Management Series Publication STRATEGIC ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE A SIMPLIFIED APPROACH TO ENTERPRISE CHANGE MANAGEMENT
strategic organizational change a simplified approach to enterprise change management Contents Introduction Page 2 Simplifying Enterprise Change Phase 1 Page 5 Assess Your Current State Define Your Vision Phase 2 Page 8 Design Your Strategy Phase 3 Page 10 Implement Your Plan Phase 4 Page 12 Reinforce the Change Conclusion Page 14 Summary & Free Resources 1
Introduction Simplifying Enterprise Change Change management is an approach to transitioning individuals, teams and organizations to a desired future state. John P. Kotter 2
Simplifying Enterprise Change Individual Program/ Project Your organization is changing. Enterprise Strategic leaders both anticipate change AND plan ahead to manage the impact change will have on their organizations. Organizational change is necessary to transition an enterprise from its current state to a desired future state. Managing organizational change involves planning and implementing strategies to help individuals understand, accept, and embrace the changes in their business environment while maximizing the effectiveness of a change initiative. Enterprise Change Management focuses on building the organization s change management competencies by systematically deploying specialized skills, tools and processes throughout the organization. The primary objective of Enterprise Change Management is to capitalize on the benefits of change initiatives while positioning the organization to reach its strategic goals. This e-book is designed to provide you with a high-level overview of a path towards initiating change management within your organization. 3
Simplifying Enterprise Change Albert Einstein said, Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. Line of Sight agrees and our experience shows that complex problems often can be solved with simple solutions. Our change management process unlocks your solutions and moves your organization forward. VISION Current State Sources of Change Future State Our four-phased approach to Enterprise Change Management needs leadership commitment and a sustained effort from a dedicated team to achieve success. VISION Assess your organization s current state, sources of change and define your vision for the future STRATEGY Leadership Processes Structure Skills Projects STRATEGY Design your change strategy for leadership, processes, structure, skills and projects IMPLEMENTATION ECM Project Plan CM Program Plan IMPLEMENTATION Develop and implement your change management plans REINFORCEMENT Support the change by collecting feedback and implementing corrective action REINFORCEMENT Shared Resources Common Language Consistent Application Continuous Improvement 4
Phase One Assess Your Current State & Define Your Vision Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion. Jack Welch 5
Assess Your Current State Conduct a realistic assessment of your organization s change culture and capacity; identify the various sources of change and the residual effects of past change initiatives. Assess your organization's capacity for change by analyzing the following information: Residual effects of past changes, Management experience with change management, Change management organizational approaches, Learning programs, and Support structures and tools. Review and catalog the various change initiatives underway across the organization and make note of the nature and scope of change, number of individuals impacted and the type of change (i.e., process, roles, merger). This information will help you formulate your change approach.! Do your due diligence to understand your organization s culture and value system. Conduct interviews, surveys and focus groups with a representative group of managers and employees to discern the organization s change capacity and inclination toward resisting change. 6
Define Your Vision Define a shared vision of the organization s future state. Organize a group of key stakeholders from across the enterprise to define the desired future state of your organization s change culture. Invite managers and employee representatives from a cross-section of the organization who will be impacted by the change to participate in facilitated sessions. The outputs of the sessions should include the vision statement along with objectives and goals for the future. Document any ideas for new or improved processes and programs. Consider using an experienced facilitator to help you design, deliver, and document the session. A person focused on the meeting process and outcomes will allow your team to focus on achieving the session objectives.! 7
Phase Two Design Your Strategy Everything Change should be made as simple as possible, is the and law no of life simpler. and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss Albert the Einstein future. John F. Kennedy 8
Design Your Strategy Tailor your organizational change management strategy to the unique characteristics of your organization. Analyze the outputs from the visioning phase; use the organizational assessment, vision and catalog of change initiatives to develop your change management strategy. Consider the following questions to cultivate and document your strategy: What are some examples of successful change that we can leverage from your past or from other organizations? How can we support change at the individual, business unit, and enterprise levels? What do we need from our leaders and what do they need from us? Where can we integrate change management and project management?! Apply change management best practices to formulate a strategy that fits the unique needs of your organization. Plan for risks, resistance, and minimize competing priorities. Earn the buy-in from key stakeholders. 9
Phase Three Implement Your Plan Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead 10
Implement Your Plan Form a team to lead your organizational change management effort. Your team should include representatives from across the organization, particularly from the business areas impacted by the change. As you select your Change Management Team, choose people who support the effort. They should have the influence and credibility within the organization to be an asset to the change initiative. Strong communication and training or mentoring skills are an advantage.! Remember, successfully implementing your plan requires visible support from your executives, managers, and supervisors. Employees look to their managers for guidance navigating through change initiatives. Take the extra effort to secure their active and visible support for your initiative and keep them engaged throughout the process. Managers and supervisors are wellpositioned to supply valuable feedback on the success of your plan; engage them early and often. Train managers on change management principles. Use their help to distribute communication messages and manage resistance. 11
Phase Four Reinforce The Change We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn. Peter Drucker 12
Reinforce the Change Reinforce changes by regularly evaluating, diagnosing and implementing corrective actions. Anticipate change resistance. Learn to identify resistance warning signs and educate your team to look for common indications and take appropriate actions. EVALUATE Use various methods to collect feedback from your employees survey, meetings, web, e-mail, etc. DIAGNOSE What is the source of the resistance? What are the knowledge gaps? CORRECT Take action immediately! Address issues and resistance before they derail the change initiative. A comprehensive communication plan should address the unique needs of each stakeholder group and strive to provide accurate and timely information. Rewards and incentives will reinforce positive change. Be creative and select motivators that are relevant and meaningful to the person(s) impacted by the change.! 13
Conclusion Summary & Resources To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Winston Churchill 14
Summary VISION Current State Sources of Change Future State Successful change at the organizational level requires a strategic approach with a dedicated team to ensure the benefits are realized and sustained. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION REINFORCEMENT Leadership Processes Structure Skills Projects ECM Project Plan CM Program Plan Shared Resources Common Language Consistent Application Continuous Improvement The path forward starts with identifying a vision of the future state which is tied to the organization s strategic goals. The plan to achieve this vision must be tailored to the organization with strong sponsorship and buyin from key stakeholders. Your change management plans must incorporate regular check-ins to collect feedback and implement corrective actions to respond to the resistance and risk that is inherent in all change initiatives. 15
Strategic Organizational Change Free Resources ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE INFOGRAPHIC A graphical overview of an organizational change management journey. Available at line-of-sight.com for sharing or click the graphic to the left to access it online. WHO MOVED MY SPREADSHEET? CHANGE MANAGEMENT PRESENTATION A brief presentation to introduce your team to the concept of change management by answering the following questions: What is Change Management? What does Change Resistance look like? What is your role in managing change? Free Download: www.slideshare.net/line-of-sight 16
Line of Sight Can Help Get Your Change Management Effort on Target Our approach to change management leverages years of professional experience managing change for diverse organizations along with well-established best practices from global professional organizations. Line of Sight delivers management consulting services to government and industry. We consult with organizations that are serious about undergoing change. We bring discipline to projects, re-engineer business processes and help clients transform the management of their businesses. Sign-up for our blog at www.line-of-sight.com 3300 North Ridge Road Suite 215 Ellicott City, Maryland 21043 Web: www.line-of-sight.com E-mail: info@line-of-sight.com Phone: 410.696.2610 17