Change Management and Communications

In today’s ever-evolving environment, the most effective organizations will be those that are able to adapt and to respond to shifting priorities and changing business realities, as well as the digital transformation of processes. But before this can happen, organizations need to understand how their employees are likely to deal with change and how they can be motivated to accept—and even embrace—change.

This must take place through a strategic approach to organizational change involving careful consideration of the people affected most by change. Our change model follows a five step process.

1. Initiative Kick-Off: This step lays the foundation to make sure the change endures because everyone in the organization is behind it. You can build a house with no foundation, but it is likely to get damaged in the first serious storm.
2. Document & Map Processes Affected by the Initiative: Documenting processes effectively and obtaining the buy-in of the right people will set the project on a solid track to meet or exceed expectations.
3. Solution Design and Training Preparation: For companies that have achieved alignment from the get-go, change management proceeds smoothly because all key business areas, including the crucial technology department, have been engaged in the development of requirements and process steps from the beginning.
4. Implement Training, Ownership and Adoption: Implementation of the new initiative is a shared responsibility across all groups. Ownership in the outcome should be shared as well, and the groups must collaborate to develop the best way to adapt the organization to the change.
5. Feedback & Enhancement of Processes: For an initiative to succeed long-term, the project team must have its ear to the ground and capitalize on the feedback it receives from both key stakeholders and the broader organization. Transparency and responsiveness to suggestions help foster a culture in which employees feel they are being heard and are part of the solution. Creating a culture of trust will also make future change implementations easier.