“Business Change” … ok… so we’ve all heard the words uttered, but what is Business Change?
It can be many things to many businesses or organisations; small or big; forced or chosen; planned or unplanned; successful or unsuccessful … and it can be carried out in many ways, but all change has some commonality and it’s worth setting aside some time to prepare so you manage the change, rather the change managing you…
- Who will be affected by the change? What do they already know about ‘the change’? What do they need to know about ‘the change’? When are you going to tell them? Who is going to tell them? How are you going to tell them?
- Who is going to lead the change? Are the line managers the right folk or should it be some champions amongst the teams? Who will walk-the-talk, rally the troups and support those finding it tough?
- What will be the result of the change? Why is it a good thing? Why should people want it? What will happen if you don’t change?… How are you going to tell them?
- How are you going to keep folk motivated and make the ‘change’ stick? What will stop folk reverting to the ‘easier’ old ingrained habits? What can you do to show everyone that the change is working and making a difference?
… and if you consider those things before ‘it’ happens, then you’ll certainly be well on your way to making a successful change which sticks. You don’t need to have an expensive consultant-led change management team to make change work, but you do need to invest some time upfront in the preparation and be ready to support your people for as long as it takes.
