change management process change management plan
One of the few constant things in today's business environment, management training courses tell us, is change. In some businesses although the company management realises the requirement for change, workers are reluctant to adapt or do so much too slowly. How can these lethargic organizations rid themselves of this millstone? It's people's nature to strive for harmony and stability. We are continuously looking for a safe and sound base in everyday life, which we only stray away from sometimes as a way to satisfy our curiosity or a hankering for a feeling of creativity. As a way to get an organisation to re-think and begin to learn, this secure foundation must 1st be shaken. 3 actions are actually required to do this:
1. The secure foundation needs to be shaken up. Employees need to realise that the solutions they have utilised previously are no longer effective. Face your employees with the real truth. It isn't enough to complain about dropping turnover, increasing costs or lost clients! Lay the facts and figures on the table to be able to demonstrate to your people that your resources for their secure foundation are becoming rare. Be specific.
2. Make staff feel guilty and afraid. People will only react if they feel personally affected. They must realise that their job and security are actually in jeopardy if they refuse to adjust. This fear has to be much larger than their fear of change!
3. Build emotional security. When we train our young children the best way to cross the street, we 1st take them by the hand, show them what to do and accompany them on their initial steps on this risky journey. We tell them on the danger of traffic - in other words we build fear in them but at the exact same time show them the safe solution.
This really is how you need to treat those people you want to change. If you're going to generate fear in staff, you must also take them by the hand and show them a practicable way forward. P rovide them the opportunity to become used to new ideas, take away the fear of making mistakes and reward their 1st successes and innovative thoughts!
How do you, as a supervisor, go about motivating the staff to change? Establish a Change Management Team. You'll need a team of people with whom you are able to talk about your fears and uncertainties. How much fear has to be created and just how much security should be supplied so as to motivate others to change? The team should build concrete programmes, which it'll communicate to the employees and then monitor the progress.
Finish the learning process inside the Change Management Team before launching it within the organization. The Change Management Team should be successful in absorbing the "new thinking" in order for it to have a effective germinating function. The emphasis of the learning within the framework of the team must be the "shaking up - building fear - building safety" process. The group acts as a prototype for change within the whole business. You might need to offer change management training to the group to achieve this.
Organise and structure the learning process for the whole company. Give attention to the factors which have to be modified. Establish a working group that plans concrete actions to be taken, communicates and implements these to the remainder of the organization.
Finally, don't forget for success you have to change yourself before you can change your staff. Discard traditional thought patterns and be prepared to accept new ones. Seek out new ideas outside your organization. Visit colleagues, take part in management training courses, seminars and conferences to enhance your knowledge.
Richard Stone is the Company director of Spearhead Training Group Limited, a business that supplies a full range of management and sales training courses designed for improving business and personal overall performance. It's possible to see far more ar ticles at http://www.spearhead-training.co.uk/