constant
commitment from the top management.
Conduct regular management reviews of the change implementation progress versus
the plan to ensure that the roadmap and scope of change is well-defined, timelines or
key milestones are adhered to, and resources such as people, time and money are put
in place where they are needed.
2. Future state vision
Define and rally around a compelling vision for the future state. What are the
potential threats? How urgent is the change? What are the risks if the organization
does not change? How will you know when we get there?
Present the facts and findings such as flat earnings, rising costs, decreasing market
share, and other relevant key indicators where necessary to create awareness and
convince employees to buy-in to the change initiative.
Identify the key resistance issues and stakeholders who are impacted by the change
and address them. Be prepared to deal with emotional and political issues.
Create a compelling vision and an urgency for change so as to move people out from
their comfort zones to a change in behavior and the way they value-add to the
business and customers.
3. Communication
Communicate the vision to middle management and staff regularly with the right
messages targeted at the right groups and at the right time.
Communicate fully and honestly describing changes that will take place as well as the
reasons for them.
“Town hall” sessions, round-tables, huddles, newsletters, emails from top
management, etc. are various communication platforms that can be used. Do not
limit to one congregational meeting, a ministerial-type sermon or a single mail out
from the CEO.
Get feedback from employees on how they see the change issues and what ideas they
can offer to resolve them.
You need to walk the talk if people are going to perceive the effort as
important. Engage in behaviors desired of employees, and make it clear that you are
totally committed to the change and you expect the same from them as well.
Utilize all available channels of communication and opportunity.
4. Policy deployment
One of the main reasons why many change initiatives do not last is because the
deployment process is not institutionalized.
A Policy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri) process is a very useful approach that can be
implemented to ensure that every function, every process and every individual are
aligned to the vision and objectives that the organization wants to achieve.
With such a mechanism, the vision and objectives can be cascaded down to every
department, every team and to every individual with clear accountabilities and
targets.
Review achievements against the respective targets for the teams and
individuals regularly to ensure that the change initiative is focused, aligned and stays
on track.
5. Change strategy and infrastructure
Define the change strategy and the change programs required (e.g. how to create
awareness, how to communicate, what training programs, what pilot projects to start
with, etc.). Consolidate the change management plan.
Identify the tangible and intangible results to be achieved at the end of the change
process. How does success look like? Assess the need to invest in additional
resources (e.g. more people) to support the change program.
For changes affecting an organization, setting up a change management team is
necessary. A change management team is a cross-functional team comprising:
A core team made up of a steering committee (e.g. senior executives), a working team (e.g.
functional managers)
A team of change agents, i.e. change champions from each operations unit affected by the
change; The change agents also act as link-pins between the operations units and the core
team.
6. Training and education
Review the relevant business functions and work processes impacted by the change to
determine the new skill requirements for the stakeholders.
To enable the various stakeholders to perform to the requirements expected from the
change initiative, the following steps may be helpful:
Identify the required training needs
Consolidate the training plan
Design and develop the training packages
Review the training material specifications with customers to obtain feedback and clarity of
the contents and structural aspects of the training programs, if necessary
Consider pilot testing the training material and conduct training dry-run for new trainers if
applicable
Conduct training and collect training feedback
Review feedback from participants and instructors and fine-tune training plan, training
schedule and training programs
7. Empowerment
Test the new approach with one or more pilot teams and prove that new ways are better
than the old.
Involve your employees in the problem solving or process improvement and empower them
as necessary. If they know that they are an active part of the solution, they can identify
opportunities that you might not even be aware of.
Highlight the tangible and intangible benefits or quick wins as a result of implementing the
new practice/process/system to gain wider acceptance. Follow up on areas for improvement
and unresolved issues.
Draw learning points as reference for subsequent processes and/or systems and for mass
implementations.
8. Sustain the momentum
For change to last, it has to be part of your organization’s culture. The core values need to
embrace change and be demonstrated by the leadership and employees in their day-to-day
activities.
When hiring and training new staff, ensure that the change ideals and core values are
included in the selection criteria and training programs respectively.
Publicize quick wins and success stories in your communication sessions.
Recognize key members of the steering and working committees, outstanding change
agents, teams and individuals that have contributed to the objectives of the change
initiatives. Create a “hall of fame” to recognize the contributions of old and new employees.
Develop succession plans to replace key leaders of change as they move on.
Review the change management process and draw the lessons learned and incorporate them
in new change programs/initiatives as part of continuous improvement.
Finally, with proper planning and having the necessary foundations in place, change can be
managed more easily and successfully.
If you are able to implement the key factors mentioned above, you can help to ingrain
change as part of your cultural fabric. When you are able to create sustainable change, only
then that you can realize the fruits of your vision.
About Allan Ung
Allan Ung is a management consultant at Operational Excellence Consulting , a consultancy that focuses
on maximizing customer value and minimizing wastes through Lean Management. He is also a seller at
Flevy. View his documents here: OEConsulting .
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