What risks do you face without a culture change readiness assessment?

I agree, however in today’s organizational climate, I would argue that we always need to be ready for change. This requires grace and flow of movement between and within all the groups and subgroups in the organization to understand the behaviors and mindsets that need to start Stop or continue on any given initiative to mitigate risk of low adoption which has a direct cost impact on the intended business outcomes. A change impact assessment and stakeholder analysis are more fundamental tools in the change practitioners tool-kit. Change readiness is a measure to determine if all the change related activities have made an impact on adoption and can be used as a tool to determine if the new change is ready to be implemented

Without a cultural change readiness assessment, you face several risks: 1. **Resistance:** Employees may resist the change, leading to delays and potential failure. 2. **Misalignment:** Cultural misalignment can hinder the change's adoption and effectiveness. 3. **Lack of Preparation:** Insufficient readiness can result in unprepared teams, affecting productivity. 4. **Communication Gaps:** You might miss crucial information about how the change impacts employees. 5. **Uncertain Impact:** Without assessment, you won't know how well the culture will support the change. A cultural change readiness assessment helps mitigate these risks and ensures a smoother transition. #ChangeManagement #AssessmentMatters 👥🚀

One thing that I have found as a common challenge and can become a.major issue when we do not identify Friction Points in various groups. Different groups are impacted differently during change and more than formal communication ,water cooler conversations create ambiguity and perceived frictions. If these aren't addressed, it results in low engagement or passive resistance. The other major issue that comes in front is Cost of Change. Not just in $ but in the form of loss of opportunity, time lag, attrition etc. I believe that stakeholder and group mapping in terms of impact and opportunity is critical for change readiness assessment before we put a strategy in place.

Culture change readiness is one way of determining lack of alignment, however it is certainly not the only way. I've found in my years of implementing culture change that you pretty much know intuitively if the CEO and top team are up to the task and really value the work. Typically, conflicts that occur between individuals in the top team are more detractors to change than readiness itself. Judge readiness by asking targeted questions if you still don't know intuitively -- On a scale of 1-10, how TRULY aligned are you with this culture change and are all in- then follow-it up with another statement like I usually say which is: Really, how much are you into this?

I agree that organisations need culture change assessment tools However I believe that in today's dynamic fast moving business environment, such assessment can be an obstacle and a challenge if organisations need to be competitive and able to to generate revenues. In my opinion the change needs to come from the people. Generation gaps need to be bridged to be able to move forward. Here some tips I would suggest that organisations can apply. 1.An awareness workshop of why culture change is needed and the top management should be the first group to attend. 2. No social media policy should be applied and social events should be done to engage everyone. 3. Change in the physical environment. 4. Vulnerability circle should be done.

It's easy to waste time on things that do not add value if you've not done your sue diligence right. Making sure you know the readiness and regularly check if anything has changed allow you to focus on the biggest pain points, and the smallest tweaks with the largest value for your organisation. Without it, you might push for change that nobody is ready for yet.

There is nothing more disappointing when you spent time on something that is later on deemed as waste of time or effort as it didn't work. Consult, discuss, shape together with the impacted stakeholder groups is the key here.

Make sure you understand pain point and needs. The people with the largest pain points will be most interested in your change initiative and therefore those teams would be a good place to start.

The most important question that any leadership team/organsation needs to be ready to answer from its employees is 'What's in this for me?' In order to avoid low engagement in cultural change the assessment process needs to set out the benefits for the people who are being requested to participate. These benefits need to be relevant, meaningful, and real for the participants. If barriers to engagement are identified then ask the people who are involved as to why they believe these to be in place. What suggestions do they have to increase participation and decrease potential disinterest/apathy and a lack of commitment? A top down approach may be unlikely to increase engagement from people who are not in a leadership team for example.

People will only be committed, motivated and involved in a change process if you are giving and transparent enough to gain their trust. Displaying your goals, strengths and weaknesses will help them to commit themselves to the change process. Clearly showing the outcomes for them specifically, and how those outcomes are a result of being involved in that change will engage them, getting them on board means collaborating with them.

Prosci's ADKAR change model is a great tool for thinking about resistance. ADKAR helps leaders grasp whether people are AWARE of the rationale underlying a new strategy and if they DESIRE the change. People may AWARE of the need for change, but lack the DESIRE. Executives and managers can use discussion forums to surface reasons for people's lack of desire. People may be anxious about workload impacts, lack of skill training to support a new strategy, or worried about insufficient resources. Leaders can learn whether people will DESIRE the change more, if the company agrees to address their issues. For instance, by removing non-value adding work, investing in high quality skills training, and guaranteeing work-life balance.

As we all react different to changes around us, resistance is to be expected at the beginning and any change lead or business lead needs to be ready to manage it. Predicting as to what may be the problem, providing clarity and reassurance is needed for this to actually work. If you can add honesty and transparency even better.

In my experience, cultural change is achieved by engaging as many people as possible. Often those most resistant to and vocal about change can be seen as 'powerful' characters. Open dialogue where people feel actively listened to and their concerns taken seriously can engender a sense of trust and confidence however conversations need to be followed by actions. Invite likely resistant people to a smaller group discussion before planning and/or full assessment takes place. Explain the process ahead, how opinions are valued, and that they play an important role in encouraging others to participate. They may have felt previously excluded from this type of discussion. This also creates a safe space to gently challenge if needed.

Probably the most common cause of culture change failure or delay, resistance to the different is embedded in human nature. We are hardwired to discerning, and assuming that similarities are good, and differences are bad. So, if you struggle trying to change a toothpaste brand, just imagine how it is going to be when you try to change your whole way of doing business, of approaching your job, which takes, at least, a third of your available daily time! Unconscious bias and anxiety management trainings come really handy in these situations, and help take the edge off people when approaching culture change.

This is more of the same. If you are focusing on things and people that should not be prioritised, you obviously will have poor outcomes. Make sure you do your homework, focus on the biggest pains and the people that are most willing to change. Use that as a success-case and spread the change to other departments.

Muchos cambios inician sin una medida SMART del cambio que se quiere implementar Ningún cambio debería de ser iniciado sin una medida clara, por qué solo sabiendo el resultado final esperado es que se puede determinar los obstáculos, barreras, políticas, o procedimientos que lo pueden afectar Sería como si un atleta de alto rendimiento pretendiera cambiar de deporte y ganar un primer lugar sin reconocer que pudiese limitarlo para lograrlo El éxito de un cambio está estrechamente relacionado con la evaluación de barreras y riesgos

Without a readiness assessment, risks are higher. One may not be able to identify root cause, strategically align the resources and face resistance through the process. However, it's an ideal way to perform a readiness assessment, identify gaps, define and communicate desired outcomes, monitor and evaluate, continually improve the strategy. There could be instances where SMART mapping is done based on the requirement and the scope of agenda, mostly with an intent to meet short-term requirement focusing a small group/unit. This is later assembled in the large study as requirement expands.