From Awareness to Expectation – the Transition of Change Management

Change is ubiquitous and the only constant thing in life. One does not have to look further than the past two years to ascertain this assertion. Effective and efficient control of change is vital?for the success of an organisation or a business but more than ever, your workforce expects it.

Change management has grown into prominence in the recent past into evolving from a concept to a discipline that requires attention.?Today’s employee is aware of the non-permanence of their current work – and the rate of changes that they face and will face in the future.?Today’s employer is no longer to make long term commitments or certainties of the future. No one knows what tomorrow looks like, and it seems – this is the new state of being. Accelerate innovations have thrust the workplace into a constant state of movement – fast and unrelenting.

This article briefly highlights some tips that organizations can use to transition employees to not only embrace change as it happens but to expect change of any magnitude all the time.

Let’s get started.

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1.?The Role Of Leadership

Leaders are by far the single most important determinant of how successful any change initiative will be.?Most organisations and change teams know this, however, this is still one of the biggest challenges in Change Management Programs.

They must lead by example to help in a smooth transition into the expectation of change. They must be closely involved in the whole change process through timely communication on why the change is necessary, what the organisation is trying to achieve and why employee buy-in matters. They will influence and motivate others to join the change movement and take it to another level.?

As change becomes an expected event leadership participation, ambassadorship, sponsorship and buy-in become an expectation. When one progresses up the ranks, being an agent of change becomes an expected part of the job.

This topic will be covered in our upcoming article on leadership authenticity during changes.

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2. Make Communication as expected as change

Before people can fully embrace change, they must know. It’s a key step to driving change. They need to know what is happening, always. Corporate Communication teams have never been more challenged in organisations as they are today. This does not mean bombarding the workforce with lengthy boring emails – it’s about finding ways to communicate clearly, succinctly, and quickly – and forming a picture, connecting the dots and enabling powerful feedback mechanisms.

?This requires a strategy, supported by a plan and team to drive clear, timely and purposeful communication. This team must also support the dissemination of messaging by management across all levels. ?Rember that communication does not equate to comprehensive change management – so don’t expect fireworks with a single element of driving human behaviour.

Read up on an upcoming article on Coping Up with Evolving Change Communication Approaches in the next few weeks!

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3.?Prioritize People

When organisations are chasing the next big thing, or just survival, people sometimes get forgotten. Enter the new role of HR in organisations! Fun fact, in 2021 Garner released the results of the completed by top global HROs – and they rated Change Management their number 1 priority in the new year (2022)! As a Change Management Practitioner, this does not surprise me. People are at the centre of organizational strategy, culture, goals, and change.

The challenge for HR Practitioners is to drive (and sometimes push) the prioritisation of people in the organisation’s agenda as a top priority. Through engaging leadership and teams that drive changes to think about the impact on the workforce, what it will take to gain buy-in, how to prioritise changes to get the most uptake, develop ongoing employee engagement programs and work with the communications teams to drive information around organisational goals is Key. HR is the key that holds it all together, and by actively participating in change discussion, they can get the required support and resources to support the workforce during changes.

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4.?Avoid Rigid Expectations

?Change can sometimes be a difficult pill to swallow for most of us, especially is its constant – with no time to get over the previous change. Imagine you are in the sea and have a great boat, and suddenly a massive wave hits your boat unexpected– and as you manage to get out of that wave another one comes….and so it goes! Who knows how you will respond after multiple hits, knowing that the next one is only moments away???One can only plan for the next wave as best as they can – and celebrate the success of getting through the previous wave,

It goes without saying that resistance and anxiety become part of the conversation and expected response. ?To help leaders and employees constantly mauver the unknown, expectations around responses should not be too rigid. Instead, one should predict possible scenarios of outcomes, surface resistance so that it can be managed, and maintain a positive attitude.

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For more information about change management, contact us via email ([email protected]), or make a quick 30-minute call.

Don’t forget to visit our website at www.changeagility.co.za to look at more content on Change Management.