Introduction
Leading food and medicine retailers in the US include Albertsons Companies. As of June 19, 2021, the company operated 2,278 retail food and medication stores, 1,725 pharmacies, 399 related fuel outlets, 22 specific distribution hubs, and 20 production facilities (Albertson, 2021). The company operates more than 20 well-known banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market, in 34 states and the District of Columbia (Albertson, 2021).
Before Sharon McCollam was nominated as its new president and chief financial officer in 2021, the business was having leadership challenges (Retired Best, 2021). However, a culture shift is still necessary for the company to return to its best turnover years. Leaders who recognize the significance of culture change and are ready to lead by example can significantly influence the effectiveness of a culture change program. This paper will use Kotter’s 8 Steps to Organizational Change Model to create a change management plan. It will also determine the desired outcome of the suggested change and examine how well the proposed change management plan aligns with the organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategies.
Albertson’s Change Management Model Using Kotter’s Steps
Some Albertson employees were forced to be furloughed when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its worst. This approach lacked the organization’s performance in several areas. In this instance, executives overstepped their authority to ensure that the organization’s tasks were carried out effectively.
However, the company developed a toxic culture due to some employees’ stress and burnout. The leaders in Albertsons’ authoritarian culture had complete control over staff behavior and decision-making. Such cultures can inhibit innovation, collaboration, and creativity, resulting in a disengaged and demotivated workforce. Consequently, creating a model of change was essential;
Step 1: Establish Urgency
Urgency is crucial since significant organizational change cannot take place without the support of the parties affected. Because of this, the first action leaders took to secure the support of management and staff was to instill a sense of urgency for an increase in employee involvement (Leading Change, Step 1, 2022). Leaders created a sense of urgency by concurrently marketing the significance of a potential future to all stakeholders in the firm while rendering the status quo a perilous environment for participants to endure. Chief executives seamlessly interacted with investors to explain why the company’s existing situation was not in their most advantageous interests by presenting a captivating tale.
Step 2: Form a Powerful Coalition
The success of the guiding coalition in assisting Albertsons in conducting a transformation initiative primarily hinges on two criteria. The first aspect was the caliber of the individuals they chose to be on this squad. A coalition of supporters dedicated to the reform endeavor established a culture of trust, for instance. Additionally, a strong steering coalition had the right mix of members with various Albertson characteristics.
More specifically, the second important element was the caliber of sponsorship, ongoing support, and attention that created shared ownership of the change effort. As such, the coalition members collaborated to explain the advantages of the new technology, identify any obstacles, and create a strategy to get through them (Leading Change (Step 2), 2022). Ultimately, the company gave the coalition sufficient organizational authority to take the initiative for change.
Step 3: Create a Vision for Change
Setting the organization’s future course was a crucial leadership role for Albertson. Despite this, senior leadership nevertheless had a hand in developing a high-level summary of the change vision and strategy. It is not ideal to give the leading coalition complete control over this step; instead, it is preferable to create strong leaders.
It was frequently preferable for one senior leader or a small group of senior leaders to develop the initial draft. The governing coalition could then improve the proposal from there. The vision and strategy were successfully created using data (Kotter’s 8-step, 2023), for instance, firm financial information, market information, new commercial trends, and predictions.
Step 4: Communicate the Vision
Using the organization’s communication channels was one of the most essential practices. This included improved communication through email, formal meetings, informal meetings, written communications, large group meetings, small group meetings, and the company intranet. These mechanisms made it easier to identify the cause of toxicity. The transformation vision has also been operationalized, and it is now a regular aspect of conducting business.
As a result, the governing coalition sought opportunities to express the change vision throughout everyday business operations and contacts with other company members. In this sense, this encouraged stakeholders to accept the change that had been done in simple terms, to “walk the talk “(Kotter’s 8-step, 2023). The concept that was formed defined the enterprise’s potential success.
Step 5: Remove Obstacles
According to Kotter, junior and middle managers frequently believe they will be the “losers” in organizational restructuring. These managers often have a long history with the organization and benefit from their seniority, complicating problems. A toxic environment, for instance, hindered performance at Albertson because some top-performing managers helped personally with how things were done there. This makes them hesitant to change the way the company operates. In this case, the business brought on a new boss and prepared for anticipated challenges (Kotter 8-Steps, 2023). This enhanced decision-making is designed to lessen the impact of these challenges.
