If the past year has taught us anything, it\u2019s that life can change overnight. Never has effective leadership of organisational change been more critical than in today’s evolving workplace.<\/p>\r\n
<\/p>\r\n
Organisations have not only had to adapt to changes in their external business environment, local and global economies and technological advancements but when you throw a global pandemic into the mix, it can be a recipe for disaster.<\/p>\r\n
It\u2019s more important than ever for organisations to develop and implement effective organisational change management systems in order to avoid any ugly hangovers for the organisation, and the people within it.<\/p>\r\n
It might seem obvious, but organisations often miss this vital first step – addressing what needs to change and why. Here, we’re talking straight-forward, Simon Sinek <\/a>stuff!<\/p>\r\n This applies to any change, from a change in management, the implementation of a new IT system through to adopting a remote based workforce.<\/p>\r\n Once the need for change has been established, it\u2019s important to work closely with employees and set clear goals so they understand how this change will be managed. This not only helps people adapt more readily to the change because they\u2019ve been consulted throughout the process, but it also gives them clear and achievable milestones they can work towards.<\/p>\r\n Organisational change for change\u2019s sake isn\u2019t effective – planning for change<\/a> is the best way to ensure minimal impact on all those involved. A change management plan needs to clarify any business areas that will be affected, how the changes will impact employees, customers, suppliers and stakeholders and what is being done to help them through the change. This might involve offering training and support to employees as a way of ensuring a smooth transition while the change is being implemented.<\/p>\r\n As with any type of change, clear and consistent communication is key. Being open and transparent during the change process and establishing two-way communication helps employees feel part of the process. It also gives them the opportunity to express any concerns, feedback or ideas they might have in regards to the impending changes.<\/p>\r\n Even if you’re unable to answer employee questions immediately, it\u2019s important that everyone feels seen and heard and knows that their concerns will be addressed and responded to. Equally important, is providing regular updates on the organisational change process to avoid rumours, eliminate uncertainty and provide reassurance to employees.<\/p>\r\n Future proofing your change management plan is essential in ensuring there is minimal impact on employee morale in the long term. Long term initiatives might involve implementing an ongoing support and communication forum to help employees adjust to change, or perhaps a suite of Learning & Development modules to help them learn new skills they might need as a result of the change.<\/p>\r\n We must also remember that significant organisational change processes, particularly those resulting in restructures and redundancies will likely have an ongoing impact, with those left behind sometimes suffering from \u2018survivor syndrome\u2019 where remaining employees may feel guilt for keeping their job while their colleagues didn\u2019t. This can lead to low employee morale and a lack of loyalty, as well as further staff turnover.<\/p>\r\n In order to stay ahead of any such effects, it\u2019s important to consider the ongoing impacts any change will have on your organisation while also acknowledging the feelings of those left behind. Reminding people of the reasons for the change, as well as the impact and outcomes achieved will reinforce the necessity of the change, and the recognition that when managed well, change can be a good thing.<\/p>\r\nDevelop an organisational change plan<\/h3>\r\n
Communicate consistently<\/h3>\r\n
Remember, change doesn\u2019t have an \u2018end date\u2019<\/h3>\r\n
We work closely with your teams to build your in-house capability so that you can ‘do change better’ in the future – change isn’t a thing that’s ever complete, so we want you to have the capability to do it without us too! Contact us<\/a> to discuss your change capability needs further.<\/h3>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If the past year has taught us anything, it\u2019s that life can change overnight. Never has effective leadership of organisational change been more critical than in today's evolving workplace. Organisations have not only had to adapt to changes in their external business environment, local and global economies and technological advancements but when you throw a...","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Organisational change","_yoast_wpseo_title":"%%title%% %%page%% %%sep%% Seed People","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Organisational change rarely succeeds, leaving a lasting hangover. Check out our top 4 tips on implementing change without the hangover.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-adv":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"team_author":[18],"class_list":["post-898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-change","team_author-stacey-kelly"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n