Key Ingredients for Organisational Change

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself,” said Rumi, the famous poet, emphasising on the willingness to change the self before trying to change the world.

While managers look to create productive teams and efficient process, it can be daunting also to keep track of personal productivity and efficiency. Change begins with the self, and organisational change is no different. Companies are looking to serve their customers more effectively. Businesses are constantly looking to increase profits and leaders are constantly looking for ways to upgrade their teams’ skills to match the latest technologies and capabilities. Hence, organisational change is inevitable.

Companies usher in organisational change when:

1. Results from the current systems do not match expectations

2. Leaders want to actively steer the company towards new goals and achievement with a new vision and focus

3. Teams are trying to implement change and are putting relevant systems in place to support the change

While organisational change can be multifarious and can have far-reaching effects on the company, it begins with a simple notion that the company can improve. Organisational change can sometimes be unwelcome by employees who are comfortable due to a perceived sense of security that results from doing similar tasks every day. This can be a stagnating experience for the employees who do not invest in updating their skills and adapting to the innovations in technology. It can also be disastrous for businesses as clients expect companies to offer solutions with speed in a continually changing market. The only way companies can thrive in an ever-evolving environment is if they’re capable of adapting to external change and being nimble enough to do it at speed.

So how can companies instil change for the better? Why should they re-evaluate their priorities? Who should they keep at the forefront, leading this change?

There can be different kinds of organisational change. However, any effective change in an organisation needs five essential ingredients to be authentic and transformational. 

1. Vision and objective: Every change must lead with a clear objective backed by a strong sense of vision. These form the foundation for change while helping articulate the purpose behind the change and the direction it is going to take.

Without a vision to guide the changes, there can be incredible chaos and confusion. Employees and leadership teams will find it hard to buy into the change if the reasons behind the change and the envisaged results are not communicated effectively.

Hence, a clear vision is essential to begin change.

2. Training: Unfamiliarity is uncomforting while familiarity is perceived as security. Change involves people dealing with new situations and problems. This can be unnerving for the employees if they are not pro-actively equipped in advance to effectively deal with these situations. 

They’ll require the skills to perform new functions, deal with unfamiliarity and learn the new process, to adapt. Without training, employees will not be successful, leading to lesser work-satisfaction, increased feelings of unfulfillment and work-related stress and anxiety.

3. Rewards and Benefits: A key factor that deters people from resisting change is knowing that the alteration will benefit them, by either making work easier, more accurate, efficient or making them more relevant for the future.

It’s important that employees are kept up to date about all the rewards of accepting change. All the benefits of adapting to the new process should be clearly communicated to every employee that is going to experience the change. New processes are successful when everyone in the organisation understands how it makes a difference in their lives.

4. Leadership and Resourcefulness: One might have all the right ingredients, but without proactive leadership and efficient resources, the whole project is positioned to fail. Hence it is important to take a step back and evaluate, “Who will lead the entire process and what will it take to complete the change successfully?” 

If the process of change is driven by a leader who does not understand the need to adapt, is not aligned to the overall objective and values, it is likely that the essence of the project will be lost. Ownership is another crucial element, with a leader vested with powers and given the responsibility to lead the organisation, progress will be trackable, and there will be a clearer command channel, reducing confusion and chaos.

Everything that helps employees transition successfully, implement and sustain the changes are seen as resources. The lack of resources can cause the process of change to lose momentum, making the transition harder than it needs to be, ultimately causing the project to fail. This will only lead to frustration at all levels of the organisation.

Hence, it is important to allocate resources, mapping each unit to specific stages of transition while also being ready for contingency situations.

5. Plan of Action: Once there is a strong vision in place, employees are trained, rewards and benefits are clearly communicated, and resources are allocated, there needs to be an effective action plan in place.

The plan will translate the vision into smaller achievable, measurable, time-bound and trackable goals. It maps out the milestones, assigns responsibilities and charts out desired outcomes. It is essential that teams carry out change in a systematic and phased manner.

The organisation will benefit from the understanding and learning acquired at every stage, making progress a lot more achievable in the next phases. Teams can learn to use the latest technologies, processes and methodologies. These will help them transition to becoming better at achieving their goals, both as individuals and teams.