Step 6: Create Short-Term Wins
Although organizational discouragement over the slow rate of change causes many significant change efforts to stall, this outcome is not always the case. As a result, Albertsons adopted creative, quick wins that were evident across the entire business and tied to the change effort. The firm steering coalition kept the momentum for change going.
Short-term wins, for instance, improve communication and make minor changes to procedures (Leading change (Step 6), 2022). Once adopted and accomplished, the company celebrated these victories and informed all stakeholders. They subsequently leveraged these victories to generate energy and support for the transformation movement.
Step 7: Build on the Change
Utilize the inspiration from the quick victories to take on more significant and challenging changes. According to Kotter, many change initiatives fail because success is prematurely declared. Immediate successes are merely the start of what needs to be done to accomplish long-term change, since real change goes deep. For instance, creating a culture that is tolerant and diverse to keep ideas new (Kotter 8-Step, 2023).
Early successes are great for starting the transition, but are insufficient to keep it going. Quick victories could trick you or your teammates into thinking the change process is over, but real change needs repetition and growth. To create change, Albertsons evaluated what went well and what needed to be improved following each victory. They also made goals to maintain the momentum they had already gained.
Step 8: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture
To eliminate those obstacles related to development, managers and employees needed to leave or be reassigned to support change in the culture. It is improbable that people still rejecting the change will genuinely change their methods now that the organization has evidence of the value of the change effort (Kotter 8-Step, 2023). Although it was an unfortunate outcome, turnover or reassignment was occasionally necessary if senior leadership wanted to ensure the organizational changes stuck.
Additionally, they used training, communication, and rewards to reinforce the changes. If senior leaders wish the change initiative to become an ongoing part of the company culture, they must anchor it. They can now rejoice in the accomplishment of the change effort and thank everyone who helped make it possible.
Desired Outcome
It is crucial first to identify the specific change that is being proposed to ascertain the anticipated outcome. The desired effect can be specified once the difference has been determined. Increased employee engagement, for instance, would mean that workers would be more motivated, effective, and dedicated to the company.
Additionally, the adjustment should foster a culture of trust in which managers and staff members can depend on one another, communicate clearly, and cooperate to achieve shared objectives. The Albertsons shift should create strong leaders who can energize and inspire their teams, make wise judgments, and act with integrity. Additionally, the change should improve communication within the business so that managers and staff can exchange ideas effectively and work out disagreements.
Another goal was to improve decision-making within the company, where leaders can make judgments based on information and, when necessary, involve employees in the decision-making process. Due to the transformation, a culture of innovation should be promoted, where leaders and staff are inspired to use their imaginations, take chances, and develop fresh concepts. The outcome of the shift should be creating a varied and inclusive culture where leaders and staff value and respect diversity and can collaborate successfully with individuals from all backgrounds and viewpoints.
To analyze the change management plan, it is crucial to examine each component and how it relates to the proposed change to study the alignment between the organization’s purpose, vision, values, strategies, and the proposed change management plan.
- Mission. According to the organization’s mission statement, every day should be improved. The change management plan’s alignment with the organization’s goals and objectives supported this mission.
- Vision. The company’s mission statement outlines its goals for collaborating with the whole healthcare team to improve drugs. By assisting in realizing the organization’s planned future state, the change management plan should align with its vision.
- Strategies. The organization’s strategy outlines its precise steps to accomplish its objectives. The change management plan’s programs and initiatives should support the organization’s systems.
- Proposed Change Management Plan. The change management plan was to facilitate the organization’s targeted changes. It was connected with the organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategy to ensure that the suggested modifications aligned with the organization’s general goals and objectives.
Conclusion
Organizing change management is generally a crucial activity for any enterprise. In case of challenges within the firm, executives must implement a robust plan to revamp the whole organization. As this paper shows, Albertson underwent leadership problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, leaders become authoritative, which in turn turns the work environment toxic. This hampered the firm’s modus operandi, which called for a need to revive the whole organizational setting by utilizing Kotter’s model of change.
References
Albertsons Companies, Inc. – About ACI. (2021). Web.
Antje. (2019). How to build networked coalitions. The Commons. Web.
EPM. (2021). Kotter’s 8-step change model explained [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. Web.
Financial Officer. (2021). Businesswire. Web.
How to be a successful change leader (2022). CCL. Web.
Kotter’s 8-step change model. (2023). MindTools. Web.
Leading Change (Step 2) – Create the Guiding Coalition – Management is a Journey®. (2022). Web.
Leading Change (Step 1): Creating a sense of urgency – Management is a journey. (2022). Web.
Leading change (Step 6) – generate short-term wins (2022). Web.