How can you manage change in a geographically dispersed organization?

Lots of good contributions. Despite well developed plans and intentions, my experiences with multiple, complex changes is communicate, communicate, communicate. This communication needs to be bidirectional. Also, ALL impacted individuals need to be communicated to, not just designated stakeholders and/or change agents. I've seen it happen where those designated stakeholders didn't pass on vital information or even worse, miscommunicated information. For even the lowest level employees, a vacuum can breed rumors, discontent and even misbehavior.

1. Identify Regional Change Impacts: Tailor strategies by recognizing specific impacts in diverse regions. 2. Involve Local Stakeholders: Engage committed stakeholders with regional expertise in driving change. 3. Ensure Unified Messaging: Maintain consistency in communicating vision, goals, and updates across the organization. 4. Facilitate Leader Collaboration: Encourage regular interaction among leaders from diverse locations for alignment and synchronized strategies. 5. Optimize Communication Timing: Consider time differences to enable active participation in discussions across locations. 6. Utilize Collaborative Technology: Use platforms enabling real-time interactions, file sharing, and connectivity across dispersed teams.

From a study by prosci, "Active and visible sponsorship is the single greatest contributor to the success of a change initiative" and over 50% of executives don't know how to lead effective change or understand their role as a sponsor. It makes sense then, to start with your sponsors. Ensure they are active participants in the communication of the change - employees want to hear from their direct leader and senior leaders, not the project team. Provide sponsors with detailed requirements, training and support throughout the project - don't let them disappear after the kick-off meeting!

Be a storyteller! Apple's latest product release was launched in the format of a short movie, and it was very effective. Consider using the techniques of storytelling to engage and influence.

* Establish clear goals and expectations * Choose the right communication tools and methods * Build trust and rapport among team members * Provide feedback and recognition * Manage conflicts and issues * Adapt to different styles and preferences * Continuously remind your team of the project vision * Ensure every employee understands how they fit into the bigger picture * Keep all communication channels open for regular and clear interaction * Create opportunities for members to just interact, both formally and informally * Have a strong communications strategy * Make sure that the technologies you use – such as instant messaging and file sharing – are reliable

When talking about engaging remote teams and stakeholders, we often read about WHAT we should do (and the whys = benefits) and not the little actions that make up the HOW. ?????? Here are a few HOWs from the top of my head: 1. Personalize your outreach and treat everyone as an individual first + be genuine and honest about the change and how it affects them 2. Foster open & 2-way comms 3. Listen actively & with empathy 4. Host interactive + virtual + collaborative sessions on digital tools (e.g. Miro embed in Zoom/Whereby etc) 5. Set clear expectations so people understand their part in the change 6. Offer training & support 7. Stay adaptive/agile to evolving needs 8. Strive for continuous improvement (gather feedback and iterate)

While managing change in dispersed organizations is undoubtedly challenging, we shouldn't overlook the immense value of change leaders *physically* visiting various areas of the organization. While not always possible, such visits allow staff to familiarize themselves with leadership and offer leaders a firsthand understanding of diverse cultures, communication nuances, etc. This initial personal engagement will then lend to enhanced remote discussions. When team members have a personal connection with the leader, conversations can become more insightful and engaging. Lastly, on-site interactions allow leaders to identify key stakeholders among the teams who can assist in moving the organization forward within their respective regions.

In my experience, we created change agents across the region who were equipped with different tools and methodologies that would assist them to drive various change initiatives locally for an example: how to handle resistance, persona approach and business chemistry etc… and it is very essential to have a clear communication across the teams and this helped in stakeholder’s participation as well and eventually helped us align to our short and long term goals

Adaptive Communication: Use a mix of asynchronous (emails, recorded videos) & synchronous (live video calls, instant messaging). Standardized Program Management: Create standardized reports, templates, best practices, & policies to ensure consistency. Training & Support: Offer continuous support, promote knowledge sharing & collaboration. Technology Enablement: Leverage collaborative technologies to bridge the geographic divide. Monitor and Adjust: Use business intelligence. Pivot & adjust strategies based on real-time feedback & data analytics. Celebrate Milestones: Celebrate progress to build momentum, & maintains engagement. Continuous Improvement: Institute a feedback loop for continuous improvement of practices & policies.

Also ensure you have a good mix of leadership and IC's in your group to help gain a better perspective on how change can affect everyone.

Remember to consider AND INCLUDE individuals who represent different cultural groups. One message won't resonate with everyone so it's important to have different people with different perspectives and experiences working together to create the messaging and talking points that will be shared more broadly.

Consider different formats to keep things fresh. Try panel discussions, guest speakers, or interactive workshops. Cater to different preferences and needs. Mix it up to ensure your employees stay engaged and excited about attending and creating a space for conversation.

Think about having a business change lead and business change champions baked into your regions. These will be on the ground to support landing the change and engaging the teams and responsible for feeding back ideas from the regions.

