The Hard Side of Change Management

Companies must pay as much attention to the hard side of change management as they do to the soft aspects. By rigorously focusing on four critical elements(DICE), they can stack the odds in favor of success.

#Duration.

Companies make the mistake of worrying mostly about the time it will take to implement change programs. They assume that the longer an initiative carries on, the more likely it is to fail—the early impetus will peter out, windows of opportunity will close, objectives will be forgotten, key supporters will leave or lose their enthusiasm, and problems will accumulate. However, contrary to popular perception, our studies show that a long project that is reviewed frequently is more likely to succeed than a short project that isn’t reviewed frequently. Thus, the time between reviews is more critical for success than a project’s life span.

#Integrity.

By performance integrity, we mean the extent to which companies can rely on teams of managers, supervisors, and staff to execute change projects successfully. Senior executives are often reluctant to allow star performers to join change efforts because regular work can suffer. In companies that have succeeded in implementing change programs, we find that employees go the extra mile to ensure their day-to-day work gets done.

#Commitment.

Companies must boost the commitment of two different groups of people if they want change projects to take root: They must get visible backing from the most influential executives, who are not necessarily those with the top titles. And they must take into account the enthusiasm—or often, lack thereof—of the people who must deal with the new systems, processes, or ways of working. Top-level commitment is vital to engendering commitment from those at the coal face.

#Effort.

When companies launch transformation efforts, they frequently don’t realize, or know how to deal with the fact, that employees are already busy with their day-to-day responsibilities. According to staffing tables, people in many businesses work 80-plushour weeks. If, on top of existing responsibilities, line managers and staff have to deal with changes to their work or to the systems they use, they will resist.

Summary - https://hbr.org/2005/10/the-hard-side-of-change-management

Regards,

M. Farhan - Coaching inner-self, Training, Change Expert & Facilitator