How to Successfully Implement Change in a Business?
Mentioning the word ‘change’ in an organisation can invoke a spine-tingling feeling of fear in many teams, with the dreaded thought of efficiencies associated with redundancies, restructures and cumbersome IT upgrades.
Why change?
The need for organisational change though is paramount to its survival and is usually borne from competitors or external factors which can be identified using the PESTLE analysis framework:
Political – changes in Government, trade policies, tax policies, global influences
Economic – exchange rates, interest rates, inflation rates, unemployment rates, levels of disposable income
Socio Economic – population growth, cultural barriers, lifestyle attitudes, health, career attitudes
Technology – incentives, levels of innovation, automation, R&D activity, technological change, technological awareness
Legal – discrimination laws, antitrust laws, employment laws, consumer protection laws, copyright & patent laws, health & safety laws, de-regulation, nationalisation
Environmental – weather, climate, environmental policies, climate change, pressures from NGOs, waste disposal, animal welfare.
How can change be managed correctly?
With the Business Case at the heart of it’s centre, the business change lifecycle provides an overview of the stages involved when analysing, developing and delivering successful business changes for an organisation. The stages are unlikely to happen in a strict sequence, with many of the stages revisited many times.
Considerations before recommending a solution
As part of the research before recommending a solution, the POPIT framework acts as a useful reference of considerations between the organisation in its current state and its future state of improvement by identifying the missing requirements in each category.
For example, IT support currently provides x, in the future it needs to provide y, the gap is therefore z.
Processes
Comparison of as-is and to-be processes
Likely to be impact on other POPIT dimensions
Redesigned business processes need to be clear and unambiguous
IT
Business process changes likely to identify requirements in terms of IT
Technology often at the heart of business process redesign
AI, mobile apps and other digital services offer opportunities for innovation in process design and are often key elements within a solution architecture.
Organisation
An area most likely to be overlooked
Business process changes likely to require consideration from a cultural and structural perspective
Management style and shared values are at the core of an organisational and essential to effective change.
People
Essential for all change and often cited by Project Managers as an area which is taken for granted and more time is needed for assessment and coaching:
Assess required skills
Assess need for recruitment
Assess need for motivation and reward systems
Conclusion
Implementing successful change in a business relies upon using the techniques we discussed along with experience, knowledge and support from professionals along with commitment, accountability and responsibility from senior managers who will be needed to oversee the transition.