This is my take on the communication side of it: Firstly make sure that the change is initially communicated from senior executives to show that this is a change supported top-down. Secondly, the reasons for change should be communicated to teams by their direct managers, one level at a time, so that each following manager can formulate how the change impacts their team, and what's in it for them. Finally, when communicated, hold open and candid conversations to address any questions and concerns people might have. Take enough time doing this, while at the same time making sure that people don't dwell on topics that have been addressed already. It helps to identify members that help you champion the change (aka change champions).

As a change leader, I believe you must go out of your way to make it easy for others to meet you. If there are time zones involved, that means you (as the change leader) does the early mornings and late evenings meetings to accommodate. This effort not only means that you are catching others on their prime time/ optimal performance but it shows you care about them. Change brings a lot of emotion for everyone involved. As a change leader, you’re likely to win people over and get open and honest feedback, far more easily if you make this consideration.

Learning style and what FEELS supportive will vary by individual and cultural norms. Learn from your stakeholders what is needed then provide options for getting these needs met.

Top 3 things one must do: 1) Develop a clear and consistent communication plan that informs stakeholders about the change. Use various communication channels to reach different groups within the organization. 2) Conduct a thorough training needs assessment to understand what skills, knowledge, and behaviors employees need to adapt to the change successfully. 3) Design training programs that are tailored to the specific needs of different stakeholder groups. Resistance Management: Anticipate and address resistance to change. Train your change management team to identify and manage resistance effectively. Provide tools and techniques to help employees cope with change-related stress and uncertainty.

Training and support unlock employees' Ability to do business in new ways. Be sure to schedule training as close as possible to go-live; the recency effect makes it easier to recall what to do under new expectations. Be sure to capture all questions (and answers) that come up during training; this serves as helpful FAQ job aids during hypercare. Record all training sessions for employees to refer to during hypercare. Set up 'office hours' in the weeks following go-live; even if they're underutilized, the availability of help puts people at ease and fosters confidence!

It's essential to recognise the nuances of different cultures in how success is perceived and measured. This involves a deep understanding of lead indicators – early signs that predict future success – and ensuring they are relevant and respectful across all cultural contexts in the team. Values and Priorities: Different cultures have varying definitions of what constitutes success. For some, it might be rapid achievement and innovation, while for others, it might be sustained growth or team harmony. Recognition and Reward: The way achievements are celebrated can significantly impact morale and motivation. What is motivating in one culture might be seen as underwhelming or even offensive in another.

This is an often-neglected activity during times of change. Depending on the scope and degree of disruption of the change, consider: - Virtual recognition ceremony - Digital Certifications & Badges - Internal (or external) social media shoutouts - Team Appreciation messages - Virtual Happy Hours - Surprise Care Packages

Start by defining clear objectives for your change management efforts. What specific outcomes are you trying to achieve? Develop measurable metrics that can help you assess progress and success your NorthStar. Gather data and feedback from various sources, including employees, stakeholders, and leaders. Use surveys, focus groups, interviews, and performance metrics to assess how well the change has been received and implemented.

Way off! The AI tips in this article don’t relate to geographical challengers at all. The article is a “copy/paste” of regular change activities. Furthermore geography is not the challenge - we meet online! Culture, language, hierarchy, processes, etc are the challenges - which has nothing to do with geography. I can easily manage a change and stakeholders in Perth from Sydney - but I will have massive challenges with a regional NSW office on my 3 hours drive away.

If you are rolling out a program at a large company and doing it by location - pick a sure winner at the first implementation site(s). I have used a combination of General MacArthur's island hopping strategy from World War II and the game of Risk to roll out big projects. MacArthur identified strategic locations that he had to take to win the war and didn't engage at all where he didn't have to. Do the best locations with the best staffs first. In Risk - you get more armies by taking whole regions. In business - start with winners only, then concentrate on completing the whole region. Communicate your successes very heavily along the way. Always give credit and recognition for them to the local staffs and not yourself or Corporate.

From experience, creating and nurturing a network of change agents or ambassadors across different locations is key to success. These individuals can be responsible for facilitating change discussions, answering questions, and offering support to their local colleagues. They will ensure sensitivity to cultural differences and adapt your change management approach accordingly. What works in one culture may not work in another, so it's essential to be culturally aware and respectful. What is important is to find your champions, those who will carry the flag within the organization, communicate the change, understand the challenges, help you find solutions and pivot if needed. They are the 20% that will move the overall organization.

Inclusive and regular communication : Remote teams may have different challenges based on their location, feel disconnected from other locations, or they may simply not have access to the same resources/people to assess the progress made by the organization. It is therefore key to: - have the same level of communication, no matter the teams’ locations; - ensure key milestones are being shared timely with all stakeholders, should you not be able to get everyone updated at once; - have updates regularly shared in writing in a newsletter (or similar formats), to provide access to the information to those that may not have joint some of the verbal updates; - celebrate milestones, no matter the team’s locations.

Another thing that is important to consider is to ensure your Go-Live or Key Milestone dates aren't in conflict with local public/religious holidays, and don't forget to take into account time zone differences when requesting deliverables.