Editorial du 07/09/2022

Today, I want to share with you my thoughts on change management, a crucial element in the evolution and transition of the company.

No company or organization can afford to stand still and refuse to challenge the status quo. There are always new challenges to meet and good reasons to continuously work on improvements and new ways of working.

The best way to meet these new requirements is to have a structured approach that ensures that the implementation of changes are performed smoothly, rigorously and exhaustively.

That is where Change Management comes from.

Change management is a collective term for all approaches to prepare, support and help individuals, teams and organizations make organizational changes.

A successful Change Management relies on four core principles:

1.   Understand the Change

2.   Plan the Change

3.   Implement the Change

4.   Communicate the Change

To understand the change and the importance of implementing it, you will need to answer questions like why do we need to change and what are the key objectives of this change? What will be the benefits of it and what would be a negative consequence of not implementing it? You should also consider the impact on people / employees be it in a positive or a negative way. You should also consider what people will need to do and how they need to feel to support, accept and achieve the change.

It is about the WHY, the WHAT but also very much about the HOW!

The management of changes can be very different from one organization compared to another. Depending on the philosophy but also on the industry sector, it might very rigid or very open and flexible.

Nevertheless, an effective planning of a change will require sponsorship and the involvement of the right resources for the design and the implementation of the change. The most efficient way is to win support from people across the business. The planning should answer what and how you are going to deploy to get this involvement and what will be considered as a goal to be achieved to be successful.

In order to implement a change in a positive way, you should first make sure that everyone involved in the change understands what will change and how it will affect him or her.

You should map and identify all key stakeholders that will be involved in the change and define their level of involvement.

It is also key to define success criteria of the change and ensure a regular measurement and report of them.

Another very important step is to identify the trainings to be completed and the appointment of Change Agents who can act as role model or super users for the new approach / process.

The change to be implemented must be clear and relevant so that people understand what do you want them to do and why they should do it.

It is a good idea to link the change that you are planning to your company or organization to its mission or vision. This helps on understanding the big picture or end to end process and provides a vision on the future.

As a conclusion, a Change is a Planned Event that needs to be carefully prepared, understood and accepted.

To leverage changes and bring them to a successful resolution and implementation, it is recommend to apply the OCM (Organizational Change Management) method.

Without effective organizational change management, company transitions can be rigid and unstable with high expenses in terms of both time and resources. They can also result in lower employee morale.. Ultimately, a lack of effective change management can lead the organization to fail.

Denis REIBEL

President COSMIQ-A