Change management: what it is, importance,
Market, economic, legal, strategic or technological issues are factors that can trigger transformations in companies, initiating the change management process .
In this sense, both the way a business is conducted and the consolidation of a change demonstrate the maturity of business management . After all, changes can generate insecurity, overload and stress in employees if they are poorly managed.
Not to mention the consequences for the continuity of operations and the company’s image in the market.
Therefore, organizational changes should not be made without structured planning, team preparation and good communication . The key to achieving positive results from a transformation is to unite people around the goal.
Did you think it was just a matter of making changes and that was it? Employees adapt as they get to know the new thing. Continue reading the article to understand what it is, its importance and how to correctly manage a change process in your company.
Plus, check out examples and tips to guide your team and achieve consistent results.
Happy reading!
What is change management?
Change management in organizations is the process of guiding the implementation of a change, such as a new culture, technology and infrastructure that it uses to operate, or internal processes to ensure that the work is successful. It typically includes three main phases: preparation, implementation and follow-up.
In a corporate context, a change may involve the entire team, as in a merger process, or just a certain sector, as in the addition of a new sales channel.
The news will be communicated to everyone eventually, but the employees who are part of the sector and will work on the implementation are the first to be impacted.
Therefore, management must ensure that the team makes the transition in an organized manner, understanding the new processes, tools and monitoring the effects of the change.
The success in executing the steps shows how prepared a business is to identify changes and act to adapt quickly, without harming the progress of activities.
In the ‘ Organizational Change Guidance ‘ guide , the Gartner consultancy team stated that, in the last three years, companies have undergone five major changes, with 75% of businesses expecting to undergo multiple transformations in the next three years.
However, more than half of change processes fail and only 34% achieve the desired success. In other words, it is essential to know how to lead your company when a need arises.
How important is change management?
Creating a change process is important because it guides the team step by step, allowing them to achieve the planned objective and develop the business. Management also encourages the team to embrace the new and dedicate themselves to learning, actively participating in the consolidation of the change .
The transitions that a company may go through are sometimes unpredictable and costly in terms of time and resources. With effective management, changes positively stimulate the organizational climate and the development of team skills.
Another positive point of the process is the possibility of managing risks , such as dissatisfaction in a sector or group of employees.
When the team not only knows, but also understands the reasons that led to the change, commitment to adapt the company to the new context is natural.
In addition to the internal public, investors, suppliers and potential employees will also feel more confident in the company if they see that, even when undergoing changes, the business maintains its activities and fulfills its commitments.
In other words, the higher the level of management maturity, whether to manage a change or maintain financial control, the greater the chances of navigating through moments of instability without disrupting the operation, productivity and motivation of the team.
Change management: examples
“ Nothing is permanent except change, ” prophesied Heraclitus more than twenty centuries ago. Therefore, there is no shortage of examples of occasions where organizational change management is triggered and they occur to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the current business context.
To help you identify the situations that will require your company to have a response plan, we have listed some examples below:
- arrival of a new leader in charge of the company or a department;
- change in the team’s organizational structure;
- implementation of new technologies;
- adoption of new business models;
- management of unexpected events.
In terms of unexpected events, the most recent example was the COVID-19 pandemic. When the disease spread across the world in 2020, companies urgently needed to adapt to the social isolation scenario.
Retail businesses that did not have digital sales channels had to adapt quickly to survive. And those that did have online operations had to adapt to inventory shortages and logistical delays.
Furthermore, managing teams working from home required the creation of new work guidelines to comply with labor laws, providing adequate means for teams to remain active.
Even after the end of isolation, the changes of this time brought new challenges for business owners, such as the preference for remote work by some employees.
When change management processes are ready to be activated, the examples mentioned and others that are part of the reality of companies are overcome and generate positive transformations.
Types of organizational change
Now that you know what it is, its importance and what can trigger changes in business, it is essential to know the type and degree of renewal that each one requires, which will impact the team’s workload. Check it out!
Adaptive changes
Adaptive changes are small transformations that organizations go through to meet needs that arise over time. It’s the addition of a process or tool that, once completed, leaves the entire team thinking, “Wow, how did we live without that?”
Typically, these changes are small tweaks and adjustments that managers identify and implement to better execute business strategies. Over time, leaders may add, delete, or improve processes.
An example of adaptive change is when a company upgrades its customer management system from spreadsheets to CRM ( Customer Relationship Management) software.
Transformational changes
Transformational changes have a larger scale and scope of work than adaptive adjustments. In this case, the process may involve changes:
- in the company’s mission;
- in the business strategy;
- in the structure of the company or team;
- in the staff;
- in organizational performance;
- in business processes.
Due to the workload, these changes often require more time and energy from the team to implement.
Although it is not a rule, transformational changes often occur in response to external interference, such as the arrival of a new innovative competitor or problems affecting the company’s supply chain.
An example of transformational change is when a company decides to adopt ESG principles to implement sustainable management, creating actions and changing production processes so that the operation becomes increasingly sustainable.
This positioning is strategic and needs to be conducted carefully, in addition to requiring broad team engagement to consolidate sustainability as a business value.
An interesting detail is that some changes can be adaptive and transformational at the same time. For this reason, managers need to keep in mind that a transformation process must be adapted to the challenges and demands of each situation.
How to manage changes?
The step-by-step guide to change management that we describe below is inspired by the guidelines of Harvard University professor John Kotter in the book ‘Leading Change’. Learn how to start and finish:
1. Reinforce the urgency
The first step for change management to engage directors, managers and employees is to reinforce the urgency for the measure to be implemented.
One strategy you can use is to present the current scenario, the losses and/or difficulties faced by the target team and how the results are currently at risk. Then, present the proposed change that will be implemented.
2. Engage leaders
To overcome potential objections to the change process, it is essential to form alliances and sector leaders (directors and managers) are the main allies in the initial phase.
Employees’ trust in their direct leaders helps to overcome resistance, detail the process in sector meetings, leaving the team comfortable to ask questions.
3. Outline a vision for change
Another important detail for efficient management is to outline a vision of change , that is, the path that the company will take to provide an overview of the process and establish a perspective for the future.
The objective is to demonstrate to employees that transformations do not have just one purpose.
4. Show the vision to the team
Of course, access to the work is not restricted to leaders. Show the project vision to the team , explaining the steps, those responsible for monitoring them and the expected result.
Even without a precise definition of the duration of the process, make an estimate so that employees are not left in the dark. If possible, detail how much time will be invested in each stage.
5. Anticipate and remove obstacles
During planning and in conversations with leaders and teams, potential and real obstacles will arise that can interfere with the smooth running of change management.
Therefore, anticipate and, while still in the planning phase, create action plans to remove the obstacles raised, forming teams to take care of the work.
To put together accurate action plans, use change management tools such as the 5W2H method to guide the process.
6. Highlight short-term gains
The emphasis on short-term gains is a crucial step, especially in the process of transformational changes, the path of which is longer and involves many steps and effort.
In these cases, set goals for each stage of the planning, creating a timeline with the gains that will lead to the big change. Present it to the team as a stimulus for their work.
7. Publish the results and make adjustments
Each step completed and each objective achieved must be disclosed to the entire company to ensure transparency in the change process.
Furthermore, monitoring allows adjustments to be made to the strategies used, simplifying steps or including new ones to improve the quality of management.
8. Consolidate the change in organizational culture
The final stage is the consolidation of change as an integral and active part of the organizational culture.
So that future management understands why the change was made, include the new process in the company’s ‘Procedures Manual’, detailing the function, activities, indicators, responsible parties, etc.
Also record the period in which the planned vision was completed and the factors that motivated the change made, such as knowledge management.